Three particularly surprising things initially stood out about Within Temptation’s debut performance at the prestigious Wembley Arena. The first being the size of the venue they were playing, double the capacity of their previous tour, and while not completely sold out, closing in on 10,000 people had amassed to witness the ‘Hydra’ tour’s London stop. The second was the people themselves, or more specifically the demographic; the majority of the attendees being couples in their late 30’s and above. I’m not sure what this says about the future growth of Within Temptation, in the UK, at least, but it was interesting to see where the band falls in terms of audience.

The third was how popular the bouncy Delain are, obviously a phenomenon that has passed me by. Bounding on with a bundle of energy with ‘Go Away’ from 2009’s April Rain it seemed half the gathered had their hands in the air, clapping along. Followed up with ‘Get The Devil Out Of Me’, the Dutch quintet had the audience in the palm of their hand early, their mix of rock, lush pop and symphonic metal an ideal partner for the headliners. The main focus is on Charlotte Wessels and her candy-pop voice, and her excellent range allows her to nail darker more Gothic passages of ‘Army Of Dolls’ through to the sugar-sweet-summery tones of ‘Stardust’ from the much vaunted new album The Human Contradiction, though it was the folkier ‘The Gathering’ that was the standout track of a set that delivered in terms of songs, if not of variety. Delain will be back as headliners, maybe not at the Arena, but I wouldn’t rule it out as the UK seems to have taken them to their heart.

Pulling back, the curtain revealed a multi-level semi-sci fi themed stage set, centering on a huge video screen set between two of the hydra’s heads. As on the album, ‘Let Us Burn’ isn’t the strongest opener, but it is warmly met, but the set (and the video screen) spurt into life with the energetic ‘Paradise (What About Us)’ served up second, Tarja Turunen delivering her parts via the video screen, in the first of four guest appearances delivered that way.

It’s clear from the outset that the majority of Within Temptation are not the most interesting of bands to watch on stage, with the spotlight firmly on Sharon den Adel throughout the entire performance, a performance that, a missed cue during ‘Paradise’ aside is flawless, note-perfect and album quality throughout.

Up and running and in their groove, the good times and momentum continue with a double-hit from the excellent The Unforgiving as ‘Faster’ and ‘Iron’ hit the spot. The remainder of the set is Hydra heavy, and the sound is possibly the best I’ve heard in the old Arena, a venue merciless in smothering bands in drums and vocals, a spotless mix fully showing off the band’s symphonic arena rock.

If there are criticisms, it is by using backing vocal tracks and click tracks, you really could just be sitting at home listening to the albums, with spontaneity removed from the performance, but in its stead is a true, slick arena performance, vibrant and well performed.

Highlight of the evening is the mid-set ‘Angels’, the song that helped the breakthrough of the band, but it’s only when seeing them live that you realise just how many good songs WT possess in their arsenal, with a closing combo of ‘See Who I Am’, ‘Stand My Ground’, ‘Covered In Roses’ and ‘Mother Earth’ is lapped up. A slightly sedate encore is a minor disappointment, with an odd cover of Lana del Rey single ‘Summertime Sadness’ sounding awkward, before staple and classic ‘Ice Queen’ finishes things off traditionally.

For an enjoyable night, with two crowd-pleasing bands, this double-bill is worth checking out if/when it rolls into your town. Delain certainly picked up even more fans by the end of the show (including yours truly), while Within Temptation served up another slick, professional slew of symphonic arena rock songs.

Within Temptation Set List:

Let Us Burn

Paradise (What About Us?)

Faster

Iron

Edge of the World

In the Middle of the Night

Our Solemn Hour

Angels

Dangerous

And We Run

Tell Me Why

See Who I Am

Stand My Ground

The Cross

Covered By Roses

Mother Earth

Encore:

What Have You Done

Whole World Is Watching (Acoustic)

Summertime Sadness (Lana Del Rey cover)

Ice Queen

Within Temptation on Facebook

Delain on Facebook

STEVE TOVEY