Delain

For the town in France, see Delain, Haute-Saône.
Delain

Delain performing live at Epic Metal Fest, 2015.
Background information
Origin Zwolle, Netherlands
Genres Symphonic metal
Years active 2002, 2005–present
Labels CNR, Roadrunner, Napalm
Associated acts Epica, Within Temptation
Website www.delain.nl
Members Martijn Westerholt
Charlotte Wessels
Otto Schimmelpenninck van der Oije
Timo Somers
Ruben Israel
Merel Bechtold
Past members Rob van der Loo
Ronald Landa
Ray van Lente
Ewout Pieters
Sander Zoer

Delain is a Dutch symphonic metal band formed in 2002 by former Within Temptation keyboardist Martijn Westerholt, and Charlotte Wessels. The name of the band comes from the Kingdom of Delain in Stephen King's novel, The Eyes of the Dragon.[1]

Background

In 2001, Westerholt was forced to leave Within Temptation after contracting Pfeiffer's disease. In 2002, he formed Delain. In the same year, they independently released the demo Amenity. After the demo, Westerholt temporarily left the project behind, but continued to write music. In 2005, he joined with Charlotte Wessels, and was signed to Roadrunner Records. At the time, the band was envisioned as a musical project featuring a host of guest musicians, and not as a live band.

Biography

Lucidity (2006-2007)

Lucidity brought to fruition Westerholt's dream of a musical project, featuring many well-known musicians from the metal community: Marco Hietala from Nightwish and Tarot (bass, vocals), Liv Kristine from Leaves' Eyes (vocals), Ariën van Weesenbeek from ex-God Dethroned, Epica (drums), Ad Sluijter from ex-Epica (guitar), George Oosthoek (growling) and Guus Eikens, both former members of Orphanage, Sharon den Adel from Within Temptation (vocals) and Jan Yrlund from Imperia (guitar).

The vocalist, Charlotte Wessels, during a concert in 2006.

Despite many delays, Lucidity was released in September 2006, to generally positive reviews. The album spawned three singles: Frozen, See Me In Shadow and The Gathering, and the response to the album allowed Delain to tour in support in the Netherlands and neighbouring countries. Rob van der Loo, Ronald Landa and Sander Zoer were added on bass, guitar and drums respectively to round out the live band.

April Rain (2008-2010)

At the end of 2007, Delain announced that they were working on their second album. New songs from the album – "Stay Forever" and "Start Swimming" – were added to the band's setlist in early 2008. Their second album, April Rain was released on February 9, 2009. The lead single was the title track, "April Rain", followed by "Stay Forever". The band toured extensively in support of the album, visiting many new countries such as the United States and Mexico, as well as performing at high-profile festivals in Europe, including Hellfest, Lowlands, Wacken Open Air and Sonisphere.[2] In February 2010, Delain announced they had started working on their third album, and that bassist Rob van der Loo would leave the band the same year due to time constraints.[3] In March, Otto Schimmelpenninck van der Oije was announced as Rob's successor.[4] On October 4, 2010, Delain announced they were to part company with guitarist Ewout Pieters.[5][6] Timo Somers was announced as his replacement on April 17, 2011.[7]

We Are the Others (2011–2012)

During their 2011 live shows, Delain debuted three new songs — "Manson" (later renamed to "Mother Machine"), "Get the Devil Out of Me" and "Milk and Honey" — from their third album, We Are the Others. In an interview with Sonic Cathedral, Wessels discussed the inspiration she drew from the Sophie Lancaster case:

I remember when I first heard about it … it wasn’t on Dutch news, I just heard about it through Internet networks and the goth scene … there was this movie made about it, a short film of about four minutes. I saw it, and I just cried. It’s so incredibly sad! After seeing the movie, I didn’t really DO anything with it until we were working on “We Are The Others.” But the basic idea of the lyrics was there. It was just supposed to be a song about “we are the others” and a feeling of togetherness. On the one hand, being proud of whoever you are, whether you divert from the norm in whatever way you divert from the norm. But on the other hand, it is also kind of a song for “others”. We just wanted a song about acceptance.[8]

