For a band I had not heard of before being asked to review them I was not particularly thrilled at the prospect of hearing Delight. “Another female fronted Metal band from Europe?” I thought to myself; nothing could be further from the truth as Delight are much more interesting than the myriad of similar lady metal bands currently gaining popularity (Visions of Atlantis, anyone?). Although the music of “Anew” fits snugly into the genre of melodic female fronted metal this it not a fully accurate description as Delight

In contrast to the bombastic operatic style that is so popular in bands such as Nightwish or Tristania the vocals of singer Paulina Maslanka take on a more straightforward melodic approach with surprisingly aggressive tones in such songs as “The Pact of Silence” providing variety. The keyboards provided by Jakub Kubica (replacing former keyboard player Barbara Lasek) also veer away from the symphonic tones of many modern bands and instead present a more Industrial influenced sound, which is refreshing to hear in such a band. This combination of atypical elements with solid and talented songwriting is most clearly evident in the catchy single “Emotune” and the stomping “Your Name”. All of the songs on the album have a consistent level of quality and there are none that could really be called a weak track besides perhaps the album closer “Bare Tree” which is not a strong track and a more memorable closer would have been desirable.

“Anew” is not without its flaws, flaws that stop the album getting the 8/10 it should deserve. Although the guitars are suitably heavy and distorted there is a lack of imagination in some tracks and I was left with the impression that they could fit into a Korn song quite easily; not the impression intended I imagine. Another small flaw that can grow into genuine irritation is that the effects laid over Paulina Maslanka’s superb vocals are unnecessary when compared to the quality of singing without them. The album also only weights in at 40-odd minutes and leaves you with an insubstantial feeling, One more anthemic track to round off the album in the vein of the earlier superb single “Emotune” would have solved this problem. However any album that leaves you wanting more can certainly be considered to be successful in that respect.

Any album that can get one interested in hearing the foreign language version (Anew is available as “Ad nowa” in polish) certainly counts as a success in my eyes. This album is varied and consistent enough to take a proud place in any female fronted metal fans collections. I have tried to avoid making the cheesy joke up until now but I can no longer resist: Delight truly are a Delight to listen to.

Standout Tracks:  Anew, Emotune, The Pact Of Silence.

Overall Score:   7 /10