"Shed My Skin" is a song recorded by Dutch

symphonic metal Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitar ...

band Within Temptation in collaboration with German

metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...

band annisokay. It was released as a single worldwide via digital download and

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

on 25 June 2021. The song was produced by their longtime producer Daniel Gibson, with Mathijs Tieken and Within Temptation serving as additional producers.

Background

Lead vocalist Sharon den Adel confirmed on 18 February 2021 that Within Temptation were planning on releasing more standalone singles before the release of an entire album, as they had already done with " Entertain You" and "The Purge" during the COVID-19 pandemic period after they were forced to cancel the scheduled concerts due to safety measures. The third of these singles, "Shed My Skin", was announced on 1 June 2021, scheduled to be released on 15 June and featuring German

band Annisokay as special guests. A music video for the song was also announced for a 8 July release. The music video's release was later postponed to 14 July 2021. In an interview for German radio station ''Rock Antenne'', den Adel commented that the band decided to invite Annisokay after the song was already completed. According to the singer, the track had a metalcore instrumentation alongside the

symphonic A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

elements Within Temptation is known for. As they considered that Annisokay also had the quality of transitiong throughout different metal subgerenes, without losing their metalcore essence, they opted to invite the band to contribute on the song. The lyrics were also complete at the point and, as Annisokay were already satisfied with the song as it was, the song didn't go through major changes. During an interview for

Kink FM Kink FM was a commercial radio channel in e Netherlands dedicated entirely to alternative music. In 1992 Dutch radio station RTL Radio started broadcasting. After this station failed to be a success, its format and name was first changed to RTL ...

, she stated that "a duet always brings something extra. When we had finished the song, we approached Annisokay if they wanted to record it together because we really liked it and felt that it would fit". The track features three distinct vocalists, with den Adel providing her vocals as well as Annisokay's Christoph Wieczorek providing male clean vocals and Rudi Schwarzer executing harsh vocals. Lyrically, the song revolves around the subject of inevitable changes people have to go through in life.

Track listing

Personnel

Within Temptation * Sharon den Adel – lead vocals * Ruud Jolie – lead guitar * Stefan Helleblad – rhythm guitar * Jeroen van Veen – bass *

Martijn Spierenburg Martijn Spierenburg (born 30 January 1975) is a composer and arranger. He is also keyboard player for the Dutch symphonic rock band Within Temptation. In 2018, it was announced that he would be the composer for the musical "Nieuw Amsterdam", which ...

– keyboards * Mike Coolen – drums Additional personnel * Christoph Wieczorek – clean vocals (track 1) * Rudi Schwarzer – harsh vocals (track 1) * Daniel Gibson – additional vocals (track 3) * Ted Jensen – mastering *

Zakk Cervini Zakk Cervini is an American record producer, vocal producer, songwriter, and mixing engineer. He was born in Monroe, Connecticut on June 2, 1993. Cervini's work includes collaborations with Simple Plan, Limp Bizkit, Blink-182, All Time Low, Mach ...

– mixing

Release history

References

{{authority control 2021 singles 2021 songs Within Temptation songs Songs written by Sharon den Adel Songs written by Robert Westerholt