Charlotte Wessels – The Obsession
Charlotte Wessels – The Obsession
Napalm Records
Release Date: 20/09/2024
Running Time: 50:00
Review by Rory Bentley
9/10
Charlotte Wessels is one of the real ones. Since leaving Delain and spreading her wings as a solo artist, she has proven beyond doubt that she is a creative force to be reckoned with, and someone for whom the shackles of genre boundaries do not apply. After her two excellent “Tales from Six Feet Under” albums that explored everything from Electronic, Metal, Industrial, Pop and Alt Rock, “Obsession” sees her coral these eclectic influences into one less disparate, but no less exhilarating singular sound. Kind of like if “Angel Dust” came after “King for A Day Fool for A Lifetime”, with genre-hopping often taking place simultaneously during individual songs rather than being spread across the tracklist.
‘Chasing Sunsets’ offers a fine introduction to this new direction, with muscular down-tuned riffs and a slick Pop vocal that has always separated Wessels from the more warbly vocalists of her Symphonic Metal past. The chorus here pops not through raw operatic power, but the melodic strength of the writing, allowing for a delivery many that aren’t into the bluster of the Nightwishes and Epicas of the world will find much more palatable. On that note, Epica songstress and one of Charlotte’s bezzers Simone Simons does make an appearance, providing the melodic hook on the rousing ‘Dopamine’, which once again integrates the punchy hooks of Pop with the cinematic stylings of Wessel’s old band. There is a thumping pace on this one and an incredibly Europop chorus melody that makes me really want to hear a club mix of this, so Charlotte, if you’re reading this, I need you to put a donk on this in time for my next holiday!
My personal favourite track on the record is the frankly stunning ‘Praise’, which manages to evoke Devin Townsend, All Saints and Gospel in the same track. As well as some insightful lyrics about the pitfalls of seeking external validation over striving for inner peace, the song has skyscraper melodies for days and a masterful vocal by Ms Wessels. The thing I love about her approach is that despite having monster singing chops, she can rein things in for the good of each song. This means that when she unleashes hell as she does here, the impact is mind-blowing, as she belts out impassioned RnB runs and soulful, full-throated bellows over the kind of Celestial Pop Metal that Mr. Townsend would be proud of. Not that it’s all about me, but I would love to hear this avenue explored more going forward.
Other curveballs include the hulking, melodrama of ‘The Crying Room’, sitting between a power ballad and a sinister, elevated-horror nightmare, and the errie, Leprous-like ‘Ode To The West Wind’. The latter track features the go-to guest singer not called Matt Heaffy or Jesse Leach, Alissa White-Gluz, who lends her formidable growl and powerful cleans to a labyrinthine composition that keeps you guessing while still serving those sweet melodic hooks. ‘Vigor and Valor’, on the other hand is a callback to the more pulsing, Industrial moments of the previous two records, clicking along with a sense of building menace and Charlottes vocoder-treated robotic vocals, like Amaranthe if they preferred Chelsea Wolfe to ABBA!
In many ways “The Obsession” feels more along the lines of the record we may perhaps have expected when Wessels initially went solo, nodding heavily to her Symphonic past and putting her sublime voice front and centre, however it’s not as simple as that, and I believe it benefits from coming in the wake of its more overtly experimental predecessors. The lessons learned since the “Six Feet Under..” sessions have provided a vast toolkit to bring to this reunion with Wessel’s earlier sound, meaning this is a far more interesting, dynamic record despite the more familiar foundations it is built on. We are fully in on the business end of the musical year right now, with some truly massive releases either already out or on the way. The fact that this record has a great shout at making my end of year list is a huge testament to the quality of songwriting and musical exploration on here. Give into “The Obsession”, you won’t regret it!
‘Dopamine’ ft. Simone Simons – Official Video
TRACKLISTING:
01. Chasing Sunsets
02. Dopamine
03. The Exorcism
04. Soulstice
05. The Crying Room
06. Ode To The West Wing
07. Serpentine
08. Praise
09. All You Are
10. Vigor and Valor
11. Breathe;
13. Soft Revoluion (2024 Version)
LINE-UP:
Charlotte Wessels and various talented pals
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Rory Bentley and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.