Delain have transformed into an ambitious supergroup project into a symphonic powerhouse, easily now ranking alongside the Dutch greats of Within Temptation, Epica and After Forever. The band are on a perpetual mission to gain an identity as a great in their own manner, and with each album, they have succeeded a little more. Is ‘Moonbathers‘ the album to fire the band into the stratosphere?
[tracklist]
01. Hands Of Gold
02. The Glory And The Scum
03. Suckerpunch
04. The Hurricane
05. Chrysalis – The Last Breath
06. Fire With Fire
07. Pendulum
08. Danse Macabre
09. Scandal
10. Turn The Lights Out
11. The Monarch
[/tracklist]
[details]
[record_label]Napalm Records[/record_label]
[release_date]26th August 2016[/release_date]
[/details]
It was pretty obvious when the band announced their ‘Lunar Prelude‘ EP that the new album was going to be something in parallel with the theme of the moon, and of course the title was announced as ‘Moonbathers‘, a title that seems to stem off of Delain’s lighter approach to metal in preceding albums. It would be feasible to think that the band could be attempting to reach new audiences by thinning out the sound.
Much to my surprise, this is not the case at all. It takes only a few seconds into the opener of ‘Hands of Gold‘ that Delain have gone in hard and heavy with ‘Moonbathers‘, and the sound is undoubtedly heavy metal, even enlisting the services of Arch Enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz to provide death growls in the bridge of the track.
That thick and robust sound combined with the blare of Delain’s traditional symphonic undercoat provide a fierce attack not yet heard from this band. It’s an instant winner, with tracks like ‘Fire With Fire‘ and ‘Pendulum‘ inducing musical steroids into the already acclaimed Delain sound, and quite possibly the best vocal performance from frontwoman Charlotte Wessels yet offered to the band.
Delain’s diversity in songwriting is not forgotten on the album, with tracks like ‘Chrysalis – The Last Breath‘ mellowing out and intense symphonic metal storm, and ‘Dance Macabre’ bringing out the band’s more adventurous side in playing with vocal hooks. The band simply aren’t out on a mission to prove their worth in the ranks of metal, but seemingly to make the best album they possibly can.
‘Moonbathers‘ has proven that there is still a lot to be excited about in Delain, and they don’t intend to simply fall off the radar after releasing a series of successful albums. The band are striving to be bigger, better, and possibly the ambassadors to symphonic metal worldwide.
[verdict]Yes[/verdict]
[why]In contrary to it’s light-hearted name, ‘Moonbathers’ is the most aggressive and heaviest Delain effort to date. The fierce new edge capitalises on the band’s expertise in symphonic metal to produce what is arguably their best album yet.[/why]
