Delain – Glasgow – Here come the vultures

Having first seen them as a support act for Within Temptation in the spring of this year, I have steadily become addicted to Delain’s sounds. Catchy tunes adeptly combined with powerful lyrics speaking to the main issues of today’s society – self-image, over- medication – have become embedded in my eardrums and my playlists.

Imagine the enthusiasm when I heard they were heading back to the UK during their tour and even more, stopping in my very own Glasgow! In Scotland’s capital of music, Cathouse is the city’s infamous rock club and a popular setting for rock concerts, so a perfect choice of venue.

For the opening part I had the pleasure of meeting London’s metal band Raven Age and warm up to their rather growly tunes. First time out of their South – England territory they blended in well with the local predilections.

The following act was Wolf, Swedish metalheads that took to the stage with gritted teeth and bare chests. Their signature songs raised the spirits of the Glaswegian crowd, seeing a wave of headbangs and encouraging screams as response to the performance.

Delain set up on stage and when Charlotte finally made an appearance on stage the crowd cheered and applauded her radiant smile, playfully matched by the signature black catsuit – which was extremely well fitted and happened to draw the eyes of the public.

In her usual graceful way Charlotte greeted the audience and was very happy to be back for the second time in Glasgow as headliners. The band has a special connection with the Scottish rock scene, after having visited many times as support bands to big names such as Within Temptation.

As this goes to show, Glasgow was the 3^rd sold out gig for Delain whilst in the UK. This might also be because Brits love a ginge’! The new colour Charlotte donned for her locks rounded up a great deal of the night’s compliments.

Unfortunately, the band had to make do without Otto who had to take a wee break after an unfortunate incident in Birmingham– we were very happy to hear he made a speedy recovery – touring guest guitarist Merel Bechtold of Mayan filled in on Bass duties.

They opened the show with “Go Away” from April Rain and following with the biggest hits from their latest album The Human Contradiction – Get the Devil Out of Me, Army of Dolls and Stardust.

The entire crowd, made mostly of teens and up to 40 year olds, was singing along to each and every song.

The massive hit “The Gathering” made the crowd roar, sing and dance along with the guys on stage.

Other songs from the newest album- Here come the vultures and Sing to me- were fantastically received with most of the audience knowing all the lyrics and singing along.

Obviously, when the band tried to leave the stage all kinds of howls and screams called them back to deliver the most awaited single of the night – their most popular tune “We are the others”, ending the entire show on a high note!

After the concert the band members took turns and signed a few autographs for the persevering fans who were waiting patiently in between the rows of bodyguards and the tour bus.

The next day, the band members enjoyed a quiet day about Glasgow and explored one of its most renowned cultural attraction – the Kelvingrove museum.

We hope they enjoyed their time here almost as much as we did and we would be happy to see them around very soon!

A review by Maria Magdalena Sarzea