Interview With Delain

Infernal Masquerade: Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. So, let’s get started:

I.M: The transition from a ‘project’ to a band took place rather quickly. Was this a hard decision to make? Or did it felt more natural to continue as a band?

This went very natural, and also it was an opportunity. The band could contribute to the writing process of Delain. Because we played a lot together after the release of our first album Lucidity, I get to know their speciality’s. Ronald for example is very good in developing good Guitar rifs. Therefore the process went really well. This time I didn’t have to do everything on my own.

I.M: ”April Rain” is a very mature album that was in the works for 3 years. How did the writing process changed, from being a one man project, to writing as a band? Why this release took 3 years to make?

Well actually we wrote this album in 1,5 year. The rate of success from our first album Lucidity was unexpected. Before we released the album, we were not planning to play live with a band. So suddenly we had to develop a full blown live band, and expectations were high. Besides that we had a lot of media stuff to do. Playing on MTV and radio etc. So somewhere in 2007 when this was behind us we could find time to start writing. The writing process itself went really smoothly. People from the band came with material this time, so I had more possibilities to develop songs.
In the end I still decide what our direction is, and what comes on the album and what doesn’t. I don’t behave as a dictator or something, and I want to hear the opinion of the band members in the process, but in the end when decisions have to be made, discussion is lethal, and you have the danger to compromise. Compromises in music are not good to my opinion.

I.M: There is a considerable decrease of guest performances in “April Rain”, why did this change from “Lucidity”?

We had a complete band of musicians ready to contribute to the album. So the need for a guy (or girl) to play an instrument on the album diminished. Also, the process of developing the album went so very smoothly and the vibe was so good that we thought of guests in a very late stage. Two songs were very well suited for Marco’s voice. It’s not smart to ask one of the same guests from the previous album from a commercial perspective Roadrunner told us, but we don’t care. We are just a big fan of Marco’s vocals, and the two songs had written his name on it from our perspective. Besides that it’s also good to communicate to the outside we are a band now, and not a project. So it’s good to not have to much guest on the album.

I.M: How do you think Delain’s musical sound differs from other gothic metal/rock bands? What are your closest musical influences?

We write our songs in a pop structure (Theme, Verse, Chorus etc). Most other bands in our genre do not. They write more in a composition kind of style. I even dare to say we write pop songs in a very heavy coat. Our songs are also very compact. Most of the time the songs are not more then 4 minutes. Besides that our album is full of backing vocals of Charlotte. That’s doesn’t happen a lot in this amount in general. I think these elements are a bit different from most bands where we are compared to. About the musical influences, you can think of Rammstein to Abba. A lot of different stuff. You can find beautiful elements in a lot of music what can inspire you.

I.M: When Delain started was there any idea it would grow to the well recognized (and praised!), band that it is today? What was the original scope of Delain?

I always told myself not to expect anything when starting with Delain. Although the plan was to have Delain as a project, and perhaps do a few special shows with the guests. I certainly did not expect to end up with a band in the end, entering the charts in the Netherlands, and doing big festivals in Europe. We also did a special show with almost all guestmusicians of the first album
Now with April Rain it’s unbelievable. The response is really really good, but also the amount of response is amazing. So I cannot complain about the result.

I.M: Gothic Metal has been gaining more acceptance in the metal scene in the US, however many people only know a handful of bands (Within Temptation, Lacuna Coil). How do you think/hope your album to be received when it get’s released this June 30th on Sensory Records?

That’s always difficult to say. I do think the sound of the new album is more American then European in terms of the mix/production. I hope people in the stated will like it. Right now it’s already really special to see we had a lot of response from the States from people who imported the album, or were able listen to our music trough the internet.

I.M: How do you think the music scene has changed since the early beginnings of gothic metal, to these days where more and more gothic metal bands are getting better recognition?  How has this impacted you guys as a band and musicians?

Of course I have a good comparison to make trough my own experience with my Within Temptation time in the nineties and right now with Delain. The amount of bands in this genre has grown so much it’s very difficult to stand out with a band. Also the market has changed trough the internet. The quality demands for music are also bigger because of the technological capabilities nowadays. I remember recording the first Within Temptation stuff without a computer. Now I can’t think of making a record without it.. Also music in general is regarded less special nowadays because of the increased availability of music. This also influences the scene. So a lot of stuff has changed.

I.M: You guys have been touring pretty intensely since the first album. Any plans of touring outside of Europe, like the USA? Any funny/horror stories about a particular show you guys played?

Yes, we are thinking of crossing the ocean somewhere next year. But don’t know details yet.

I cannot recall anything from touring. Although I do recall an incident between our guitar player Ronald, and our producer Oliver when recording April Rain. Oliver had sent the final version of Start Swimming to Ronald, with the new guitars in it, and Ronald was very upset when he heard it, because the guitars sounded not better than the ones in the pre-production. He called up Oliver and said he was disappointed, because the guitars didn’t sound good. Oliver told Ronald that he was crazy, because the guitars sounded great in his ears. They ended up almost having a big argument for a day or two, when Oliver finally realised he had sent the preproduction version of the song.

I.M: Where do you expect to see Delain in 5 years? (What do you want to achieve with the band?)

Ow, that’s a difficult question. I have a lot of faith in the future of Delain when I see all the response we received until now. I hope we can keep building in getting Delain known by people. I hope in five years we have visited our fans in a lot of countries, and extending our live shows, keep ourselves challenged in trying to better ourselves. And most of all, keep having a lot of fun in making and playing music!

I.M: How do you think technology has affected the way music is recorded, written, distributed? How has this benefited Delain?  (Piracy, cheaper recording/musical equipment, etc)

In terms of the possibilities of making music, there our almost no limitations anymore. This benefits the creativity a lot and is a blessing. Your own imagination is the limit. It’s very easy to record an album nowadays. On the other hand the music industry is doing bad. Not a lot of money is available to invest in new bands/artist. And there is developing a big gap between the settled artists and new bands. Tour support for young bands for example is almost not there anymore. So you have to be very creative to succeed in creating chances and possibility’s for your band to develop. You have to create your own chances more than ever. I think we shouldn’t complain how it went in this regard. Everything is going better than I ever hoped for.