Dear friends,Today we share with you the news that our drummer and friend Sander Zoer has decided to take a step back as Delain’s main man behind the drums, due to some major recent changes impacting his personal life. Though he will be stepping out of the limelight, we are happy that he will still be active for Delain behind the screens and our friendship will continue off-stage. Also, we are very happy to introduce to you Ruben Israel who will step in as Delain’s new drummer. Some of you will already know Ruben from when he joined us on our US tour with Kamelot last fall; this is where we got to know Ruben as the great guy and great drummer he is. We are confident that he will do an absolutely fantastic job and warmly welcome him to the Delain family!Ruben will continue where he started and will replace Sander behind the drums starting our upcoming US tour with Sonata Arctica this fall. Sander will be performing all festivals with Delain until September, except for 06-06-2014 Luxor Live at Arnhem where Ruben will fill in. There will be a special gig with Sander in his former hometown Groningen, on October 24th. Sander states: “8 years ago I took place on the Delain drum chair and this is the best choice I’ve ever made, but now the time has come to take some steps back. I need more time for my other activities in Delain behind the screens, to develop myself, other projects and jobs, and family.However I will not completely disappear from the radar; you might see me behind the drums at some venues or festivals from time to time. I want to thank the Delain family for all the good times, and a very big thanks you to all fans around the world!â€Ruben states: “When Delain asked me to join them on their US/CAN tour last year, I didn’t want to let the opportunity go by. I enjoyed every minute of the tour, the country, the music, and the fans we met on the road. Also I became good friends with the band. Needless to say, when the question came, I didn’t have to think twice about stepping in officially and join the team to play the drums with Delain. I can’t wait to start this new adventure with Delain and meet you all!â€
Finally we can confirm that the rumors are true! We are excited to announce that we will be joining NIGHTWISH in spring 2015, on a 27-date tour of North America, launching in New York City on April 9th, hitting three Canadian cities plus Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, then closing out in Silver Springs, Maryland on May 14th. We are currently touring the US (check upcoming tourdates here) and are happy to be able to return so soon, especially with the symphonic metallers of NIGHTWISH!For a list of all confirmed tour dates and links for ticket presales, please check our calendar.
Metal musicians proving how hardcore they are might have just met their match. Dutch symphonic-metal outfit Delian had one of the most bizarre stage mishaps possibly ever at a U.K. concert when an apparently-way-too-close streamer cannon walloped their bassist in his genital region. Otto Schimmelpenninck (above) wrote in a blog post to fans that he knew he was bleeding, and one point even felt like he would go unconscious, but still finished the performance and "even squeeze[d] out some grunts!"The bassist went on to detail the gruesome aftermath (guys, prepare yourselves...) that included his scrotum swelling to "the size of a big grapefruit" where he learned his left testicle and some arteries had been ruptured. Schimmelpenninck went into surgery the following morning where "more than 500 ml of blood was removed from [his] scrotum and [his] testicle was stitched up."There are no words.But it looks likely that there's a happy ending in Schimmelpenninck's future. "I was very close to losing my left testicle, but chances are good it will be fine," he added. "It will take about six weeks until I can find out though, when I have an ultrasound scan. It will also be a while before I am without the very uncomfortable pain I am in now, but sadly, it's just the way it is for now."Schimmelpenninck ended his account adding that he's hoping he'll be all healed by the time Delian's European tour rolls around in February. Here's hoping to a speedy recovery. Altogether now: Oof.
