The Silent Force is the third studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation, released on 15 November 2004, by GUN Records. On 5 August 2008, The Silent Force along with Mother Earth were released in the United States by Roadrunner Records. This album is the first to feature Ruud Jolie on lead guitar, as well as Martijn Spierenburg on keyboards, after Martijn Westerholt had to leave the band due to illness. It is also the first to feature Daniel Gibson as their producer. The album deepened the band symphonic approach, this time featuring more atmospheric songs that resemble the predominant fantasistic lyrics, inspired both by literature and the band members personal lives. The album spawned three singles that helped increasing the band's popularity in Europe, all of them achieving commercial success in their homeland and several other European countries. The first single, "Stand My Ground", was released in November 2004 and reached the fourth position on the Dutch Top 40. The second single, "Memories", was released on 31 January 2005. The third and final single, "Angels", was released on 13 June 2005. In order to promote the album, the band commenced their The Silent Force Tour in July 2004, playing throughout Europe and also having one concert in Dubai. The album was met with generally favorable reviews and commercial success, increasing the band's popularity outside the Netherlands. Metal Hammer considered the album important both for Within Temptation's career and the development of the symphonic metal genre as a whole, a position shared by AllMusic. Only one week after its release, the album reached gold status in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Finland, later also achieving platinum status in Germany and double platinum in their homecountry. Production and recording The times preceding the composition and the release of The Silent Force were eventful for the band. After some line-up changes and the commercial and critical success of Mother Earth, released at the end of 2000, the band had been feeling pressured and vulnerable, as playing music was considered mainly a hobby for the members up to then. In addition to that, they had also switched labels, from Dutch independent DSFA Records to German GUN Records, which could promote them on a greater scale. This transition was met with contractual turmoil, as the band was still inexperient and their lawyers were not specialized in working inside the music industry. Plans for