Delain is a Dutch rock/metal band, though they are often labeled as “symphonic rock”. They are founded by ex- Within Temptation keyboardist Martijn Wetsterholt and vocalist Charlotte Wessels. This release of Lucidity is a re-release of their debut album from 2006 with five bonus tracks. They have a second album as well, April Rain, which was released in 2009.
A common comparison to Delain would be Evanescence’s single “Bring Me to Life”. Wessels provides similar soaring vocals to that of Amy Lee, and you get that pairing of male vocals from bassist Marco Hietala. Unlike Evanescence, this female/male pairing exists on most tracks and Hietala’s vocals are more metal than rap. I think the pairing of vocals works well on most of the songs. Wessels vocals are good here, but I wouldn’t say as good as Amy Lee’s; having the male part is a nice complement though.
What I don’t like is the few tracks that add the death metal grunting paired with the vocals. It’s just too much of a disparity. Also, I am not a fan of the sound of the synths on Lucidity. Not that the playing or the parts are bad, but the quality just seems to be lacking compared to everything else going on. It seems like a simple fix would improve these songs tremendously. The bonus tracks also make the album too long and are really unnecessary, I’d prefer the length and flow without them.
What I have heard of their other release, April Rain sounds improved. The synths sound is better, Wessels sounds more confident, and in general the songs sound more mature. I did not notice any male vocals on it, but the newer songs seemed fine without them. I haven’t heard it in it’s entirely, but if this style interests you, I would recommend looking to that album first, and then coming back to Lucidity.
Hot Tracks: Frozen, See Me In Shadow, The Gathering
Kevin Kozel - Sr. MuzikReviews.com Staff
June 24, 2010
