Black Symphony

Black Symphony is the third live album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. It was released worldwide on 22–24 September 2008 and is available on 2-disc DVD, 2-disc CD, and Blu-ray.^[1] Sony Poland announced this item to be released on 3LP. Release was due Friday 28 December 2018.^[2]

Black Symphony
Video by Within Temptation
Released	Europe: 22 September 2008 USA: 23 September 2008 Australia: 18 October 2008 Turkey: 22 September 2008 Russia: 3 November 2008 Japan: 24 December 2008
Recorded	7 February 2008
Venue	Rotterdam Ahoy
Genre	Symphonic metal
Length	350 Min
Label	Sony/BMG GUN
Director	Hans Pannecoucke
Producer	Matijn Swier, Ralph Broos, Wouter Strobbe
Within Temptation video chronology
The Silent Force Tour (2005) Black Symphony (2008) Let Us Burn - Elements & Hydra Live In Concert (2014)

Black Symphony
Live album by Within Temptation & The Metropole Orkest
Released	Europe: 22 August 2008 USA: 23 September 2008 Australia: 18 October 2008 Turkey: 22 September 2008 Russia: 3 November 2008 Japan: 24 December 2008
Recorded	7 February 2008
Venue	Rotterdam Ahoy
Genre	Symphonic metal
Length	122:59
Label	GUN
Within Temptation chronology
The Heart of Everything (2007) Black Symphony (2008) An Acoustic Night at the Theatre (2009)
Metropole Orkest chronology
Who'll Speak for Love (2007) Black Symphony (2008) Ivan Lins & The Metropole Orchestra (2009)

Information

The release consists of two discs. The first one contains the homonymous special concert that features the band accompanied by The Metropole Orchestra, the Pa'dam Choir, and special guests including George Oosthoek (ex-Orphanage), Anneke van Giersbergen of Agua de Annique and Mina Caputo of Life of Agony. It was filmed by 14 HD cameras on 7 February 2008 in a sold-out concert at the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam. The album was certified Gold in the Netherlands.^[3] Besides the orchestra, choirs and special guests, the concert featured some elaborate extra production apart from the band's common tour performances, such as choreographed circus performances, pyrotechnics, fireworks and special lightning. The album was also one of the pioneers of the blu-ray format release. Music technology magazine Sound on Sound constructed a special article about the making-of process of the DVD, such as the mixing and the editing, and the use of new technology in it.^[4]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[5]
About.com	[6]
Metal Storm	[7]
Popmatters	[8]
Sputnikmusic	[9]
Ultimate-Guitar	[10]

The double release was well received among music critics. Adrien Begrand, from Popmatters, praised the band's current recognition in Europe and considered that the main concert structure and production was a worthy opportunity that only a few successful bands could embrace. Begrand, while praising den Adel's performance overall, considered the excess of ballads on the setlist as a low point. He ended his review stating that the release is "in all, a classy package befitting a very classy band, and a sure-fire fan pleaser."^[8]

Content

DVD 1

Within Temptation & Metropole Orchestra: Black Symphony.

Recorded live at The Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands on 7 February 2008.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Ouverture"	Jules Buckley	7:43
2.	"Jillian (I'd Give My Heart)"	Sharon den Adel, Robert Westerholt, Martijn Spierenburg	4:39
3.	"The Howling"	den Adel, Westerholt, Daniel Gibson	6:30
4.	"Stand My Ground"	den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson, Han Kooreneef	4:32
5.	"The Cross"	den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg	4:58
6.	"What Have You Done"	den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson	5:21
7.	"Hand of Sorrow"	den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg	5:40
8.	"The Heart of Everything"	den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson	5:47
9.	"Forgiven"	den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg	4:52
10.	"Somewhere"	den Adel, Westerholt	4:24
11.	"The Swan Song"	den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg	4:00
12.	"Memories"	den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg	4:03
13.	"Our Solemn Hour"	den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg	5:22
14.	"The Other Half (Of Me)"	den Adel, Westerholt	5:03
15.	"Frozen"	den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson	4:31
16.	"The Promise"	den Adel, Westerholt	8:14
17.	"Angels"	den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg	4:01
18.	"Mother Earth"	den Adel, Westerholt, Guus Eikens	5:59
19.	"The Truth Beneath the Rose"	den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg	7:22
20.	"Deceiver of Fools"	den Adel, Westerholt	7:38
21.	"All I Need"	den Adel, Westerholt	4:54
22.	"Ice Queen"	den Adel, Westerholt	7:15

Extras

Backstage Report Interviews with the band, conductor Jules Buckley, members of the orchestra, Mina Caputo and various fans outside the Ahoy. Presented by Dennis Weening. Documentary 30-minute documentary with exclusive never-seen-before footage. Interviews with band members on the band's history and on Black Symphony. Produced by the NPS, Netherlands.

