Major changes have happened within the ranks of symphonic metal group Delain. The band will from now operate as a solo project of a founding member Martijn Westerholt. You can get more info regarding this matter from the members and their comments down under.
Martjin’s statement as follows:
“Delain Goes Back to its Roots. For the last year or so, the collaboration within the band ceased to work as well as it once had. Some of us were no longer happy with the current roles in the band. We all tried very hard to find a solution for over a year, but sadly we were unable to find one.
“As a result, we will all be going our own ways and pursuing our own endeavors. I am very sad our cooperation has come to end, but at the same time I am very grateful for all the years we were able to work together. Together we toured the world, shared highs and lows, and met with many successes as well as times that pushed us to learn and grow. We all enjoyed meeting our fans and making new friends all over the globe. I would like to thank my fellow bandmates and wish Timo, Otto, Joey, and especially Charlotte the very best for the future. And I hope that will mean onwards and upwards to new musical adventures for each of them!
“That being said, Delain will live on. The others have chosen to pursue different paths. I have decided to keep Delain alive by continuing on with writing and producing the music for Delain as I always have. I started Delain as a project in 2002 and for the next album I will take it back to a project form, releasing music with special guests. As it looks now many familiar faces will be returning to join me on this journey. I can’t express my gratitude enough to all of you Delainers that have supported us over so many years. Your dedication to the music and the community you created for us has been overwhelming. Even though this situation is not ideal, change never usually is at first, I hope you will continue to join Delain on its new journey. This is not the end of Delain. It’s the end of a chapter, but also the beginning of a new one.”
Charlotte Wessels’ statement:
“Delain has been my world for nearing 16 years, which is half of my life and my entire career. So it is with a heavy heart that I am confirming that Delain will continue as Martijn’s solo project, and my involvement with Delain ends here.
“At this time, I know that you might have questions about the ‘why’ in all of this. I fully understand and respect that. Simply put, it is the sad conclusion of more than a year of trying to find solutions to built up grievances. Part of me feels like I’m letting all of you down, I’d like you to know that this decision was not taken lightly and I apologise to those of you who had high hopes of seeing all of us together live on stage again after lockdown. Until recently, I thought this might still be in the cards for us as well.
“In the last 15 years we have released music that we have poured our heart and soul into. We have toured the world, rocked so many stages and met so many wonderful fans; I cherish all of that beyond measure. Every eye locked during a lyric, every front row high five, every after show hug (remember hugs?) From the sweaty hole in the wall to the Wembleys, Wackens, and Paradisos of our career. The memories we – band, crew, fans – have made together, will last forever. And in the end, they are more important to me than the differences that we couldn’t overcome, so that’s where I’d like the focus of the narrative to be.
“So where do we go from here? Otto, Timo and Joey are also leaving Delain, but will carry on making music with their own projects. Make sure you’re following what they’re up to. I can’t wait to see and hear how they will take the world by storm. Martijn will continue with Delain, and although it may be painful at first to see a Delain that I’m not a part of, I do wish him the very best in this new chapter. Like any relationship, our creative partnership has required work at times, but it has also been incredibly fruitful and I am grateful for all the things that we made together. Finally, I hope that Delain remains a positive force in everyone’s lives. We Are The Others, always will be, and none of this changes that.
“As for myself, I’ll keep writing and performing music. It is the thing that gives me joy and purpose. I’m beyond grateful for my amazing community on Patreon, something that was supposed to be a side project from Delain, but will now be the primary place that I release music and create art and community. This platform allows me to keep creating independently and I am thankful for all patrons that make this possible. I am dedicated to bring you my absolute best, and look forward to making magic with all of you. I welcome the future with open arms, and I hope to see you on my journey.”
Comment from Otto Schimmelpenninck Van Der Oije:
“A year and a day after the last Delain show, it is with heavy heart I inform you all I am no longer part of Delain. Charlotte, Timo and Joey are also no longer part of the band. I played my very first Delain show in March 2010 in the Garage, London. Almost exactly 10 years later, Timo, Joey and I sent an e-mail to tender our resignation from the band. Everyone close to us knew that Delain was always a very intense working environment. I could deal with it, because touring with Delain was my biggest passion. And the amazing shows we did, the great fans we had and awesome bands we toured with, all made it worth it. I really started at the bottom when it came to touring, playing for crowds of 10 people, driving thousands of kilometers crammed in a hot and smelly van, and sleeping on the couch at promotor’s houses, so I’ve always been immensely thankful of the level Delain operated on.
“In 2018 and 2019 however, the atmosphere in the band deteriorated. This came to an all time low during the 2019 fall tours in the USA and Europe. While these tours were successes in themselves, with great crowd responses, a very good production and amazing road crew, good sales and great (support) bands, it became increasingly clear that Martijn was very unhappy to be on tour, and unhappy about how Delain had developed from his own project, to the band it became. It was obvious to everyone we couldn’t continue in this way.
“Joey, Timo and I talked with Martijn and Charlotte at the beginning of 2020, saying we didn’t want to continue with Delain in this way. We proposed Martijn would abstain from long tours, at least for the time being. Those tours were the most intense, and we felt things would be better if he could focus on writing music, both for Delain as well as his long-envisioned side project. Martijn had a different view: he wanted Delain to be his project again, and his proposition was to bring the number of Delain shows down considerably, while degrading Timo, Joey and me to session musicians. Needless to say, that was very different from what we had in mind. It was also quite hurtful to be degraded to session musician after I gave Delain my everything. In March 2020, we concluded we weren’t going to reach a compromise and sent an e-mail tendering our resignation.
“A few weeks later, Martijn outlined a proposition for Charlotte, Timo, Joey and me to continue with the band, while he would focus on other things. I was very impressed and humbled by Martijn’s decision to give up his own band, and at the same time very excited at the prospect of continuing Delain with Charlotte, Timo and Joey. For much of 2020, we all hoped Delain would be doing shows again in 2021. Unfortunately, we never came to a deal. We tried to reach middle ground, but we were simply too far apart. I think it’s a real shame and everyone (the fans, Martijn, and us) would have been winning with Charlotte, Timo, Joey and me continuing the band, but I guess it wasn’t supposed to be.
“So now, almost a year after I (and Timo, and Joey,) decided to leave Delain, it’s official. Charlotte is also no longer part of Delain, so Martijn will be continuing Delain on his own. Over the past year I’ve been disappointed, furious, heartbroken, frustrated, and most of all I have just really really missed touring. But as you all know, we all happen to be in that same boat. Around the time we decided to quit, COVID-19 became the monster it is today.
“This is by no means goodbye. I may be ‘getting too old for this shit’ but have no intention of retiring! I will definitely do everything to be back on the road whenever COVID-19 measures permit shows again. Meanwhile, I’ll be working on play-through videos and I’ll keep sharing my photography adventures.
“A lot of the memories I made over the past 10 years are the very best of my life. I want to thank everyone who was a part of it, Delain fans all over the world, bandmates and road crew, and bands we toured with in particular. I wish Charlotte, Timo, Joey and Martijn the very best in the musical adventures that lay ahead of them. For their stories, check out their and Delain’s Facebook statements.”
