''The Dance'' is the first EP from

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

then

gothic metal Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy met ...

band

Within Temptation Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic metal band founded in April 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. They have been classified by critics as gothic metal and symphonic metal, although each album contains other inf ...

. It was released after the single "Restless" and the album ''

Enter Enter or ENTER may refer to: * Enter key, on computer keyboards * Enter, Netherlands, a village * ''Enter'' (magazine), an American technology magazine for children 1983–1985 * ''Enter'' (Finnish magazine), a Finnish computer magazine * Enter ...

''. The sound is rather gothic and melancholic, unlike the later albums, e.g. ''

Mother Earth Mother Earth may refer to: *The Earth goddess in any of the world's mythologies *Mother goddess *Mother Nature, a common personification of the Earth and its biosphere as the giver and sustainer of life Written media and literature *Mother Earth ...

'' and ''

The Silent Force ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''.

Background

The EP features the original songs "The Dance", "Another Day" and "The Other Half (of Me)". It also included a remix of the single "Restless" and a joint remix of the songs "Candles" and "Pearls of Light". The original versions of these songs appeared on the band's previous album ''

''. It, along with ''

'', was re-released in the US on September 18, 2007 by the label

Season of Mist Season of Mist is an independent record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pag ...

. After the great reception of later albums and the

Hydra World Tour The Hydra World Tour was a concert tour by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation in support of their sixth studio album, '' Hydra'', released by Nuclear Blast on 31 January 2014. To date, it was their eight major tour and their third to ...

Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...

decided to release together a re-issue of both ''Enter'' and ''The Dance'' on 10 November 2014, in order to give the new listeners access to the band's early material. On October 19, 2018, celebrating the 20 years of band, they released a limited edition vinyl of ''

'' and ''The Dance.'' Copies sold out during presale. Although the EP never entered the main charts, its vinyl release entered the Dutch Vinyl Charts at number 11, twenty years after the official release. All three songs from ''The Dance'' premiered live in 1997, with "The Dance" and "The Other Half (of Me)" being performed often, and "Another Day" on select dates. "The Dance" and "The Other Half (of Me)" were played until 2002. After that, "The Dance" was only played a few times in 2005, and "The Other Half (of Me)" was played at select shows between 2005 and 2007. "The Other Half (of Me)" was last played in 2008, for the

Black Symphony ''Black Symphony'' is a live album, DVD and Blu-ray Disc from Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. It was released worldwide on September 22–24, 2008 and is available on 2-disc DVD, 2-disc CD, and Blu-ray. Sony Poland announced this ...

show in Rotterdam.

Track listing

References

Within Temptation albums 1998 EPs Season of Mist EPs {{1990s-metal-album-stub