{"id":13776,"date":"2013-05-07T00:00:34","date_gmt":"2013-05-07T00:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=13776"},"modified":"2013-08-27T16:47:54","modified_gmt":"2013-08-27T16:47:54","slug":"feature-delain-05-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/feature-delain-05-13\/","title":{"rendered":"DELAIN – Smalltown People (May 2013) | Features \/ Interviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

DELAIN – Smalltown People<\/strong><\/span>
\nAnthony Morgan<\/span>
\nMay 2013<\/span><\/p>\n

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Dutch symphonic metal act Delain issued its initial trio of full-lengths via Roadrunner Records, the albums in question being Lucidity<\/em> (September 2006), April Rain<\/em> (March 2009), and We Are The Others<\/em><\/a> (June 2012), the latter\u2019s release overseen by Roadrunner in select territories only. Warner Music Group had acquired a 73.5% stake of Roadrunner in January 2007, the company completing a full acquisition in November 2010. Warner\u2019s involvement had caused issues for Delain, the outfit subsequently inking a global album contract with Napalm Records in February 2013.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pretty excited about signing with Napalm,\u201d Charlotte Wessels exclaims, vocalist of Delain. \u201cWe came from Roadrunner. We were initially really happy, but once the label was sold to Warner it wasn\u2019t such a happy marriage any more. We came from a situation where we chose each other; the band chose the record company, and the record company chose the band. When the record company then got sold to Warner, basically we were in a situation where we didn\u2019t really choose Warner and Warner didn\u2019t really choose us \u2013 they just got us with the whole package from Roadrunner. There were a lot of different ideas about what we should do, and we were way too stubborn as a band to go for those kinds of ideas. When we signed with Napalm, we just had the feeling again that this was a record company which is really enthusiastic about us. We really like their work ethic and stuff, so yeah. We\u2019re just back in a situation now where we\u2019ve actually chosen the situation, which is really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

