Nuclear Blast issues:

Directed by Patric Ullaeus and featuring guest vocals from Howard Jones (ex-KILLSWITCH ENGAGE / DEVIL YOU KNOW) plus the adrenaline-inducing antics of wingsuit flyer Joakim “Jokke” Sommer, WITHIN TEMPTATION have released the official video for the track “Dangerous”, the second single off their upcoming album, Hydra, due out in the U.S. on February 4th, 2014.

Watch the video here:

“I always loved Howard’s voice,” states WITHIN TEMPTATION vocalist Sharon den Adel. “He makes the song even heavier than it already is. That song is one of my favorite songs on the record and one of the fastest we’ve ever written. It has the most bass drums we’ve ever used, too, and a very fast riff which we doubled with synths. It’s not a typical synthesizer, though… it’s distorted like a guitar, and it’s very aggressive.”

Order the “Dangerous” single from iTunes: http://smarturl.it/wthydra
Hydra can be pre-ordered from the Nuclear Blast USA Webshop in the following formats:

• Limited Deluxe Box Set (LP-sized box, 2 CD/18-tracks + bonus tracks, digi-book with foil print cover, 100 page booklet, double gatefold black vinyl LP, instrumental version of the album, collector’s guitar pick, song book + sheet music)
• Digital Premium Album – exclusive iTunes edition (18 tracks with digi-booklet and “Paradise [What About Us?]” music video)
• Special Edition 2-CD Digi-Pak
• Jewel-case CD
• Double-vinyl LP

Pre-order bundles that include an exclusive t-shirt with album artwork designed by concept artist Romano Molenaar (X-Men, Batman) are also available.

The track listing for Hydra is:

01 – Let Us Burn
02 – Dangerous – featuring Howard Jones
03 – And We Run – featuring Xzibit
04 – Paradise (What About Us?) – featuring Tarja
05 – Edge Of The World
06 – Silver Moonlight
07 – Covered By Roses
08 – Dog Days
09 – Tell Me Why
10 – Whole World Is Watching – featuring Dave Pirner

Hydra Digi-Pak Bonus CD:

01 – Radioactive
02 – Summertime Sadness
03 – Let Her Go
04 – Dirty Dancer
05 – And We Run*
06 – Silver Moonlight*
07 – Covered By Roses*
08 – Tell Me Why*
*Demo track

ABOUT WITHIN TEMPTATION:

Masters of elegance, melodrama, and symphonic grandeur, WITHIN TEMPTATION are not just one of the most distinctive and charismatic bands to emerge from the metal scene in recent times; they are also one of European metal’s greatest success stories of the last decade.

Formed in 1996 by guitarist Robert Westerholt & vocalist Sharon den Adel and ably assisted by bassist Jeroen van Veen, the Dutch quintet set out to create music that would strike a sublime balance between the bold, evocative sweep of cinema soundtracks and the brooding, gothic splendor of the finest dark-hued rock & metal of the modern age. A well-kept secret in the Netherlands for the first few years of their existence, the band exploded into the mainstream spotlight across Europe with the release of their second album, Mother Earth, in 2000. Within a few studio albums, WITHIN TEMPTATION experienced huge commercial success in their native country as well as around the world.

With a discography that has sold an excess of three million albums, Hydra is the first studio album released by WITHIN TEMPTATION since 2011’s Billboard Top 200 album, The Unforgiving.

Visit WITHIN TEMPTATION online at http://www.WITHIN-TEMPTATION.com
Like: http://www.facebook.com/WTOFFICIAL
Follow: twitter.com/WTOFFICIAL
Watch: http://www.YouTube.com/WTOFFICIAL

Source: Bravewords.com
A video for ‘Dangerous’, the second single from WITHIN TEMPTATION‘s upcoming Hydra album will be released this Friday (December 20th). A preview of the video, featuring Howard Jones (ex-KILLSWITCH ENGAGE / DEVIL YOU KNOW), can be seen below:

The exclusive digital premium iTunes edition of Hydra (ten album tracks, eight bonus tracks with digi-booklet plus the ‘Paradise (What About Us?)’ music video) is now available for pre-order at this location.

Anyone pre-ordering Hydra will automatically receive two instant download tracks: ‘Paradise (What About Us?)’ featuring TARJA TURUNEN and ‘Dangerous’ featuring Howard Jones. (Note: The ‘Dangerous’ instant download will be available on iTunes Europe starting December 20th).

