Within Temptation | Credit: Official Facebook

Within Temptation: “Heavy Music Is My Thing, But I Will Always Love Olivia Newton John”

Dutch pioneers of dark symphonic metal and rock Within Temptation have spent just shy of three decades carving out international esteem, now in command of eight studio albums, a notoriously captivating live show, and a reputation for their boundless pursuit beyond any genre confines or expectations.

But while the band have sold millions of albums worldwide and tasted repeated chart success, most recently releasing the palpitating 2023 full length Bleed Out that hit #2 in the Netherlands, Within Temptation still had one thing on their career bucket list yet to come to fruition after all this time: performing in Australia. But in 2025 the rock gods have righted this absence, with the band now primed to perform down under as part of Knotfest Australia in 2025, alongside two headline sideshows for Brisbane and Melbourne.

Within Temptation – ‘A Fool’s Parade’ Ft. Alex Yarmak

Offering pure transcendence, Within Temptation radiate via their alchemy of beautiful gloom, balanced classical and cinematic elements, thunderous riffs, and timely lyricism delivered by powerhouse vocalist Sharon den Adel. And ahead of the band’s upcoming debut Australian performances, Music Feeds speaks to den Adel about Aussie plans and her pathway that led to heavy stardom.


Music Feeds: Within Temptation are about to perform in Australia for the first time ever as part of Knotfest, how does it feel to finally be touring down under after all this time?

Sharon den Adel: It’s something we’ve definitely wanted to do for many years, but somehow it never worked out with promoters and things like that. But finally this year we said: you know what? Let’s just do it! We’ve wanted to do it for a really long time, and we are so looking forward to it. I’ve actually previously been to Australia as a child, I lived in Indonesia when I was younger, my parents worked as expats, and we travelled to Australia at that time for a month or so. There was a Volkswagen van that we were all in, and we travelled across the whole of Australia. But it’s been a long time!

MF: Not officially your first personal visit to Australia this year then, but since it’s been a while, what would you like to tick off your Aussie bucket list this year?

Sharon: I am an animal lover, it was many years ago and I was really young when I first went to Australia. But I would like to see for the second time in my life the kangaroos and koalas hopefully! If the animals are too dangerous, maybe I can see some with binoculars? But I love the fact that you have such different animals and nature over there and I can’t wait to see some of it again – but this time as a grown up! 

MF: You’re a total bad ass, you can absolutely handle any animal we’ve got here. The Within Temptation trajectory has taken you from the Dutch underground to international fame. When it comes to creating, do you just start writing and see what transpires, or do you go in with a firm idea about what you want the song to be?

Sharon: Most of the time, to be honest, when I start writing I don’t know where it comes from. I was talking about this just before we went into the session, a lot of times before I start writing with someone,  we start talking about life in general and also the things we’ve seen on the news lately; especially the last few years because it’s been a crazy time with all the changes from a pandemic through to what happened to the Ukraine, and also what’s happening in the Middle East. Everywhere in the world, things have been upside down; except for Australia it seems? But it’s been a crazy few years, so a lot of inspiration came from that and from just talking about it. And I must say that Robert [Westerholt], my husband, will always have a certain song in his head, he’s like: I want to write this kind of song because I think it’s cool, and I want to try and see if I can make that kind of song. And because he has a certain strategy in the way that the structure should be, he finds the challenge in that to try something new. For me, it’s just whatever is just in my heart and mind. It’s very fluid around whatever inspires me in the moment.

MF: That creative flow state is always a fascinating place. Does that carry over into your performances as well?

Sharon: Yeah, exactly. For our performances, you are getting into a mood when you go on stage and it all starts before you get on stage. I actually always isolate myself from the band a bit in those moments, I can’t handle too many people around me at that moment because I’m always a bit nervous, especially if it’s the first show of a tour. But then when I get into the mood, I can let everything come naturally, similar to when I was writing it, more or less. I can manage to get back those first kind of emotions I had while writing it. And I don’t want to think too much, I just want to feel, and that’s what hopefully comes across.

MF: That nervous energy isn’t necessarily a bad thing either is it, it shows how much you care about what you’re doing – and then you go on stage and take on this whole new form.