Countdown Black Symphony A short overview of all the happenings on the day of the show, from when the production starts in the morning, until showtime in the evening.

DVD 2

Bonus Concert

Recorded live at The Beursgebouw, Eindhoven, Netherlands on 24 November 2007.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"	Martijn Spierenburg
2.	"Jillian (I'd Give My Heart)"	Sharon den Adel, Robert Westerholt, Spierenburg
3.	"The Howling"	den Adel, Westerholt, Daniel Gibson
4.	"The Cross"	den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg
5.	"Hand of Sorrow"	den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg
6.	"The Heart of Everything"	den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson
7.	"Restless"	den Adel, Westerholt, Martijn Westerholt
8.	"Our Solemn Hour"	den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg
9.	"Mother Earth"	den Adel, Westerholt, Guus Eikens
10.	"Jane Doe"	den Adel, Westerholt, Eikens
11.	"The Truth Beneath the Rose"	den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg
12.	"All I Need"	den Adel, Westerholt

Music Videos

What Have You Done (with Mina Caputo) Frozen The Howling All I Need The Making Of... Frozen The Howling All I Need World Tour Impressions An hour of exclusive footage recorded on the road by Within Temptation in the US & Canada, Europe, Turkey, Mexico, Colombia, Japan and the UK.

Extras TMF Awards Benelux (featuring WT's performance of What Have You Done and All I Need at the TMF Awards Belgium) The Dutch Pop Award Show (featuring the male members of WT dressing up in dresses and receiving the Netherlands' most important music award) Photoshoot Erwin Olaf (very exclusive footage of Erwin Olaf working with us on the photos made for The Heart Of Everything) Orchestra Recordings (filmed during the recording of the orchestra parts for The Heart Of Everything)

Specs

PAL/NTSC format. Contains Dolby Digital 2.0, 5.1 and DTS 96/24 surround sound, filmed in high definition, widescreen. Subtitled in English. Coded region-free, with a total running time of 470 minutes as it also contains both CDs of the Ahoy concert.

CD track listing

Europe and Japanese version

Disc one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Ouverture"	Jules Buckley	7:43
2.	"Jillian (I'd Give My Heart)"	Sharon den Adel, Robert Westerholt, Martijn Spierenburg	4:39
3.	"The Howling"	den Adel, Westerholt, Daniel Gibson	6:30
4.	"Stand My Ground"	den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson, Han Kooreneef	4:32
5.	"The Cross"	den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg	4:58
6.	"What Have You Done"	den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson	5:21
7.	"Hand of Sorrow"	den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg	5:40
8.	"The Heart of Everything"	den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson	5:47
9.	"Forgiven"	den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg	4:52
10.	"Somewhere"	den Adel, Westerholt	4:24
11.	"The Swan Song"	den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg	4:00
12.	"Memories"	den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg	4:03

Disc two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Our Solemn Hour"	den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg	5:22
2.	"The Other Half (Of Me)"	den Adel, Westerholt	5:03
3.	"Frozen"	den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson	4:31
4.	"The Promise"	den Adel, Westerholt	8:14
5.	"Angels"	den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg	4:01
6.	"Mother Earth"	den Adel, Westerholt, Guus Eikens	5:59
7.	"The Truth Beneath the Rose"	den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg	7:22
8.	"Deceiver of Fools"	den Adel, Westerholt	7:38
9.	"All I Need"	den Adel, Westerholt	4:54
10.	"Ice Queen"	den Adel, Westerholt	7:15

US Version

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Ouverture"	Jules Buckley	7:43
2.	"Jillian (I'd Give My Heart)"	Sharon den Adel, Robert Westerholt, Martijn Spierenburg	4:39
3.	"The Howling"	den Adel, Westerholt, Daniel Gibson	6:30
4.	"Stand My Ground"	den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson, Han Kooreneef	4:32
5.	"The Cross"	den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg	4:58
6.	"What Have You Done"	den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson	5:21
7.	"Hand of Sorrow"	den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg	5:40
8.	"Forgiven"	den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg	4:52
9.	"Somewhere"	den Adel, Westerholt	4:24
10.	"Our Solemn Hour"	den Adel, Westerholt	5:22
11.	"Frozen"	den Adel, Westerholt, Gibson	4:31
12.	"Angels"	den Adel, Westerholt, Spierenburg	4:01
13.	"Mother Earth"	den Adel, Westerholt, Guus Eikens	5:59

• The iTunes, amazon.com (MP3), Rhapsody, and Zune Marketplace versions of Black Symphony include all 22 songs.

