Within Temptation - The Purge - Single [Review]

Several months after releasing "Entertain You" (which I reviewed here), Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation returns with "The Purge," presumably the second single from their upcoming eighth studio album which will likely see a 2021 release. The band promised via their various social media platforms that "The Purge" would be a return to roots for them, much more like their early material than recent records have been. Their exact words, in fact, were that the song has "that old school Within Temptation vibe," and I had somewhat mixed feelings about that when I saw that because even though I have seen a lot of Within Temptation fans complain about the band evolving its sound over the years, I have personally enjoyed most of the material that they have released in recent years, and the seventh studio album Resist (which I reviewed here) is, in my opinion, phenomenal. I am not disappointed at all, however, because "The Purge" doesn't sound (at least not to me) all that much like the band's old material. While definitely not true of "Entertain You," "The Purge" sounds to me like it could easily fit on Resist, featuring much of the same electronic and industrial production heard on a great deal of Resist. It has somewhat of a futuristic approach to it (even the single cover has a futuristic image as does the Resist album cover), although it also does kind of remind me a bit of "Final Destination" from the band's 2007 album The Heart of Everything. I personally consider "Entertain You" to be a large departure from Within Temptation's usual sound, which makes "The Purge" seem like somewhat of a return to form, so that could very well be what the band meant. The song is pretty fast-paced and heavy, with, as previously mentioned, a lot of electronic influence, and I really appreciate its relatively upbeat nature. It lyrically seems to be making a point that Björk similarly makes in the song "Notget" from her 2015 album Vulnicura: "Don't remove my pain; it is my chance to heal." Within Temptation frontwoman Sharon den Adel powerfully belts out statements such as "I've got to bleed it out" and "Let me feel it." I strongly believe the song to be about the necessity of pain; without it, we wouldn't grow. I am really looking forward to Within Temptation's aforementioned eighth studio album, and if these two songs are any indication, then it's going to be a relatively eclectic album given that they are pretty different from each other. In the meantime, both "Entertain You" and "The Purge" are featured on an EP titled The Purge, featuring both songs as well as an instrumental of each.