Roadrunner
2012
1. Mother Machine
2. Electricity
3. We Are The Others
4. Milk and Honey
5. Hit Me With Your Best Shot
6. I Want You
7. Where Is The Blood
8. Generation Me
9. Babylon
10. Are You Done With Me?
11. Get The Devil Out Of Me
12. Not Enough
New Delain is something I've been looking forward to for awhile. Ever since April Rain and seeing them at ProgPower USA I'd count myself as a fan. The first album was pretty good, but the second really put them in the 'up and comer' category for me. April Rain just had nice melodic atmosphere and singing to it along with very memorable songwriting. Reminded me a bit of Within Temptation. Similar brand of female fronted metal and brought to you by the ex-keyboardist of that band.
Now onto the new one, We Are The Others. There were some warning signs before I even listened to this that I couldn't ignore. The main one being the fact that the backing, guest vocals of Marco Hietala that appeared on the first two albums are absent and in it's place is one track with Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory. More than a slight drop off in quality there and I couldn't help but think it was probably a signal of the sound and audience they'd aim for here.
Sometimes, I hate being right. From the first listen, I had trouble latching onto this release. It still sorta sounds like the Delain of the first couple albums and they've always had a 'well produced' sound, but this one did not have anywhere near the impact April Rain had on me right away. A large part of the problem here is that the guitar has become more chuggy and I get this overall impression of radio rock. Sometimes it's a fine line and when you cross it things go south in a hurry. I'm feeling like this is the influence of being on Roadrunner records too long. I don't find this one has as much of a symphonic touch and the riffs just aren't what I want to hear.
Songs worthy of note include We Are The Others which seems to have more of that lighter, symphonic charm to it and Get The Devil Out Of Me which finds a really catchy riff that reminds me of Lullacry or later Nightwish. Also worth mentioning, in less positive fashion, are the crappy duet by the name of Where Is The Blood and the overly poppy sounding Are You Done With Me. All in all, the lows are a lot more than the highs and many of the songs are pretty mediocre. Most of these songs just don't hold a lot of appeal to my metal ears.
Overall, this is the band hitting a low point. I can't help but wonder if this band peaked quickly with it's second album. I hope I'm wrong really, but I'm doubting it. I really like Charlotte Wessels voice and the sound they had going, but this is not my kind of metal. I wouldn't really recommend this to anyone who likely reads these things. Is it just me or are a lot of female fronted bands flopping lately?
Highlights: Get The Devil Out Of Me, We Are The Others
Rating - 2.5/5
2. Electricity
3. We Are The Others
4. Milk and Honey
5. Hit Me With Your Best Shot
6. I Want You
7. Where Is The Blood
8. Generation Me
9. Babylon
10. Are You Done With Me?
11. Get The Devil Out Of Me
12. Not Enough
New Delain is something I've been looking forward to for awhile. Ever since April Rain and seeing them at ProgPower USA I'd count myself as a fan. The first album was pretty good, but the second really put them in the 'up and comer' category for me. April Rain just had nice melodic atmosphere and singing to it along with very memorable songwriting. Reminded me a bit of Within Temptation. Similar brand of female fronted metal and brought to you by the ex-keyboardist of that band.
Now onto the new one, We Are The Others. There were some warning signs before I even listened to this that I couldn't ignore. The main one being the fact that the backing, guest vocals of Marco Hietala that appeared on the first two albums are absent and in it's place is one track with Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory. More than a slight drop off in quality there and I couldn't help but think it was probably a signal of the sound and audience they'd aim for here.
Sometimes, I hate being right. From the first listen, I had trouble latching onto this release. It still sorta sounds like the Delain of the first couple albums and they've always had a 'well produced' sound, but this one did not have anywhere near the impact April Rain had on me right away. A large part of the problem here is that the guitar has become more chuggy and I get this overall impression of radio rock. Sometimes it's a fine line and when you cross it things go south in a hurry. I'm feeling like this is the influence of being on Roadrunner records too long. I don't find this one has as much of a symphonic touch and the riffs just aren't what I want to hear.
Songs worthy of note include We Are The Others which seems to have more of that lighter, symphonic charm to it and Get The Devil Out Of Me which finds a really catchy riff that reminds me of Lullacry or later Nightwish. Also worth mentioning, in less positive fashion, are the crappy duet by the name of Where Is The Blood and the overly poppy sounding Are You Done With Me. All in all, the lows are a lot more than the highs and many of the songs are pretty mediocre. Most of these songs just don't hold a lot of appeal to my metal ears.
Overall, this is the band hitting a low point. I can't help but wonder if this band peaked quickly with it's second album. I hope I'm wrong really, but I'm doubting it. I really like Charlotte Wessels voice and the sound they had going, but this is not my kind of metal. I wouldn't really recommend this to anyone who likely reads these things. Is it just me or are a lot of female fronted bands flopping lately?
Highlights: Get The Devil Out Of Me, We Are The Others
Rating - 2.5/5
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