Delain - April Rain (2009)

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Three years after releasing their acclaimed debut album “Lucidity”, Delain returns stronger than ever with a very solid album. “Lucidity” featured many guest appearances, while this was great for the album it did not allowed us to determine Delain’s own musical style. “April Rain” allow us to listen to what Delain can create with the minimal use of “outside help”.

While the title track presents clear gothic rock influences, it is only one of the many faces that Delain has. Every track has something that separates it from the others, making the album very dynamic, and a very interesting listening experience. Only a few songs are gothic rock oriented, but the majority of the tracks have a clear gothic metal sound. If I have to compare this album to something I would say that it can easily be compared to Within Temptation’s “Mother Earth” album.

Marco Hietala lend his voice for 2 of the tracks: “Control The Storm” and “Nothing Left”, and they sound great as ever. And you can even hear some male grunts on track 6 provided by the bands guitarist.

The versatility between songs is one of my favorite things in this album since it kicks off with the ‘single’ title track and never goes down in quality. Tracks 5 and 6 feature Cello arrangements adding and extra dimension to those songs. And it keeps the listener engaged waiting to see what else the band incorporated into their music.

In general this release is a clear candidate for gothic metal album of the year. Charlotte’s vocals sound great as always. And Martijn keyboard arrangements are top notch. You can see the band’s musical growth from their first album to this release. And hopefully they continue to release top notch albums like this one. I would recommend this album for all gothic metal fans, nobody will be disappointed.

Band: Delain Album: April Rain
Label: Roadrunner Records Year: 2009
Official Site myspace
Genre: Gothic Metal

Country: Netherlands

Rating: 95/100
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