Delain: Masters of a Modern Apocalypse
“When it comes to a band’s journey, it’s all about endurance. And endurance is about fun. It’s such a terrible cliché but at the end of the day, it’s about being yourself. Because then people see your DNA and exactly what you’re about. There’s only one of you and people see your fingerprint. And I think that’s how we’ve reached this point.” Fourteen years, five successful albums and many headlining tours later, if anyone is well versed on matters of artistic longevity it’s DELAIN‘s Martijn Westerholt.
Chatting to Distorted Sound from the cosy confines of Birmingham’s O2 Institute, the mood is one of anticipation. Not only are the Dutch symphonic collective due to take the stage later for night one of the Masters Of Destiny UK tour, our discussion just happens to be taking place on the eve of seventh full-length Apocalypse & Chill’s release. A huge smile spreads across the songwriter-cum-producer’s face when we inform him that there’s a queue forming already outside the venue but given the band’s relationship with the UK (“the fans here are the loyalest of the loyal so coming back here always feels like coming home”) it’s not entirely surprising. The fuel behind such excitement may also spring from the four years that’s passed since 2016’s Moonbathers and this new offering – the biggest gap to date between any two DELAIN records – but ultimately it’s time the sextet have used to their advantage. “Charlotte [Wessels, vocals] actually made me realise recently that we’ve released something every single year since 2012! Plus, we’ve also released a DVD and EPs and all those things cost a lot of time and energy,” Martijn reveals. “But then again, you look at someone like PINK FLOYD and it’s been eight or ten years since they had a record out. The way we work is that we always go with the flow and see where that river of creativity takes us. We had something of an aim to release a little bit less – that way you can focus a bit more on the songwriting itself. And that definitely helped this time around.”
With soundscapes ranging from the emotionally evocative – slow-burner Ghost House Heart beautifully demonstrates the band’s softer side – to all-out anthemic rock bangers, the contrasts are big, bold and surprising. And with topics of impending doom and humanity’s apparent indifference towards it, there’s a distinctly dystopian twist to this new chapter. “Charlotte was noticing on social media that you see people living their lives via all these cool pictures and its all nice and dandy. Then you’d turn on the TV and would literally see the world burning – Australia, California – and it’s like two completely different worlds yet it’s the same one. And that in turn inspired Apocalypse & Chill,” he divulges. “It’s not even us judging; its more just an observation of how it’s going. It’s such a fascinating contrast. Then after like five or six songs, you’ll notice that within the music there’s a lot of contrasts happening. We’ve got the three orchestral reworkings and then there’s a lot of softer stuff music-wise, but lyrically we’re exploring personal things then these big, earthly problems – it’s that battle between doom and human indifference!”
New musical influences and surprise guest spots (which includes BEAST IN BLACK’s Yannis Papadopoulos) aside, what is omnipresent is Charlotte Wessels’ effortless vocals. Beguiling yet equally hair-raising as a result of that powerful soprano range, she’s at her most enthralling here. And, as Westerholt reminds us, what’s also a constant is the pair’s working dynamic. “She’s been through an incredible transformation over the years and she’s doing more and more extreme stuff. Like the growls. And I think she actually sounds a lot more intense this time around,” he states emphatically. “But I think one of her greatest qualities is that she has such a unique character – you really recognise it and that’s so important when it comes to that individuality of the music. On one hand, there’s me with my DNA, my songwriting and being the producer but then there’s her with her vocals. Together, the dynamic that we have, it just works.”
As the clock ticks swiftly towards showtime, there’s just enough time to ask Westerholt what he’d like those fans inching excitedly into the venue to take away from this new music. And just like the album’s moniker, it’s about recognising just how far that sense of perspective can take us. “Firstly, I’d want them to just have fun with it – as simplistic as that sounds!” Martijn chuckles. “I hope it’s going to give them the full and thorough DELAIN experience, that we are the music we make, and to also look to the world with another view. I know, I know, that sounds a bit pretentious. But honesty I don’t mean it like that!” he insists. “I mean that it’s good to look at things from another angle. Sometimes, I’ll realise that myself. I’ll think ‘oh its fascinating to see it from that side’. And I think history will prove this – we’re living in a really crucial time – with all the global problems of overpopulation and globalisation and everything else. And when you’re existing in that bubble, the human race all together, sometimes it’s good to look at it from another perspective. Perhaps we can with this album.”
Apocalypse & Chill is out now via Napalm Records. DELAIN are featured in our latest digital issue. Subscribe to our Patreon today to read the feature!
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