Live Review: Within Temptation @ Wembley Arena, London 12.04.2014

WITHIN TEMPTATION

DELAIN

WEMBLEY ARENA, LONDON 12.04.2014

Words by Charlotte Whittingham

One of the most anticipated metal shows of 2014 occurred this weekend that left many individuals blown away from the word go! This event I am speaking about is when Dutch symphonic metallers Within Temptation and Delain conquered Wembley Arena for the very first time.

It was definitely one of the most awaited shows of 2014 as many dedicated fans queued up at least five hours before opening time so they could secure the perfect spot to watch their idols. My friends and I arrived just after the doors opened and I could feel excitement from all corners of the venue; from the crowded merchandise stand where you had to think fast or you’d loose your place in the queue to the packed arena where fans eagerly awaited for the show to start, it was an amazing atmosphere to be part of. Between a couple of friends and I, it was our first time seeing both bands live where we all shared our feelings of excitement and anticipation.

Suddenly the lights went down and the venue echoed with excited cheers as support band Delain took to the stage quite naturally. Opening up with Go Away and Get The Devil Out Of Me had the crowds jumping up and down, clapping and head banging from the word go. There was a very eclectic selection of songs from across their albums including new songs Army Of Dolls and single Stardust from their latest album The Human Contradiction. The highlight of their set for me was when they performed my personal favourite song The Gathering, this I think was their arena anthem which was welcomed by the whole venue with open arms. Closing with We Are The Others marked the end of a fantastic set. Speaking to some fans after the show they enjoyed Delain’s set very much, the only criticism I heard was they would have liked to have heard Delain perform more songs.

After Delain thanked their fans and left the stage roadies started getting the stage ready for headliners Within Temptation. It was all kept in secret however when a huge flag with the cover of their latest album Hydra was displayed and the cheers indicated the fan's love for it. Leading up to the show, my friends and I all spoke about what we thought the set would consist of.  Questions included how they were going to fit the dragon on stage, whether there was going to be pyrotechnics and what songs we wanted to hear. All of that was going to be answered in a matter of minutes and as the set up was being completed the venue got fuller and more packed.

The lights started to slowly dim, the intro music was heard on the system and the flag dropped to reveal a grand set featuring dragons, a huge video screen and the instruments. Starting the set with new song Let Us Burn the cheers got louder as the band made their way onto the stage with lead vocalist Sharon den Adel in tow, during the dramatic chorus we got our first taste of the pyrotechnics which the crowd were blown away by. There was a balanced selection of songs from all their different albums, which I admired; from the up-tempo In The Middle Of The Night to a soft acoustic rendition of Whole World Is Watching this set contained excellent arena type songs to suit every mood under the sun. What I really loved about their set was that included those sort of songs you sing along to as loud as you can. Those songs for me were Paradise (What About Us?), Angels, Mother Earth and What Have You Done.

As well as the fantastic live performances of the songs you also got great visuals to go with a live show. These included the videos going on behind them, pyrotechnics, Sharon’s costume changes and the lighting. The videos were very effective; particularly during songs that featured guest singers such as Paradise (What About Us?) and What Have You Done where you could see the guest singer in the video singing their part.

Closing with classic anthem Ice Queen allowed the fans one more sing along and mosh before marking the end of a spectacular show.

So as you could tell from this review, I thought their live show was absolutely phenomenal from start to finish. You don’t just get a live show from Within Temptatiion, you get a theatrical masterpiece that I hope will return to London soon.

Find Within Temptation on Facebook, Twitter and their official website

Find Delain on Facebook, Twitter and their official website

Delain - The Human Contradiction

As Dutch symphonic metallers Delain embark on their long awaited tour with Within Temptation their brand new album The Human Contradiction hits the UK shelves and online retailers today.

The album opens up with Here Come The Vultures; the gentle yet dramatic opening of the song reminded me of the theme to Edward Scissorhands and I can imagine this song going down well with the audiences on their tour. It’s a very diverse track that kicks off the album very strongly.  The album’s title The Human Contradiction is demonstrated through tracks such as Here Come The Vultures, Your Body Is A Battleground and Army Of Dolls. As Charlotte Wessells herself explained the album is about the contradiction between human and non human nature and these songs demonstrate this perfectly through the lyrics.

