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At my first overseas festival, Dynamo '99, I met/interviewed Sharon den Adel and guitarist/co-founder/three-time baby daddy Robert Westerholt inside the DSFA (their label at the time) trailer, having written glowing praise about their Enter debut. All these years later, as their current label is getting ready to reissue that long deleted (and hard to find) CD, backed with follow-up EP, The Dance, the Dutch outfit once again stopped by Philadelphia's Electric Factory, ably supported by Elize Ryd and Amaranthe. As the old Virginia Slims cigarette ads used to taut, "You've come a long way baby," as female fronted rock/metal is hotter than ever, thanks in large part to pioneers like Adel.

While Amaranthe employ a trio of vocalists: two male (one clean, one gruff) and the spunky Ryd (who toured as a back-up singer for Kamelot), it's the later that is their calling card. A poppy danceable mix, the ABBA backbeat is never far away. While none of these youngsters were born during that two men-two women juggernaut was in its heyday, it's an inescapable element in most Swedish bands, be it HammerFall, Pain or Sabaton. Suffering the curse of opening acts everywhere, the stage was mostly lit in deep reds and the occasional green. By "Hunger", Ryd had let her ponytail down and "Invincible" saw her unbuttoning he leather vest (by show's end, she was sleeveless) to the thrill of all the males in attendance. jumping around the stage, it was gutsy to play the still unreleased "Trinity", but in the Internet age, there's a good chance most fans had already downloaded/heard it anyhow. It was not the only newbie aired, as they opened with "Digital World" and offered "Drop Dead Cynical" late in the evening. Not really my thing though.

Timing is everything and the current Within Temptation setlist reads like an amalgam of their Let Us Burn DVD (scheduled to be released next month), which chronicles the Elements and Hydra tours (one full concert each). Somewhat surprising that four tracks were lifted from the somewhat controversial, multimedia The Unforgiving, including the two singles. That's just as many as the current Hydra disc and only one less than Mother Earth, The Silent Force and The Heart Of Everything combined! Needless to say, as yet there's nothing from Enter in the running order. Maybe next time?

This wasn't the overweight, bearded crowd of someone like Zakk Wylde or Avenged Sevenfold, but rather a lot of couples, guys headbanging to impress their dates with how much they were "into" a female fronted band. In fringed leather skirt and knee high socks den Adel bounded onstage like a teenager, apart from the pleather top apparently reinforced with black duct tape in areas augmented by the birth of her three kids. Five rectangular panels, behind the plexi-glass encased drummer, show still and moving images, like roaring flames during (what else) "Let Us Burn". A pair of step-up risers hug the edge of the stage, lifting the diminutive singer (slightly) into view for more of the audience.

The aggressive "In The Middle Of The Night" sees the pre-recorded flames reappear, as Sharon jumps, stomps and thrusts her fist skyward. "Edge Of The World", and later, "The Cross" are lit in deep indigo. The Blue Man Group isn't even this shade. Nuns and liturgical icons flash onscreen during the later, "Summertime Sadness" has the crowd moving, but never in a mosh pit/out of control manner. Prior to "Stand My Ground", den Adel announced, "2004 we wrote a song. Things haven't changed much. We're all people. We all come from different backgrounds."

"Sinéad" is performed on acoustic guitar and prior to closing the proper set, with  symphonic laced "Mother Earth", Sharon gets the crowd to sing along, "whoa whoa". During the song, she coos, old school (or as close we get) and a few headbangs. "Ice Queen", another vintage gem, is reserved once more for the encore, but not last, sandwiched between "Covered By Roses" (where the singer warned, "I don't know what your dream is, but don't wait for it. Time goes fast, so go for your dream") and the solemn, keyboard begun "Stairway To The Skies" finale, where she took time to introduce each of the band members. During "Ice Queen" a luminous blue light makes den Adel's legs take on a similarly eerie luster. Strange. After the final notes and thank-yous, they posed for a photo (crowd as a backdrop), which can be seen on their Facebook page (which also offers updates on the tour).

Dank je wel!