Queen of Shadow (EP) Delain

• 1 Queen of Shadow 04:02
• 2 Moth to a Flame (Feat. Paolo Ribaldini) 04:07
• 3 Beneath (Feat. Paolo Ribaldini) 04:59
• 4 The Quest and the Curse 04:56
• Total Runtime 18:04

Info for Queen of Shadow (EP)

Dutch symphonic metal pioneers Delain break into new realms with their eagerly awaited full-length Dark Waters. The pristine record marks a game-changing chapter in the band's history and presents the brainchild of keyboardist, founder and main songwriter Martijn Westerholt with a new lineup. Rejoining the fold and bolstering DELAIN's continuity are original guitarist Ronald Landa and original drummer Sander Zoer, while new members - terrific vocalist Diana Leah and bassist Ludovico Cioffi - continue to evolve their sound. Dark Waters follows the chart-breaking Apocalypse & Chill (2020), integrating the most refined sounds in the genre. Delain's renowned orchestral arrangements, highlighted by modern shadings, set new standards and manifest the five-piece on top of the scene. A sonic rollercoaster ride of catchy tunes with explosive elements - ranging from pop to film score-inspired to blistering metal - merge perfectly with Diana's fantastic voice, showcasing her incredible talent and musical sophistication.

Songs like the soaring previously released standalone single, “The Quest and the Curse”, as well as “The Cold” (the latter featuring a real, epic choir), lure with a bombastic sound that skillfully combines orchestral melodies, epic heavy riffs and marvelous vocal performances. DELAIN magnificently manages to never lose touch of their characteristic sound, making them a constant without ever standing still. Pop-induced opening track “Hideaway Paradise” shows exactly that by inducing a dream-like feeling flirting with melodic metal guitars, while the ballad-like dark track “Mirror of Night”, featuring Within Temptation guitarist Ruud Jolie, entices the listener with unfathomably catchy lines and melodies. “Queen of Shadow”merges the orchestral and synth-focused soundscapes DELAIN is known for as it weaves melodic heavy guitars that intertwine with orchestral lines and vocal melodies. The vocal department holds new adventures with guest singer Paolo Ribaldini, who also highlights the hauntingly beautiful “Beneath” as the ultimate hymn. Hovering close to the original DELAIN sound, it combines synth themes and metal riffs to create an incredible fusion between pop and heavy soundscapes, topped off with a brain-spinning guitar solo. “Tainted Hearts” is centered around Westerholt's keyboard arrangements, which skillfully showcase the creative roots of the mastermind. “Invictus” is nothing less than the Magnum Opus of the album - a rock opera in its own right with heavy riffing, choirs and vocal parts performed by Diana Leah, Paolo Ribaldini and Marko Hietala (ex-Nightwish), ending in a bombastic climax where everything comes together. Emerging as a brand new start and safe haven alike, Dark Waters, without any doubt, continues the legacy of this multi-million-streamed leading symphonic metal outfit and contains everything DELAIN is loved for and more.

Delain

Delain
Dutch symphonic rockers DELAIN have been releasing and performing their signature catchy melodic metal sound worldwide for over a decade now. The five albums on their name include guest performances from the titans of the scene, among others: Sharon Den Adel (WITHIN TEMPTATION), Marco Hietala (NIGHTWISH), Alissa White-Gluz (ARCH ENEMY), Burton C. Bell (FEAR FACTORY).

Having toured the globe with bands like NIGHTWISH, SABATON andWITHIN TEMPTATION, and having rocked festivals like WACKEN,GRASPOP, DOWNLOAD and FORTAROCK, DELAIN have strongly carved their niche within the scene. The band is currently working on the follow up to their chart hitting record Moonbathers, due 2019. Bridging the gap between studio records is their first ever live DVD “A Decade of Delain - Live at Paradiso” released October 2017, and - proving themselves to one of the most productive bands in the game - Delain are currently in the mixing phase of an extensive new special release that will precede their next studio album.

