Former DELAIN vocalist Charlotte Wessels has collaborated with EPICA’s Simone Simons on her captivating new single “Dopamine”. This track is part of Wessels’s debut full-length, full-band solo album, “The Obsession”, slated for release on September 20, 2024, through Napalm Records. Promising a profoundly immersive and evocative experience, the two Dutch symphonic metal icons guide listeners through the emotional terrain of SSRI-induced numbness. “The Obsession” highlights Wessels’s most mature work to date, blending progressive and heavier soundscapes with catchy elements.
Supported by her former DELAIN bandmates, who enhance the album’s heavier sound, Charlotte Wessels is set to bring “The Obsession” to the stage this year. The journey begins with a release show on October 4, 2024, at Utrecht’s TivoliVredenburg, followed by a special guest appearance with labelmates KAMELOT and AD INFINITUM in Drachten on October 11, 2024. After these shows, Wessels will join VOLA on their “Friend Of Phantom” European tour 2024, starting on November 1.
Wessels comments: “Lyrically, ‘Dopamine’ deals with SSRI-induced numbness that I experienced a few years ago when I was on Sertraline, a type of antidepressant. While the medication was really helpful, there were so many side effects that I’d never heard of. This song deals with some of them, and while it feels vulnerable to expose the experience, I hope it helps in breaking down the shame and taboo around the topic.
“Simone reached out to me as I was first opening up about this in an interview, and when the first version of ‘Dopamine’ dropped on Patreon (because, of course, we’re each other’s Patreons) she texted how much she liked the song. So when we were working on the album version, it only made sense to ask if she’d sing along on the track. I am so happy she agreed and after all of the shared introspection, it was great fun to let loose wearing pink wigs in ball pits and marshmallow pools for the video recordings. Musically, out of the entire new album, ‘Dopamine’ went through the biggest transformation. What started out as an EDM demo for a collaboration with a dance duo that never happened, became an acoustic ‘Song Of The Month’ on Patreon, which then had a massive overhaul when rearranging it with Timo. The new band version is an absolute banger, and the beautiful guest vocals by Simone complete the song.”
“The Obsession” marks Charlotte Wessels’s debut with Napalm Records. While her earlier solo projects— the full-length compilations “Tales From Six Feet Under” (2021) and “Tales From Six Feet Under Vol. II” (2022) — garnered a significant following, “The Obsession” elevates her career to new heights.
The new album promises a cohesive exploration of fear and liberation, blending spellbinding melancholia with dark, catchy elements and progressive, heavier soundscapes. The storytelling within the songs adds further depth to the multifaceted album, making “The Obsession” an exciting listening experience and Wessels’s most mature solo offering to date.
“The Obsession” track listing:
01. Chasing Sunsets
02. Dopamine
03. The Exorcism
04. Soulstice
05. The Crying Room
06. Ode To The West Wind
07. Serpentine
08. Praise
09. All You Are
10. Vigor And Valor
11. Breathe
12. Soft Revolution (2024)
