The Heart of Everything
| The Heart of Everything | ||||
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Cover photography by Erwin Olaf
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| Studio album by Within Temptation | ||||
| Released | 9 March 2007 (see details) | |||
| Recorded | May - November 2006 | |||
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 57:06 | |||
| Label |
GUN (Europe) Roadrunner (rest of the world) |
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| Producer | Daniel Gibson, Stefan Helleblad | |||
| Within Temptation chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Heart of Everything | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| About.com |   |
| AllMusic |  |
| Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles | |
| Metal Hammer (Ger) | 6/7 |
| Metal Storm | |
| Planet Internet | (favorable) |
| PopMatters | |
| Rock Hard | |
The Heart of Everything is the fourth studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation, released by GUN Records on 12 March 2007 in Europe. It was released in North America on 18 June 2007 by Roadrunner Records.
Composing for the album started at the end of 2005, and recording lasted for half 2006. About their inspiration, the band cited books as well as important moments of their personal lives, mainly the act of making choices. About certain songs, like Our Solemn Hour, lead vocalist Sharon den Adel wrote about how "people get sacrificed also for war and we don't learn from that." About their second single, "Frozen", den Adel said that they "wrote a song about child abuse", so they released the song as a single and gave all the profits to the Child Helpline International. In den Adel's words: "We chose this organization because they are represented in 160 countries and it is very easy to get in contact with them. You can send them an e-mail or call. They are there not only to help, but also to just listen, and you can decide how much help you want."
As the album focuses on some of the difficult choices people make throughout their lives, the band decided to reflect this theme by depicting Lady Justice on the cover, a figure known to symbolize the weighing of moral decisions. The artwork was done by Dutch artist Erwin Olaf.
The full track listing was revealed on 10 January 2007 and the album was released on 9 March 2007 in the Netherlands, and on 24 July in the United States. This was their first album released in North America, due to the upgrading recognition they were earning throughout Europe.Roadrunner Records decided to put on the American edition of the album the song "Stand My Ground", taken from their former albumThe Silent Force, as a means to interest people on the band's earlier albums that were later released. Roadrunner Records also released a limited edition EP called The Howling, which was available only at Hot Topic stores, containing the title track plus popular tracks from The Silent Force. Album opener "The Howling" and "Sounds of Freedom" were recorded as promotional material for the video game The Chronicles of Spellborn.
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