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When Martijn Westerholt started Delain it was more a project and at the debut Lucidity they had many guests. Meanwhile Delain became a real band and so April Rain is a band effort!
The open up with the title track April Rain, an up-tempo tune with heavy riffs, a symphonic touch and great singing of Charlotte Wessels. This time the songs - and the production - are more metal, but there are still beautiful melodies and catchy hooks. After Stay Forever they slowly kick off Invidia, a tune where they switch between heavy symphonic rock parts and slow passages which are dominated by Charlotte's vocals. Later in the song they add clear male vocals before heading into the chorus. Control The Storm is opened by crunchy riffs, but then they slow down and an unusual drum pattern supports Charlotte's vocals. For the refrain Charlotte once again got male counterpart vocals. The song is somehow different and fascinating... And features the only guest on April Rain - Marco Hietala on vocals. It's the contrast between heavy parts, symphonic passages and slower parts where the vocals dominate. A slow tune with strings is On The Other Side... The cello makes this one stick out, but it's also the emotional vocals. An enchanting balladesque tune. For Virtue And Vice they speed up again. The track offers heavy riffs, symphonic sounds and has a gothic touch, but is very powerful and carries a spark of hope. The growls were added by guitarist Ronald Landa. As an appetizer they released I'll Reach You which is a balladesque symphonic rocker. An ear catcher! The same can be said of Start Swimming, even if the song has a different atmosphere. And has a slight folk touch, too. After another slow one - Come Closer - they speed up again for Go Away. One of my favorites as it perfectly combines heavy riffs, symphonic melodies and a catchy vocal melody. In my opinion Charlotte's vocals are one of the strong points of Delain, coz her voice has beautiful timbre and power as well as emotionality. At the closer Nothing Left Marco Hietala joins in again. The song is a good choice to end the album, coz it soon haunts you and will make you spin the CD again. Let Delain enchant you!
A huge step forward for Delain! They are more metal these days, but still give Charlotte's voice space to shine. They grew together as a band and I think with this album they can convince the fans who regard them as 'just another symphonic metal band'. The album sounds homogenous and offers different shades of symphonic metal. Kudos!
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