Delain
Dark Waters
Napalm Records
Delain don’t do anything by halves. They had everyone very worried recently with a flurry of activity including the band temporarily being dissolved. With keyboard player Martijn Westerholt as the nucleus the Dutch symphonic masters are back, and with something of a watershed album too. ‘Dark Waters’ has all the elements that will be familiar to long-time fans, and it’s reassuringly solid as a result. That foundation has been built on though with song writing that has more depth than ever before, and dare we even suggest it, a new vocalist with even more dynamic flair. Charlotte Wessels left some mighty big shoes to fill and Diana Leah has done a quite extraordinary job on this set of songs. She has a rare gift for being able to nuance lyrics in the most enchanting way. We get some fine dueting exchanges reminiscent of how Amaranthe sometimes set their sound up. There are plenty of passages that’ll have guitar nerds clapping in delight. And the production is full with just the right amount of edge to it. A piano based bonus track of ‘The Quest And The Curse’ just adds to the notion that Leah is the real deal – and then some. ‘Dark Waters’ is a real triumph when it could have been a banana skin, and Delain are all the stronger for it and their new band members.
Review by Gary Trueman