Delain is a symphonic metal band, formed in Zwolle, Netherlands in 2002. Delain was founded by Martijn Westerholt, former pianist of Within Temptation and brother of Within Temptation co-founder Robert Westerholt.

Martijn left Within Temptation in 2001 after contracting Pfeiffer's disease. He started Delain in 2002. The band released a demo entitled "Amenity" in 2002 and started recording their debut album "Lucidity" in July 2005, after they had signed a contract with Roadrunner Records.

For their first album "Lucidity" they invited several guest musicians:Jan Yrlund - guitars (Imperia)Ariën van Weesenbeek - drums (ex-Pandaemonium, ex-Imperia, ex-God Dethroned, Epica)Ad Sluijter - guitars (ex-Epica)George Oosthoek - grunts (ex-Orphanage, After Forever touring member)Guus Eikens - keyboards (ex-Orphanage)Sharon Den Adel - vocals (Within Temptation)Marco Hietala - bass, vocals (Tarot, Nightwish)Liv Kristine - vocals (ex-Theatre of Tragedy, Leaves' Eyes)At the end of 2007 Delain stated that they intended to release a second album in 2008, but in November 2008, it was announced that the new album "April Rain" would be released on February 9th, 2009.

In 2009, "April Rain" was delayed further until March 2009; the title track single, however, was released in February. In February 2010, Delain announced they had started working on their third album, and that bassist Rob van der Loo would leave the band the same year due to time constraints.

In March, Otto Schimmelpenninck van der Oije was announced as Rob's successor. On October 4, 2010, Delain announced they were to part company with guitarist Ewout Pieters. Timo Somers was announced as his replacement on April 17, 2011.

Originally intended for release in early 2012, the third album's release date was unknown due to Warner Music's purchase of Roadrunner Records. However, it was announced via a Facebook message on the band official page that the album would be released on June 1, 2012 with the album's first single, 'Get the Devil Out of Me'.

It was released on 13 April 2012 via CNR Music, who took over Delain from Warner Music. The second single from the album was the title track, 'We Are the Others'. It was announced on 3 November that Delain would headline Dames of Darkness Festival (Wolverhampton, UK) which they had previously headlined in 2009 (under the Femme Metal Festival).

"On 26 February 2013, Delain announced that they will release a special album entitled Interlude that would include new songs, covers, live tracks, special versions of previous songs and a bonus DVD. It was released on various dates throughout the first week of May worldwide.

On 23 January 2014, Delain announced that they will release a new album entitled "The Human Contradiction". It was released on April 5, 2014 in Europe, and on April 8, 2014 in North America.On June 4, 2014, it was announced that drummer Sander Zoer would step down from the band due to personal reasons; he would continue working behind the scenes of Delain.

The replacement drummer was announced to be Ruben Israel, who had stepped in for Zoer during Delain's tour with Kamelot. Zoer will continue to perform until September.The band brought with them Merel Bechtold (MaYaN, Purest of Pain) as a second guitarist for their UK tour in November 2014.

Bassist Otto Schimmelpenninck van der Oije suffered an injury on November 26, 2014, when he was accidentally hit by a streamer cannon, causing his left testicle to rupture. This incident was said to be caused by uncertain stage positioning, as there were six people onstage instead of the usual five.

While he was recovering, the band used pre-recorded bass parts. No permanent damage was done, and as of January 12, 2015, Schimmelpenninck van der Oije has resumed touring.Delain is currently touring with Sabaton and Battle Beast, and will tour North America with Sabaton as support for Nightwish.

Merel Bechtold will fill in for guitarist Timo Somers until February due to Somers' full schedule.Members-Current members: * Martijn Westerholt – Keyboards * Charlotte Wessels – Lead vocals * Otto Schimmelpenninck van der Oije – Bass guitar, backing vocals, harsh vocals * Timo Somers – Lead guitar, backing vocals * Ruben Israel – DrumsDiscography:-Albums: * Lucidity - 2006 * April Rain - 2009 * We Are The Others - 2012 * The Human Contradiction - 2014 -Singles: * Frozen - 2007 * See Me In Shadow - 2007 * The Gathering - 2008 * April Rain - 2009 * Stay Forever - 2009 * Smalltown Boy - 2009 * Get the Devil Out of Me - 2012 * Stardust - 2014-Demos: * Amenity - 2002Awards:Delain was nominated for the category New Sounds of Europe at EMA 2007.

They were knocked out on eleventh day. They were also nominated for the TMF Awards 2007 in the category "Best Rock".Official Website: www.delain.nlOfficial Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/delainmusicOfficial Twitter: https://twitter.

com/delainmusic