May 2013 compilation Interlude<\/em><\/a> inaugurates the aforementioned relationship. \u201cWe\u2019ve collected a lot of material over the last couple of years from writing sessions and live recordings, and we had these covers,\u201d the frontwoman explains. \u201cThere were a lot of situations where certain songs didn\u2019t get released on an album \u2013 not so much because we didn\u2019t like the material, but because we were looking for the right balance on an album and we had written so much stuff that we couldn\u2019t put them all on there. This was definitely the case with the two new songs on Interlude<\/em>, for example \u2013 \u2018Collars And Suits\u2019 and \u2018Breathe On Me\u2019, which we really liked \u2013 but it was a really clear situation where the other songs sounded better together as a whole. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt one point, we just looked at all of the material that we had \u2013 the live tracks, the covers, the remixes, and the new songs \u2013 and we thought that this was too much material to save up and maybe use one or two here or one or two there. We thought that this material really needed an album of its own, basically. Once we decided that, we just started to rework tracks, re-record some stuff, remix some stuff, and master everything so that it sounds good as a whole. We were pretty happy with the outcome. We\u2019ve been very critical about it, because we\u2019re perfectionists. I didn\u2019t expect we would release an album like this, but we just had the material. It would\u2019ve been a waste not to use that material anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further leftover material exists. \u201cLoads,\u201d Charlotte informs. \u201cWe\u2019ve written 20-30 songs for an album, and of course there are 11-12 songs on an album. However, those songs vary from a different idea or a rough demo to a finished demo that didn\u2019t make it. It varies greatly in terms of which state of completion they are in. If you look at rough sketches and everything that we\u2019ve recorded in the studio, then there\u2019s loads of that. Usually though, I think there\u2019s a reason why we didn\u2019t do something with it before. I always like more when we\u2019re going to write \u2013 when it\u2019s completely blank and with a clean sheet, and starting from scratch \u2013 than looking into an old idea. I like that better, but there\u2019s usually nice material. For example, sometimes you have this song, but you\u2019ve never really found the right chorus or the right atmosphere. Who knows? Maybe one day if we feel lost for inspiration, we\u2019ll look into those old tracks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Breathe On Me\u2019 spearheads Interlude<\/em>\u2019s pair of original studio compositions. \u201cI think it\u2019s one of the more lighthearted, flirty tracks on the record,\u201d the singer critiques. \u201cThere was a huge influence from the writing team that we work with in Stockholm, Tripod. The lyrics are about my crush on Nick Cave, actually. There are a lot of twists in the lyrics in reference to Cave\u2019s lyrics, so if there are any Nick Cave fans listening to the lyrics then they will probably recognise some things there. So yeah, I think it\u2019s one of the lighter songs within our repertoire of drama.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Delain (l-r): Charlotte Wessels, Martijn Westerholt, Sander Zoer, Otto
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The second of the pair, \u2018Collars And Suits\u2019 was also co-authored with Tripod. \u201c\u2018Breathe On Me\u2019 is a song where you can really hear them,\u201d Charlotte observes. \u201c\u2018Collars And Suits\u2019 is more like a classic Delain song, which was written instrumentally by Martijn. I wrote the vocal lines and lyrics, so it\u2019s more of an old-fashioned Delain song I would say. It has the bombastic and symphonic influence, and guitar solos. They\u2019re two completely different tracks; even though they were written in the same timespan, the influence still comes from a very different angle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Collars And Suits\u2019 broaches Delain\u2019s strife under the Roadrunner banner. \u201cI think that one has a lot of frustration about the record company situation we had been in,\u201d the lyricist confirms. \u201cWe\u2019ve been on so many different labels over the past couple of years. The thing is, I don\u2019t want to talk bad about any of them, because with every one of them we had some very dedicated people who really wanted to work with us and make it a success \u2013 people who were really into Delain \u2013 but we didn\u2019t even know who was calling the shots. \u2018Collars And Suits\u2019 is about the frustration surrounding everything that happened back then, and people trying to influence us, and push us into different directions. Honestly, we know pretty well what we want to do (laughs). It gets kind of frustrating when people tell you what to do, how to do it, how to look well doing it, and how to sound well doing it. So yeah, \u2018Collars And Suits\u2019 is about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two numbers bear great comparison with the material on We Are The Others<\/em>. \u201cWe revamped them for Interlude<\/em>; we reworked them, re-recorded stuff, and remixed stuff,\u201d Charlotte divulges. \u201cStill though, these songs were written in the same timeframe. I think we were in the same vibe when writing them, so I think people who like We Are The Others<\/em> will like this record as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the tunes in question aren\u2019t necessarily a musical indication of future material. \u201cIt\u2019s not so much a signal of where we\u2019re going, but more where we were,\u201d the vocalist clarifies. \u201cThey\u2019re from the We Are The Others<\/em> sessions, but it\u2019s not representative of what our next album is going to be because… They might be, but I don\u2019t know yet because we\u2019ve just started writing for a new album. Honestly, we\u2019re still in the phase where we\u2019re collecting as much ideas as possible. We\u2019re not really in the phase of selecting songs yet, so I cannot really say anything about what kind of direction it will take. We\u2019re still in that phase where we don\u2019t want to limit ourselves by thinking about what style or what sound. We\u2019re just taking songs from the inspiration that comes. At a later stage, we\u2019ll select and refine and stuff. It\u2019s basically too early to say \u2018Okay, this is going to be the style of the new album\u2019 or \u2018This is where we\u2019re going,\u2019 because we don\u2019t want to narrow down this creative stage of writing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Writing sessions generally occur two evenings per week. \u201cWe\u2019re at the point where we\u2019re writing Tuesday and Thursday nights, but we also have a lot of tours in-between,\u201d Charlotte cautions. \u201cWe\u2019ve been writing for some time, but these writing sessions are very scattered because we only have these two nights a week and a lot of tours. We\u2019re thinking now of planning… We did this for We Are The Others<\/em> as well, where we just rent a house in the middle of nowhere and then sit there with the three of us or with the four of us \u2013 whoever wants to join in \u2013 and then just write. Right now, we\u2019re looking into possible dates where we can actually do that. It\u2019s so much more efficient, and you can do so much more than you can do in a night, because it gets so busy. We\u2019ll really get it going faster, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n

Track authors include keyboardist Martijn Westerholt, and guitarist Guus Eikens. \u201cGuus isn\u2019t in our live band, but he\u2019s been involved with Delain from the very beginning,\u201d the frontwoman tells. \u201cGuus and me, we write a lot with the two of us and sometimes Oliver Philipps, who\u2019s contributed to our previous records as well \u2013 sometimes he joins in. People from the band can add stuff as well. Right now, we\u2019re doing the writing between the three of us, which is Guus, Martijn, and me. What we did with the last album was after we had a lot of songs written, we worked on them. We then took them to Sweden and worked with the Tripod team. Yeah though, like I mentioned, we\u2019re not in that phase yet. Things are at quite an early stage. We\u2019re just writing the songs, and we\u2019re doing that again between the three of us \u2013 Martijn, Guus, and myself. I\u2019ve always got a book of lyrics lying around, but I don\u2019t know which will actually make it to the record and which will not. It\u2019s hard to say what the theme is right now, but yeah, if we have an interview in a couple of months I can tell you (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