My personal favourite songs on the album are Army Of Dolls, Sing To Me and Here Come The Vultures. I love the melody for Army Of Dolls, particularly the chorus as it still gives me goose bumps every time I hear it. Sing To Me features one of my personal favourite male vocalists Marco Hietala (Nightwish/Tarot/Northern Kings) and I love how he pulls his part of the song off exquisitely. Here Come The Vultures introduces us to the album with such style, diversity and it is a strange but a highlight none the less.

It vividly closes with The Tragedy Of The Commons featuring new Arch Enemy vocalist Alissa White Gluz.

Overall a fantastic album from Delain. I am very much looking forward to hearing some of these new songs live this Saturday at Wembley [12th April 2014]. Be sure to catch them in a town near you. (see tour dates below)

Words by Charlotte Whittingham

Tour with Within Temptation

07.04.2014 Sporthalle, Hamburg (GER)
08.04.2014 Paladium, Cologne (GER)
09.04.2014 Arena, Ludwigsburg (GER)
11.04.2014 Apollo, Manchester (UK)
12.04.2014 Wembley Arena, London (UK)
14.04.2014 Academy, Newcastle (UK)
15.04.2014 Academy, Glasgow (UK)
16.04.2014 Academy, Birmingham (UK)
18.04.2014 Jarhunderthalle, Frankfurt (GER)
19.04.2014 Thueringenhalle, Erfurt (GER)
20.04.2014 Columbiahalle, Berlin (GER)
22.04.2014 Bikini, Toulouse (FRA)
24.04.2014 Radiant, Lyon (FRA)
25.04.2014 Zenith, Paris (FRA)
27.04.2014 Zenith, Nantes (FRA)
28.04.2014 L'aeroneuf, Lille (FRA)
29.04.2014 Lotto Arena, Antwerp (BE)
02.05.2014 Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam (NE)

Find Delain on Facebook, Twitter and their official website.

Interview with Charlotte Wessells

With an impending album release coming soon and getting ready for one of the most anticipated rock/metal tours of 2014 Delain have got some exciting stuff happening for them this year. Here’s what happened when I caught up with lead vocalist Charlotte Wessells.

Musical Lotty:  You recently revealed the track listing for the brand new upcoming album, do you have a favourite track or tracks?

Charlotte Wessells:  I usually develop a favourite when I perform the tracks live; particularly how well it works live, how the audience likes it and how much I like to perform the track. In terms of listening to the tracks; I really like Here Come The Vultures, which is the first track on the album, it stands out to me because it’s diverse and it’s a strange song but good strange. Also The Tragedy of the Commons, the last song of the record, it has a guest appearance from Alyssa White-Gluz [from The Agonist] because I really like how that one came out. Basically I’m very excited about how all the songs have turned out because it’s all fresh and new so no real favourite yet but those are the two that come to mind first.

Musical Lotty:  So it’s all about the fans reactions as well?

Charlotte Wessells:  Definitely. I mean if you get a great response then you get a lot of energy when performing the track and that is the most fun thing about performing to get that energy back from the crowd that you put into the performance so that’s a big part of it. Of course there are also songs that we’ve never even performed live, which I love. It definitely depends on the audience’s reaction.

Musical Lotty:  The artwork for the new album was recently revealed, what influences and inspiration went behind it?

Charlotte Wessells:  I had a kind of wish list for what I wanted for the new album cover and I applaud the photographer and the graphic designer for combining many of the things on my wish list as possible into this visual result. I wanted to have cosmic elements because the title The Human Contradiction comes from a post apocalyptic, sci-fi theme. We all love it, I am not a huge sci-fi fan but I really wanted to honour the album title and wanted that in the vision. I also wanted the contradiction visible as well; the contradiction             between human and non-human nature would work well so with the left and right side with the branches and stuff. I also wanted to have technology on the album cover but if you add that there would have been so much visual so we chose to go with these geometrical shapes and look organic but it was great we managed to get all that information on the album cover.

Musical Lotty:  Did the design of the album cover influence the song writing?

Charlotte:  I wouldn’t say this was a concept record; there is definitely a red thread that goes through multiple songs and I think it’s well described by the album title The Human Contradiction. I wanted that as a base for the album cover. For example when we were doing the photos for the album I hadn’t finished writing the lyrics but I knew this was going to be the theme for the album and this would be reflected in the songs. So we develop the artwork  and the songs simultaneously since we didn’t have the time to wait until everything was finished and then start on the artwork, so it brewed together. This way it was kind of nice because these influenced each other in a way.

