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Delain The Human Contradiction

Melodic/Symphonic/Power Metal

4.0/5.0

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Napalm Records
by Craig Hartranft,  20.03.2014

If you have a good formula, then run with it. Delain's fourth album, The Human Contradiction is in the same groove as 2012's We Are The Others, wrapping up their long standing bombastic symphonic metal with a strong rock groove. But they also look back, giving nods to other elements found in earlier.

Delain: get closer.

That look back is the addition of more death grunts and growls. You've got Orphanage drummer and grunter George Oosthoek on Tell Me Mechanist and new Arch Enemy vocalist Alissa White-Gluz (ex-The Agonist) on The Tragedy of the Commons, a quite heavy number, where her addition gives the song a more modern metal feel. As usual, these growls are as much well-placed as they are annoying. Also returning to give a Delain a hand is Nightwish's Marco Hietala, with his raspy raw voice, on Your Body Is A Battleground and Sing to Me.

The latter song is another of the heaviest songs here, with the symphonic element quite overpowering. The former is representative of the songs that have a strong rock groove, and bump up the band's catchy accessibility. Another is Stardust, but more so My Masquerade, where the vocal arrangement, especially in the refrain, is the stand out feature. Finally, there's Lullaby, but throw out a conceptions of this song being a soothing tune to put a toddler to sleep. It's crashing and crunchy from start to finish, even with its brief soft moments. Rather than put the baby to sleep, it will wake up the neighbors. So the Delain stays the course. If you're a fan, you'll likely want to pre-order asap.

DELAIN - Your Body Is A Battleground (Official Lyric Video)

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With The Human Contradiction, Delain stays the course while revisiting the past, working songs with a strong rock groove and inviting guests to throw up in several songs with death metal growls.

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