DELAIN's MARTIJN WESTERHOLT On Possibility Of Working With CHARLOTTE WESSELS In The Future: 'I Don't See It Happening'

In a recent interview with Scott Penfold of Loaded Radio, DELAIN keyboardist, founder and main songwriter Martijn Westerholt was asked about the circumstances that led to the 2021 breakup of the band's previous lineup, including the departure of longtime DELAIN frontwoman Charlotte Wessels. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, actually, in February '21 was only the result. And it kind of already started in the end of 2019. I got a burnout because in DELAIN, I basically took care of most what was going on, together with Charlotte, and the rest of the musicians, yeah, were kind of hired guns and didn't do much in those processes, and nor were they expected to. So, no blame there at all, but that was just how DELAIN functioned. At a certain point, when I got the burnout, I really had to take a step back and take some time, tour less. And then the three guys basically said, 'Well, but we want to change things, and things need to be different. And we kind of want to continue touring, and we don't even want you on tour anymore. And we'll do it like that.' But that's impossible, because DELAIN is also a normal company — it's my job and it was Charlotte's job as well. And it's also my responsibility. If they would go on tour without me and things go wrong, then then people are at my doorstep, not at theirs. And Charlotte said, 'Okay, you guys have to figure this out. Otherwise I'd rater quit because I don't want to continue with such a big change. Then I'd rather do my own thing.' And in the end, I offered them to take over: 'Okay. Then buy over DELAIN from me.' That might be a problem because they didn't write the vast majority of the music. That was me, together with my co-writer Guus [Eikens], and at a certain point also Charlotte, though Charlotte was in a majority only focusing on the lyrics at first. So I had some question marks there, but I thought, 'Okay, if they wanna take it over, it really pains me, but then they can, and then they simply have to buy it over and then I'll just do my own thing.' And so we started negotiating for that, but that didn't work out at all. And in hindsight, I'm relieved. I'm grateful it didn't work out because a lot of people told me, 'Hey, man, you shouldn't give that away like that. It's something you built up, and the sound of DELAIN will change so much. And that will be a problem.' And so eventually it didn't. And then I picked up the pieces and then I had to think of how to move next. And then we were at the point that I had to think, 'Okay, project, band, and we need to announce it.' And that's a bit how it went. And the funny thing is it all happened in COVID times. And that was kind of my salvation in a weirdly sad [way], but that really gave space and time to pick up the pieces and to figure out what to do."

Asked if he would ever be open to working with Charlotte again at some point in the future, if that opportunity arose, Martijn said: "Well, there's still some heartache, so to say, so right now, not really. And also if you listen to Charlotte's [post-DELAIN] music and you compare it to my music, it's completely different. She does a really good job in developing her own sound and her own music, but as you can hear, it's different. And I think that's a compliment towards her. But it also shows the difference in what we do. So I'm rather skeptical at it. But at the same time, like with everything in life, you never know how life goes and you should never say never, but right now I don't see it happening."

Last month, Wessels talked to Scott Penfold of Loaded Radio about the circumstances that led to her 2021 departure from the band. She said: "There was a conflict and we couldn't overcome it. That's a very short version of it. I've never really gone into detail about it, and I still don't really feel about going into detail about it. The thing that I will say is we spent a lot of time trying to work things out. We were already putting much energy in that before we kind of got to the conflict where it was hard to come back from. But, yeah, especially since the pandemic happened, we had no gigs. We had all the time in the world to think, like, 'Okay, what are we going to do? Will we be able to solve this?' And we took a very long time. And in the end, the answer was no. There was no solution that we could find where we would continue in that way. And a part of me — it's such a big part of my life, and I'm very happy, I'm very proud with what we did in that time. So it's frustrating to me that we couldn't work it out. The thing that kind of comforts me is the fact that we did take so much time to explore all the different possibilities, like, could we make this work? Yeah, I don't feel like there was really another option. So that's why."

Asked if she still keeps in touch with Martijn, Charlotte said: "I ran into him at one point, but there's been no contact otherwise. And I think right after it, there's been some contact here and there, but that was about it."

Back in September 2022, Wessels was asked by Spain's The Metal Circus TV how she feels about the fact that DELAIN made a comeback with a new lineup. A month earlier, DELAIN released a single, "The Quest And The Curse", featuring Westerholt alongside new singer Diana Leah, original guitarist Ronald Landa and original drummer Sander Zoer, plus bassist Ludovico Cioffi. Charlotte said: "I'm trying not to engage with it too much, honestly. I've seen positive responses about it, which I think is good. But I do try to keep some distance and just focus on what I'm doing rather than checking that out, because I still don't feel like that will make me happier per se."

In February 2021, Westerholt announced the dissolution of DELAIN's previous lineup. At the time, he explained: "For the last year or so, the collaboration within the band ceased to work as well as it once had. Some of us were no longer happy with the current roles in the band. We all tried very hard to find a solution for over a year, but sadly we were unable to find one. As a result, we will all be going our own ways and pursuing our own endeavors.

"I am very sad our cooperation has come to end, but at the same time I am very grateful for all the years we were able to work together. Together we toured the world, shared highs and lows, and met with many successes as well as times that pushed us to learn and grow. We all enjoyed meeting our fans and making new friends all over the globe."

At the time, Wessels said about her departure: "I know that you might have questions about the 'why' in all of this. I fully understand and respect that. Simply put, it is the sad conclusion of more than a year of trying to find solutions to built-up grievances. Part of me feels like I'm letting all of you down, I'd like you to know that this decision was not taken lightly and I apologize to those of you who had high hopes of seeing all of us together live on stage again after lockdown. Until recently, I thought this might still be in the cards for us as well."

The new DELAIN lineup made its official live debut in August 2022 at the Riverside festival in Aarburg, Switzerland.

Wessels's new solo album, "The Obsession", came out in September via Napalm Records.