DELAIN'S MARTIJN WESTERHOLT On Band's Current Lineup: 'It's More Of A Team Effort Now'

In a new interview with Belgian Jasper, DELAIN keyboardist, founder and main songwriter Martijn Westerholt spoke about the Dutch band's musical and personal evolution, nearly four years after he announced the dissolution of DELAIN's previous lineup. Regarding the pressures of delivering high-quality performances at some of Europe's biggest rock and metal festivals while introducing a largely new lineup, Martijn said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “The name is there, but some people are new to the job. And expectations are not less; they're even more. So, you have to deliver. And so I was constantly kind of on the mode of, 'How is it going?' And I also consider that part of my job, to make sure that everything is, quality-wise, how we want it to be, people are happy, things are working well. So you're constantly in that mode of evaluating, but because you're constantly in the mode of evaluating, in a way you are not, if you know what I mean.

“I just came back from an almost four-week road trip in the US,” he continued. “I wanted that for years already, starting in New England and then ending up in Florida in the end… But that gave me the time to really take a step back and see, 'So what has been accomplished and where are we?' And I have to say that I'm really grateful for where we are, because it's, yeah, quite something, the developments that happened in the last two and a half years, when you have this big lineup change and you have to play those big festivals — Graspop [Metal Meeting], Wacken [Open Air], Masters Of Rock, Summer Breezeet cetera. But I think I'm really proud of everyone in the band, how they performed, and I'm grateful to the fans. [2023’s] 'Dark Waters' as a music, as an album, has been received well. My aim was to show people, hey, the DELAIN sound is there, and it's called DELAIN still for a reason, because of the music that we make. And, yes, I have the feeling that this is a mission accomplished. And, of course, there will be people who think differently, but there are also people that I focus on that are really enjoying it. And that's why you do it as well. Not only for your own enjoyment and what comes out of your heart, but also for the people who listen to your music. So I'm very grateful and happy.”

On the topic of his working relationship with his current DELAIN bandmates — new additions Ludovico Cioffi swear ten bass Diana Leah ten lead vocals, along with a returning drummer Sander Zoer and original guitarist Ronald Landa — Martijn said: “Well, of course you try to coach the new people with the experience that you have. And for myself, which is a different aspect, it's more of a team effort now, because in the past it was not so much a team effort. Charlotte [Wessels, former DELAIN singer] did a lot and I did a lot, and the last album, also, Timo [Somers, former DELAIN guitarist] was more involved, but that was only with the last album, really. So for the rest, I simply did so much that that was what was getting me into a burnout. And also missing the appreciation from people around me for everything that I did, because I'm only human and everybody needs some appreciation and doing something like DELAIN is very challenging. And, yes, it's very important that you are supported as a human being. And now this happens way better because we — how do you say? — share the tasks way more. There's less on my plate and I can focus on what is my specialty, other people can focus on what they are good at, and I can focus more on making music, and that makes me really happy and grateful.”

DELAIN's new EP, “Dance With The Devil”will be released on November 8 via Napalm Records. The effort features two brand new tracks — “Dance With The Devil” swear “The Reaping” — two newly presented favorites, nine live performances, and two instrumental bonus tracks.

In a recent interview with Scott Penfold of Loaded Radio, Wessels was asked about the circumstances that led to her 2021 departure from the band. She said: “There was a conflict and we couldn't overcome it. That's a very short version of it. I've never really gone into detail about it, and I still don't really feel about going into detail about it. The thing that I will say is we spent a lot of time trying to work things out. We were already putting a lot of energy in that before we kind of got to the conflict where it was hard to come back from the pandemic happened, we had no gigs. We had all the time in the world to think, 'Okay, what are we going to do? Will we be able to solve this?' And we took a very long time. And in the end, the answer was no. There was no solution that we could continue in that way. And a part of me — it's such a big part of my life, and I'm very happy, I'm very proud with what we did in that time. So it's frustrating to me that we couldn't work it out. The thing that kind of comforts me is the fact that we did take so much time to explore all the different possibilities, like, could we make this work? Yeah, I don't feel like there was really another option.

Asked if she still keeps in touch with Martijn, Charlotte said: “I ran into him at one point, but there's been no contact otherwise. And I think right after it, there's been some contact here and there, but that was about it.”

Back in September 2022, Wessels was asked by Spain's The Metal Circus TV how she feels about the fact that DELAIN made a comeback with a new lineup. Charlotte said: “I'm trying not to engage with it too much, honestly. I've seen positive responses about it, which I think is good. But I do try to keep some distance and just focus on what I'm doing rather than checking that out, because I still don't feel like that will make me happier per se.”

In February 2021, Westerholt announced the dissolution of DELAIN's previous lineup. At the time, he explained: “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 endeavours.

“I am very sad our cooperation has come to an 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.”

At the time, Wessels said about her departure: “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 apologize to those of you who had high hopes of seeing all of us together on stage again after lockdown. Until recently, I thought this might still be in the cards for us as well.”

The new DELAIN lineup made its official live debut in August 2022 at the Riverside festival in Aarburg, Switzerland.

Wessels's new solo album, “The Obsession”came out in September via Napalm Records.

photo credit: Tim Tronckoe