Dianne, the solo project of Dianne van Giersbergen, has released Hysteria, with three players from other bands on it.
Asim Searah, once of Wintersun, plays guitar. Rob van der Loo of Epica plays bass. Ed Warby, whose name is attached to Ayreon among a long list of others, plays drums. The song itself is symphonic metal of the older kind, built on stacked choirs, layered orchestration and a fast chorus, and it points back at where Nightwish started rather than at anything current.
Van Giersbergen trained as a classical soprano before she sang in Xandria, and she uses it here: quick coloratura runs, clipped high staccato lines and a climb to a high D in the chorus. That voice has been the point of the project since it began in 2022.
The words are about the narrow line between ambition and losing hold of yourself, the pressure nobody sees that comes with chasing something large. She is careful that the song is not a surrender but an honest look at a balancing act that dreamers, working people and parents all perform daily.