Interview by Adrian Hextall
Within Temptation have never been a band to shy away from the epic. But their latest venture isn’t a fantastical concept album; it’s a stark, vital documentary capturing the brutal reality of life in war-torn Ukraine. Frontwoman Sharon den Adel talks candidly about the band’s journey to the heart of the conflict, the power of music in the face of atrocity, and why some things are far bigger than rock and roll.
The raw power of a Within Temptation show is undeniable. Sharon den Adel, a whirlwind of symphonic metal majesty, commands arenas worldwide. But lately, that stage has become a platform for something even more urgent. The Ukrainian flag has become a fixture, QR codes for aid flicker on giant screens, and the band’s solidarity with the besieged nation is unwavering. Now, they’ve taken their commitment a step further with a new, self-produced documentary, a harrowing look at their experiences in Ukraine and the lives intertwined with the conflict.
“I’ve watched the documentary a couple of times again today, actually, and it really does hit home, doesn’t it?” I mention to Sharon over a Zoom call. For den Adel, it’s a truth she’s lived. The journey itself was an odyssey into the unknown. “The journey itself wasn’t that difficult, to be honest, just long,” she begins, before detailing the reality: “No direct flights to Kyiv, of course. So what we have to do is go from Amsterdam to Poland and then take a train very close to the border… then get another train, a night train, to Kyiv. It’s a long journey.”
The strangeness wasn’t lost on her. “It’s a bit strange going, knowingly and willingly to a place where, you know, that it’s a war zone,” den Adel admits. “Kyiv is under attack a lot of times, and the attacks have only gone up.” She describes a palpable shift in the city’s safety. “The first time I was like, I felt relatively safe. But the second time when I went, I was like, okay, this is a different ball game.” A chilling catalyst for this realization was the bombing of a children’s hospital. “Everybody realised that Kyiv was not that safe anymore because the Russians had found a way to attack… different places that you don’t want to have bombed.”
This visceral experience fuels her advocacy for initiatives like the drone defense program. “It is protecting everyone,” she explains. “The soldiers, but also the cities. Those drones can do so much damage, so much more than we can realise at the moment, because we have never had a war like this before. It’s such a new technology.”
The band’s commitment has been visible on their tours, with powerful on-stage visuals and fundraising efforts. “We did raise a lot of money,” den Adel says proudly, crediting their fans. Yet, the reception isn’t universally supportive. “You also play in countries where they’re not supportive… And you can see that back also in the audiences that people are more, you know, a little bit not responding in, like, other countries like the UK or the Netherlands.” She attributes this to “a lot of misinformation, unfortunately,” a modern plague that extends far beyond this conflict. “You only have, like, one hour and a half when you’re playing to convince them otherwise… or maybe start them to doubt what they get as news.”
The shows and the QR codes take you here: The main Dronefall page set up by Alex Yarmak who appeared with the band on stage at the Wembley show last year:
https://dronefall.webflow.io/main-eng
The conversation touches on the pervasive nature of misinformation, referencing figures like Donald Trump. “When Trump says something, he can just, like, three weeks later say, ‘Did I say that? I never said that.’ And then although there’s evidence, you know, it doesn’t matter anymore, apparently. And people will still buy it. It’s unbelievable.” While den Adel doesn’t credit Trump’s recent rhetoric on Ukraine with any positive intent, she concedes an ironic upside: “It’s forced a lot of the other NATO allies to actually do more… It was never his purpose, but I think that was eventually a good reaction.”
A poignant moment in the documentary, and a recurring theme, is the question of whether Within Temptation should be a “political” band. The film features Ukrainian band Blind8, with whom Within Temptation collaborated. When asked this, one of Blind8’s members cuts through the noise: “He just says it like it is,” den Adel recalls. “Like, it’s about love, death, and serious. That’s all world war brings. And that is true, of course. I think it’s more powerful coming from them… It’s not about politics, people are dying and that’s way more than politics, that’s just life, isn’t it?”
