Band:	Delain
Album:	We Are The Others
Style:	Symphonic metal
Release date:	June 01, 2012
A review by:	Ag Fox

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.