ALBUM REVIEW: Tales From Six Feet Under – Charlotte Wessels

Earlier this year, Martijn Westerholt – the mastermind behind Dutch symphonic metallers DELAIN – announced that the line-up as it stood had dissolved and he was taking the band back to being a solo project. It was a seismic shift and one that nobody saw coming. For then vocalist CHARLOTTE WESSELS, only one way of moving forward seemed feasible; her solo career. Using the online platform Patreon to her full advantage, she began releasing one new song a month before Napalm Records – who already had her former band on their roster – picked her up to release Tales From Six Feet Under, her debut record out on Friday September 17th.

Any notion that Wessels would continue where she left off is eviscerated when opening track Superhuman contains absolutely no guitar or hint of metal at all. In fact, the only song that is reminiscent of her previous endeavours comes in the form of the penultimate FSU (2020), which brings in double bass kicks and chugging riffs that are otherwise absent on the record. Of course, it’s very rare for a musician, when outside of a band constraint, to merely replicate what they’d done before, and Wessels is no different.

There are some very interesting forays on the album, but all have one thing in common – they have been crafted and executed with passion and heart. Masterpiece, the shortest track, is a pop-orientated earworm. New Mythology is progressive, featuring a lovely key change and an earthy, organic aura, whilst Source Of The Flame also showcases a more folk-like vibe and sprinkles a touch of electronica on the keyboards for an added effect.

There are, however, three tracks that stand head and shoulders above the rest on Tales From Six Feet Under. The first is Afkicken (translation: Addiction), Wessels‘ first ever release in her mother tongue. This is a wicked temptress of a track befitting its title; Wessels is sultry and tantalising, the Dutch dialect and her soft delivery drawing you into a world of deceit and lust, underpinned by gothic/industrial guitars. This gothic feel is also present on a spine-tingling cover of Cry Little Sister from The Lost Boys soundtrack – a soaring chorus and minimal composition making this sound as if Enya had been influenced by THE CURE and SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES. The following track, Lizzie, completes the triumvirate: a duet with Alissa White-Gluz of ARCH ENEMY which sees the latter draw on her clean singing talents to mix with Wessels excellently. The fact she doesn’t use these in her regular band is criminal.

There’s been a lot of adversity to face along the way, but CHARLOTTE WESSELS has steered through it impressively and is now making her first brave steps into a new chapter of life. Tales From Six Feet Under is packed with promise and honesty, a very personal insight into the world of one of alternative music’s most powerful voices. Not only should Wessels be rightfully proud of what she has achieved in the wake of such obstacles, but given the high quality of her material, there’s only one way and that’s up. Six Feet Under? She’ll be on Cloud Nine before she knows it.

Rating: 8/10

Tales From Six Feet Under is set for release on September 17th via Napalm Records.

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