Originally intended for release in early 2012,[9] the album's release date was unknown due to Warner Music's purchase of Roadrunner Records.[8] However, it was announced via a Facebook message on the band official page that the album would be released on June 1, 2012 with the album's first single, 'Get the Devil Out of Me' being released on 13 April 2012 [10] via CNR Music, who took over Delain from Warner Music. The second single from the album was the title track, 'We Are the Others'. It was announced on 3 November that Delain would headline Dames of Darkness Festival (Wolverhampton, UK) which they had previously headlined in 2009 (under the Femme Metal Festival).[11]

Interlude (2013)

On 26 February 2013, Delain announced that they will release a special album entitled Interlude that would include new songs, covers, live tracks, special versions of previous songs and a bonus DVD. It was released on various dates throughout the first week of May worldwide.[12]

The Human Contradiction (2014–2015)

Charlotte Wessels and Timo Somers, during a 2015 festival in Germany.

On 23 January 2014, Delain announced that they will release a new album entitled The Human Contradiction. It was released on April 5, 2014 in Europe, and on April 8, 2014 in North America.

On June 4, 2014, it was announced that drummer Sander Zoer would step down from the band due to personal reasons; he would continue working behind the scenes of Delain. The replacement drummer was announced to be Ruben Israel, who had stepped in for Zoer during Delain's tour with Kamelot. Zoer will continue to perform until September.

The band brought with them Merel Bechtold (MaYaN, Purest of Pain) as a second guitarist for their UK tour in November 2014. Bassist Otto Schimmelpenninck van der Oije suffered an injury on November 26, 2014, when he was accidentally hit by a streamer cannon, causing his left testicle to rupture. This incident was said to be caused by uncertain stage positioning, as there were six people onstage instead of the usual five. While he was recovering, the band used pre-recorded bass parts. No permanent damage was done, and as of January 12, 2015, Schimmelpenninck van der Oije has resumed touring. Merel Bechtold filled in for guitarist Timo Somers until February, due to Somers' full schedule.

Delain toured with Sabaton and Battle Beast, and also North America with Sabaton as support for Nightwish for the first half of 2015 and returned to Latin America during October as support of them. Delain toured as support again for Nightwish's Endless Forms Most Beautiful second North American tour in 2016. This makes it the fourth year in a row the band has toured in the United States and Canada.[13]

On October 19, 2015, Delain made recurring touring guitarist Merel Bechtold a permanent member.[14]

Lunar Prelude EP, Moonbathers (2016-present)

Delain announced an eight track EP of new and live songs named Lunar Prelude. The EP was released on February 2016.[15] Their first single, Suckerpunch, of the EP was released on the 5th February.[16]

The band announced a new album of ten original songs and one "Queen" cover named Moonbathers. The record was released on August 26, 2016.[17]

Members

Current members

Former members

2002 lineup

Touring members

Session members

Timeline

Discography

Albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
NLD
[18]		 GER
[19]		 SWI
[20]		 UK
[21][22][23]		 BEL (WA)
[24]		 BEL (FL)
[25]		 FRA
[26]		 JPN
[27]
Lucidity
  • Released: September 4, 2006
  • Label: Roadrunner Records
  • Formats: CD, digital download[28]
43 — — — — — — —
April Rain
  • Released: March 20, 2009
  • Label: Roadrunner Records
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download[29]
14 96 91 192 — — 88 127
We Are the Others
  • Released: June 1, 2012
  • Label: Roadrunner Records
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download[30]
4 77 43 75 99 82 118 221
The Human Contradiction
  • Released: April 4, 2014
  • Label: Napalm Records
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download[31]
25 40 24 44 90 65 106 185
Moonbathers
  • Released: August 26, 2016
  • Label: Napalm Records
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download
 15 17 18 50 37 23 93
[32] 		128
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