This conviction has seen den Adel brandishing the Ukrainian flag at festivals, even in territories like Czechia, close to the border, where the sentiment could be divided. “Very positive, I thought,” she says of the Czech reception. Hungary, however, was different. “We got a lot of backlash, actually… especially on the internet, not on the live show.” She voices a common modern weariness: “I’m also always doubting if that’s really Hungarian people or it’s trolls, because you never know nowadays.”
The documentary’s imagery is haunting. One particularly stark scene shows an endless field of small Ukrainian flags planted in Independence Square. “They put all the flags of all the soldiers who died in this war, and it just builds up… It goes on and on,” den Adel describes. “I went back later on to go there and visit myself… it made so much impact and we wanted to have that impact also like, this is costing people’s lives and every flag stands for a person’s life.”
Performing at the Atlas Festival in Kyiv was a surreal experience. “Before I went on stage, it was like, you know, I really hope nothing’s going to happen when we’re on stage,” she confesses, thoughts of emergency exits and safety plans swirling. “But, you know, the moment you step on the stage, you forget about that. You see the faces. And, you know, you go into the music and forget everything. And like them watching, they forgot also everything.” It was a bubble of normalcy, a fleeting escape in a city under siege, where life attempts to persist amidst air raid alerts pinging on every phone, detailing the type of attack and how much time one has to find shelter. “It seems like normal life, but at any moment, it can be a total different situation. And that’s a bit schizophrenic. So you always have this black cloud with you everywhere.”
The historical context isn’t lost on den Adel, particularly Ukraine giving up its nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees from nations including the US and UK. “We promised them… ‘you’ll be safe if you take away your nuclear weapons.’ And that it’s being attacked by the one they never thought that would attack them, which is Russia… it’s so ironic. And then America backing out on this, you know, especially America. That is just unbelievable… Where’s the pride in it, you know? Like, as a country, you have a pride, I think, too, that you stand for something, and then to see that go away, it was like… I’m still processing that.”
The heart of the documentary, and perhaps the most personal aspect for den Adel, is the story of Blind8. After sifting through 500 artists, Within Temptation found their perfect tour support. Then, the crushing news: “Roman and Ihor get drafted into the military. The word ‘drafted’ is something we shouldn’t need anymore, really.” Against the odds, the band members were granted leave. “We were actually aiming for them to come the whole tour with us. But they didn’t get permission until a week after we already started the tour.” They finally joined in Budapest. “That was such a celebration. So happy to have them on board.” For den Adel, it was about fulfilling a dream for these young musicians before an unimaginable reality. “Having that experience before they really go to war, that was something that I was really happy that became true for them.”
The dream was short-lived. “After that, they immediately had to go also that night, after the last show in Amsterdam… back to Ukraine to immediately back again for the draft again and finish their training. And we just learned that they are going to be sent to the front any day now.”
The connection remains strong. “We have, like, once a week or once every two weeks, we have contact, especially with Victor [guitarist], because he speaks English the best.” It’s more than a professional courtesy. “It’s like we adopted a band,” she laughs softly. “I’m really, really proud of having that connection still with them.”
The documentary, their first, has faced its own battles. “We had a lot of [views] immediately,” den Adel notes, “but there’s a lot of Russians also trying to interfere, you know, like making notifications of, ‘oh, you know, like, we see harmful things.’ And now it’s up for a review with YouTube.” Viewership plummeted from 100,000 a day to 10,000. “That’s a bit of a pity they can make problems for us in that way.”
Despite the obstacles, the message remains paramount. “It’s not political, it’s helping prevent deaths and making people aware of why the guys in Ukraine do need the support,” the interviewer affirms. Sharon den Adel agrees wholeheartedly. As she prepares for future shows, including a date at Donington for Download, the mission continues. The music will be loud, the spectacle grand, but beneath it all will be an unshakeable conviction, a fire kept burning for those in the shadow of war. And Within Temptation will ensure their voices, and the voices of those they champion, are heard.
The documentary can be viewed below:
Our review of the Wembley show when Alex joined the band on stage is here:
Tickets for Download can be purchased here: https://downloadfestival.co.uk/tickets/
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