Sharon: Yes, for me it’s so nice to have those different moments. I was actually saying in an interview last week, I was on stage once and there were I think 50 people in the crowd. And honestly, I found that more exciting…or not exciting, maybe more confronting having 50 people instead of thousands of people there. When it’s a crowd of thousands of people, it almost feels like they merge, and it’s almost like they become one face. But when I can see individual people in front of me, face for face, I can see their expressions and everything at all times. I’m not a natural speaker, although I have grown to learn how to do that. When my husband Robert was still in the band playing guitar, he took on most of the talking to the audience on stage, and I could just be a little bit in the background and let him do his thing. I could disappear into the background and just be myself: I just sing, I just do my thing. Then when he left the band, I was like: okay, now I have to do that instead! And to be honest, I think I should have been doing that in the first place because I’m the lead singer. But I had to learn to do that, and actually think about what I’m going to say to the audience because it’s in those moments that you’re not prepared for; that’s when you freeze up. I do want to do everything naturally, but sometimes it’s just a bit more difficult, especially in those moments.

MF: Within Temptation’s live production is always a feast for the senses, as is your own wardrobe and makeup, there’s been some behind the scenes footage of that side of things recently online. What can Knotfest punters expect from the visual side of things given you have to factor in international travel to the other side of the globe for these shows?

Sharon: My friend and makeup artist Borka [Florentinus] will be coming with me to Australia, and we’ll be bringing as much as we can for these shows, but unfortunately we can’t bring everything because we have so much stuff usually. That means it is going to be a different kind of Within Temptation show, but we’re still going to bring the music and bring as much atmosphere as we can. I’m really looking forward to it because of that too, and like we touched on earlier – it is long overdue! 

MF: In 2023 the band released Bleed Out, giving you eight studio albums to play with. What is the setlist decision-making process like these days, and have you cemented the setlist for the festival and headline sideshows yet?

Sharon: I think it’s going to be a continuation of the tour that we have been on recently, especially because we have a new keyboard player as well. Every tour that we’ve done always has had a bit of the old and the new, songs from the new album of course too recently. And that’s what we’re going to do in Australia as well. I hope that people know the latest album, but there will definitely be some old gems as well!

MF: Lastly, you’re a self-taught singer, you started singing as a teenager in the Netherlands and the rest was history. How did you find your way into the heavier genres?

Sharon: I grew up with parents who loved music from left to right, they were into Black Sabbath, but they also liked Queen, and so many different bands and genres. They were into all kinds of music, and I grew up with that so I already had a lot of background with different kinds of music that I knew because of that. But then when I got into my first band, I was surrounded by mostly boys and they got me into the Iron Maidens of this world, so I got a bit of that as well into my listening repertoire. But my first love was actually grunge music, so Nirvana, you name them, Pearl Jam and those kinds of bands. When I was 17, that’s what got me into the heavier music. And then I just discovered more and more. Of course, I loved Metallica and those kinds of bands, so from that point it gradually got me into the heavier stuff and that was really nice. And you start experimenting, of course! Actually, when I started making music, this is totally not very metal to say, but it’s the truth, and I still love her voice. And unfortunately she died back in 2022, but Olivia Newton-John, when I was a small girl she was my big hero. I was like: oh my god, she sounds so beautiful and she looks so beautiful! And that made me actually start singing. I still admire her, and every time I hear her music or hear her voice, it still does a lot to me. That was actually what got me into music and I started exploring myself as a signer. I was singing with a microphone and a recording tape in front of the mirror, of course like every girl does when they start singing. As I’ve grown older, I’ve of course discovered more bands and different styles. I love Janis Joplin, but also Mariah Carey, she is the Steve Vai among vocalists. I tasted so many different styles that I liked and tried out, and I finally did discover that heavy music is my thing, but I will always love Olivia Newton John.

Knotfest 2025 Dates And Venues

  • Friday, 28th February 2025 – Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, VIC
  • Sunday, 2nd March 2025 – Brisbane Showground, Brisbane, QLD
  • Saturday, 8th March 2025 – Centennial Park, Sydney, NSW

General tickets on sale now from Knotfest.com/Australia

Within Temptation Knotfest 2025 Sideshows

General tickets on sale now via destroyalllines.com

  • Monday, 3rd March – Princess Theatre, Brisbane, QLD
  • Thursday, 6th March – Max Watts, Melbourne, VIC

Further Reading

Knotfest Australia 2025 Lineup: Slipknot, A Day To Remember, BABYMETAL + MORE

Knotfest 2025 Sideshows: A Day To Remember, Babymetal + MORE

Metallica Announce 2025 Australian Stadium Tour

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