Delusion Rain 10 years already ( Part 1)

In the fall 2015, I remember just a few minutes before pressing the send button for the Delusion Rain Digital Promo Kit sent to hundreds of Prog Music Media contacts. I remember saying to myself, they will not like this album, my musical career is over.

That is how confident I was about the new album, I usually have many doubts when releasing a new album but with this one, I just thought it was far from The World is a Game released 3 years before. 

It was the first album also featuring all members of the current Line-Up.  Long time Live Bassist Francois Fournier recording all bass parts, Taurus and some keyboards, Sylvain Moineau who joined mystery live band with a last-minute call a few days before the release concert for The World is a Game, recording many guitar parts on Delusion Rain. Jean-Sebastien Goyette filling in for Nick D'Virgilio on Drums. Jean Pageau filling in on Lead Vocals after Benoit David’s departure, and Antoine Michaud who had filled in on Guitar for Sylvain Moineau the year before on tour with us in Europe, was offered to contribute to the album recording ambient guitar sounds, lots of the ambient pads you hear on the album are Antoine’s guitar layers.

Although everyone worked very hard for this album, and I remember making sure all the notes and parts were perfect while mixing, the shadow of the album The World is a Game was always in my mind, and I thought I could not make an album as good as the last one.  I even felt that the whole band was not very enthusiastic about the album, whether it was about their own performance or about the writing of the song and production. But I never felt anyone was happy with the result too.  I think I was probably the only one confident about their own parts, it was more as a whole album that I had my doubts. 

Even Benoit Dupuis, although he was credited on the album as the keyboardist, was not thrilled about the album and played only on a song or two, and I had to ask Sylvain Descoteaux from HUIS to record all the piano parts, Jean Pageau and Francois Fournier played a few keyboards part as well and I did most of the other Keys on Delusion Rain. Benoit Dupuis quit the band during the Delusion Rain Tour and would be replaced by Antoine Michaud.

The only thing that I was 100% sure about was Jean’s vocals  it was really easy to work with him in the studio and I knew it would be easy to introduce the new singer to the fans, and after the 2014 Tour, we knew we had the guy for the live shows as he is an incredible front man, but while listening to his tracks on the album I knew I had the guy for the studio too.  The band Live was just great and we had a good vibe on stage.  Why I had so many doubts about the album is still a Mystery, I feel like that with every album but this time it was different. 

Everything was ready for the release, I told myself, my career is probably over but let’s send the promos anyway and see what happens. And I clicked the mouse and pressed SEND and the rest is history.

10 years later, I still feel the album is different from the rest, Darker maybe, different from all we have done but now I see it as a complete and unique album. Everything that I had doubt about just make sense and today I feel it represents exactly where the band was at that very moment. The embryo for the longest and strongest lineup in our history.  10 years later I can say i am very proud of Delusion Rain,

Michel