The Hydra, a mythological serpent creature from ancient Greece, couldn’t be killed. When one of its many heads was cut off, two more grew in its place…

“It’s like us – undefinable!” laughs Within Temptation guitarist and songwriter Robert Westerholt. “What’s more, Hydra is a perfect title for our new album, because like the monster itself, the record represents the many different sides of our music.”

Check out the special guests on Hydra: Finnish operatic metal diva Tarja Turunen (ex-NIGHTWISH), acclaimed singer-songwriter Dave Pirner of SOUL ASYLUM and metalcore hero Howard Jones, formerly of Killswitch Engage as well as US hip-hop icon XZIBIT.

Asked to describe Xzibit’s performance on the song ‘And We Run’, Westerholt laughs: “Xzibit is amazing. This song is about how you’ve got to live your life now. He’s rapping at full force on this song, it’s really heavy.” Sharon adds: “Xzibit brings a new element to our music that we’ve never had before! It’s a new cross-over and we love it! “As for the mighty Tarja, den Adel recalls: “The way she delivers those high melody lines left us all speechless. We had a great time, and the fans responded beyond our expectations.”

One of the album heaviest tracks, ‘Dangerous’ was recorded with the former Killswitch Engage singer Howard Jones, whose epic vocals are a perfect fit for Sharon’s. “I always loved Howard’s voice,” she says. “He makes the song even heavier than it already is. That song is one of my favorite songs on the record and one of the fastest we’ve ever written. It has the most bass drums we’ve ever used, too, and a very fast riff which we doubled with synths. It’s not a typical synthesizer, though – it’s distorted like a guitar, and it’s very aggressive.”

Hydra goes from strength to strength with ‘Whole World Is Watching’, featuring Soul Asylum’s golden-voiced singer Dave Pirner. “When we wrote ‘Whole World Is Watching’, Dave was at the very top of our list. He has such a captivating voice: it made the song exactly how it needed to be.”

The band’s sixth studio album, Hydra, will be released on January 31st in Europe, and February 4th in North America.

Available initially as a digital premium album and a luxury box set, Hydra features stunning, neoclassical artwork by concept artist Romano Molenaar (X-men, Batman) who worked with Within Temptation on the artwork of the band’s previous album and comic, the Top 5 ‘The Unforgiving’ from 2011.

The digital premium album, complete with digi-booklet, will be available on iTunes and includes 18 audio tracks and a music video. Fans will love the bonus ‘Evolution Versions’ of four new songs, which contain audio commentary from den Adel and Westerholt and give the listener unique access into the development of the songs, their lyrical inspiration and the sound of the initial demos and vocals. This innovative approach gives these versions unprecedented value for the Within Temptation disciple.

If you think that’s innovative, take a look at the amazing, luxury box set version of Hydra. This contains a CD-sized, 18-track Media book, including a 100-page booklet with unique photos and an embossed cover, and a double gatefold black vinyl version of the album with all 18 tracks above. As if that isn’t enough, there’s also an instrumental version of the whole of ‘Hydra’, as requested by fans, guitar picks and a songbook with all the sheet music from the album. Finally, all these elements come securely packaged in a beautifully-designed, LP-sized box.

Hydra will also be available as a Special Edition double CD with the Media book, featuring 10 tracks on disc one and eight bonus tracks on disc two. There will be a double vinyl LP and a jewel-case CD version to complete the product range.

Hydra album configurations (tracklisting by format):

iTunes (premium version)

‘Let Us Burn’
‘Dangerous’ featuring Howard Jones
‘And We Run’ featuring Xzibit
‘Paradise (What About Us?)’ featuring Tarja
‘Edge Of The World’
‘Silver Moonlight’
‘Covered By Roses’
‘Dog Days’
‘Tell Me Why’
‘Whole World Is Watching’ featuring Dave Pirner
‘Radioactive’ (originally performed by Imagine Dragons)
‘Summertime Sadness’ (originally performed by Lana del Ray)
‘Let Her Go’ (originally performed by Passenger)
‘Dirty Dancer’ (originally performed by Enrique Iglesias)
‘And We Run’ – evolution track
‘Silver Moonlight’ – evolution track
‘Covered By Roses’ – evolution track
‘Tell Me Why’ – evolution track
‘Paradise (What About Us?)’ featuring Tarja – Music Video (exclusive to iTunes premium version)

Formats:
2 CD Mediabook (premium version) (100 page booklet)
CD Jewel Case (standard version)
Digital Album (standard version)
Vinyl Gatefold

Deluxe Boxset Content:
2CD Mediabook (premium version)
Do Vinyl Gatefold
Hydra Songbook
Hydra Instrumental CD
Within Temptation Guitar Pick
Packaged in LP size Deluxe Boxset