Label: Napalm Records
Review by Tony Cannella
“Hunter’s Moon” is the new EP from Dutch metal superstars Delain. Actually, it is half EP and half live album, but it is a complete powerhouse of a release. “Hunter’s Moon” will serve as a pre-cursor to their next studio album (which will be released sometime this year), and if the studio tracks are any indication, fans of Delain have much to look forward to. “Hunter’s Moon” features four brand-new studio tracks – which are amazing and 10-live tracks recorded on last year’s “Danse Macabre” trek. First starting with the studio tracks. These songs are classic Delain sounding tracks which mixes the bands penchant for writing heavy, symphonic metal tinged songs with tracks that have a more accessible almost pop-ish sound. It’s all good, and is punctuated by Charlotte Wessels’ unique vocals – she is fast becoming one of my favorite singers/performers in the entire metal genre. She’s so good and writes some great lyrics. It’s hard to pick a favorite among the four songs, but I find myself gravitating to “Masters of Destiny” (check out the video) and “Hunter’s Moon”, but hell, “This Silence is Mine” and “Art Kills” are pretty freakin’ cool, as well. I can see each song making its way into their setlist and staying there for a long time. After that we have the 10-live tracks and the band is simply on fire. The live recordings are from Utrecht and have an in-your-face feel that makes you feel like you are there. The band is joined by legendary grunter George Oosthoek (formerly of the band Orphanage) for the track “Hands of Gold” and Marco Hietala from the mighty Nightwish for six songs. To me the biggest highlight is “Your Body Is a Battleground” with Marco Hietala. With so many great songs throughout their catalogue, I would put this among my favorite Delain songs. It is just so good and this live version makes it sound even better. Obviously, “Hunter’s Moon” should please Delain’s ever growing fan base, but more than that this hints at bigger things to come. And oh, by the way, for those of us in North America, the band will be embarking on a huge tour beginning in September with Amorphis and Anneke van Giersbergen. As their catalogue grows and grows, Delain continues to provide us with quality music to go along with the quantity..
Rating- 90/100
Tracklist
- Masters of Destiny (Previously Unreleased)
- Hunter’s Moon (Previously Unreleased)
- This Silence Is Mine (Previously Unreleased)
- Art Kill (Previously Unreleased)
- Hands of Gold – (Live from Utrecht) (feat. George Oosthoek)
- Danse Macabre (Live from Utrecht)
- Scarlet (Live from Utrecht)
- Your Body Is a Battleground (Live from Utrecht) (feat. Marco Hietala)
- Nothing Left (Live from Utrecht) (feat. Marco Hietala)
- Control the Storm (Live from Utrecht) (feat. Marco Hietala)
- Sing to Me (Live from Utrecht) (feat. Marco Hietala)
- Not Enough (Live from Utrecht)
- Scandal (Live from Utrecht) (feat. Marco Hietala)
- The Gathering (Live from Utrecht) (feat. Marco Hietala)