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Delight is not a
new band, as many assume. This is
their fifth full length release and
apart from some acknowledgement in
the underground metal field or the
Central-Eastern area, they haven’t
gathered the attention of many fans
of female fronted acts. The groundbreaking
(to paraphrase their title) event
in their history was their victory
in a 2005 contest that Crowned them
as the "Best Unsigned Gothic
Act International" and which
gave them the chance to put ink in
a contract with Roadrunner.
Though the term Gothic Rock is
widely used to describe them, I would
argue that they are a modern rock/metal
female fronted band that exploits
the power of nu-metal and the sensibility
of gothic rock. "Breaking Ground" is
a noteworthy alternative to bands
such as Lacuna Coil, Evanesence and
Within Temptation. They do not use
any romantic or symphonic layers
in their music; instead they are
quite wise with their electronic
sounds, which enhance the final outcome.
In several times, other bands will
be remembered, such as Katatonia,
and that where the Gothic Rock term
takes form. I must admit that Paula
Maslanka has an extraordinary voice
and supports the solid compositions
of Jaroslaw Baran. In an era that
every woman has the deceptive idea
that can be a metal diva, Paula is
an oasis with her straightforward
(yet beautiful) vocals. Songs like "Sleep
with the Light On", "In
Too Deep", "All Alone" and "Bare
Tree" show a band with a clear
vision and concentration. I must
say though that the album has weak
moments as well and that where Delight
have to work on. Especially the in
the case of ballads is where the
band presents uninteresting and uninspired
tracks, but then again I think that
this is a symptom of the whole scene.
"Breaking Ground" was
produced by Rhys Fulber (see Fear
Factory, Paradise Lost, Front Line
Assembly and very soon Scar of the
Sun) and the recording sessions took
place in Strait Sound studio, Gibsons,
Canada. This explains the modern
and compact production that is hard
to be found elsewhere. This also
highlights that a band with such
critical awards and so carefully
produced music is hard to be ignored.
Metal Mind Productions, that co-releases
the album, has issued a special digipack
edition which includes a video track
of the opening track "Divided".
In general this is a highly recommended
release for the fans of the genre. |
