Delain is a symphonic gothic metal band from Netherlands and this is their first disc. Their approach is very similar to Within Temptation, which is not surprising since Delain was formed by Martijn Westerholt, Within Temptation’s former keyboardist, who had to leave the band due to illness. Like Within Temptation, Delain is highly polished, heavy, crunchy and very accessible with epic symphonic keys and choruses, but in contrast Delain features frequent fast, power metal-style leads. The songs are for the most part upbeat and often dramatic with pervasive pop touches, especially in the choruses.

Their main female vocalist, Charlotte Wessels, has a smooth, pleasant singing style. She does not have the range or articulation of the best gothic metal female singers but she is extremely musical with a beautiful soprano tone. They also have several guest vocalists, in particular Sharon den Adel, Liv Kristine and Marco Hietala, along with George Oosthoek who provides very occasional death vocals. One or the other of these guests appear on about half the songs so there is a lot of high-quality vocal variety; Marco in particular is featured on several songs and sounds even better than he did up to this date in Nightwish.

Almost by necessity this genre of metal is a bit formulaic and predictable because it is trying to appeal to a wider, more mainstream audience than traditional gothic metal does. It requires a fine sense of song-writing to pull it off successfully: the ability to write melodies that surprise you with their emotional impact, and hooks that pleasantly stick in your mind long after you have finished listening to the disc. Delain has not succeeded in these things to the extent Within Temptation has but they have certainly succeeded; Lucidity is a high point of accessible, invigorating gothic metal with a strong commercial appeal, yet without falling into the banality so common in purely commercial music.

For more information visit the band’s MySpace site http://www.myspace.com/delainmusic or http://www.delain.nl

8.5/10