Track Listing

1. Ex Cathedra: Ouverture
2. Monolith of Doubt
3. My Pledge of Allegiance No. 1: The Sealed Fate
4. Emphasis
5. Intrinsic
6. Zenith
7. Estranged: A Timeless Spell
8. Imperfect Tenses
9. My Pledge of Allegiance No. 2: The Tempted Fate
10. Key
11. Forlorn Hope
12. My Pledge of Allegiance No. 1 [*]
13. Forlorn Hope [*]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #289654 in Music
• Released on: 2003-04-15
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Extra tracks, Import

Album Description
2003 deluxe reissue of the Dutch metal act's 2001 album includes two live bonus tracks, 'My Pledge of Allegiance #1' & 'Forlorn Hope'. Packaging includes a digipak with sticker. Transmission.

Customer Reviews

After Forever, Holland's other Symphonic Femme Gothique Band
There are actually some people who prefer After Forever to Within Temptation, however, chances are if you like After Forever you also like Within Temptation. Why? Because they have so much in common, that's why.

What do they have in common? Well, for starters they each have one of the best lady singers in the Galaxy. After Forever's fabulous singer is Floor Jansen and W.T. has the incomparable Sharon den Adel. Both bands are Dutch and they both play similar music, Melodious, Symphonic Metal. They are each acquainted and each band has had band members guest on one of Arjen Lucassen's grand productions. In turn he has guested on one or more of their songs.

This type of musical symbiosis is not uncommon in Northern Europe and Scandinavia and seems to contribute to the great music that emerges from the area.

The only difference between A.F. and W.T. is that for their sophomore release W.T. dropped the growling male vox and After Forever only reduced theirs. Decipher is their second album and a third, Excordium, is due out shortly. Decipher has been a very good seller and has spawned several singles. This review is based upon the special Swedish Limited Edition CD which includes two bonus tracks.

"Ex Cathedra: Ouverture", is just what the name implies, an interesting instrumental symphonic, Overture.

"Monolith of Doubt", We get to the best song fast, a furious medium fast but varied tempo tour de force, with violins, choirs, Floor's magnificent voice, heavy double bass drums and ... the works.

"My Pledge of Allegiance No.1: The Sealed Fate", a definite Eastern slant on this number. Starts out with a sitar and the refrain carries the theme through. We do have a few raspy growls but not the detriment of the music, and of course we have Floor, who simply outdoes herself.

"Emphasis", A good song, actually released as a single but not up to the previous two pieces. A medium fast number with Floor and some background singing and some double tracking of Floor.

"Intrinsic", is the counterpart to the heavier numbers of before, a calm, emotional beginning with acoustic guitars, oboe, the strings and after that some suiting e-guitars, the pace picks up to finish powerfully, with some glorious violin work and more.

"Zenith", Starting with a raspy vocal augmented and somewhat neutralized by accompanied violins, this is a powerful, intriguing piece with ups and downs and multiple tempos and moods.

"Estranged: A Timeless Spell", another brilliant song, with lots of feeling and change of pace and again a few raspy growls but not much. This is a long song which feels like a musical saga.

"Imperfect Tenses", is the requisite male/female ballad, pretty but nothing special.

"My Pledge of Allegiance No. 2: The Tempted", a continuation of No. 1 sans the Eastern flavor.

"The Key", as with Ex Cathedra The Key opens with a cello which continues for a little as Floor starts singing. This is another song I like a lot with a catchy beat, lots of variety and a grand closing. I especially like the excellent keyboards. By the way, I like the growls in this song.

"Forlorn Hope", another five star song which again excels in the great alternation between heaviness and speed on the one side and atmosphere and emotions on the other.

The last two songs are live versions of "The Key" and "Forlorn Hope"

Conclusion

I have mixed emotions regarding After Forever. One cannot deny the goddess like voice of Floor Jansen or the tight musicianship, excellent compositions and arrangements. This is a band that is growing every day. Some songs were wonderful, perhaps superlative but others were less impressive. Although I like many of the songs on Decipher, a lot, I feel there are other similar recordings I like better as a whole.

Similar Bands

Within Temptation, Penumbra, Epica, The Sins of Thy Beloved, Tristania, Nightwish, Dreams of Sanity, Artrosis, Edenbridge, Sirenia, Odes to Ecstasy, Pettalom, Delight, Moonlight, Darzamat, Orchrist.

