Dutch symphonic metal titans Within Temptation are coming to Australia for the first time, and Sharon den Adel is already impressed with some of the local talent.
Within Temptation’s vocalist praised Polaris in a new interview with Rolling Stone AU/NZ, calling them “pretty good.”
“I haven’t seen them live, but I checked them out recently, and I really like what they’re doing,” she said.
She even hinted that a collaboration with an Aussie act could be in her band’s future.
“We don’t usually plan collaborations in advance. It’s more like, we write a song and realise it needs something extra. Then we go searching for the right voice. So, who knows? Maybe we’ll find someone in Australia,” she said.
Despite being at the forefront of global metal for almost three decades, Within Temptation are only just making their Australian debut thanks to Knotfest Australia. They’re part of the upcoming festival’s lineup alongside Slipknot, A Day to Remember, and many more. (Luckily for den Adel, Polaris will be there too.)
“It’s way overdue. I know. That’s what everybody says,” den Adel told Rolling Stone AU/NZ. “We’ve always wanted to come, but sometimes it’s difficult to combine things, or we’ve been in the middle of a tour and just too exhausted to take on the extra travel. But this time we thought, why not?”
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Elsewhere in the interview, den Adel reflected on being a prominent female vocalist in a genre traditionally dominated by men.
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“I never really realised it at first. But when we toured with Evanescence, Amy [Lee] said something that really struck me. She said, ‘In Europe, you still embrace your feminine side in metal. A lot of women feel they have to fit in with the guys.’ That was a huge compliment,” she said.
“I’ve never tried to be ‘one of the guys.’ I mean, I am one of the guys in terms of our band dynamic, but I’ve always been comfortable being myself. I never felt pressure to dress or act a certain way – I wore the weirdest dresses when we started out! I liked seeing the shock on people’s faces,” she added.
Find out more information about Knotfest Australia here.