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At the time of writing, Tripod\u2019s potential involvement is uncertain. Issue during the first half of 2014 is being aimed for. \u201cI think that\u2019s what we\u2019re aiming for, maybe even earlier,\u201d Charlotte ponders. \u201cIt\u2019s too early to say anything about it though, because if I say now then everybody will take it as a release date. It\u2019s just an estimation, but people will hold onto it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The singer always carries notebooks, scribbling down various phrases. \u201cSometimes this phrase becomes the centre of a lyric or the start of a lyric, but sometimes nothing happens with it,\u201d she discloses. \u201cYes, sometimes there will be lyrics which won\u2019t make it into a Delain song, but not because of what type of lyrics it is. Sometimes I also write stuff that in the end I think is too personal to actually sing in front of people, and sometimes I just write things which are really obscene or something. It\u2019s just a way to get everything out, and often there are good lyrics in it. It\u2019s always good to have something, so if you have an idea you don\u2019t lose it.\u201d<\/p>\n

These aforementioned lyrics of a more personal nature will not form the basis of a solo effort, however. \u201cI do other projects, but the idea of going solo sounds so much like wanting to do it on your own and I don\u2019t have the idea of wanting to do it on my own,\u201d Charlotte reckons. \u201cI do want to do different things, though. Recently I made the music for a new Dutch television series for example, which is called Queer Amsterdam. I did the music for that series together with Guus Eikens \u2013 who also writes with us for Delain \u2013 and Harrold Roeland who is a friend of mine. I went more into electronic and soundscape stuff, but writing music to accompany images is such a different thing than writing music as an autonomous product so to speak. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very different to make music for film or television, because in a lot of places you\u2019ll have monologues. Basically, there\u2019s not as much singing as I usually do. Harrold is very good at doing soundscapes, so there are a lot of soundscapes. That\u2019s quite a funny story… It\u2019s not always suitable to sing in this series, because it might distract from the monologue or the dialogue or whatever. There are only little places where I could sing. What happened in the end was the only places where I could actually put some lyrics onto the music were the intro, the outro, and all the sex scenes, because no-one was talking. <\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, it\u2019s a Dutch series, so there are a lot of sex scenes. I ended up singing during the sex scenes, which was kind of funny. I took my parents to the premiere, and I had to warn them. So yeah, it was funny. It\u2019s different. I guess it\u2019s more pop-rock oriented, because it\u2019s kind of a mainstream television series. It\u2019s about queer Amsterdam, so it\u2019s about the gay scene, and so there are kind of different influences there. It was really challenging and really cool to do something like that, but different at the same time. The series has been released now, and I\u2019m thinking that maybe that there is a way we can get the music published separately as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am interested in doing this kind of stuff, because I learn so much from just writing music in general for different types of things. I see that as something different than going solo. Going solo sounds like you can\u2019t get along with other people, basically (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

An additional project is in the pipeline. \u201cI guess it\u2019s too early to say something about that, though,\u201d the composer warns. \u201cIt will all be much later though, because right now I really have to focus on the new Delain record if we want to get it out when we want to get it out. That\u2019s the first and last thing on my mind, to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n

