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Delain - We Are The Others review




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Reviewer:
6.2

212 users:
7.43
Band: Delain
Album: We Are The Others
Release date: June 2012


01. Mother Machine
02. Electricity
03. We Are The Others
04. Milk And Honey
05. Hit Me With Your Best Shot
06. I Want You
07. Where Is The Blood [feat. Burton C. Bell]
08. Generation Me
09. Babylon
10. Are You Done With Me
11. Get The Devil Out Of Me
12. Not Enough
13. The Gathering [live] [bonus]
14. Control The Storm [live] [bonus]
15. Shattered [live] [bonus]
16. Sleepwalkers Dream [live] [bonus]

For the uninitiated, Delain was the brainchild of Martijn Westerholt, ex-keyboardist of Within Temptation and brother to the band's guitarist and main creative force. Needless to say, we are talking about a symphonic metal release and if you don't like the genre, this won't change your mind at all. However, even if you're a casual fan of this sub-genre of music or even the band itself, I am not too sure whether you would be ecstatic about We Are The Others. *resists the urge to add sad emoticons in this review*

So yes, I've been a fan of Delain since their debut which was a bit of an all-star project of sorts. Sophomore release April Rain was pretty good, but not quite there, so I guess I really should have expected things to follow the trend and go further down the hill, yet the optimistic fandom in my heart was hoping otherwise. Unfortunately, my optimism was met with disappointment, and I would say they have gone on more of a free-fall ride rather than a gradual downhill session. I can blame the fewer guests featured on the album, the line-up changes, my change in musical taste etc. But really, who are we kidding? It's the song writing!

Delain is commonly labelled as a symphonic metal band, but after the first few spins of the album, I don't even remember that there were any keyboard-feigned orchestral parts that makes an album symphonic metal except for the pseudo operatic vocals of Charlotte Wessels. Upon careful listening, I realised that they are there and they didn't really register as they just aren't memorable. Granted, Delain makes vocal-centric music and I don't mind them remaining so. Their riffs don't have to be furiously pounding or infectious, but for the love of ice-cream, please continue to play to your strengths! The vocal hooks sound tired and banal compared to previous efforts. They are catchy, but in a bland way that fails to resonate with me, and I really would say some pop songs in the charts sound better than this. Even Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory, as featured on "Where Is The Blood" can't save this album from being a forgettable release.

So far I've made this sound pretty terrible, yet it actually isn't complete rubbish, and perhaps the songs would come out a lot better live. It's just that I really would rather spend my money on something better. For completionists and avid fans only.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 7
Songwriting: 4
Originality: 4
Production: 7





Written on 02.07.2012 by Ag Fox loves listening to music but is far from being a prolific writer. This corner just shows how territorial he is.


Comments

Comments: 13   [ 1 ignored ]   Visited by: 303 users
02.07.2012 - 20:23
Rating: 5
PocketMetal

I fully agree , this one is a huge let down. they had many label problems but I don't take that as an excuse ...
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02.07.2012 - 20:25
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Written by PocketMetal on 02.07.2012 at 20:23

I fully agree , this one is a huge let down. they had many label problems but I don't take that as an excuse ...


I don't knwo where you got the idea they had label problems. They have been on Roadrunner right from the start of the band/project and always got more than full support even to this day.
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Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

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02.07.2012 - 23:14
Tristus Scriptor
Rancid Reviewer
Hmm..well, I actually see a lot of your points here. And I'm glad they are coming from an actual fan...as opposed to the silly "I never liked this band and still don't" reviews I see sometimes- thus; I respect this review more for that reason. However, personally, I like it a bit more than you've expressed. This is largely due to the fact that I knew that they would pop it out a bit to equalize the diversity of live shows (I'm also glad you brought up *that* point). So, as a HUGE fan, I still would say a 7.2 from me, which shows minor disappointment. Don't get me wrong, though. I'm still enjoying hearing some new tunes sung by one of the most charming women in the genre.
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02.07.2012 - 23:33
Rating: 5
PocketMetal

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 02.07.2012 at 20:25

Written by PocketMetal on 02.07.2012 at 20:23

I fully agree , this one is a huge let down. they had many label problems but I don't take that as an excuse ...


