Within Temptation – Dangerous ft. Howard Jones

A High-Stakes Duet

“Dangerous” finds Within Temptation pushing their symphonic metal blueprint into leaner, harder territory, pairing Sharon den Adel with Howard Jones, the former voice of Killswitch Engage. Issued as the second single from the album Hydra, the track distills the band’s melodic instincts into something brisk and muscular, built to highlight two powerful vocalists meeting at full tilt.

The collaboration places Jones’s robust, resonant tone against den Adel’s soaring clarity, creating a dynamic that feels combative and complementary in equal measure. It is a meeting of two scenes as well, with Within Temptation’s orchestral drama and European symphonic heritage intersecting with the modern metal heft that Jones helped popularize. The result is a focused burst of speed and tension, calibrated for adrenaline and uplift.

Sound and Arrangement

From its first seconds, “Dangerous” moves with precision. The engine is a rapid, tightly drilled rhythm section, with relentless double-kick patterns driving the song forward. Guitars lock into a fast, palm-muted riff that carries a melodic contour rather than pure chug, hinting at the band’s gothic and symphonic roots even as the tempo leans toward modern metal aggression.

Synths play a key role in the arrangement, but not as a softening agent. The main motif is doubled by a distorted, guitar-like synth tone, adding bite and width to the riff while enhancing the track’s sense of velocity. The orchestral backdrop is present yet restrained, stitched into the texture rather than sitting on top, which keeps focus on the riff and the rhythmic cascade of the drums. The production emphasizes clarity at speed, with crisp transients on the kicks and a workable pocket for the vocals to cut through without crowding the guitars.

Sharon den Adel has described “Dangerous” as one of the heaviest and fastest songs in the band’s catalog, noting its relentless percussion and the decision to harden the synth timbre to match the guitars. “I always loved Howard’s voice,” she said. “He makes the song even heavier than it already is. That song is one of my favorite songs on the record and one of the fastest we’ve ever written. It has the most bass drums we’ve ever used, too, and a very fast riff which we doubled with synths. It’s not a typical synthesizer, though, it’s distorted like a guitar, and it’s very aggressive.”

Vocal Interplay

The vocal arrangement turns the idea of a duet into a sprint. Den Adel carries the melodic lead with crystalline phrasing, sharpening consonants and sustaining high notes with poise. Jones answers with a weighty, percussive attack that sits deeper in the mix, adding density and urgency. Their exchanges feel narrative in structure: tension, release, and renewed tension. When they converge in harmony, the contrast between their timbres becomes the hook, a thickened line that mirrors the doubled instruments beneath it.

Jones’s presence is not merely a guest spot, but an integral part of the song’s design. His rhythmic emphasis reinforces the song’s momentum, while den Adel arcs above with lines that lift the chorus into resolute territory. The interplay underlines the band’s continued interest in pairing their dramatic palette with contemporary heaviness, without sacrificing the architectural sense of melody that has long anchored their work.

Lyrical Tension and Themes

“Dangerous” frames risk as both threat and temptation. The language is direct, leaning on images of speed, impact, and the pull of a force that cannot be resisted. Rather than luxuriating in gothic imagery, the song conveys urgency through motion and consequence. It reads as an anthem for stepping into the unknown, narrating the moment when fear, excitement, and conviction blur into action. The push-pull between voices amplifies that internal debate, with Jones often grounding the perspective while den Adel extends it upward into a statement of resolve.

Velocity on Film

The music video, directed by Patric Ullaeus, translates the track’s pace into a literal study of flight. Professional wingsuit pilots slice through canyons and cliff faces, footage that captures the unnerving calm and razor-thin margins of high-speed descent. The aerial sequences are edited to the song’s rhythmic grid, aligning cut points with drum accents to make velocity audible and visual at once. The band’s performance scenes underscore the chill and steel of the song’s sound, with stark lighting and industrial textures mirroring the arrangement’s sharpened edges.

In pairing a story of risk with athletes who live it, the video avoids metaphor-by-prop and opts for the reality of bodies in extreme motion. The effect is both awe-inspiring and anxious, complementing the track’s core premise: danger as the line between fear and purpose, crossed with intent.

Position Within Hydra

Hydra is an album that explores contrast: heavy and melodic, synthetic and organic, intimate and towering. “Dangerous” sits near the record’s center of gravity, one of its fastest and most streamlined tracks, and a clear sign of Within Temptation’s commitment to broadening their palette through carefully chosen collaborations. The song’s construction focuses on precision and propulsion rather than sheer mass, reflecting a band intent on retooling their strengths rather than repeating them.

By integrating a prominent figure from the modern metal world, the band highlights the compatibility between symphonic ambition and contemporary heaviness. The track showcases how a clean, melodic sensibility can coexist with a punishing tempo, and how a distinctive guest voice can serve the architecture of a song rather than simply sit on top of it.

Instrumentation and Production Detail

Guitars: Fast, articulated riffing doubles with an aggressively distorted synth line, creating a unified, serrated tone that anchors the arrangement.
Drums: Relentless double-kick patterns and snare accents shape the track’s athletic drive, mixed to preserve clarity at speed.
Keyboards and Orchestration: Synths assume a textural and rhythmic role, less about atmosphere and more about reinforcing the riff, while orchestral layers remain understated to keep the focus on impact.
Vocals: Den Adel’s transparent upper register provides lift and definition, countered by Jones’s grounded, emphatic delivery for a dynamic push-pull.

Creative Credits

Director: Patric Ullaeus
Director of Photography: Bart Tau
Wingsuit Team: Main Pilot Jokke Sommer; Camera Flyer Ludovic Woerth
Costume Design: Jan Boelo, Avelon, Denham Jeans

Final Take

“Dangerous” is a study in controlled intensity. It compresses Within Temptation’s widescreen instincts into a rapid-fire format and leverages Howard Jones’s presence to add heft without sacrificing melody. The track’s streamlined composition, coupled with its high-stakes visual counterpart, makes a clear statement about where the band was aiming on Hydra: faster, tighter, and bolder, with collaboration as a catalyst rather than a detour.