Delain, Amorphis and more!

Dutch symphonic rockers DELAIN have been releasing and performing their signature catchy melodic metal sound worldwide for over a decade now. They currently have five albums, two EP’s and a live DVD on their name, including guest performances from the titans of the scene, among others: Sharon Den Adel (WITHIN TEMPTATION), Marco Hietala (NIGHTWISH), Alissa White-Gluz (ARCH ENEMY), Burton C. Bell (FEAR FACTORY). Having toured the globe with bands like NIGHTWISH, SABATON and WITHIN TEMPTATION, and having rocked festivals like WACKEN, GRASPOP, DOWNLOAD and FORTAROCK, DELAIN have strongly carved their niche within the scene.

The band is currently working on the follow up to their chart hitting record Moonbathers, due 2019. Bridging the gap between studio records is their first ever live DVD “A Decade of Delain - Live at Paradiso” released October 2017, and - proving themselves to one of the most productive bands in the game - Delain are now announcing an exciting new release due late 2018!

From humble origins in Zwolle, Netherlands, to their current status as one of the hottest bands in the entire heavy music world, Delain have written their own story, with every successive chapter taking them deeper into the spotlight’s glare. They began life as a symphonic metal band with big ambitions and bigger ideas, led by keyboard maestro Martijn Westerholt and the supreme vocal talents of Charlotte Wessels. Emerging at a time when the world was clearly in need of music with a big heart and a grand vision, the Dutch crew made an immediate impact with their 2006 debut album Lucidity, singles Frozen and See Me In Shadow /and/ the extensive touring that followed, wherein these young musicians swiftly developed a reputation for putting on a dazzling show.

In the decade that has followed Lucidity’s release, Delain have marched remorselessly forward, gaining momentum and winning over thousands of converts with each successive album and tour. Their most significant breakthrough came with 2012’s We Are The Others, and now, two years on from the release of fourth album The Human Contradiction, Delain are back to further cement their status as modern metal champions.

The release of Delain’s fifth album, the stunning Moonbathers, looks certain to further enhance their already sturdy reputation. In collaboration with guitarists Timo Somers and Merel Bechtold, bassist Otto Schimmelpenninck van der Oije and drummer Ruben Israel, Charlotte Wessels and Martijn Westerholt have conjured what is plainly the most diverse, daring and powerful album of Delain’s remarkable story so far. Ranging from the thunderous pomp and melodic might of opener Hands Of Gold and the brooding rush of Suckerpunch through to the dark, exploratory grandeur of Chrysalis – The Last Breath and an exhilarating cover of unsung Queen gem Scandal (originally from the British legends’ album The Miracle), Moonbathers showcases the blossoming of the Dutch band’s creativity and collective chemistry.

“What we usually do at the beginning of an album process is consider what we liked and didn’t like about the album before, and we realized that we really liked the production on The Human Contradiction. We deliberately chose to keep certain factors similar to that,” explains Martijn, who took the producer position for this album, as he did on their previous one. “We worked together with the same mixing team, the same master, and the same classical arranger, and in that sense we continued where we left off.” When it comes to the songs themselves it’s a different story.

“We had the luxury problem of doing back to back tours.” Mentions Charlotte. “As we didn’t have the time to take a break from touring long enough to write and record an entire album, we decided upfront to chop up the entire process into three chunks, in order to utilize the smaller timeframes between tours and give the songs the time and attention they needed. As a result, it’s a very varied album. It’s an album of extremes: the heavy songs are heavier, the ballad more sensitive, and then there’s songs with a real rock vibe, and that’s due to the way we recorded it, in different times, in different places and in different moods.”

Renowned for penning lyrics that resonate with Delain’s huge fan base, Charlotte has excelled herself on Moonbathers, drawing from her personal experiences and taking inspiration from literature and cinema to compose the band’s darkest but deepest set of mysterious messages yet.

“I was looking at the lyrics and some of them were dark to the point of being morbid!” she laughs. “There is a lot of thought about endings, both figuratively and very literally; songs about death. Negative emotions are a trigger for my creativity, but though most of my lyrics originate there, I don’t want to glorify it. So as a lyricist I try to make sure that there is always some sort of light at the end of the tunnel. I also realized that when I feel bad, it is sad music more than anything that makes me feel better. So I embraced the idea that it’s possible to find comfort there, and I went looking for a metaphor for finding that light in the darkness, the ultimate icon of that, for me, is the moon. So I chose moonbathers, rather than sunbathers, as a metaphor for those who find comfort in darkness.”

Martijn looks back with a smile: “Moonbathers turned out fantastic. The productional quality, heaviness, contrast between light and heavy parts is very refreshing. The sound is exactly what we were were aiming for. Heavy but transparant, I think we achieved the typical Delain style now. Very recognizable, and with it’s own identity.”

The sky’s the limit for this most ambitious and enthusiastic of bands. Moonbathers proves that their artistic impulses are still firing with full force and with an ever-expanding global audience anticipating their return to the live arena, this band are plainly on the fast track to ever greater and more enduring success.