With Epica on the role next month, the Dutch female metal domination is a fact
this spring. It can't be a coincidence that the biggest female fronted band in
the world (Nightwish) has recruited a Dutch singer and that Within Temptation is
doing so well world wide. What's in the water here?
With this new album 'The Human Contradiction', Delain shows that they can be the
next big female fronted band to conquer the rest of the world. You can't compare
their music with any of the other bands above and they sound a lot heavier than
on their 2012 album 'We Are the Others' this time.
Delain sounds
darker and more aggressive, but with symphonic and gothic elements embedded. The
guitars sound more raw and the use of the grunts of George Oosthoek in "Tell Me,
Mechanist" and Alissa White Gluz (The Agonist) in "The Tragedy of the Commons"
sees to it that the album sounds heavier than before.
Still the band writes songs with pop elements, which makes the songs very
accessible and easy to listen to. The singing of Charlotte Wessels still
improves and with Marco Hietala as guest singer in "Your Body is a Battleground"
and "Sing to Me", where he really adds something to those songs. Charlotte can sing
emotional and breathable, but also very powerful and convincing. Opener "Here
Come the Vultures" has some Kamelot elements in it and the second track
has migthy orchestral arrangements. "My Masquerade" is the most gothic sounding
track, especially the refrain has a kind of Paradise Lost/Type O Negative
influence. "Army of Dolls" starts like a pop song and a band like Lacuna Coil
isn't far away.
The
biggest achievement of this album is that although you hear elements of different
bands and styles, Delain is able to create their own recognizable and original sound. If you
want an album that mixes elements of pop and goth into dark heavy songs with
symphonic elements without sounding wimpy, don't hesitate any longer.
