WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE
Half rock and metal festival. Half… classic car show? Riverside Open Air in Aarburg, Switzerland is certainly one of the European festival circuit’s more unique propositions. And this year, amid a bizarre congregation of 10,000 metal fans and 50s pin-up girls draped across vintage car bonnets, history was made. For the first time ever, Within Temptation and Evanescence performed on the same stage, co-headlining the final night of the weekend, a union that sent the internet barmy when it was announced back in June.
Today, the stars are aligning again. It’s four days after their historic performance, and Metal Hammer is catching up with Within Temptation’s Sharon den Adel and Evanescence frontwoman Amy Lee. Amy joins us on the phone from her hotel in Brno, Czech Republic, where the band are playing tonight. Sharon is on the other line from her home in the Netherlands where she’s spending a few weeks before Within Temptation hit the road again. Both are in the midst of European tours and in high spirits. They greet each other warmly, pleased to hear each other’s voices and, before long, we can barely get a word in edgeways.
Both bands formed in the late 90s but got their breaks in the early 00s. During a hyper-masculine time in rock and when the mainstream was dominated by overly sexualised pop stars, Sharon and Amy inspired a whole generation of metal fans by redefining the meaning of the female artist. In 2003, just as nu metal’s dick-swinging reign was ending, Evanescence smashed into the UK and US mainstream with nu-goth anthem . Their debut album, , went on to sell 17 million copies and bagged them two Grammys (for Best New Artist and Best Hard Rock Performance). Across the pond in mainland Europe, Within Temptation’s breakthrough wasn’t quite as dramatic, but they became real contenders with 2004’s , which went Top saw them headline both Bloodstock Open Air and the legendary Wembley Arena in the UK.
