Metal Express Radio's Mick Burgess recently spoke with WITHIN TEMPTATION guitarist Ruud Jolie ahead of their show in Newcastle, UK about the making of the new Hydra album, working with rapper XZIBIT, and his love of English tea. Check out the interview below:

Within Temptation

While the band is on the road, singer Sharon den Adel is keeping a video diary of the tour that shows you what happens during and in between shows, and what it's like for the band to bring Hydra to the stage and see people respond to the new songs for the first time.

The seventh episode of the diary evolves around a very special show at Wembley. Sharon tells you about what playing at this magnificent venue meant to her, guitarist Robert Westerholt stops by, you get to see images of the soundcheck and the band meets fans before the show:

In the sixth episode, hear Sharon's backing vocal crew warm up, see Sharon try some new hair dos and we discuss the most important meal of the day: breakfast!

The fifth episode features some exclusive inside the tour bus footage. See the preparation of the show and meet the "Friendly Rockstar".

The fourth episode features some of Within Temptation's fans telling about the tour.

In the third episode of the diary you get a real look into the production behind the scenes. You get to see part of the crew build up in Prague and Budapest and Robert pays a visit to see dragons from Prague. Meanwhile, Sharon goes nuts over a clothing sale and winds down in a beautiful Hungarian spa. A birthday, a close call on stage, a new hairstyle, and a special request for you from Sharon.

In the second episode the band asks a group of friends to join them on stage to sing 'Whole World Is Watching' in Russian, Sharon gets competitive playing tennis and the band shows you how to have fun while waiting at the airport.

In the first episode, Sharon tells you about the try out show in Eindhoven before the start of the tour, after which the band got on the road for real: You get to see the band travel to Finland, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic and Russia where the band was welcomed by a group of fans. In this video, Sharon comes up with a new plan for hair and you get a peek at life on the road.

Within Temptation have announced 12 dates for the North American leg of their Hydra World Tour, which launched in Finland in February. Opening all shows will be Swedish/Danish power/ melodic death metallers AMARANTHE.

Sharon den Adel shares the following about the upcoming trek: “It's a great feeling that after so many years we are back with a coast-to-coast tour. The reception of our latest album Hydra has been overwhelming and we cannot wait to unleash the dragon overseas. Be sure that this time we'll bring our biggest and best North American live show so far.”

Tickets for the tour dates are on sale now, with an added bonus, according to den Adel: “To reward our most loyal fans, we're designing a specially made art poster for those who buy their ticket before April 30th. It is strictly limited, will be signed by the band, and will not be offered for sale. So make sure you get your tickets before April 30th!”

Fans can pick up their lithograph at the merchandise table by showing the date of purchase on their concert ticket.

Tour dates:

September

25 - The Regency Ballroom - San Francisco, CA
26 - Club Nokia - Los Angeles, CA
28 - Gothic Theater - Denver, CO
30 - First Avenue - Minneapolis, MN

October

1 - Vic Theatre - Chicago, IL
2 - Royal Oak Music Theatre - Royal Oak, MI
3 - The Sound Academy - Toronto, ON
5 - Metropolis - Montreal, QC
7 - Ram’s Head Live - Baltimore, MD
9 - Electric Factory - Philadelphia, PA
10 - Terminal 5 - New York, NY
11 - The Palladium - Worcester, MA