Delain: Apocalypse & Chill

"I know you dig this band!� Those are the wise words of viral YouTube sensation Pete Pardo when he winged Apocalypse & Chill in my direction. He's not wrong. I dig them a lot, have done for years and Apocalypse & Chill reaffirms my enjoyment of the Dutch metallers. That said, I really like Apocalypse & Chill rather than love it. It's a Delain album which is always a good thing, whether it is 'better' than any of its predecessors is a moot point.

'Heavy crossover icons' is the phrase used by Napalm records to describe Delain. That's a pretty interesting phrase, let's investigate it shall we? 'Heavy' isn't a word I would naturally use to describe Delain, yes there are more growled vocals than before but they remain towards the poppier end of the spectrum and this works well for them as they have a boatload of good tunes and the opening salvo of "One Second", "We Had Everything", and "Chemical Redemption" all prove this to be true. 'Crossover' is another interesting adjective as I am not sure that they have crossed over either generically or in terms of audience size. Again, this isn't a quality issue but one of OTT hyperbole in a world where everyone seems to have product to flog. Finally, 'icons.' it is definitely too soon to describe Delain as icons and I am a huge fan, let's not put too much pressure on them eh?

What they do though they do as well as anyone around today. "Burning Bridges", for instance combines lush soundscapes, a huge chorus and socially relevant lyrics whilst anything which combines the wonderful Charlotte Wessels and Yannis Papadopoulos from Beast in Black had better be utter dog poo to not be of any use, and it isn't on "Vengeance", although it is arguably the weakest track on the album.

The follow- up to Moonbathers sees Delain moving forward shark like towards larger venues and more success yet keeps the overall sound and plan of attack very much accessible to older fans of the bands as well as those hearing them for the first time.

Track Listing:

1. One Second
2. We Had Everything
3. Chemical Redemption
4. Burning Bridges
5. Vengeance
6. To Live Is to Die
7. Let's Dance
8. Creatures
9. Ghost House Heart
10. Masters of Destiny
11. Legions of the Lost
12. The Greatest Escape
13. Combustion

Added: February 19th 2020
Reviewer: Simon Bray
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 1036
Language: english

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