EPs

Title EP details Peak chart positions
NLD
[18]		 GER
[19]		 BEL (WA)
[24] 		BEL (FL)
[25]
Interlude
  • Released: May 1, 2013
  • Label: Napalm Records
  • Formats: CD, CD+DVD, Digital Download[33]
37 91 124 141
Lunar Prelude
  • Released: February 19, 2016
  • Label: Napalm Records
  • Formats: CD, Digital Download
 — — — —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Singles

Year Title Peak chart positions Album
NLD
[34]
2007 "Frozen" 36 Lucidity
"See Me in Shadow" 46
"Shattered" —
2008 "The Gathering" —
2009 "Stay Forever" — April Rain
"April Rain" —
"Smalltown Boy" — Interlude
2010 "Nothing Left" — April Rain
2012 "Get the Devil Out of Me" — We Are the Others
"We Are The Others" —
2013 "Are You Done With Me" — Interlude
2014 "Your Body Is A Battleground" — The Human Contradiction
"Stardust" —
2015 "Sing To Me" —
2016 "Suckerpunch" — Lunar Prelude/Moonbathers
"The Glory and the Scum" — Moonbathers
"Fire With Fire" — Moonbathers
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Awards and Nominations

Year Award Category Nominated Work Result Notes
2007 MTV Europe Music Awards New Sounds of Europe Best New Band Nominated Knocked out on the eleventh day
TMF Awards Best Rock Best New Band Nominated

References

  1. ↑ "Delain Interview (Part 1)". YouTube. 2008-09-01. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
  2. ↑ "Delain - Biography". Site.delain.nl. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
  3. ↑ "Delain Online – News". Delain. 13 February 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
  4. ↑ "Delain Online – News". Delain. 11 March 2010. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
  5. ↑ "Delain Online – News". Delain. 4 October 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
  6. ↑ "Facebook". Facebook. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
  7. ↑ "Delain - News". Site.delain.nl. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
  8. 1 2 "Sonic Cathedral WebZine - Delain Interview 2012". Soniccathedral.com. 2012-02-16. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
  9. ↑ "Delain: New Album Title Revealed, European Headlining Tour Announced - Blabbermouth.net". Roadrunnerrecords.com. 2011-12-06. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
  10. ↑ "Delain announce release date for We Are The Others!". Facebook.com. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
  11. ↑ "The Dames of Darkness Festival 3". Facebook. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
  12. ↑ "Delain - Delain releases special album 'Interlude' in May". Delain.nl. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
  13. ↑ "Facebook post". Facebook. Delain.
  14. ↑ "Delain names guitarist Merel Bechtold permanent additional band member". Facebook. Delain. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  15. ↑ http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0195R4NVA?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_7&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
  16. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmo06CrXP4M
  17. ↑ http://www.delain.nl/shownews/component/Articles/show/article/id/2337
  18. 1 2 Steffen Hung (2009-03-28). "Dutch Charts". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
  19. 1 2 "officialcharts.de". Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  20. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade und Music Community". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
  21. ↑ "Chart Log UK : 13.02 2010" (TXT). Zobbel.de. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
  22. ↑ "Chart Log UK : 16.06.2012" (TXT). Zobbel.de. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
  23. ↑ "Chart Log UK : 19.04.2014" (TXT). Zobbel.de. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
  24. 1 2 "Ultratop Belgian Charts". Ultratop.be. 2013-05-18. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
  25. 1 2 "Ultratop Belgian Charts". Ultratop.be. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
  26. ↑ Steffen Hung (2014-04-19). "Les charts français". Lescharts.com. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
  27. ↑ ディレインのアルバム売上ランキング [Delain's Album sales ranking]. ORICON STYLE. oricon ME inc. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  28. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Lucidity by Delain". iTunes. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  29. ↑ "iTunes - Music - April Rain by Delain". iTunes. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  30. ↑ "iTunes - Music - We Are the Others by Delain". iTunes. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  31. ↑ "iTunes - Music - The Human Contradiction by Delain". iTunes. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  32. ↑ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes - SNEP (Week 35, 2016)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  33. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Interlude by Delain". iTunes. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  34. ↑ Steffen Hung (2007-07-28). "Dutch Charts". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
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