Taking their name from the fictional kingdom in Stephen King's fantasy novel The Eyes of the Dragon,
Delain are a Dutch symphonic metal band founded by former
Within Temptation keyboardist
Martijn Westerholt. Emerging in 2006 with a bombastic blend of gothic, symphonic, power, and neo-classical metal, the group has issued a string of well-received outings, including
April Rain (2009), We Are the Others (2012), and
Moonbathers (2016).
Forced from his position as keyboardist for Dutch goth rock luminaries
Within Temptation due to a chronic illness in 2001,
Martijn Westerholt worked to get himself back to match fitness, and over the course of the next few years he began to write music. Bringing together some of the more well-known musicians in the genre -- including
Marko Hietala (
Nightwish),
Jan Yrlund, and
Liv Kristine -- as well as lead vocalist
Charlotte Wessels of To Elysium,
Westerholt was able to realize a new musical project, and he named it
Delain. Signed to Roadrunner, the group released a single ("Frozen") in 2006, and their debut album,
Lucidity, in 2007. Though
Westerholt had initially thought of
Delain as a studio-only project, the success of the band's debut resulted in a tour, and that live incarnation would go on to provide the meat for 2009's
April Rain, which utilized the outside services of
Maria Ahn, cellist from the
Ahn Trio and
Hietala. 2012 saw the release of the group's critically acclaimed third studio album, We Are the Others, and two years later, the band issued
The Human Contradiction via
Napalm Records, which included guest spots from
Alissa White-Gluz (
Arch Enemy, ex-
the Agonist),
Hietala, and
George Oosthoek (ex-
Orphanage). A new EP,
Lunar Prelude, arrived in 2016 and featured the single "Turn the Lights Out," which was inspired by
Neil Gaiman's comic book series The Sandman. 2016's
Moonbathers featured returning guest
Alissa White-Gluz, and marked the studio debut of guitarist Merel Bechtold of
MaYaN and Karmaflow fame. Early 2019 saw the band release the EP
Hunter's Moon, which featured new drummer Joey de Boer. The following year they issued, their sixth studio album,
Apocalypse & Chill, again on
Napalm, which featured some of their heaviest material in years, such as the epic, brutal single "Burning Bridges." ~ Chris True