AFTER FOREVER – Remagine

Some of you might have read the review of Nightmares album The Dominion Gate, where both Floor Jansen and Sander Gommans from After Forever contributed. Some of you might have even heard the record and wanted more of After Forever. Well, if you did, then you probably have found that Nightmare is something totally different than After Forever.

Dutch band After Forever started playing in 1995, and after three full-length albums (and a few EP’s and demos) they are out with what is billed to be their best ever. A beautiful female singer with a voice like an angel might make most of you think of bands like Nightwish, Evanescence, or Tristania … and so far you’d be right. After Forever are walking down that same path … too late you say? Well, that might be …

Remagine is a somewhat theatrical and classical production, with the After Forever Orchestra and Choir in the background. Whether or not this is the band and their synthesisers, or in fact a real Orchestra and Choir is hard to determine, but they are loud and almost scary. After Forever’s music almost gives you that creepy feeling you might get walking in to an old church … it’s so old it almost smells!

But, of course, Remagine has its high points as well. Actually, about half of the songs are more than fair and a few are even catchy. “Come” and “Boundaries Are Open” are the most catchy and mainstream on this album. These songs won’t scare anybody! “Free of Doubt” and “Strong” are so Pop-ish and far from Metal as they can come; it’s almost tempting to say they could have been performed by someone like Celine Dion, which for some means great and others bad. In this case, it’s not so good.

The absolute low pointers on this album are “Living Shield” and “Only Everything.” Both songs are totally cluttered up. The choirs are too intense and both songs are really hard to grasp — utterly disturbing songs.

The high pointers of Remagine are some of the last songs on the album — mainly “Face Your Demons,” where Floors Sanders comes out of her Opera shell and takes on that raw “Metal Queen” role she has got the reputation for being. Finally, a modern and trashy tune. She almost sounds devilish, which is a relief after sounding like an Opera angel throughout the whole album.

“No Control” is the only song without female vocals, and Bas Maas, who is usually found behind the guitars, shows that he has a bearable voice too, and that he does know how to sing in a normal way, without sounding like a scary ork.

All in all, an innovative album, but in retrospect, and after looking at the Nightmare review, After Forever in a smaller dosage is fantastic … it’s just that a whole album is a bit too much.

After Forever are

Floor Jansen – Vocals
Sander Gommans – Guitars
Bas Maas – Guitars and vocals
Joost Van Gerven – Synth
Luuk Van Gerven – Bass
Andre Borgman – Drums