Decipher [Import]

After Forever | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 25, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Import [Generic]
• ASIN: B00005RVP8
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #82,285 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #48 in Music > World Music > Europe > Continental Europe > Netherlands

Track Listings

1. Ex Cathedra (Ouverture)

2. Monolith Of Doubt

3. My Pledge Of Allegiance (The Sealed Fate)

4. Emphasis

5. Futuristic

6. Zenith

7. Estranged (A Timeless Spell)

8. Imperfect Tenses

9. My Pledge Of Allegiance (The Tempted Fate)

10. The Key

11. Forlorn Hope

Editorial Reviews

AFTER FOREVER DECIPHER

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rose and its thorns., May 7, 2002

By 

Lord Chimp (Monkey World) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Decipher (Audio CD)

It's not like After Forever scores any points for originality. Their approach to music is actually quite prevalent in the European metal market -- they call it B&B metal (for beauty & the beast). These bands combine a heavenly female vocalist with some throaty, growling male vocals; the music is gothic, operatic, and heavy all together. Principally stemming from its goth metal roots, the music is heavy on atmosphere and melancholy, with standard metal instruments accompanied by strings, keyboards, and other nonmetal components.

Honestly, it is a genre I have never cared for much (Theatre of Tragedy, in particular, was one of the most horrifying experiences in my life). However, After Forever is nothing short of stunning, yet it's a bit difficult to say why they appeal to me while others do not.

It's easiest to credit the band's vocal power, namely soprano Floor Jansen. Her accuracy is simply preternatural and her tone is achingly beautiful. She is beyond compare. I know it's not a competition, but her singing ability is truly remarkable. Her peers are destroyed with every heavenly note. Most remarkable of all? I believe she was only around 20-years old when this album was recorded. Unless her voice is tragically destroyed someday, she could become a force to be reckoned with in the future. As for the growling and screaming guys, they're tolerable. After Forever makes it work because this album is 95% Miss Jansen. However, throw Mikael Akerfeldt in this band and they'd be the ultimate force. (That said, however, the "beast" element of the band is used sparingly.) Many B&B bands just don't have the powerful vocal element of After Forever -- their female singers sound pretty rather than beautiful; gentle instead of powerful.

If that might not be enough to make After Forever especially distinguished, but I'm not sure what else does it. All I know is that this album is hot. The songs are theatrical and powerful, orchestrated with exquisite drama. It begins with "Ex Cathedra", which sounds like gothic chamber music with opera choirs. The album then segues into "Monolith of Doubt", which _will_ convince you of the band's goodness immediately. Driving metal is accented by orchestral sparkles, with sinister growls harmonizing with an angelic vocal -- a striking effect. A killer transition into a short, soft piano passage highlights the chilling caress of Jansen's gorgeous voice, and towards the end of the track she executes a high F that may shatter windows. The scary thing? She makes it sound easy!

And it gets better. "Fornlorn Hope" sets some gorgeous, lugubrious string arrangements against brisk metal rhythms, and the chorus' mournful, inebriating beauty will make you shiver. "Imperfect Tenses" is amazing -- a torrid, dramatic duet between Jansen and guest tenor Rein Kolpa. I can almost imagine this song being performed in an opera house with a wintry set and dim lighting, and the chemistry between the two singers is so salient I can visible see it. The final note they carry together is magical. Its vaporous layers of strings are very gentle, and only the light drumming around the edges suggests that a metal band is performing this song. "My Pledge of Allegiance" parts I and II are tinged with Arabian influences, featuring sitar and Middle Eastern percussion. The band's latest single, "Emphasis", is infectiously orchestrated with more of those beautiful vocals. "Instrinsic" is slow and moving, with a reflective lyric and a huge, powerful chorus. It breaks into the intense, clomping metal of "Zenith", with omnipresent soaring soprana and some growls.

From what I gather, this album isn't that popular...even among the folks who normally listen to this kind of music. This is incomprehensible. This band should be huge. Give this album a try, and you're likely to agree.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BUY THIS CD AT ANY PRICE AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN!!!!!!, February 12, 2002

By 

Just Bill (Grand Rapids, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Decipher (Audio CD)

Decipher, the second album from the Dutch band After Forever, is nothing short of breathtaking. It gripped me the second I heard it and hasn't let go after nearly three days of non-stop listening.

The music is perfect. Right down to the soaring, flawless soprano voice of lead singer Floor Jansen. She is easily on par with Annie Haslam of Renaissance. There isn't a voice like hers out there right now. It's stunning.

The bed her beautiful voice lies on is a complex, but compelling, mixture of classical music, heavy metal, even gothic metal but done so tastefully that you'd swear the London Symphony Orchestra had put its seal of approval on it.

The orchestration is gorgeous. They keyboard work is stellar. The guitars -- similar in sound and tempo to Symphony X (but without the Yngwie histrionics) -- drive each song forward. And the double-kick drum work of Andre Borgman is equal to some of the best you'll find anywhere. Even the recording is fantastic.

And get this: According to their web site the average age of this band is 19. Nineteen?!?!? When you hear this you will not believe it.

There's something extremely -- and I emphasize the word extremely -- special about this group. I have never heard anything like them...and I've been a music nut for 30 years.

The 11 tracks on Decipher begin with lush orchestration on "Ex Cathedra" that slowly builds to a crescendo ushering in "Monolith of Doubt" -- an incredible guitar-riffing song that doesn't disappoint from the first note. I get the chills when I listen to this song. Literally. I'm listening to it now and the break at 1:50 got me...and you won't believe the note Floor holds (for 10 seconds!) that begins at 2:54. What an incredible range she has!

Decipher contains enough musical diversity to interest even the most jaded listener...and enough musical mastery to astound even fellow musicians. The only part about After Forever I'm not as enamored with are the occasional male vocal growls, snarls and yells that sound like they'd fit better on a black metal album. I know they make an incredible juxaposition against Floor's perfect voice (like on the song "My Pledge of Allegiance #1" where the two vocal styles trade lyrics -- and Floor hits the stratosphere with a few of her notes), but After Forever could eliminate that side of their sound and not miss it at all. In fact, it may even help them reach even wider audiences without compromising their hard-edged sound.

If there's not something on this CD that appeals to you, please rush to your nearest doctor for an ear test. You'd have to be deaf not to hear the magic in this band.

The bottom line: this is the most electrifying group I've heard in years! They have never toured the U.S. and -- to my knowledge -- are still virtually unknown here. That, my friends, is a crime we owe it to ourselves to rectify.

Please do yourself a favor: buy this CD immediately. Then play it for everyone. Tell everyone. Get in touch with radio stations. Put up posters. This band deserves the widest possible audience.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Liked Prison Of Desire? Enjoy this pearls, December 2, 2001

By 

"demonshade" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Decipher (Audio CD)

This album show the real power of this band.The melodic and soft touch of this unique group is once again shown in this awesome compilation of 11 new songs that aren't going to make the fans sad because they are back with even more sincerity and inspiration in there 2nd album.This is a must if you are a true After Forever fan
for your own information I include in this review the name and length of the songs of the album because they aren't writed yet and might interest some of you dying fan of AF :)

1. Ex Cathedra 2:02
2. Monolith Of Doubt 3:32
3. My Pledge Of Allegiance #1 6:24
4. Emphasis 4:20
5. Intrinsic 6:44
6. Zenith 4:21
7. Estranged 6:56
8. Imperfect Tenses 4:07
9. My Pledge Of Allegiance #2 5:07
10. The Key 4:48
11. Forlorn Hope 6:20