We Are The Others<\/em> cut \u2018Are You Done With Me\u2019 was freshly mixed for Interlude<\/em>. \u201cWe so wanted it to be a single, because we thought it had that potential,\u201d Charlotte enthuses. \u201cWe wanted to put it on Interlude<\/em> as well, but then we thought that it was quite common to make a single mix because radio has other requirements. That\u2019s not so much what people think, that you\u2019ve got to turn down the volume of the guitars and stuff; it\u2019s also more subtle things. We made a special single mix for it and changed some minor things, but it\u2019s all quite subtle because we basically liked the song as it was. It\u2019s not like \u2018We Are The Others\u2019, where we made a really different arrangement. On \u2018Are You Done With Me\u2019, there are more subtle differences.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Three cover interpretations feature on Interlude<\/em>. \u201cWhat we basically did with the covers is, we just covered a bunch of songs where we really liked the originals,\u201d the vocalist relates. \u201cWe then chose which ones sounded the best after we played them in our own Delain kind of style, because I always think that the best cover is a cover that on the one hand has respect for the original but on the other hand isn\u2019t just a band playing that song \u2013 where it\u2019s a band actually feeling it and making it their own. Sometimes people make it their own too much (laughs), and then it has no respect for the original anymore, but then sometimes people stay so close to the original that it\u2019s not that interesting. From all the covers that we tried \u2013 we tried a lot \u2013 I think these were the best ones where it was respectful to the original. I also really liked how they sounded when we did our thing with them \u2013 that\u2019s kind of how we chose them. They\u2019re basically also just favourite songs of ours, so it was really cool to cover them. It was a really nice experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heading up the trio is \u2018Such A Shame\u2019, originally performed by English synth-pop ensemble Talk Talk (and from March 1984\u2019s It\u2019s My Life<\/em>). \u201cIt was a song which I always thought had this…,\u201d Charlotte begins. \u201cIt\u2019s quite a happy song, but it\u2019s still very melancholic in a way. This is a quality which I really like in songs, because it\u2019s something which our music has as well. A lot of the songs are quite uptempo, happy songs but there\u2019s still this dark undertone in them, and I kind of recognise that in \u2018Such A Shame\u2019 by Talk Talk. It\u2019s not one of the most well-known songs. I know that a lot of reviewers actually wrote about it as one of our own songs which of course was a compliment, but it wasn\u2019t. I like the fact that it\u2019s not the most obvious song to cover.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Cordell\u2019, meanwhile, is taken from the songbook of Irish rock act The Cranberries (and from April 1996\u2019s To The Faithful Departed<\/em>). \u201cI was born in \u201987, so I was raised with all those perfectly great 90s rock bands, The Cranberries being one of them,\u201d the frontwoman imparts. \u201cI just love the band, and I\u2019ve sang their songs since forever, starting in cover bands in high school. It was cool to do one of their songs, now that I\u2019m in Delain (laughs). That\u2019s quite an introverted song as well, and the choice to do it acoustically was because we\u2019ve played it a lot live. We\u2019d played it before we recorded it in the studio; we\u2019d played it acoustic, and a lot of fans have actually been asking for us to do a studio recording of the song like we played it live. It\u2019s a very straightforward answer to the fans, putting this one on the album. They\u2019ve asked for this track specifically, after we\u2019ve played it live. We\u2019re people pleasers, so that\u2019s why we did it (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

Rounding out the trio is \u2018Smalltown Boy\u2019, originally the debut single of British synth-pop troupe Bronski Beat (and from December 1984\u2019s The Age Of Consent<\/em>). \u201cOnce again, also just an awesome song,\u201d Charlotte compliments. \u201cIt\u2019s a gay anthem, and it\u2019s one of the most powerful tracks I think from that time. A powerful, emotional track, and very, very catchy. This is actually one of the tracks which isn\u2019t one of the most original tracks to cover, because it has been covered many times before. It\u2019s actually a song that we wanted to do too, though (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

Undertaking cover renditions, the track\u2019s subject matter is an important facet. \u201cI would never cover a song where I cannot relate to the lyrics, or whether I disagree with the lyrics, or whether it\u2019s politically whatever,\u201d the singer concludes. \u201cYeah, I think that\u2019s very important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having co-authored the musical score to Dutch television series Queer Amsterdam in addition to stepping behind the microphone for Delain\u2019s interpretation of \u2018Smalltown Boy\u2019, the gay lifestyle is seemingly important to Charlotte. \u201cI think it\u2019s a personal thing,\u201d she considers. \u201cI\u2019m very much in that scene myself. I\u2019m not gay, but I\u2019m very much in the scene because loads of my friends are. I studied gender studies, which is a study about discrimination of any gender, and also due to sexual preference or whatever. As with the Sophie (Lancaster) case, it\u2019s just something that I keep busy with. For me, the fact that \u2018Smalltown Boy\u2019 was such a gay anthem makes it even more cool. I think it was a very important moment in music history, and that makes it more awesome from my perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several numbers were considered for potential cover purposes, though not all were ultimately successful. \u201cLet\u2019s see which ones… This was quite some time ago,\u201d the wordsmith recalls. \u201cI think we did \u2018Crazy\u2019 by Seal (from May 1991\u2019s Seal<\/em>), and then a few more. We did a lot of 80s \/ 90s songs. I think these were the best ones.\u201d<\/p>\n