"She kept her beauty concealed behind a curtain of suspense"
That is the first line of the 3rd track, and likewise, beautiful music is concealed behind this CD cover. I have two other AF CD's that I'm not too happy with (and therefore did not review), but I suspected there was a 5 star rating out there somewhere for them and this is it. With violins, an oboe, a choir, powerful drums and guitars, interesting melodies and an exquisite female operatic voice (maybe even better than Tarja?), it can be nothing less. And even the lyrics are good - none of the usual negativism or fatalism. One of the best examples is from track 10, The Key: "There's no excuse in ignorance/No time for weakness or regret/Face your mirror without doubt/Your reflection without remorse." Now that is the way to look at life!

After forever. What could be after forever? I have no idea, but if I ever get there, I certainly hope they have music like this.

The above was entered 5/16/06. 3/29/07 Update: I have been listening to this CD more and more and decided I wanted to add it to my top 5 list. But I couldn't decide which of the five CD's currently there to delete, so now I have a top 6 list. (Please see my profile for a brief discussion of my rating philosophy.)

Decipher
Ahh, After Forever - home to Floor Jansen, owner of the finest vocal chords this side of the known universe and hands down the most ridiculous frontwoman in Scandinavian B&B metal (that is, beauty and the beast, for reasons which quickly become evident as one listens to the music). To put it simply, I just cannot appreciate any of the other female voices that have crossed my ears after listening to Floor wail away for an hour. Where their voices are pretty, soothing, and gentle; Floor's voice is a beautiful, powerful, and stunning force of nature. Her delivery is so pure and so unmarred by any detectable deficiency that it's like listening to angels roar in your ear... or at least, that's what I imagine it would sound like. Then there's her range - the notes she hits and holds with absolutely no strain are unreal.

Anyway, before this review becomes an obsessive essay about Miss Jansen...

Decipher is a very elegant album. The mixture of metallic and symphonic elements is presented in a way that seems perfectly natural, as if metal and symphony were destined at some point to join impeccably; that point, of course, being Decipher. It does not lean heavily toward the power metal side as with Nightwish, nor does it ever feel as watered down as Within Temptation, nor as overly dreamy and forgiving as Leaves' Eyes... it is a very delicate balance of all associated elements - composed intelligently, produced professionally, and performed flawlessly - and the average age of the band at the time of this recording was 19!

The listener is initially greeted with "Ex Cathedra", which is an orchestral chamber piece filled with choirs, chanters, violins, and otherwise lush classical instrumentation. It builds, swelling dynamically until it finally bursts into "Monolith of Doubt", which is certainly a change of pace. Double bass drums, crashing cymbals, and powerful riffs provide a driving metallic foundation that's strikingly enhanced by symphonic flourishes and, soon after, Floor's glorious voice harmonizing with the soft yet sinister growls of Mark Jansen (no relation to Floor). The highlight here is at around 2:53, where Floor holds a most intense note (I'm not sure which exactly, but probably high enough to shatter glass) for about 10 seconds - it really needs to be heard to be believed. The first of the two-part "My Pledge of Allegiance" is also very noteworthy. The song has a Middle Eastern theme, and features several breathtaking moments from Floor (possibly even more so than on "Monolith of Doubt") where she hits and holds a note so high, perfect, and tranquil that it makes me shiver.

The remainder of the album moves through similar arrangements. Floor and Mark continually trade off vocal duties in dramatic fashion atop exquisite musicianship that focuses as much on power and impact as it does on beauty and elegance. "Imperfect Tenses" is a pretty duet between Floor and a guest tenor vocalist... it doesn't do much for me in particular, but it's quite touching. "Forlorn Hope", the album closer, has a similar feel to "Monolith of Doubt" with a tad more drama, and is an excellent finish. Of note is the drumming of Andre Borgman - his style is far more varied and dynamic than what you normally hear from bands like this; his foot and cymbal work is very interesting, and his rhythmic phrasing is a pleasure to listen to.

All in all, After Forever don't win any points for originality, as this style of music is damn popular over in that region of the world... but, to put it bluntly, Floor Jansen obliterates her peers in such embarrassing fashion that there really is no question as to who's at the top of the symphonic metal food chain over in the mighty Netherlands.