Originally formed as "The Portal" in April 1996 by Robert Westerholt, with his girlfriend Sharon den Adel and members from his former metal band The Circle/Voyage (Nld) (Jeroen and Michiel) as well as his kid-brother, Martijn Westerholt. Originally, Richard Willemse was their drummer. He didn't stay long though. The band then changed their name to "Within Temptation", found a new drummer (Dennis Leeflang), recorded the "Untitled" and "Enter" demos, and landed a deal within an amazingly short period of 2 months with DSFA.

In the meantime the band found they couldn't get along with the drummer so they found a new drummer in Ivar de Graaf.
Meanwhile the band has scored a top 3 hit with the single "Ice Queen" from their "Mother Earth" album in the Dutch top 40 charts.

After Martijn Westerholt (now in Delain) left the band, due to a chronic illness, another ex-The Circle/Voyage (Nld) member joined the ranks, in the person of Martijn Spierenburg (who used to do keyboards and drums for aforementioned bands).

The Voyage song "Frozen" (feat. Sharon den Adel) was put on the internet a couple of months before the release of Within Temptation's "The Heart of Everything" album because it was thought to be the track "Frozen" from that album. However, both songs are completely different and this was a total mix up. The Voyage track "Frozen" is a reworking of a track recorded by "The Circle" for a DSFA compilation in 1995. Both "Voyage" and "The Circle" are pre-WT bands.

Sharon den Adel gave birth to her and Robert Westerholt's daughter, Eva Luna, on December 9th, 2005. In addition, on June 1st, 2009, Sharon gave birth to her and Robert's second child, Robin Aiden.

Stephen van Haestregt quit the band in March 2010, but will be performing on the upcoming Theatre-tour.Originally formed as "The Portal" in April 1996 by Robert Westerholt, with his girlfriend Sharon den Adel and members from his former metal band The Circle/Voyage (Nld) (Jeroen and Michiel) as well as his kid-brother, Martijn Westerholt. Originally, Richard Willemse was their drummer. He didn't stay long though. The band then changed their name to "Within Temptation", found a new drummer (Dennis Leeflang), recorded the "Untitled" and "Enter" demos, and landed a deal within an amazingly short period of 2 months with DSFA.

In the meantime the band found they couldn't get along with the drummer so they found a new drummer in Ivar de Graaf.
Meanwhile the band has scored a top 3 hit with the single "Ice Queen" from their "Mother Earth" album in the Dutch top 40 charts.

After Martijn Westerholt (now in Delain) left the band, due to a chronic illness, another ex-The Circle/Voyage (Nld) member joined the ranks, in the person of Martijn Spierenburg (who used to do keyboards and drums for aforementioned bands).

The Voyage song "Frozen" (feat. Sharon den Adel) was put on the internet a couple of months before the release of Within Temptation's "The Heart of Everything" album because it was thought to be the track "Frozen" from that album. However, both songs are completely different and this was a total mix up. The Voyage track "Frozen" is a reworking of a track recorded by "The Circle" for a DSFA compilation in 1995. Both "Voyage" and "The Circle" are pre-WT bands.

Sharon den Adel gave birth to her and Robert Westerholt's daughter, Eva Luna, on December 9th, 2005. In addition, on June 1st, 2009, Sharon gave birth to her and Robert's second child, Robin Aiden.

Stephen van Haestregt quit the band in March 2010, but will be performing on the upcoming Theatre-tour.

Foto band tratta da Metal Archives