Editions

• Europe: 2-CD Digipack/ 2-DVD Digipack/ 2-Disc Blu-ray
• Europe, UK, Australia: 4-Disc Special Edition Digipack
• USA, Canada: 1-CD+1-DVD Jewelcase
• Japan: 2-CD+1-DVD Digipack
• Argentina: 1-DVD

Personnel

The Band

• Sharon den Adel – vocals
• Robert Westerholt – rhythm guitar, growls
• Ruud Jolie – lead guitar
• Martijn Spierenburg – keyboards
• Jeroen van Veen – bass guitar
• Stephen van Haestregt – drums

Special Guests

• Mina Caputo – featured vocals on "What Have You Done"
• Anneke van Giersbergen – featured vocals on "Somewhere"
• George Oosthoek – featured growls on "The Other Half (Of Me)"

Charts

Album Charts Chart (2008–2009) Peak position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[11] 36 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[12] 16 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[13] 13 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] 3 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[15] 32 French Albums (SNEP)[16] 77 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] 17 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[18] 156 Portuguese Albums (AFP)[19] 17 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] 25 Chart (2012) Peak position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[12] 160 Year-end album charts Chart (2008) Position Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[21] 44

DVD Charts DVDs Chart (2008) Peak position Austrian DVD Chart[22] 6 Belgian DVD Chart (Flanders)[23] 2 Belgian DVD Chart (Wallonia)[24] 8 Dutch DVD Chart[25] 4 Finnish DVD Chart[26] 2 Hungarian DVD Chart[27] 18 Spanish DVD Chart 7 Swedish DVD Chart[28] 1 Swiss DVD Chart[29] 1 Turkish DVD Chart 13 Year-end DVD charts Chart (2008) Position Netherlands DVD Chart[30] 28

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
DVD
Netherlands (NVPI)[31]	Gold	30,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Official DVD Announcement Archived February 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Official Website
2. Three Within Temptation releases to be reissued donttearmedown.info 27 August 2018
3. "Within temptation: 'Black Symphony' DVD Certified Gold In Holland". Legacy.roadrunnerrecords.com. Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
4. "Within Temptation: Producing Black Symphony".
5. Black Symphony at AllMusic
6. "Heavy Metal". Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
7. "Within Temptation – Black Symphony [Live". Metal Storm. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
8. "Within Temptation – Black Symphony (Popmatters review)". popmatters.com. 10 December 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
9. "Within Temptation – Black Symphony (Sputnikmusic review)". sputnikmusic.com. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
10. "Within Temptation: Black Symphony | Reviews @ Ultimate-Guitar.com". www.ultimate-guitar.com. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
11. "Austriancharts.at – Within Temptation & The Metropole Orchestra – Black Symphony" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
12. "Ultratop.be – Within Temptation & The Metropole Orchestra – Black Symphony" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
13. "Ultratop.be – Within Temptation & The Metropole Orchestra – Black Symphony" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
14. "Dutchcharts.nl – Within Temptation & The Metropole Orchestra – Black Symphony" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
15. "Within Temptation: Black Symphony" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
16. "Lescharts.com – Within Temptation & The Metropole Orchestra – Black Symphony". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
17. "Officialcharts.de – Within Temptation – Black Symphony". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
18. "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2014-02-03" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
19. "Portuguesecharts.com – Within Temptation & The Metropole Orchestra – Black Symphony". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
20. "Swisscharts.com – Within Temptation & The Metropole Orchestra – Black Symphony". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
21. "Within Temptation: Year-end Dutch Charts". Retrieved 5 July 2014.
22. "Austria Top 40 - Musik-DVDS Top 10 03.10.2008 - austriancharts.at". Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
23. "ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS". www.ultratop.be. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014.
24. "ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS". www.ultratop.be. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014.
25. "Dutch charts portal". Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
26. "Finnish charts portal". Retrieved 27 November 2014.
27. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ – Magyar Hangfelvétel-kiadók Szövetsége". Mahasz.hu. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
28. "Veckolista DVD Album – Vecka 40, 3 october 2008" (in Swedish). www.sverigetopplistan.se. Archived from the original on 26 December 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
29. "Within Temptation & The Metropole Orchestra – Black Symphony". www.hitparade.ch. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
30. "Within Temptation: Year-end Dutch Charts". Retrieved 24 December 2014.
31. "Dutch video certifications – Within Temptation – Black Symphony" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 30 November 2016. Enter Black Symphony in the "Artiest of titel" box.

External links

• Black Symphony English Subtitle