Delain at Rockhal

Martijn Westerholt left Within Temptation in 2001 and named his next band after a kingdom in a Stephen King novel, The Eyes of the Dragon. Delain grew into symphonic metal with choruses made for singing back.

Delain play the Rockhal Club on Wednesday 10 February 2027, with Infected Rain and Persefone. Doors at 18:30.

Delain are Dutch symphonic metal, built around orchestration and a big lead vocal. Infected Rain come from Moldova and work a harder, more modern edge, and Persefone, from Andorra, play progressive death metal that rewards paying attention. Three countries, three quite different ideas of the genre.

Three bands on a Wednesday, so the early doors are not decoration. Standing, in the Club.

Who are Delain?

Delain are a symphonic metal band from Zwolle, in the Netherlands, started by keyboard player Martijn Westerholt after he left Within Temptation in 2001. The name comes from the Kingdom of Delain in Stephen King’s novel The Eyes of the Dragon. After a first demo, Amenity, the project took its real shape in 2005 with singer Charlotte Wessels, who fronted the band until 2021.

The sound is big and cinematic: soaring vocals, heavy riffs and lush synths, with choruses made for singing back. Since 2022 the voice of Delain is Diana Leah, alongside Westerholt, drummer Sander Zoer, guitarist Ronald Landa and bassist Ludovico Cioffi.

Their records

• Lucidity (2006): the debut, with guests including Marko Hietala, Liv Kristine and Sharon den Adel.
• April Rain (2009): number 14 in the Netherlands.
• We Are the Others (2012): number 4 in the Netherlands, their best placing at home.
• The Human Contradiction (2014): the first album on Napalm Records.
• Moonbathers (2016): top 20 in the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland.
• Apocalypse & Chill (2020): number 8 in Switzerland.
• Dark Waters (2023): number 9 in Germany, their highest chart position there.

A short record, Dance with the Devil, followed in November 2024. Songs to know before the night: “Frozen”, “See Me in Shadow”, “April Rain”, “Stay Forever”, “We Are the Others”, “Get the Devil Out of Me”, “The Quest and the Curse”, “Moth to a Flame”.

The 20th anniversary tour

In February 2027 Delain celebrate twenty years on the road with a European tour full of guest musicians and singers. The headline reunion is with Marko Hietala, who sang on Lucidity and worked with Westerholt on some of the band’s best-known songs. Back in 2007, Delain were nominated as a new band at the MTV Europe Music Awards, in the New Sounds of Europe category. The night belongs to Rockhal’s Temple of Metal series.