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DELAIN
We Are The Others

Roadrunner (2012)
Rating: 6.5/10

Former Within Temptation keyboardist Martijn Westerholt’s Delain returns with their third release, We Are The Others. Originally conceived as a project with revolving membership, the Dutch band has solidified over the years and their sound has developed into exactly what you might expect from a former member of Within Temptation. Delain rocks chunky guitars, atmospheric keyboards and soaring female vocals, hinting at their love of pop, prog and metal in nearly every song multiple times. The vocals mainly soar above the music in a semi-operatic way, but not so much that it doesn’t feel like rock music anymore.

‘Electricity’ is the first standout track here, blending some gorgeous vocals with pop-riddled rock guitars, an interesting bass break and a killer solo mid-song. The modern Lacuna Coil-sounding ‘Where Is The Blood’ features Burton C. Bell (Fear Factory) and is one of the album’s highlights for sure, simply due to his elevating presence vocally. The band keeps the momentum though, roaring through the straightforward but impressive ‘Generation Me’ and the bouncy ‘Babylon’. The latter has a very epic feel to it that is what I imagine a power metal band like Stratovarius or Gamma Ray might sound like with a strong, straightforward female vocal presence. The more experimental ‘Get The Devil Out Of Me’ provides some much needed depth (and some more impressive guitar soloing that makes you wish they’d let guitarist Timo Somers loose to solo more), despite its predictable approach.

The Nightwish-esque title track is probably the catchiest track here, delivering a perfect summer driving song that instantly makes you want to sing along. The same rule applies here to ‘Are You Done With Me?’. Both songs have a tremendous pop edge that will surely turn off many diehard hard music enthusiasts, but quite likely endures Delain to an entirely different kind of listener at the same time. While this album is not without its flat moments, these two songs in particular are enough to bring the listener back for a few more spins.

We Are The Others is a solid record from start to finish. It’s not the kind of record that takes chances or breaks new ground; it simply delivers a well-tread style of music with exact precision. If you enjoy Leaves Eyes’ harder edged songs, Within Temptation’s more recent works (oddly enough), post-Tarja Turunen Nightwish, or Lacuna Coil’s less gothic songs, then Delain is the perfect fit for you. All in all, the album holds up with the best of the genre but fails to take it any further in the end or establish itself as anything new or different.

Mark Fisher

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