Symphonic gothic metal band Delain struck a postive chord with genre fans with their most recent release April Rain, so leave it to the folks at Sensory/The Lasers Edge to re-release the Dutch band's debut Lucidity, complete with 5 bonus tracks. Now, everyone can discover the beginnings of this up and coming band, or revisit their debut once again. Put together by former Within Temptation keyboard player Martijn Westerholt, Delain was originally intended to be a studio project (and here, Lucidity features guest appearances by Marco Hietala (Nightwish), Sharon Den Adel (Within Temptation), Liv Kristine (Leaves' Eyes), and Ad Sluijter (Epica) among others), but the emergence of lead vocalist Charlotte Wessels and the popularity of the band with fans has led the group to become a touring and recording machine, with a third album apparently in the works.
All the trimmings of the gothic/symphonic metal style are here in abundance, with Wessels' soaring vocals leading the way over plenty of bone crunching riffage and orchestral synths. It's great to hear the occasional growl and gruff vocal from George Oosthock and Hietala here, which will please any fan of the female vocal/male growl duets of Epica, After Forever, or early Within Temptation. Otherwise, expect no shortage of catchy, melodic numbers, such as "Sever", "Frozen", the dramatic "Silhouette Of A Dancer ", the crushing "No Compliance", and the grand symphonic gem that is "Shattered". Want a fist pumping anthem? Look no further than "The Gathering", a piece that would easily fit onto any Nightwish album with it's operatic vocals, heavy riffs, and sumptuous keyboards. The same can be said for "Daylight Lucidity", a track that is dripping with Westerholt's orchestral keyboard textures and powerful vocals from Wessels.
The bonus tracks are mostly acoustic versions of various songs from the main album ("Frozen" is quite charming), plus a version of "No Compliance" with Charlotte on lead vocals (Sharon sang on the album cut) alongside Hietala. All this comes housed in a lovely digipack complete with lyrics and photos, making for a kick ass reissue of this solid 2006 debut.
Track Listing
1. Sever 4:52
2. Frozen 4:43
3. Silhouette Of A Dancer 5:24
4. No Compliance 5:09
5. See Me In Shadow 4:40
6. Shattered 4:19
7. The Gathering 3:34
8. Daylight Lucidity 4:36
9. Sleepwalkers Dream 4:27
10. A Day For Ghosts 3:37
11. Pristine 4:31
12. (Deep) Frozen 4:44
13. Frozen (Acoustic) 4:31
14. Silhouette Of A Dancer (Acoustic) 3:23
15. See Me In Shadow (Acoustic) 3:38
16. No Compliance (Charlotte Vocals) 5:09
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