The title cut from Delain\u2019s June 2012 opus originally, \u2018We Are The Others\u2019 was remodelled as a ballad. \u201cOf course, the song has very intense and sad dramatics behind it with the tragic case of Sophie Lancaster,\u201d Charlotte reminds. \u201cI remember when I was writing the lyrics, these were one set of lyrics that were written and rewritten again just because of its delicate matter \u2013 only to get it right \u2013 when we were in the studio. We were often playing it and singing it with piano, just to see how the new words sounded and if they came across the way they should. That\u2019s actually when we noticed that it sounded pretty intense as well to just have it as a song with a piano in this more ballad-esque style. I think that\u2019s when we came up with the idea. We just heard it with the piano in it, and we thought that it was intense, but also because of the whole theme of the song it fits in a way. That\u2019s how we came to this.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sophie Lancaster was attacked on August 11th, 2007 at the skate park area of Stubbylee Park, Bacup, England, her boyfriend Robert Maltby additionally assaulted. Discriminated on the basis of their alternative attire, Sophie\u2019s injuries were ultimately fatal. Comatose, her life support was switched off 13 days later on the 24th. Released on what would have been Sophie\u2019s 23rd birthday (on November 26th, 2009), a four-minute animation entitled Dark Angel was circulated around the internet as well as being shown on MTV. This was how Delain\u2019s vocalist came to hear of the incident.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of people learnt about it through that video,\u201d she estimates. \u201cIt\u2019s just really grabbing, and I don\u2019t know why it took so long to get that into a song. I think when we had the theme of \u2018We Are The Others\u2019 though, about celebrating difference and being against discrimination and celebrating your identity even if you deviate from the norm… I remembered what had happened to Sophie, and I thought that it was the most perfect example of what can happen when people don\u2019t accept each other\u2019s differences. When people cannot look beyond these differences, and when people don\u2019t know how to deal with this \u2018otherness\u2019. That is of course not only a problem when it comes to subculture, but it\u2019s a big problem also when it comes to sexuality, ethnicity. It affects a lot of countries as well. It was a very big issue to take on; I was very scared to take it on, but I was very happy that we had the support of The Sophie Lancaster Foundation and I am very happy that it was well received. I\u2019m really happy about that, because that was very important to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sophie Lancaster Foundation was founded by Sophie\u2019s mother, Sylvia Lancaster. \u201cI think it\u2019s really powerful what she does, telling her story over and over again,\u201d Charlotte commends. \u201cIt must be horrible to relive that every time she tells it, but she does so. I think they\u2019re doing a great job of educating, and what they recently achieved with the Manchester police as well… They\u2019re actually changing something, and I think that\u2019s very good for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dutch media didn\u2019t lend much coverage to the Sophie Lancaster incident. \u201cIt didn\u2019t, but I did a lot of talking with the guys from the Sophie Lancaster Foundation,\u201d the frontwoman submits. \u201cI heard about how much of these incidents there\u2019ve been in the UK, and I\u2019ve followed it ever since. Once you set your eye on that kind of stuff, you will also see it in other countries. I\u2019ve heard this horrible thing that in some countries they have these gang wars between goths and metalheads and emos, and I thought that that was just the saddest thing to hear, that we\u2019re actually turning against each other now. If you ask me, it just goes to show that humans will find a reason to fight whatever way. Whatever you can do to show one another that discrimination on the basis of generic things about one\u2019s identity or one\u2019s appearance, though… It\u2019s just such utter nonsense. I don\u2019t know. <\/p>\n

\u201cI feel really optimistic; I look at and see the things that people achieve, and I feel like we can change something. Other days, like when I heard that thing about those gang wars between goths, metalheads, and emos, I was like \u2018What is this place coming to?\u2019 But yeah, it\u2019s better to be optimistic, I guess. I really feel like seeing what happens. With a song like \u2018We Are The Others\u2019 there was really this community feel, and that was also positive. I think that is something to strive for. I also know that the Sophie Lancaster Foundation actually got criticised, because the Manchester police actually said that violence against goths, metalheads, and emos is considered to be a hate crime now. They\u2019re training police to cope with that. I know that there was actually some criticism for that, with people saying \u2018\u2026 But now you\u2019re putting those people in a corner again, and you\u2019re branding them as a kind of people, and that is creating difference instead of some kind of equality.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cI honestly feel that there is so much violence though, and if there is a problem then acknowledgement of that problem is the very first step. I think it\u2019s a very good move that they now acknowledge this problem, and that they give it a name and that they give it a face \u2013 and that they\u2019re making the police informed about these things. Of course it\u2019s bad that it\u2019s necessary, but yeah, acknowledgement is the first step to any improvement of any problems. So yes, I really think that the Foundation is doing a great job, and I\u2019m very happy for them that they\u2019ve achieved this. I know how long they\u2019ve been working on it, because they had already working on it for a very long time when I spoke with them for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n

