CHARLOTTE WESSELS: The Obsession (MELODIC METAL): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

Charlotte Wessels' first steps outside the Delain mothership were a success, despite a few hiccups. The beautiful flying Dutchwoman offered us a glimpse of her darkly enchanted universe on her debut album “Tales from Six Feet Under”. Although some of the tracks lacked consistency, the second volume released the following year managed to rectify the situation and proved that Charlotte Wessels was no longer the ex-singer of Delain, but a fully-fledged artist with a deep understanding of metal.

For this third album, entitled “The Obsession”, Charlotte Wessels has assembled a dream team of former colleagues. Timo Somers on guitar, Otto Schimmelpenninck van der Oije on bass, Joey Marin de Boer on drums, Elianne Anemaat on cello - all four are former Delain members. Sophia Vernikov, who is just starting out in the business, officiates on keyboards alongside the experienced Vikram Shankar. Having made an appearance on Epica's EP “The Alechemy Project”, Charlotte returned the favor to Simone Simons, who appears on the track “Dopamine”. Last but not least, Canadian Alissa White-Gluz (Arch Enemy) appears on 'Ode To The West', having already been invited to guest on the Dutchwoman's debut album. On both duets, the two singers' voices blend and merge to such an extent that they seem to be one (except when Alissa uses her big voice).

'Chasing Sunsets' gets off to a flying start, with the metal needles in the red, but the track offers several slowdowns in tempo before spinning out again. Fans of Delain won't be disappointed, as the rest of the album remains faithful to this spirit. Brutal metal (Timo Somers indulges in solos as electric as they are stratospheric) rubs shoulders with a more symphonic and pop spirit, without this jeopardizing the edifice, as on 'Praise', an obvious single. As on the previous two albums, Charlotte Wessels opts for flashy choruses that are quite infectious for the listener. Her clear voice sometimes takes dizzyingly high-pitched paths when she's not letting her rage explode. This is particularly apparent on the deceptively calm ballads ('All You Are', 'The Exorcism' on which she ends up growling). In this respect, the most successful track is the funereal 'Soulstice', full of restrained tension and directly in line with Kate Bush's best deranged songs.

Paradoxically, this album could be criticized for being somewhat lacking in surprises, with moments of appeasement often seeing big, grandiloquent guitars tearing up the beautiful white canvas ('The Crying Room' could serve as an unintentional self-parody in this respect, while 'Ode To The West Wind' goes a little round in circles). This album does, however, appear to be a notch below the second, which had more moments of dark madness and sonic exploration to offer (the cello on 'Breathe' would have deserved a little more playing time). And for good reason, some tracks stop just at the point where the boundary between symphonic and progressive metal could have been crossed.

Charlotte Wessels proves once again that she can survive outside Delain. On her third album, this musician who cultivates both barbarity and innocence seems to take us by the hand, inviting us to explore her secret garden of noise and fury, but also delicate arpeggios of poetry. An undoubted success, but we can only hope that the Dutchwoman gives way to a little more experimental madness. - Official website

CHARLOTTE WESSELS

THE OBSESSION

NAPALM RECORDS

MELODIC METAL