Delain – Moonbathers

Delain_Moonbathers  It’s a huge disappointment to me that there aren’t many more front women in the world of metal. I’m not trying to be all “more power to women” or calling many bands “sexist f**ks”, but simply because you just don’t see a lot of women busting out their own growls or singing beautiful melodies as often as you do men in metal. And that’s a real travesty with bands like Delain making an excellent case for the potential of front women, and their upcoming album “Moonbathers” isn’t just a great example of such but a magnificent album in general.  Symphonic metal has never really been my taste, but Delain have been around for such a while and they’ve garnered such a great following that I decided to test my luck with “Moonbathers”, and goddamn it do I wish I listen to these Dutch masters sooner! This twelve track mammoth of an album has got everything magnificent you could possibly want out of symphonic metal record and just much more as Delain manage to make a spectacle that little have done before on such a grand scale. And what’s something that every single symphonic piece as to it? Symphonies, of course! And Delain use them in a particularly epic way with “Moonbathers” as every f**king track that you come across has a masterfully played array of orchestra demonstrations that just seem to come so naturally and are so fluid that it’s hard to ignore them upon a first listening. Then there’s the matter that I made a big deal of earlier which is the vocals, and Delain know how to use their front woman’s voice to the absolute max as they provide soaring melodies and such a beautiful union alongside the melodic yet slightly edgy metal and orchestra that when thrown together in the final mix for an explosive demonstration that is simply monumental in its smallest of moments. And if you’re getting bored with the lack of intensity that you may be looking for, then fear not for featured within “Moonbathers” is the beautiful and illustrious Alissa White-Gluz who lends her massive vocals to add a brilliant new layer to the already masterfully sculpted music Delain made. In the end of a wondrous display, it’s hard to argue that Delain did one f**king hell of an amazing job to celebrate 10 years of being a band. A momentous occasion for any group, and this one in particular made a fittingly momentous album to seal the deal.

“Moonbathers” releases on August 26th! You can pre-order the album via iTunes here, and preview the entire album via YouTube here or below.

Track Listing:

  1. Hands of Gold
  2. The Glory and the Scum
  3. Suckerpunch
  4. The Hurricane
  5. Chrysalis – The Last Breath
  6. Fire With Fire
  7. Pendulum
  8. Danse Macabre
  9. Scandal
  10. Turn the Lights Out
  11. The Monarch