Musical Lotty:  So this upcoming tour with Within Temptation is to promote the album?

Charlotte:  Yes it is, with the album out just before the tour starts its perfect timing. It’s no coincidence; we planned to have the album done in time for this Within Temptation tour. We’re going to play massive venues with them and we have the opportunity to reach out to lots of people who haven’t even heard of us, this is a good time to do that while we have a new album out. Actually I heard this turn around where you release the album after the tour, I don’t mind which way round it’s done but it’s definitely good timing to have the album and the tour happen at the same time. To be able to present new material to the fans and we’re excited to play new songs.

Musical Lotty:   Have you got a release date for your brand new album?

Charlotte:  April 7^th for the UK

Musical Lotty:  Speaking of the UK, you’re touring the UK very soon particularly Wembley Arena which I can imagine being quite exciting for both you and Within Temptation?

Charlotte:  Yeah, this is bucket list. Really looking forward to it.

Musical Lotty: I can imagine this is one of the most anticipated rock/metal shows of 2014; my friend Beth would like to know will the setlist will contain old and new material?

Charlotte: We always play a mixture, we’re not one of those bands that only play songs from one record we like to mix old and new songs on the setlist. Since the new album would have just come out we will play some substantial material from that record.

Musical Lotty: Are there any countries/venues you’re looking forward to playing?

Charlotte: Paris is always a very good place to play. This may sound boring but I’m also looking forward to playing to gigs in our hometown in Amsterdam; particularly this one venue where I have seen all my favourite bands for the first time and multiple times. I have never played there before so it will be like walking on a holy ground where I might in an unguarded moment kiss the floor while I’m there. I’m hugely looking forward to playing at the Heineken Music Hall, the name of the venue.

Musical Lotty: Another question from my friend Beth, will you be doing a collaboration with Sharon [den Adel]?

Charlotte: Yeah maybe, these things kind of tend to happen spontaneously. It may happen or it may not happen, I plan to keep it undecided until the tour starts.

Musical Lotty: What are your plans for the rest of 2014?

Charlotte: We will have our release parties and our club shows in Holland. We’ll also be doing a six-week tour with Sonata Arctica and we are already planning our next European tour so we are going to Russia and we’ve got offers from some really exotic locations which I shouldn’t talk about yet because it hasn’t been confirmed yet. There’s lots of good stuff waiting for us so I am pretty excited about that.

Musical Lotty: From Beth, cookies or pancakes.

Charlotte:       I have to say pancakes.

Musical Lotty:  Any parting words you’d like to share?

Charlotte:  I certainly hope the fans enjoy the record, look forward to seeing them on the road and thanks for the support.

The Human Contradiction release dates are below along with the tour dates with Within Temptation, be sure to catch them on tour and buy the album

Album Release dates

Germany/Austria/Switzerland 04.04.2014

UK/Rest Of Europe 07.04.2014

USA and Canada 08.04.2014

Tour with Within Temptation

06.04.2014 Tonalle, Munich (GER)

07.04.2014 Sporthalle, Hamburg (GER)

08.04.2014 Paladium, Cologne (GER)

09.04.2014 Arena, Ludwigsburg (GER)

11.04.2014 Apollo, Manchester (UK)

12.04.2014 Wembley Arena, London (UK)

14.04.2014 Academy, Newcastle (UK)

15.04.2014 Academy, Glasgow (UK)

16.04.2014 Academy, Birmingham (UK)

18.04.2014 Jarhunderthalle, Frankfurt (GER)

19.04.2014 Thueringenhalle, Erfurt (GER)

20.04.2014 Columbiahalle, Berlin (GER)

22.04.2014 Bikini, Toulouse (FRA)

24.04.2014 Radiant, Lyon (FRA)

25.04.2014 Zenith, Paris (FRA)

27.04.2014 Zenith, Nantes (FRA)

28.04.2014 L’aeroneuf, Lille (FRA)

29.04.2014 Lotto Arena, Antwerp (BE)

02.05.2014 Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam (NL)

Find Delain on Facebook, Twitter and their official website

Words by Charlotte Whittingham