MOONBATHERS release interview, Martijn Westerholt & Charlotte Wessels by Dom Lawson, 2016

The release of Delain’s fifth album, the stunning Moonbathers, looks certain to further enhance their already sturdy reputation. In collaboration with guitarists Timo Somers and Merel Bechtold, bassist Otto Schimmelpenninck van der Oije and drummer Ruben Israel, Charlotte Wessels and Martijn Westerholt have conjured what is plainly the most diverse, daring and powerful album of Delain’s remarkable story so far. Ranging from the thunderous pomp and melodic might of opener Hands Of Gold and the brooding rush of Suckerpunch through to the dark, exploratory grandeur of Chrysalis – The Last Breath and an exhilarating cover of unsung Queen gem Scandal (originally from the British legends’ album The Miracle), Moonbathers showcases the blossoming of the Dutch band’s creativity and collective chemistry.

Martijn elaborates: “Releasing a Queen cover is risky business, but the song Scandal just fits Delain perfectly having exactly the right vibe. With the blessing of Brain May we were able to create our own surprising version of it. The result is a typical Delain sound on a legendary song. Opening track Hands Of Gold is a song Im very proud of as well. It’s very heavy, very fast, and Alissa’s grunts, growls & backing vocals are fantastic and refreshing. A new sound for Delain, and an especially heavy introduction of this album.”

“What we usually do at the beginning of an album process is consider what we liked and didn’t like about the album before, and we realized that we really liked the production on The Human Contradiction. We deliberately chose to keep certain factors similar to that,” explains Martijn, who took the producer position for this album, as he did on their previous one. “We worked together with the same mixing team, the same master, and the same classical arranger, and in that sense we continued where we left off.” When it comes to the songs themselves it’s a different story.

“We had the luxury problem of doing back to back tours. As we didn’t have the time to take a break from touring long enough to write and record an entire album, we decided upfront to chop up the entire process into three chunks, in order to utilize the smaller timeframes between tours and give the songs the time and attention they needed. As a result, it’s a very varied album. It’s an album of extremes: the heavy songs are heavier, the ballad more sensitive, and then there’s songs with a real rock vibe, and that’s due to the way we recorded it, in different times, in different places and in different moods.”

Renowned for penning lyrics that resonate with Delain’s huge fan base, Charlotte has excelled herself on Moonbathers, drawing from her personal experiences and taking inspiration from literature and cinema to compose the band’s darkest but deepest set of mysterious messages yet.

“I was looking at the lyrics and some of them were dark to the point of being morbid!” she laughs. “There is a lot of thought about endings, both figuratively and very literally; songs about death. Negative emotions are a trigger for my creativity, but though most of my lyrics originate there, I don’t want to glorify it. So as a lyricist I try to make sure that there is always some sort of light at the end of the tunnel. I also realized that when I feel bad, it is sad music more than anything that makes me feel better. So I embraced the idea that it’s possible to find comfort there, and I went looking for a metaphor for finding that light in the darkness, the ultimate icon of that, for me, is the moon. So I chose moonbathers, rather than sunbathers, as a metaphor for those who find comfort in darkness.”

Martijn looks back with a smile: “Moonbathers turned out fantastic. The productional quality, heaviness, contrast between light and heavy parts is very refreshing. The sound is exactly what we were were aiming for. Heavy but transparant, I think we achieved the typical Delain style now. Very recognizable, and with it’s own identity.”

2016 has already proved to be a special year for Delain, but the sky’s the limit for this most ambitious and enthusiastic of bands. Moonbathers proves that their artistic impulses are still firing with full force and with an ever-expanding global audience anticipating their return to the live arena, this band are plainly on the fast track to ever greater and more enduring success.

“We don’t know how we’ll top this year, but after we’re done with all the 10th anniversary celebrations, We’ll set our eyes back to the future!” the band concludes. “Let’s start preparing for that next decade of Delain and our 20th anniversary! Releasing new music is always an exciting process and we’re enjoying our time on the road so much now that we just want to keep going onwards and upwards and continue the road we’re on.”

This album contains no booklet.