Former Delain vocalist Charlotte Wessels has announced her next album, and that everybody else that left the symphonic metal act in 2021 will appear on it.
Wessels’ as-yet-untitled third solo record, the followup to her Tales From Six Feet Under duology, is due on September 20 via Napalm Records.
Lead single The Exorcism will be out on May 16.
Wessels has also revealed that the lineup on the album will be rounded out by Timo Somers (guitars), Otto Schimmelpenninck van der Oije (bass), Joey Marin de Boer (drums) and Sophia Vernikov (keys).
The collective have been playing as Wessels’ live band since 2022, but have never before appeared together on one of her solo recordings.
Somers previously performed with Wessels on her Tales From Six Feet Under Vol. II album in 2022.
Wessels, Somers, Schimmelpenninck van der Oije and de Boer all departed Delain simultaneously in February 2021, leaving keyboardist and founder Martijn Westerholt as the sole remaining member.
In a statement released upon her exit from Delain, Wessels described the mass exodus as “the sad conclusion of more than a year of trying to find solutions to built-up grievances”.
Westerholt offered his side of the story in a 2023 interview with Metal Hammer, saying Somers, Schimmelpenninck van der Oije and de Boer “wanted a complete change in how everything goes, including who makes the music”.
He added, “Charlotte’s position was, ‘You guys have to figure it out. If you can’t, I’d rather focus on my own career.’”
Wessels has described the largely ex-Delain lineup she’s corralled as an “amazing team” that “truly reminded me of why I love making music in the first place”.
She says in a new statement, “This album is significant for, on the one hand, telling such a deeply personal journey – through its unintended theme of fear and obsessive thoughts – and at the same time, representing the joy of finding the songs’ true forms with everyone involved in the making of this record.
“There were moments in the studio with the band that truly reminded me of why I love making music in the first place, and I don’t think I’ve ever been as excited about music going out into the world. This is the album I want to re-introduce myself with, and I’m so glad to do it with this amazing team.”
Marketing materials also describe Wessels’ new music as “heavier” than what was heard on Tales From Six Feet Under.
Wessels and her band will perform a release show at Tivolivredenburg in Utrecht, Netherlands, on October 4. Tickets to the concert are now available.
