Interview:	DELAIN
Title:	Promising in many ways

With their seventh album „Dark Waters“, the Dutch band climbed to ninth place in the German album charts last year - after all, Delain brought countless Melodic Synth Metal souls lasting moments of bliss with their many hit songs.

Now this brilliant success story continues - and that's exactly the kind of response all fans want to read from the heart: As keyboarder Martijn Westerholt confirms, the new EP „Dance With The Devil“ serves as a transition to the upcoming full-length output!

„Yes, exactly. That's why we are doing this. We're currently working on our new album and have already finished two songs. Our fans have been asking for new music, therefore, we decided we should honour their request with this release by giving them a taste for what’s to come and also celebrating our history. We have released EP’s before with great success. With this we also honour a tradition since we often released EP’s in between albums in the past.“

There are also 2 completely new songs included - what moods and visions did you approach their current songwriting with?

„We wanted these songs to instantly be recognised with Delain’s signature sound. The kind of chord progressions, song structure and general vibe of the songs are instantly recognisable as Delain songs. At the same time we are both artists and humans which means we always develop and evolve. So we aimed for a recognisable but also a fresh new sound. With the new tracks I think we accomplished that.“

How do you see and evaluate these new songs on within your musical journey so far?

„These songs have a modern but also a very 80’s vibe. I have always been captivated by the 80’s feel of music. I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s and the music from that time gives me a very trusted and melancholic feeling. I love those synth sounds and chord progressions which is why you can find pieces of it throughout Delain’s entire musical history. With these two songs we included those elements a bit more forward and center with our synth sounds and melody lines. It is a very important part of Delain’s DNA.“

Who out of you guys did the lion's share of the 2 new songs?

„As always it's my job to put the songs together and write the foundations of them while also getting input from my writing partner Guus Eikens. After that I give the material to others to contribute to it. Diana did a great job on writing lyrics on ‚Dance With The Devil‘, helping with tweaking some vocal lines, and providing some elements for the heavy growl part of the song. Robin La Joy wrote the lyrics of the new track ‚The Reaping‘. Also our bass player Ludo helped me with arranging some parts as well.“

Sounds as if the newly formed line-up has now fully “found” itself in these two songs, doesn't it?

„Yes, I'm really pleased with the outcome! After I wrote the core of the songs the other band members made some great contributions. Ludo and Diana definitely did fantastic work as I just mentioned. Also we should not forget our original band members Sander (drummer) and Ronald (guitar player) who have been present throughout Delain’s history. Thanks to all of this, Delain’s style has remained the same as it always was. We make a great team.“

What is the title song "Dance With The Devil" about lyrically? The lyrics seem to be metaphorical, but deeply emotionally based ...

„This song is based on toxic relationships. It can be about a romantic relationship, but it can also be applied to other types of relationships as well. In general it is a very recognisable thing most of us as humans have to deal with at one or more points in our lives. So it's something people can relate to.“

What is "The Reaping" about lyrically? "We go toward the dark in a wilful blindness … Pretending the dark clouds on the horizon will turn away …" … seems to portrait our current world's crises?

„The name ‚The Reaping‘ comes from the old adage ‚sow to the wind and reap the whirlwind‘. It's about actions always having consequences and those actions can even include the choice of inaction. The song speaks of society as a whole and the dangerous direction it is taking. While politics can certainly be a part of that direction, the song speaks of the much bigger picture that reaches far beyond that. In a nutshell you can say the song expresses both alarm and a deep sorrow over the current path of society toward imminent and inescapable consequences and it's up to each one of us whether to go along with it in silence or to take a stand.“

How was the selection for the tracklist for the EP done - was it difficult or rather easy for Delain?

„It was rather easy. We started with the new singles and after that we added ‚Sleepwalkers Dream‘. This is an original track from our first album ‚Lucidity‘. Diana had recorded part of this song online for our social media platforms. We got such overwhelming requests to re-record the whole song with Diana's vocals so we decided to do just that and add it to the EP. After that you can hear a selection of songs we performed live at special shows during our last EU tour. It was fantastic to be able to eternalise those moments by mixing those recordings for this EP.“

The 9 live versions all sound very good, the atmosphere in the audience is also audibly top. Where and when were they recorded - and was a release already planned back then?

„Yes, the live performances were really special and we were really grateful to have recorded them at those shows. Some of the songs were recorded in Warsaw Poland where we have a very dedicated fanbase and such an enthusiastic crowd. It was a wonderful and special experience. The other songs were recorded in the Venue Z7 in Switzerland. This has always been a special location for Delain. It's a place where people from Switzerland, Germany, France, and even Italy come together to experience a Delain show. It was the perfect place to record our live songs and put them on the EP.“

What do you want to tell the readers about the live cooperation in "Queen Of Shadow", "Your Body is a Battleground" and "Control The Storm" with Paolo Ribaldini?

„Paolo has a special place in our heart. He has toured with us for many shows as a guest throughout our ‚Dark Waters‘ album cycle. He has an unbelievable voice and can perform both old Delain classics and new song releases from ‚Dark Waters‘ live with ease. So it was a given he had to be present on the EP as well. It was very fortunate that he was with us at the live shows in Poland and Switzerland.“

Anything you would like to add?

„After a very difficult period after the line-up change of Delain we are so grateful how we were able to grow, experience the ‚Dark Waters‘ album cycle over the past two years, eternalise some of those moments on the EP, and also release a couple of brand new tracks as a bridge to the future and our upcoming album. We hope we can make our fans happy with this new release and can’t wait to bring it live on stage!“

© Markus Eck, 01.11.2024

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