Delain

Delain
Delain performing live at Wacken Open Air in August 2010
Background information
Origin	Zwolle, Netherlands
Genres	Symphonic metal
Years active	2002, 2005–present
Labels	CNR Music, Roadrunner Records, Napalm Records
Associated acts	Within Temptation, Epica, Marco Hietala, Liv Kristine, Hangover Hero
Website	www.delain.nl
Members	Martijn Westerholt Charlotte Wessels Sander Zoer Otto Schimmelpenninck van der Oije Timo Somers
Past members	Rob van der Loo Ronald Landa Ray van Lente Ewout Pieters

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]

Band biography

Formation

In 2001, Martijn 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, Martijn left the project behind for a bit, 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.

Lucidity (2006-2007)

Lucidity brought to fruition Martijn'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).

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 sophomore 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", "Get the Devil Out of Me" and "Milk and Honey" — from their third album, We Are the Others. In an interview with Sonic Cathedral, Charlotte 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 has been announced as 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-present)

On 23 January 2014, Delain announced that they will release a new album entitled "The Human Contradiction"

Members

Current members

• Martijn Westerholt – Keyboards (2002, 2005–present)
• Charlotte Wessels – Lead vocals (2005–present)
• Sander Zoer – Drums (2006–present)
• Otto Schimmelpenninck van der Oije – Bass guitar, backing vocals (2010–present)
• Timo Somers – Lead guitar, backing vocals (2011–present)

Former members

• Rob van der Loo – Bass (2006–2010)
• Guus Eikens - rhythm guitars (2006–2007 session, 2008-2009, 2011-2012)
• Ronald Landa – Guitars / Vocals (2006–2009)
• Ray van Lente – Guitars (2006–2007)
• Ewout Pieters – Guitars (2009–2010)

2002 lineup

• Roy van Enkhuyzen – Guitars (2002)
• Frank van der Meijden – Guitars (2002)
• Anne Invernizzi – Vocals (2002)
• Martijn Willemsen – Bass (2002)
• Tim Kuper – Drums (2002)

Touring members

• Roel Vink – bass (2009)
• Bas Maas – guitar (2012)

Session members

• Marco Hietala-bass (2006) vocals (2009)
• Ad Sluijter-guitar (2006)
• Guus Eikens-guitar, backing vocals (2006, 2009, 2012)
• Ariën van Weesenbeek-drums (2006)
• Rosan van der Aa-backing vocals (2006)
• Jan "Örkki" Yrlund-guitar (2006)

Timeline

Discography

Albums

Year	Title
2006	Lucidity
2009	April Rain
2012	We Are the Others
2013	Interlude
2014	The Human Contradiction

Singles

• "Frozen" (2007)
• "See Me in Shadow" (2007)
• "The Gathering" (2008)
• "April Rain" (2009)
• "Stay Forever" (2009)
• "Smalltown Boy" (2010)
• "Get the Devil Out of Me" (2012)
• "We Are the Others" (2012)
• "Are You Done with Me" (2013)

Demos

• Amenity (2002)

Miscellaneous

• Interlude (2013)

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

Notes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Delain.

• Official website
• Metal Archives on Delain
• Official Delain MySpace page
• Official French website and Official French forum

v t e Delain Charlotte Wessels Martijn Westerholt Timo Somers Sander Zoer Otto van der Oije Ewout Pieters Rob van der Loo Ronald Landa Ray van Lente Roy van Enkhuyzen Frank van der Meijden Anne Invernizzi Martijn Willemsen Tim Kuper Studio albums Lucidity April Rain We Are the Others Interlude The Human Contradiction Singles "Frozen" "See Me in Shadow" "The Gathering" "April Rain" "Stay Forever" "Smalltown Boy" "Get the Devil Out of Me" "We Are the Others" "Are You Done With Me" Demo Amenity