Ukrainian band BLIND8 has released a new song, “Labyrinth”, featuring Sharon Den Adel of Dutch symphonic metallers WITHIN TEMPTATION.
This collaboration is a landmark moment for BLIND8, which formed just before the Russian invasion of Ukraine and has become a leading light for rock music in its homeland whenever circumstances allow. They will be joining WITHIN TEMPTATION as the opening act on their “Bleed Out 2024” European tour this autumn, playing arenas across mainland Europe and the U.K.
The song is also being released worldwide via WITHIN TEMPTATION‘s own record label Force Music Recordings.
Sharon comments: “‘Labyrinth’ is not just a song; it’s a testament to the enduring power of music. And even with Roman, the singer, and Ihor, the bass player, currently having been mobilized and in training for the war, BLIND8 continue to defy the odds, proving that even in the most challenging times, art can shine a light in the darkness.”
BLIND8 remain committed and hopeful of spreading their message of solidarity, perseverance and defiance across Europe at the end of this year, playing to their largest audiences yet in huge arenas, when they support WITHIN TEMPTATION. The musicians have said that this song is their testament to the fact that even in the darkest times, music has the power to inspire and unite people.
WITHIN TEMPTATION will embark on a huge arena tour of Europe in the autumn of 2024. Joining them on this tour will be both WITHIN TEMPTATION‘s recent collaborative artists and longtime friends: singer Tarja Turunen (on select dates),German metalcore band ANNISOKAY, BLIND8, GREEN LIZARD and Ukrainian producer and vocalist Alex Yarmak.
The tour starts in September with two shows in The Netherlands (that sold out within days) and will continue throughout Europe in an array of impressive arenas. A number of dates have already sold out, with tickets running low across Europe.
Last fall, WITHIN TEMPTATION co-sponsored the Ukraine Aid Operations boat fundraiser for the Ukrainian Marines. They donated 6,000 euros for 30 patches, which they packaged with a limited-edition box of their latest album, “Bleed Out”.
Four months ago, Den Adel spoke to Metal Musikast about WITHIN TEMPTATION‘s music video for the band’s “A Fool’s Parade” single, featuring Ukrainian producer and vocalist Alex Yarmak. Recorded amidst the streets of Kyiv with renowned Ukrainian video director Indy Hait, the clip captures Sharon at important Ukrainian landmarks. Asked what it was like to make a music video in the capital city of a country at war, Den Adel said: “Well, I was never scared to go there, because I was in good hands, to my opinion. We were helped to do this video and to organize everything, what we wanted to do in Kyiv, by the organization called Music Saves Ukraine. And they told us about the app that you had need to have. For instance, if you go into Kiev, which we did by night train from Poland, because there’s no commercial flights from Amsterdam to Kyiv anymore. So we had to go by night train from Poland to Kyiv. And they told us to download an air-alerts app because everyone in Ukraine has that, and you can select a region that you are in and any incoming dangerous drones or airplanes, like MiGs, who are carrying a supersonic bomb or anything, they will put that in the app and you know what the danger is and how much time you have to go to a shelter. And there’s shelters everywhere, even in the hotel that I was. And we once had to go underneath the metro station, because there was a MiG on their way. And sometimes it has a bomb, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s sometimes just looking and scouting where they can do something with the next airplane. And this time it wasn’t wearing any supersonic bomb, which was good for us because it can wipe out a complete area in a matter of seconds.”
In March 2022, WITHIN TEMPTATION was one of the artists who took part in a telethon concert in support of Ukraine. “Save Ukraine – #StopWar” united more than 20 countries and bring together more than 50 participants. The marathon was broadcast from Warsaw on the Polish TV channel TVP. In addition, broadcasters from many countries around the world rebroadcasted the marathon on their local channels.
The “Bleed Out” album was released last October.
Photos courtesy of Wilful Publicity