Delain

Delain, w/:

• Amorphis
• Anneke van Gierbergen

@Turner Hall Ballroom
Sunday, September 29
Doors = 6pm
Show = 7pm
All Ages
Tickets = $29.50 ($32.50 dos)

Delain

Delain, taking their name from the fictional kingdom in Stephen King’s fantasy novel The Eyes of the Dragon, 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, Delain 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 Moonbathersfeatured returning guest Alissa White-Gluz, and marked the studio debut of guitarist Merel Bechtold of MaYaN and Karmaflow fame. Early 2019 saw the band issue the EP Hunter’s Moon, which featured new drummer Joey de Boer. (Source)

Amorphis

Finnish heavy metal ensemble Amorphis was initially conceived as a death metal act, but as the years progressed, they began to incorporate other metal subgenres like progressive, power and folk metal. The band also frequently draw lyrical inspiration from the Kalevala, a 19th century work of poetry from Finnish folklore and mythology. Since debuting in 1992, the group has shown immense versatility, with highlights arriving via 1994’s hard-hitting Tales from the Thousand Lakes, 2001’s keyboards-and-saxophone-adorned Am Universum, and 2009’s melodic death metal-driven Skyforger.

Lead guitarist Esa Holopainen and drummer Jan Rechberger formed the band in Finland in 1990. To complete their lineup they recruited vocalist/guitarist Tomi Koivusaariand bassist Olli-Pekka Laine. They released a demo in 1991 called Disment of Soul. The demo was so successful in getting attention for the group that they got a record deal and released an EP the same year. They released their first full-length album, The Karelian Isthmus, in 1992. The following year, their early demo recording session was released as Privilege of Evil. The year 1994 saw the group sending out its next LP, Tales from the Thousand Lakes.

In 2001 the band went in a more experimental direction, including saxophones and a greater focus on keyboards for Am Universum. Jan Rechberger rejoined the band in 2003 just in time to record Amorphis’ sixth studio album, Far from the Sun. Koskinenleft the band in 2004 to focus on his family and was replaced by Tomi Joutsen. For their next project, Amorphis began work on a series of concept albums based on the famous Finnish epic poem The Kalevala, releasing Eclipse in 2006, Silent Waters in 2007, and the more melodic and prog-oriented Skyforger in 2009. In 2010, the band decided to revisit some of its older work, recording new arrangements of earlier material for Magic and Mayhem: Tales from the Early Years with its new approach at the fore.

In 2015, the band went on a European tour to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Tales from the Thousand Lakes. That summer they also released the Jens Bogren-produced Under the Red Cloud, a new set that featured substantive guest appearances from flutist Chrigel Glanzmann (Eluveitie), drummer Martin Lopez (ex-Opeth), and vocalist Aleah Stanbridge (Trees of Eternity). In March 2018, the band issued the single “The Bee” ahead of the release of their 12th studio long-player Queen of Time, which arrived the following month. (Source)

Anneke van Gierbergen

In May 2018, Anneke van Giersbergen (VUUR, Devin Townsend Project, The Gathering) performed two career-spanning concerts with orchestral arrangements together with Residentie Orkest The Hague. Fans came from all over the world to see and hear this crossover collaboration, but soon everyone will be able to experience these concerts, as Anneke and the orchestra are set to release a live album. ‘Symphonized’ features 11 tracks and will be released on InsideOut Music on November 16, 2018.