Sharon Den Adel Maintains Her Rights Express Political Views Through Songs

Sharon Den Adel (Instagram @wtofficial)

JAKARTA - In a new interview with Robin Hignell from FaceCulture, the vocalist of the Dutch symphonic gothic metal band, Within Temptation, Sharon Den Adel was asked whether there was any rejection from various parties regarding their political views in some of the songs they released.

The songs include Wireless and the title track of Bleed Out's new album highlighting the latest topics such as war in Ukraine and the suspicious death of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian woman who was detained for not wearing a headscarf.

"Yes. A lot of people say, 'Shut up and sing. Shut up and play. We are not interested in your story.' But I think that's the core of music. About thought, about philosophy. About many things, and especially big topics in the world, because that's what inspires us, "said Sharon.

"And I think whatever inspires you is your right to talk about it. And that's also the difference with living in a democratic country. I can say whatever I want to say, of course within certain limits, but I'm free to do it. And that's the difference, rather than living in Iran or Russia or whatever, [where] I might be in danger right now," he continued.

"And, of course, saying these things are not without danger, because people can react very strongly and we've also realized it. But when do you write about it and you have certain feelings for it..."

"We've performed many times in both countries, such as Ukraine and Russia, and we've met a lot of good people and had fun in the two countries. But the fact is for us, it's very clear that Russia is the aggressor here and feels very sorry for a sovereign country like Ukraine being attacked like that."

"And, yes, that doesn't make sense to us. And we are very surprised that we never thought after the Second World War, we will have seen a war like this on a scale like this, because, of course, there are more wars going on. We have Sarajevo, of course, but this country is not like a superpower like Russia."

"This is a very different game. It's very dangerous. And I think it's... fine, it's not just happening in Ukraine. And I don't think we need another country to be oppressed. We need more democracy anywhere, in my opinion."

"And thinking about it, I hope we can support them until the end, because things will get worse for everyone if more and more countries like Russia oppress their population. And in particular very close to home, because the distance is two and a half hours of flight from our own airport. The distance is the same as Barcelona for us. So there's nothing wrong."