WITHIN TEMPTATION’s SHARON DEN ADEL: What I Learned While Supporting IRON MAIDEN On Tour

In a new interview with Canada’s The Metal Voice, WITHIN TEMPTATION singer Sharon Den Adel was asked to name something she learned when her band supported IRON MAIDEN on the fall 2022 North American leg of the “Legacy Of The Beast” tour. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Well, they’ve been around since we were kids. [We were], of course, inspired by IRON MAIDEN, but also bands like them because IRON MAIDEN was also a band that we love to listen to. And the biggest compliment [was] being asked to go on tour with them in America because we do well in America and in Canada, but they do quite different venues than we do normally, of course… So it was, for us, a compliment to be with them and to go on tour with them. But what I learned mostly is their love for music.”

She continued: “I hope to be like [IRON MAIDEN bassist and founder] Steve Harris when I’m his age or older, still loving music so much. He breathes it, he eats it, he speaks it. He’s constantly busy with music. And every show that we played on stage during that tour for three weeks, he was every time behind our gear looking at our show, and he apparently does that with all the support acts because I think he picks them. And so [if] he really likes a band, then he asks them on tour. And he loves to see, I think, also the interaction of being a little bit thrown to the wolves, or the lions, whatever you wanna say. [Laughs] It’s, like, okay, you have to convince an audience that is only there for IRON MAIDEN, to convince them that you are worthy to be their support act. And it is a nice chance. I love that underdog position myself as well because you have to reinvent yourself, just feeling the atmosphere of the venue, like, ‘Okay, what’s what’s the mood? What’s happened just recently here?’ and just being prepared before you go on stage. ‘Okay, I’m in this city, and this happened just now. What am I gonna say to people? How am I gonna get them on our side as well? How am I gonna win their hearts?’ And that’s the struggle, which is always very cool to have as you’re opening up for such an iconic band as IRON MAIDEN, of course. And I think [Steve] loves us to see that.”

WITHIN TEMPTATION‘s new studio album, “Bleed Out”, came out on October 20 via the band’s label Force Music Recordings in a joint venture with Bertus Distribution.

“Bleed Out” signifies a bold leap forward for the band. From contemporary, hard-hitting, and djenty riffs to soaring melodies displaying their symphonic roots, WITHIN TEMPTATION has created a sonic journey that fuses diverse musical styles and thought-provoking themes.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, WITHIN TEMPTATION have shifted their focus from writing about personal emotions and societal subjects to tackling global injustices and reflecting the tumultuous state of the world in a way that other artists seem unable or unwilling to do.

While songs such as “Wireless” and “We Go To War” examine the authoritarian aggression on display in Ukraine and other warzones, the title track itself addresses the plight of women fighting for their rights in Iran after the murder of Mahsa Amini. The album also grapples with the complex issues around a woman’s right to choose in recent single “Don’t Pray For Me” and throughout, this impassioned and political focus is reflected in the intensity and heaviness of the music.