On October 20th, 2012, Delain performed at the Metal Female Voices Fest at Oktoberhallen in Weize, Belgium. Six cuts lifted from that appearance are represented on Interlude<\/em>. \u201cThat was a really cool festival, so I\u2019m really happy that those songs are on there,\u201d Charlotte exclaims. \u201cI think that for people who already know us or follow us, they will be really cool to hear. It brings back memories for me from a really cool festival. Also, for people who\u2019ve maybe never seen us live, I think you can really hear that it\u2019s a very cool atmosphere. <\/p>\n

\u201cOn the DVD with Interlude<\/em>, there are five videos from the same gig recorded in good quality as well. It\u2019s not a full-on live DVD, but there\u2019s kind of half of a live DVD on there as well (laughs). A full-on live DVD is a possibility, but it\u2019s not a project we\u2019re considering now since we\u2019re focusing so much on the new Delain record.\u201d<\/p>\n

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As was the case with We Are The Others<\/em>, artwork duties were handled by Glenn Arthur. \u201cI\u2019m really happy that we got Glenn to do the Interlude<\/em> artwork, because he\u2019s one of my favourite artists,\u201d the singer esteems. \u201cI was over the moon when he said he wanted to do the artwork for We Are The Others<\/em>, and I\u2019m just very, very happy that we got him to do Interlude<\/em> as well. There was some collaboration with We Are The Others<\/em>, but not so much with Interlude<\/em> because we had very little time with Interlude<\/em> to get the artwork together. We found one of his artworks which we really liked and thought would be really suitable for Interlude<\/em>, but it wasn\u2019t like We Are The Others<\/em> where we did a lot of going back and forth with sketches. I sent him the lyrics, and told him what it was about. The first time there was a lot of back and forth, but now we actually found one which really suited our ideas for this record. It was different in different cases. I really think it\u2019s a style of our work that we can continue. Yeah, I think that it\u2019s really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

The flame-haired lady who adorns We Are The Others<\/em>\u2019 cover is seemingly Charlotte. \u201cWhen I asked him, he told me that he wasn\u2019t really a portrait artist,\u201d she remembers. \u201cHe draws a lot of women from his imagination, but obviously she has my red hair and freckles and my piercings. I think it\u2019s kind of me.\u201d<\/p>\n

A blonde lady fronts Interlude<\/em>\u2019s cover, meanwhile. \u201cIt\u2019s a fictional character, but I think she\u2019s really bad-ass,\u201d the lyricist lauds. \u201cShe looks very cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

The characters in question seemingly represent \u2018the others\u2019. \u201cThe character is fictional, but I think your interpretation of the character as being one of the others is quite cool,\u201d Charlotte chuckles. \u201cThe one on We Are The Others<\/em> is obviously inspired by me and the one on Interlude<\/em> is fictional, but I actually think it\u2019s pretty cool to say that that\u2019s a representation of the others. That\u2019s the way to see it, and I think that\u2019s a cool way to see it. That\u2019s why with the art there\u2019s always an idea from the artist, whether it be the painter or whether it be us artists asking a painter to draw something. By the same token though, if people have certain interpretations about that… I studied art history and there are always ten different interpretations for one piece, if not a hundred. So yeah, I think it\u2019s kind of cool that you said that they\u2019re representations of \u2018the others\u2019. That\u2019s awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Interlude<\/em> was released in Spain, Sweden, and Norway on May 1st, 2013, on the 3rd in Austria, Switzerland, Finland, and Benelux, on the 6th in the rest of Europe, and subsequently on the 7th in North America, all via Napalm Records.<\/p>\n

Interview published in May 2013.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DELAIN – Smalltown People Anthony Morgan May 2013 Charlotte Wessels Dutch symphonic metal act Delain issued its initial trio of full-lengths via Roadrunner Records, the albums in question being Lucidity (September 2006), April Rain (March 2009), and We Are The Others (June 2012), the latter\u2019s release overseen by Roadrunner in select territories only. Warner Music […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[290],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-delain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13776"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13776\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13828,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13776\/revisions\/13828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}