Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing, July 21, 2007
After listing to the album a couple of times I realized that it is one of, if not the greatest, album After Forever has released. The album has a lot of energy. The music is powerful and the vocals are amazing. Floor continually shows that she is the greatest female singer in her genre. With every new release, she seems to improve.
I always find myself saying, " This is her pinnacle," but she continues to improve. If you are new to the band, this is a great album to start with. You will find that they will quickly become one of your favorite bands.
Thank you for taking the time to read my review.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Something Different., April 18, 2007
I downloaded this cd early of off bittorrent. I was very excited when I saw that my favorite band After Forever was coming out with a new cd. I've been a dedicated fan ever since Exordium was released. This new cd has a different feel then the cds that came before. After Forever started out as a pure gothic metal band with some strange influences that felt middle eastern. Then Invisible Circles was released and the band got a more mainstream feel, and Floor Jansen's voice became main stage when her brother Mark Jansen left the band. When Remagine was realised they got a new synth artist which gave the band an even more mainstream goth metal feel. Remagine was the high point of After Forever's career. Floor was at her best with the guitars standing up perfectly behind her. This new cd, self-titled After Forever, strays away from the main staged Floor. They show a different side to their music which is more based on the sound behind the lyrics. The cd is still absolutely amazing, and Floor's voice is still there, just not as open. I listened to this band for the sole point of Floor's incredible voice, and now that it feels like their straying away from that beauty I'm not sure what to think. That's my opinion on this cd and it is still worth buying if your an After Forever fan. Good luck with it and I hope you all love this new masterpiece.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Fresh faced self titled attack, January 4, 2008
After Forever unleash a self titled album in a bid for a certain level of freshness and almost as a defiant reaffirmation of intent. With big budget look, digipacks aplenty and more interviews clocked up than a politician trying to worm his way out of a sex scandal this release is a super serious play for market share, sales and respect for what they do.
And pretty much all the planets align to allow After Forever to take their best shot as Euro stardom. The number of good quality song constructs here is a credit to the songwriting team. Right from the opening number Discord the listener hears everything but the kitchen sink being thrown at them. The lush modern recording values, the operatic touches seeming 90% of the female fronted metal bands dabble with and with obligatory gothic twinges firmly strapped in place this song swoops and soars to excellent effect. The dose is repeated for the second track, Evoke. Which it certainly does, a song that is both defiant and pleading at the same time due in no small part to the vocal abilities of Floor Jansen who has a voice that can be high pitched and ethereal but actually seems to often live in a more mid stream register which makes it far more listenable than so many other female singers out there who seem to be having a competition as to who can break the most glasses. And it's this that more than any other single facet of this release that aids in connectivity with the listener.
As the album plays out the attention to detail and outright hard work that was obviously poured into producing this piece becomes apparent. Transitory ebbs and flows on an excellent Jansen vocal hook and the lovely ballad Energize Me shows that you can do a tender ballad within a metal band in 2007. As you should be able to do. Equally Destructive is an excellent angst ridden metal tune and really, there are a number of moments throughout this album where the utter metal stance of this band truly shines. Rather than a band who scored themselves a talented and photogenic lass and utilise her as a meal ticket (no names mentioned) this is a metal band that in some ways is fiercely traditional but also cherry picks so much that is good about the goth metal and female fronted metal scene that had been smouldering away for a good ten years prior to this albums release.
The occasional use of male grunt vocals may be a concern for some potential listeners. All is not as bad as it could be as the vocalisation used by Sander Gommans is more demonic than gargled and actually fits the feel the band are trying to get across in each song he's utilised. The band seem to understand that they don't need to use him in each song but only where appropriate. And while usually I hate this sort of thing (see my review of Leaves Eyes Legend Land EP) I can appreciate here due to the perspective in which it's kept on this album
And the same can be said of the bands use of the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra - restrained and appropriate. And a shout out to Doro Pesch who is utilised to excellent effect on her duet with Floor Jansen on Who I Am. An excellent song and you don't always expect such a different and strong song to be hidden at track ten on an album. This is certainly a release that rewards repeated and full listens.
In case you've not figured it out yet - I really liked this album and feel that if your a fan of full bodied metal music but also like some light and shade, orchestration and aren't afraid of some twists and turns then this is an excellent piece of work to sink your teeth into.
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