Delain, your favourite next door Dutch symphonic metal band, are just preparing to release their newest album, Moonbathers. With years of back-to-back touring, a successful crowd-funding campaign for their 10th anniversary show and DVD and another EP released this year (Lunar Prelude) they have been nothing if not busy. They are a band that will equally win you over with their sound and their personality and friendliness.
While I do hope for great things to come out of them, I tried to have an open mind before the album. To be brutally honest, from what I heard in the promo of the album I thought the one word that would describe the album would be … noisy. But I really, really wanted them to succeed.
So let me just tell you that it’s a really good one. You have your ballad-y songs, your heavier ones (with grunts and growls by both Otto and Alissa White-Gluz of Arch Enemy), your spectacularly orchestrated ones and obviously your Queen cover song. The big plus of this album is definitely the orchestration, not saying that Charlotte isn’t showing off everything she can do. That sounds fun! Now let’s get to it!
Hands of Gold – With a metal Hans Zimmer-like intro, the song is the much awaited „hard” song. Don’t expect something too extreme. The Chorus is Charlotte somewhere between screaming and singing while running. I don’t particularly enjoy her almost screaming voice.The instrumental is not as varied as you would expect, at times maybe too noisy for my taste, who would wish some ups and downs and some periods of clean singing. With all this going on, the song can feel divided, with the vocals not really on the same page as the instrumental. And here comes Alissa-White Gluz! The growls, the power, the brutality! Sure, it’s not for the ones who don’t quite enjoy that kind of singing. Maybe it’s too much. It depends on your taste. Immediately after the harsh notes, we have the very soft voice of Charlotte with the instrumental dimmed a bit for a short while. I wonder why they opened the album with it.
The Glory And The Scum – There isn’t much new I could say about this song, as people who follow the band definitely know it. They sang it live on their tours as „Clawfinger” and they have just released a lyric video for it. It’s very Delain. „Monster!!!”. I just want to note how subtle and well harmonised the growls are on this one.
Suckerpunch – Another song that needs no introduction, as it was the first single and video! It’s got a catchy tune and it is the most honest and wholesome description of what Delain is. It has a bit of that, a bit of that and a bit of everything. It is quite a crowd-pleaser.
The Hurricane – Such a soft voice from Charlotte. I love when she varies what they are doing. This is something old Delain fans will enjoy, as you could swear you picked it up from one of their first albums. There is an intermission where the tempo gets faster, Charlotte’s voice gets lower, bringing a lot of „modern” to it. The lyrics are about the bad in relationships, the thunder! „All the times that I nearly broke your heart/ All the times that we nearly fell apart/ Let it thunder over me my love/ please let it thunder over you.” It’s a song that will resonate with a lot of people.
Chrysalis – The Last Breath – This is it! My favourite song from the album. A ballady ballad, with all the right symphonic elements. The lyrics are overly emotional and Charlotte’s soft voice makes then even more so. It is the song that proves just how much you can do with soft sounds, taking the music where the lyrics lead to. A really great song by Delain, not just for this record. Heartbreak has never sounded so good. Beginning to end, this is a ballad, soft and gentle, pouring out sadness, disbelief. The vocal lines also bring in something new, which makes it even more special.
Fire with Fire – Yet again, a song we know from the album. I was not as impressed with it when I heard it for the first time, but it will grow on me. It’s loud and noisy and extremely dynamic. You feel like running and jumping on it. A bit poppy, you get your hooks, your feel-good rhythms, keeping to the point. It’s nice to have a heavier song, an energetic one, but it can feel a bit repetitive. It will be a huge success live because it’s one where you can jump around.
Pendulum – Starting out with growls, you know this is going to be a powerful song. And these are the kind of growls I can get behind, not extremely aggressive, just providing that extra kick. It gets you from the beginning. You can hear the instruments more clearly, not just an overlay of everything. You have the harder instrumental, but it’s still mellow. A good one!
Danse Macabre – My second favourite song! As you could expect, the lyrics are quite dark. But the song is fast-tempo-ed and has some vocalises which make it work. Though there will definitely be a lot of people who find it screechy. The chorus is neatly connected. It will be a really good singalong song for live shows. „Death will come for me, but not tonight/ Let the earth cover me! / Angels will call for me! / But in time/ Not tonight”
Scandal – This is the Queen cover! Not such a famous song. My first thoughts when I heard the intro were „what kind of disco pop song is this one?”. It takes you back to 80’s-90’s. But it’s such, such a fun song. Charlotte is experiencing more with this lower kind of singing and it suits her.
Turn The Lights Out – Once again, a song we knew. They have been playing it for quite some time. My first impression of it wasn’t as conclusive. You will remain with „Turn The Lights Out!”, but it still makes for a good song.
The Monarch – Such a beautiful almost instrumental song (2 minute instrumental intro). It’s one of the most symphonic things done by Delain and I just want to hear more of it. It could have easily turned into a long symphonic magnum opus, but that’s not really Delain, so they are keeping it true to themselves. It’s a perfect song for an outro, with ethereal symphonic instrumental and really clean and nice vocals.
It’s a good album, which comes up with enough material for you to choose a new favourite. They are still getting used to having two guitars. At times I think they are trying so hard to stay in their niche, to be sure to keep their sound true to themselves and not deviate, especially not to sound like other bands. But with this record, they have created something new, something varied. It has a good album sound and the production is homogeneous. Equilibrium is a word that would describe this album, it’s not too heavy, not too orchestrated. Still, I am happy that it turned out more symphonic and less electronic. It’s trying once again to be catchy, to be that earworm that stucks with you and it might just be that for a lot of people. This perfect balance will make it perfect to gather in bigger and bigger crowds.
