Delain have always been a fairly consistent band, never really making a bad release, and The Human Contradiction is more of the same – a great effort with a good mix of songs on it.
The Human Contradiction starts off strongly but it really gets going with the third track Stardust which is a beautiful and catchy number. Beginning with a soft and instrumentally thin section, when the full band kicks in it hits you like a tonne of bricks with a wonderful heaviness topped off with stunning melodic vocals. It has everything – a definite highlight of the album.
There are also guest vocals aplenty on the album, with performances from Marco Hietala, George Oosthoek and Alissa White-Gluz, the newly-inaugurated front-woman of Arch Enemy. Marco’s vocals work perfectly, complementing Charlotte’s vocals well, and George’s vocals add a fantastic element of aggression to his track, but there’s something a little off about the track Alissa guests on. She doesn’t quite shine and winds up blending into the background – and for someone famed for her powerfully aggressive vocals, it was an all-round weak performance.
Still, there’s plenty to enjoy about the album aside from one disappointing aspect, and this could perhaps go down as the best Delain album to date.
8/10
