Not long ago, DELAIN released their EP “Hunter’s Moon” with several live tracks and four new songs. Four new songs might not be much, but for sure it makes the wait for a new full album a little bit shorter. And we have all been waiting for so long, right?!

DELAIN’s “Masters Of Destiny” tour started in Bochum.

Now the wait is almost over: DELAIN is currently on the “Masters Of Destiny” –tour to promote their upcoming album of the same name. The start of this European tour was in Bochum in Northwest Germany. Although it was on a Tuesday evening the venue was pretty full. Even when the opener for this evening, ARKONA, started, many fans had already found their way to the Zeche in Bochum.

ARKONA kicked off the evening with their mix of Folk and Black Metal. The Russian band around frontwoman Maria ‘Scream’ showed the audience that not only Alissa White-Gluz can scream – Maria does as well. It is pretty amazing that such harsh tones come out of such small women.

Opening act ARKONA performed a long set in Bochum.

To be honest, ARKONA didn’t have an easy job as an opener for DELAIN. The band had problems catching the audience. The reasons for this can be their very unique music and Russian lyrics. Some of the concert-goers clapped their hands and banged their heads, but after a short time, they just stood still again. Apart from that, ARKONA was allowed to play over 45 minutes, which is a very long time for an opener. The DELAIN-fans got bored because they wanted to see their band and not seeing a full set by someone else.

ARKONA did a good job. But for the people, it was just too long and too far away from DELAIN’s music. Probably not the best choice for an opener. After DELAIN’s show, you couldn’t meet ARKONA at the merch booth, which is also unusual. Normally you meet the opening bands at the merch. But not so this time.

The wait for DELAIN’s performance was long but worth it.

After an endless ARKONA show and a short break, DELAIN finally entered the stage and the fans went totally crazy! Bochum was the first show of the “Masters Of Destiny” tour. No one in the room knew what songs the band would play and in general what would happen. DELAIN had already uploaded some new music on Youtube but they also played a brand-new song that no one had listened to before. With ‘Let’s Dance’, DELAIN gave the fans a further appetizer for the upcoming album, which has no official release date yet.

After a few songs, frontwoman Charlotte Wessels was left totally speechless by the cheering audience. She said, she knew that the fans were always great but this was something she hadn’t expected. There is actually no need to mention that DELAIN-concerts are always like this but the mood this Tuesday evening was just outstanding!  

Between the songs, Charlotte often made short introductions for the next one.  The mix of songs and the interaction between the band and the crowd were perfect. It is always nice to see the musicians having so much fun on stage, smiling all the time. This time, one could feel the love DELAIN have for music and what they do. This is something that gets soaked in by the audience and the atmosphere gets even better.

DELAIN truly enjoyed performing in Bochum.

It’s pure fun to watch the Dutch band doing their show. Sure, it is their job to play and give the fans a good show for their money but if you watch a DELAIN-concert you see it’s not just a job, it’s passion, fun, and endless love. Many bands do a great job and every band and concert is unique but DELAIN-shows give you the feeling you are a part of it.

DELAIN played 17 songs, which is standard. Most songs were from “Moonbathers” followed by 4 new songs from the upcoming album. During the show, Charlotte changed her outfit once, which isn’t really necessary because she looks great in everything but for the fans, it was nice to see.

In the beginning, the old banner of “Hunter’s Moon” was in the back. But after Charlotte announced the new album, a new banner appeared – a big surprise for everybody attending the show.

Charlotte’s voice was in top shape and so was the sound on this occasion – an absolutely amazing start to this tour. The only negative point of the gig was that “Masters Of Destiny” hasn’t been released yet and so you couldn’t buy it at the merch booth.

You can find my full gallery on Flickr.

DELAIN – Setlist: Bochum 19-11-2019

• Pendulum
• Virtue and Vice (first time live since 2015)
• One Second (Live debut)
• Suckerpunch
• Burning Bridges
• The Hurricane
• Masters of Destiny
• Here Come the Vultures
• Sing to Me
• Let’s Dance (Public debut)
• Combustion (Instrumental jam)
• Hands of Gold
• Not Enough
• Don’t Let Go

• The Gathering
• Fire with Fire
• We Are the Others