''Moonbathers'' is the fifth studio album by the Dutch

symphonic metal Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitar ...

band

Delain Delain is a Dutch symphonic metal band formed in 2002 by former Within Temptation keyboardist Martijn Westerholt, intending for the band to be solely a project. Singer Charlotte Wessels was invited to join in 2005. The name of the band comes fr ...

. It was released on 26 August 2016 worldwide. It features one guest appearance from

Alissa White-Gluz Alissa White-Gluz (; born 31 July 1985) is a Canadian singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy, and former lead vocalist and founding member of the Canadian metalcore band the Agonist. Her vocal ...

. Just like ''

We Are the Others ''We Are the Others'' is the third full-length album by the Dutch symphonic metal band Delain. It was released in the Benelux and Germany on 1 June 2012 and in the United Kingdom and France on 4 June by CNR Music, who took over Delain when War ...

'', this album does not feature

Marko Hietala Marko Tapani "Marco" Hietala (born 14 January 1966) is a Finnish heavy metal vocalist, bassist and songwriter. Internationally, he is best known as the former bassist, male vocalist and secondary composer to Tuomas Holopainen, of the symphonic ...

. It is the only studio album with Ruben Israel on drums and

Merel Bechtold Merel Bechtold (born February 27, 1992) is a guitarist from the Netherlands. She was born in Blaricum. She started playing guitar in 2007 at the age of fifteen. Half a year later she founded the band Purest of Pain, in which she played lead guit ...

on rhythm guitar.

Background

According to lead singer

Charlotte Wessels Johanna Charlotte Wessels (born 13 May 1987) is a Dutch singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She is best known as the former lead vocalist for the Dutch symphonic metal band Delain. Background Wessels has been trained in both jazz singi ...

, the lyrics on the album have a theme of death. This was unintentional and she only realized this after reviewing the lyrics she had written. Wessels has said that the title of the album comes from the idea that "''Even in a dark place, there can also be that comfort in the dark.''" The songs "Danse Macabre" and "Chrysalis (The Last Breath)" were inspired by a film script, however she didn't specify which one. *"

Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

" is a

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

cover. * "Turn the Lights Out" was inspired by DC comic series "

The Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The Sandman is a traditional charact ...

" by

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

. * "Hands of Gold" contains fragments of "

The Ballad of Reading Gaol ''The Ballad of Reading Gaol'' is a poem by Oscar Wilde, written in exile in Berneval-le-Grand, after his release from Reading Gaol () on 19 May 1897. Wilde had been incarcerated in Reading after being convicted of gross indecency with other ...

" by

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

. * "Suckerpunch" and "Turn the Lights Out" were previously released on ''

Lunar Prelude ''Lunar Prelude'' is the first EP by Dutch symphonic metal band Delain. It was released on 19 February 2016. This is the first album with Ruben Israel on drums and Merel Bechtold on guitar. The track "Turn the Lights Out" is inspired by Neil Gai ...

''.

Track listing

Personnel

;Delain *

– lead vocals *

Martijn Westerholt David Martijn Westerholt (born 30 March 1979 in Waddinxveen, Netherlands) is the founder, keyboardist, and the main songwriter of the Dutch symphonic metal project Delain. He was previously a member of symphonic metal band Within Temptation, unt ...

– keyboards, backing vocals * Timo Somers – lead guitar, backing vocals * Merel Bechtold – rhythm guitar * Otto Schimmelpenninck van der Oije – bass * Ruben Israel – drums ;Additional musicians *

– guest vocals on "Hands of Gold" * Guus Eikens – additional guitars * Hendrik Jan de Jong (

Nemesea Nemesea is a Dutch alternative rock band formed in Groningen in 2002 by singer Manda Ophuis and guitarist/songwriter Hendrik Jan 'HJ' de Jong and shortly thereafter completed with Sonny Onderwater on bass. Initially, Nemesea were a symphonic go ...

) – writing credits (3, 10) * Oliver Philipps – additional guitars, additional keyboards * Mikko P. Mustonen – orchestration ;Production * Martijn Westerholt – production, orchestration *

Arno Krabman Arno Krabman (; born 19 March 1982) is a Dutch songwriter and producer. He is known for his work with, among others, Suzan & Freek, Snelle and S10, and has had over twenty-five Dutch Single Top 100 hits as a songwriter. His repertoire consists ...

– drum recording * Bas Trumpie, Imre Beerends – mixing (10), drum recording * Guido Aalbers, Oliver Philipps – vocal engineers *

Fredrik Nordström Björn Tom Fredrik Nordström (born 5 January 1967) is a Swedish musician and record producer, best known as the guitarist of heavy metal band Dream Evil. Nordström is one of the leading melodic death metal and power metal producers in Sweden ...

, Henrik Udd – mixing (1 to 9, 11) *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography Ted ...

– mastering at

Sterling Sound George Marino (April 15, 1947 – June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He at ...

, New York * Glenn Arthur – cover artwork, additional paintings * Wendy van den Bogert-Elberse – design * Sandra Ludewig – photography

Charts

References

External links

Metallum Archives
{{Authority control Delain albums 2016 albums Napalm Records albums