Diana Leah leaves Delain after one studio album, and the Dutch band isn’t replacing her. Instead, Delain says it will become a collective, with different guest singers on its next album and on stage. The band announced the change on social media on Monday, Oct. 19, according to Blabbermouth. The first two confirmed guests are names from Delain’s very first record: Marko Hietala and Sharon den Adel. A new single is due Tuesday.
Why Diana Leah Leaves Delain
The statement saying Diana Leah leaves Delain doesn’t go into detail. “Diana has decided to step away from DELAIN after many years with the band to pursue other things in life,” it says.
We fully respect Diana’s decision and wish her all the best in this new chapter of her life. She will always have a place in the DELAIN family, and the door will always be open to her.”
Diana Leah leaves Delain to focus on music of her own. Her statement points to her solo project, DYYA. “I’m thankful for the experiences and memories I’ve made during my time with DELAIN, and to everyone who has supported me throughout these years,” she said. “I’m now fully dedicated to DYYA, with my new single ‘Too Tired To Be Dead’ already out and my debut EP ‘Welcome To Nowhere’ coming very soon.”
Leah joined Delain in 2022, replacing longtime singer Charlotte Wessels. Her only studio album with the band was Dark Waters, released in February 2023 on Napalm Records. Blabbermouth says DYYA’s first single, “Holy Water,” came out this past March, followed by “Eternal Trophies,” “Black Honey” and “Too Tired To Be Dead.” No release date has been given for the EP.
A Collective, Not a Replacement
As Diana Leah leaves Delain, the band is leaning into an idea it started with. “Rather than looking for a direct replacement for Diana, we have chosen to embrace collaboration on a much broader scale,” the statement says. “For the upcoming album, each artist contributes their own voice, personality and musical identity, creating a record that remains unmistakably DELAIN while opening the door to an entirely new range of musical possibilities.”
The plan goes beyond the studio. “Many of the artists will also join DELAIN live, creating a dynamic musical collective that can take different forms from song to song and from show to show,” the band says.
Delain’s core going forward is:
- Martijn Westerholt: founder and songwriter
- Ludovico Cioffi
- Ronald Landa
- Sander Zoer
Back to Lucidity
The band frames the new setup as a return to how it began. Delain’s 2006 debut, Lucidity, was built around guest artists, and the statement says that “twenty years after the debut, we are carrying forward the collaborative spirit of the beginnings while taking the idea further than ever before.”
Two of the first confirmed guests were part of that record: former Nightwish bassist and vocalist Marko Hietala and Within Temptation singer Sharon den Adel. Westerholt said: “DELAIN has always been about bringing different musical worlds together. Twenty years ago, ‘Lucidity’ started with that idea. Now, twenty years later, we are taking it further than ever before.”
No other guests have been named. The news that Diana Leah leaves Delain came with just these two.
What’s Next
With the news that Diana Leah leaves Delain still fresh, the band’s next single is due Tuesday, Oct. 20, via Napalm Records. Its title hasn’t been announced, and neither has which guest sings on it. There’s no album title or release date yet, and no U.S. tour dates, including San Diego.
- Known: Leah is out; Hietala and den Adel are confirmed guests; a single arrives Oct. 20 on Napalm.
- Unknown: The single’s title, other guest singers, the album’s title and date, and any U.S. shows.
A Big Week for Symphonic Metal Singers
It’s the second major singer change in symphonic metal in less than a week. On Oct. 15, Nightwish and Floor Jansen announced they had parted ways by “mutual agreement,” Louder reported. Jansen said she will focus on her solo career and her upcoming album Hytress, and Nightwish said it will continue and record a new album in 2027. There’s no sign the news that Diana Leah leaves Delain is connected.
Before she joined Delain, Leah said in 2022, she simply left a comment on the band’s Instagram page saying she knew they were looking for a singer. Westerholt emailed her days later. Now that Diana Leah leaves Delain, the band is going back to the guest-singer approach it started with.
For more singer shakeups and new records, see our coverage of Arch Enemy’s new album, our look at metal music in 2025 and our San Diego metal scene guide for shows in town.
SDMETAL