The album “The Human Contradiction” fell into my hands by Dutch symphonic metal band, Delain. Boy, what a treat that it did. I instantly became a fan of the fairy tale opening on the track “Here Come the Vultures.” The eerie yet hypnotizing and beautiful vocals of Charlotte Wessels pull you in to Delain’s world and take you on a musical adventure. As the album progresses on, especially on tracks “Your Body is a Battleground” and “My Masquerade” I’m reminded of Italian metal band, Lacuna Coil, which is a personal favorite, so it’s easy to understand why Delain is so pleasing to the ears.
The keyboard and synth are executed flawlessly by keyboardist Martijn Westerholt, previously of the band Within Temptation. His artistic implementation shines throughout on “The Human Contradiction” and at the core is the serenading yet ever forceful storm of guitar talent that is Timo Somers. Bringing a handful of energetic bass as well as a handful of a name is Otto Schimmelpenninck van der Oije on bass guitar. The only thing that unfortunately left me desiring more was the drums provided by Sander Zoer. Zoer, although delivering a pounding force to be reckoned with on the drums, is overshadowed for the most part on “The Human Contradiction.”
Delain’s latest release is the entertaining female fronted powerhouse that puts a fresh face on metal for me. There is not a single song on “The Human Contradiction” that resembles another. The track “Army of Dolls” begins as almost a new wave club hit and then kicks into high gear, a track that you’ll want to hear turned all the way up. In the way that Delain turns it up, they can also bring it right back down with melancholy and haunting songs like “Sing to Me” and “Lullaby”. My rating for this album is a well-deserved 10 out of 10.
Fun facts about Delain: Not only are they a kick ass metal band, but the name of the band comes from a Stephen King novel entitled “The Eyes of The Dragon.” The album title “The Human Contradiction” is taken from the post-apocalyptic trilogy “Lilith’s Brood” by Octavia E. Butler. Wessels states on the Delain website that “the fact that humanity did not last is explained by our two most contradictory qualities; the fact that we are as a species both intelligent and hierarchic. This human contradiction causes an “us versus the others” mentality, which in the book – as well as one could argue in reality – proves to be a most self-destructive attitude.”
Stevie Kopas, HMS
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