Within Temptation is a Dutch rock band founded in April 1996 by vocalist Sh… Read Full Bio ↴Within Temptation is a Dutch rock band founded in April 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. The band went through numerous style changes, blending various genres throughout its career. Their debut album Enter and early singles were in vein of gothic metal. From Mother Earth (2000) album onwards, the band shifted to symphonic metal genre, which brought Within Temptation to popularity. Their recent albums, starting with The Unforgiving (2011), lean towards alternative rock and synth rock . In an interview, den Adel described her band's style as symphonic rock with various influences. In another interview, den Adel stated that "We consider ourselves more an atmospheric melodic symphonic metal/rock band... In my opinion, we are not a gothic band but we have gothic elements".

After the release of their debut album Enter in 1997, the band became prominent in the Dutch underground scene. It was not until 2001 that they became known to the general public, with the single "Ice Queen" from their second album Mother Earth, which reached No. 2 on the Dutch charts. This was followed by the band winning the Conamus Exportprijs, a Dutch music award, four years in a row, and a fifth in 2016. Their next albums The Silent Force (2004) and The Heart of Everything (2007) debuted at No. 1 on the Dutch charts and expanded their international recognition. In 2008, they released Black Symphony, a live album recorded with the Metropole Orchestra. This was followed in 2009 by An Acoustic Night at the Theatre, another live album, this time with acoustic renditions of the songs.

The band's fifth studio album, The Unforgiving, was released in March 2011 and was one part of a transmedia effort, alongside both a comic book series and a series of short films that together encompass a story. The album saw the band increasingly venturing on new musical territories outside symphonic metal. Their sixth studio album, Hydra, was released in early 2014 in Japan, Europe, and the United States. The album advanced the band's exploration of new musical genres and features guest appearances from various artists: Finnish singer Tarja Turunen, who appears in the lead single "Paradise (What About Us?)"; Howard Jones, former vocalist of American metalcore band Killswitch Engage; Dave Pirner, lead vocalist of American alternative rock band Soul Asylum; and American rapper Xzibit. The band had extensive airplay on BBC Radio 2 in the United Kingdom with one of the songs from the album, "Whole World Is Watching" featuring Pirner.

Their latest studio album, Resist, was released in February 2019 and incorporates influences from other musical styles such as industrial and EDM. By 2016, the band had already sold more than 3.5 million albums worldwide.

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Within_Temptation

Studio albums
Enter (1997)
Mother Earth (2000)
The Silent Force (2004)
The Heart of Everything (2007)
The Unforgiving (2011)
Hydra (2014)
Resist (2019)
Bleed Out (2023)

Stairway to the Skies
Within Temptation Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Seven seconds to the rise
Can't believe I'm still alive
And heaven was waiting for me
I thought this would be the end
But I know you'll understand
All that is keeping me here

I dream of a stairway to the skies

My angel is coming down from heaven to take me
I reach out but then you fade away
Whenever you call for me
Know that I'm only one step behind

I sense this time I may have changed
But one this still remains
I'm torn and the hate still lingers
I slowly start to realize
We won't reunite
I still have to march on through

I dream of a stairway to the skies
My angel is coming down from heaven to take me
I reach out but then you fade away
Whenever you call for me
Know that I'm only one step behind

Is it a curse or a fortune?
Have I been blinded by regret?
Redemption awaits
My soul is at stake
Will I find a stairway to the skies
In the end?

I dream of a stairway to the skies
My angel is coming down from heaven to take me
I reach out but then you fade away
Whenever you call for me

Know that I'm only one step behind
Know that I'm only one step behind

Overall Meaning

Within Temptation's "Stairway to the Skies" is a song about coming to terms with our own mortality, and finding peace in the afterlife. The opening lines suggest the singer has cheated death, as they ask, "Can't believe I'm still alive; and heaven was waiting for me." They acknowledge that they could have died, but seem almost relieved that they did not, as they continue to "dream of a stairway to the skies" and hope that, one day, their angel will come down to "take [them] away" after they have lived a full life.

The song is mostly a conversation between the singer and their departed loved one, as they contemplate what comes next. The singer acknowledges that they may have changed since their loved one's passing, but still feels a deep connection to them, even as they accept that they cannot be reunited in life. They hold onto the hope of an afterlife, and worry whether they have made the right choices in preparing for it. The question "Is it a curse or a fortune?" seems to suggest that the singer is not sure if they should feel lucky or damned for still being alive, and the final lines encourage listeners to hold onto hope, even as they march through the struggles of life.

Line by Line Meaning

Seven seconds to the rise
I narrowly escaped death in a certain situation

Can't believe I'm still alive
I am in disbelief that I survived the ordeal

And heaven was waiting for me
I was expecting to die and go to heaven, but I survived

I thought this would be the end
I believed that my life would come to an end

But I know you'll understand
I have faith that someone will comprehend my situation

All that is keeping me here
The only thing that is preventing me from moving on

I dream of a stairway to the skies
I imagine ascending to heaven via a staircase

My angel is coming down from heaven to take me
I believe that an angel will come to guide me to heaven

I reach out but then you fade away
I try to grasp the hand of the angel but it disappears

Whenever you call for me
Whenever I hear the call to come to heaven

Know that I'm only one step behind
Understand that I am close to joining you

I sense this time I may have changed
I feel that I have undergone a transformation

But one this still remains
Despite the change, there is something that endures

I'm torn and the hate still lingers
I am conflicted and still feel animosity

I slowly start to realize
I am gradually coming to understand

We won't reunite
I will not be reunited with someone I care about

I still have to march on through
I must continue to move forward with my life

Is it a curse or a fortune?
I wonder if my situation is a good or bad thing

Have I been blinded by regret?
Am I too focused on regrets to see the bigger picture?

Redemption awaits
There is a chance for me to redeem myself

My soul is at stake
My spiritual well-being is in jeopardy

Will I find a stairway to the skies
Will I be able to find a way to ascend to heaven?

In the end?
When all is said and done?

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, SPIERENBURG MUSIC PUBLISHING
Written by: MARTIJN SPIERENBURG, SHARON DEN ADEL, ROBERT WESTERHOLT

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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