"Lost" by Within Temptation from The Unforgiving

"Help me—I'm buried alive!"

That plea from this song haunted me from my first listen to the new concept album The Unforgiving from Within Temptation. (Which is based on an an upcoming graphic novel, which this album very much makes me want to read.)

"Lost" is one unapologetic rock ballad that may be much of why the album's labeled "gothic" by iTunes. The song's narrator is fighting to help someone—(with what little has been revealed about the narrator Sinéad so far, I suspect it's her daughter)—despite what it's costing her and will cost her. It even sounds like the narrator might've lost the person they're seeking but doesn't want to admit that.

It's dark, it's creepy, it's haunting—and it's beautiful. Overall, I think Within Temptation has produced better music, but they've put this together well. The strings accent in the song also fits perfectly.

The focus is on the vocalist Sharon Den Adel and her voice, which fits the emotions of the songs so well. She even jumps a bit between styles in a way that is not easy to duplicate. (For me, anyway.)

For anyone familiar with the band, Sharon Den Adel overall sings similarly to how she does on "Frozen", a beat closer to "All I Need", and an overall sound that fits Within Temptation, but is hard to directly compare to any of their prior songs. It honestly sounds like people in general probably expect gothic to sound like, though I actually can't think of any gothic bands with this sound.

Overall, a great rock ballad with a gothic tone, but bypass it if you dislike "dark" stories, because I think it'll haunt you.

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Lyrics: 5/5
Music: 4/5
Vocal(s): 5/5
Overall: 9/10

Check out "Lost" on Amazon!