First and foremost, Sharon. I 爱情 Sharon so much. She just seems like such a lovely person and she's so adorable. And her stage presence is amazing and very energetic. She seems just as excited to be on the stage as we are to be in the crowd. I also really admire the fact that she 说 she'd never go nude to break into the American market. Sharon is just the best.
In relation to energetic performances; they are awesome live. I haven't gotten a chance to see them live myself (I've got tickets to a fall show) but I've seen some YouTube footage. Sharon sings just as amazingly live as she does on the CD's. The guitarists are always amazing. And again Sharon's stage energy is stellar; she's always moving around (making sure each side can see her) 或者 jumping up and down 或者 doing that crazy-cool wrist twirl she does. And she usually invites people to sing along.
Another thing I really 爱情 about Within Temptation is the fact that they are willing to experiment, and under the same band name. When bands change up their style a lot they tend to create a 秒 或者 sub group. WT went from their orchestral/ballad style to a heavier rock style, hell, they even incorporated rap into one song. And they were 《勇敢传说》 enough to do it under the same name.
And I honestly 爱情 every song they make. There's not one that I hate. Even with the style change. I 爱情 both styles in their own way for different reasons. I 爱情 the Mother Earth era so much because of how enchanting and beautiful it was. But then I really 爱情 the newer stuff because it's heaver and really fun to listen to.
Overall, in terms of the songs, I just 爱情 the lyrics so much. They are meaningful and not trashy. They tell a story, I like being able to visualize the song in my head. Among my 最喜爱的 lyrics are "Because my child, this not our farewell this is not our farewell." "Ancient spirits of the forest made him king of elves and trees." and "The choirs have awoken left our words unspoken remember 你 as long as I can." And that doesn't even put a scratch on the amount of wonderful lyrics the band has. I could sit for hours just 阅读 the lyrics. Heck, I've even made a series of fanfictions based on the lyrics.
With the lyrics brings in another topic; Within Temptation doesn't need 'shock value' lyrics to get an audience. Don't get me wrong, I do 爱情 myself an explicit song (in lyric and/or theme) 或者 two but I have a really high degree of respect for bands who don't use it. In like 2007 when I was only maybe 11 或者 12 years old I really appreciated having a band that I sing along to in front of my parents and that I could play in school without getting a hard time for it. Sharon, Robert, and the others don't need a boat-load of cussing to tell a story. In 《冰雪奇缘》 and Jane Doe, they didn't need a mess of f-bombs to portray anger. And I think that's super awesome.
Which leads me to the 音乐 videos. As seen above, pop culture today is huge on shock value and 表演 trashy to get views. *CoughNickiMinaj&RobinThickeCough*. Within Temptation doesn't need that crap. Their 视频 are all so beautiful. They're artistic and just as magical as the lyrics. Even the low-budget 视频 from their first few years like Ice 皇后乐队 were visually stunning and cool to watch. I really 爱情 the Mother Earth 音乐 video and the one for The Howling was badarse. Let's not forget the latest (as of June 9th 2014) video--And We Run. That one was just so well put together, from the scenery to the costuming.
Speaking of costuming, that's another really amazing aspect of Within Temptation. New 或者 old, Sharon always has these amazing outfits. I loved the dress she wore on the cover 或者 the Mother Earth album and the one she wore whilst 唱歌 Jillian at the Black Symphony concert. And I totally won't leave out all her newer kick-butt leather outfits. ;) And if I've got my facts right, Sharon designed them all herself.
And of course I 爱情 the members themselves. All of them, band-mates and the tech-crew. They are so cute and funny. If 你 haven't seen the Hydra Tour Diary I would totally recommend it. Sharon in a wig store was a fun watch. She also accidentally spoke in German at a French concert, super cute, super funny. Don't get me started on Robert and his thing for talking about butts. :3 And then there was that time when they celebrated their tech-man's birthday; they made him a plate of birthday hamburgers and sang him happy birthday. Oh, and I can't not mentioned that the men had tried on Sharon's dresses. The whole group is a lot of fun.
Last but not least I 爱情 how they interact with their fans. They all seem to just appreciate their 粉丝 so much. There are singers like Justin Bieber--who spit on their 粉丝 and 显示 up hours late to their concerts--and there are bands/singers like Within Temptation who try to talk to 粉丝 outside the 音乐会 and Sharon who will (if she notices someone in the crowd who is really into it) invite 粉丝 on stage and let them sing with her. I remember watching a video in which Sharon says something like "if I see someone in the crowd 唱歌 along and having fun I try to hand them the mic and say 'this is your time to shine'." The band even had a 脸谱 contest in which some 粉丝 were able to get featured on the cover of Unforgiving. And the Hydra tour contest in which the 粉丝 can send in clips of them talking about their expirance at the Hydra tours. And of course at the end of the Tour Diary Sharon is always thanking her 粉丝 for attending and/or saying 'if 你 couldn't be here this time we hope to see 你 下一个 time.' Anytime as singer interacts with their 粉丝 is a good thing.
总体, 整体 I think it's 安全 to say I just 爱情 everything about these guys.