I don't knwo where you got the idea they had label problems. They have been on Roadrunner right from the start of the band/project and always got more than full support even to this day.



this :
" Sonic Cathedral: "We Are The Others" is anticipated for a March 2012 release date. Any hints as to whether it will be the earlier or later part of the month?

Martijn: I'm afraid it will be much later even, because when we finished the album ? in fact, the exact week we received the master ? we heard that Warner Music didn't want to release us because they just don't get metal. They just don't get it. They bought Roadrunner to get this metal DNA into their body, I would say. I have the feeling ? I don't know because I'm not in the organization itself ? but I have the feeling that they are still searching for the right working method. The Roadrunner company wants to release us, and there are several people within Roadrunner who are working to release us nonetheless. So actually, for us it's a nightmare. You finish your album, and then you don't know when the release is. But you know that fans are waiting for it. We were so satisfied with the album, and also our producer was satisfied. But some executive nut-case just doesn't get it, and decides, "Well, let's not release it." Other people do get it, and right now, they are talking about how and when to release it. It's a nightmare! We don't have control over it, and at the moment, we can only wait. What we are doing right now is what we always do as a band, which is to take initiative into our own hands. That means we are not going to wait for those people. We're going to play those new songs, and we're going to make everything ready so that, if they are done with their struggle, we can release immediately. We have a lot of support within this Roadrunner company ? people who are giving us tools to move forward with a single and the planning. I still have hope that we can release in the spring, but at the moment I'm just not sure. And that is very frustrating. You're actually the first DELAIN outsider to whom I'm telling this, so it's kind of a scoop. But yeah, I'd rather have had a more positive scoop for you. "
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03.07.2012 - 00:01
Opethian

Delain isn't for everyone, but at the same time this isn't a Metal band that plays for any certain crowd. 'April Rain' was very well executed, Symphonic/Pop goes well with their sound. I will keep an eye out for this release
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03.07.2012 - 05:45
Tristus Scriptor
Rancid Reviewer
"April Rain" made my troubled soul feel like I was swinging on a porch swing in the beautiful countryside...looking at the birds flying around...watching the sun slowly descend...(It's *that* particular endearment that gave me the go-ahead to express my tiny bit of disappointment. Let's not confuse it with feeling let-down or betrayed, mind you.) Besides...I wasn't looking for a female-fronted YJM's Rising Force here. I was after all one of the people right there watching the newly lightened (i.e. Anneke-era) The Gathering morph before us, cheering them along faithfully. This isn't even that drastic.
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03.07.2012 - 11:25
Rating: 7
M C Vice
ex-polydactyl
So, your saying i should lower my expectations a bit more for this one?
----
"Another day, another Doug."
"I'll fight you on one condition. That you lower your nipples."
" 'Tis a lie! Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!"
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03.07.2012 - 17:17
Rating: 7
moribun

This album sounds more like pop than symphonic metal. Several good songs, though.
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04.07.2012 - 17:17
Rating: 6
mariano

It seems to me that there is a trend in most symphonic metal bands to go more and more pop with each release.

This year, only Xandria has actually gone in the opposite direction in order to truly sound metal and as symphony as it gets.
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04.07.2012 - 17:34
Rating: 5
Ag Fox
Angel No More
Hmm... I've never said they've gone more pop. They sound poppish to me since day one. There's good pop and bad pop; then there's good pop with heavy guitars thrown in and bad pop with heavy guitars thrown in. But even for the audience looking for this type of sound which I appreciate, I think it's not as good as it can be.
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loves 小巫
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07.07.2012 - 13:13
Rating: 7
Fred

My review of this album:
http://www.freakshowlb.com/freakshow/reviews/delain-we-are-the-others
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Fred
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18.09.2012 - 19:36
Rating: 3
882THKing

I totally agree with your ratings. The originality and the songwriting are almost.. mindblowingly horrifying. I was a fan, but now the band has let me down completely. No way I'm puting this thing on my iPod.
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Long hast thou dwelt in Darkness - Quit the Night and seek the Day.
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21.04.2014 - 00:53
Rating: 6
ohmayhem

Honestly, the only song on this that didn't give me a bad feeling was Babylon. I Want You is horrifyingly bad. The rest are just really bland. Tried to like the album. Didn't. Moved on. The new album blows this one out of the water.
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