After Forever - Exordium (7 tracks) +Album Reviews

Doesn't shine as brightly as Decipher

Just Bill | Grand Rapids, MI United States | 05/24/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Decipher, the CD After Forever released a couple of years ago, blew me away from the first notes. To say that Floor Jansen's voice is outstanding is to understate the matter. She is stunning. And the songwriting on Decipher is equally as captivating, with a few of the songs giving me the chills.On Exordium, however, Floor doesn't seem to have the same vocal range. She doesn't hit the stratosphere with a few notes like she did on Decipher. Plus her voice seems strained somehow, like she's trying to sing over the music but having a harder time doing so than she did on Decipher.That's most noticable on one track -- the cover of Iron Maiden's "Evil that Men Do." There, the music is a spot-on copy of the Maiden classic but Floor sounds like a singer in a local bar band rather than the awesome vocalist that she is. To my ears, she just doesn't have the oomph that Bruce Dickinson has -- which is odd because on Decipher Floor's voice had all the range and power needed to pull off the Maiden vocal.The other cover -- Nicole Kidman's "One Day I'll Fly Away" from Moulin Rouge -- is equally as disappointing. One would think Floor could have bested Nicole, who admittedly isn't a singer at all, but I don't think she does. The track just doesn't sparkle as it should.Frankly, Exordium as a whole doesn't shine as brightly as Decipher did. I'm not really sure why. Maybe Exordium isn't representative of the CD to come, Invisible Circles (which I don't yet own because it's extremely hard to find in the States). Or maybe I'm not listening to it correctly. I don't know.The bonus DVD, on the other hand, is interesting. It's a music video for "My Choice," but it's also a behind-the-scenes peek at the making of the music on Exordium. Even though the musicians speak in Dutch, just seeing the members of After Forever laughing, interacting and working on their respective musical tracks is fascinating.I briefly considered giving Exordium three stars but I couldn't make myself do it. Even on their mediocre days, After Forever is still superior to virtually any other contemporary band one cares to name.If you're a fan of After Forever from their previous two CDs, you might want to wait until the full album (Invisible Circles) is released in the states to see what the band is up to these days. If you're new to After Forever, I'd strongly recommend starting with Decipher (if you can find it).After Forever is a stunning band, but I can only marginally recommend Exordium."

After Forever Is Out To Impress

Ken Pierce | Brooklyn,, NY USA | 06/16/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Closing in on the bands that are fronted by female vocalists comes After Forever. Singer Floor Jansen is aiming to make fans of the Finnish band Nightwish and Within Temptation her own with her dynamic style and vocal prowess. On this EP you will find some solid Melodic Dark Metal for not only does it feature Floor's amazing voice but is also includes the darker vocals of Sanders Gommans. The group has grown musically from their last work with departed guitarist Mark Jansen (who is not related to Floor in case you wondered) and began the groundwork on this CD which best serves as an introduction to the coming album "Invisible Circles". Of the 6 tracks four are original compositions and two are cover renditions. There is a great instrumental piece in "Line Of Thoughts" and the single for the CD "My Choice" is a wonderful number that might give Nightwish a run for its money if it gets any airplay in areas that feature this stuff. Floor is a classically trained Soprano and she belts out the notes on the CD with apparent ease. The included covers were interesting as a great version of Iron Maiden's "The Evil That Men Do" is delivered with finesse. It was also nice to see a non-expected Maiden tune be used rather than the standards that everyone does. On "One Day I'll Fly Away" we see an R&B track get the Symphonic Metal treatment and sounds pretty good considering. This tune was sung by Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge and I think I will stick with Floor on this one. Joining Sanders and Floor in the group, the members are rounded out by Lando Van Gils, Andre Borgman, Bas Maas, & Luk Van Gerven. I think we are going to see some great things from this band and if you are fans of Metal fronted by the powerful female presence this is right up your alley.

This EP length CD comes with a bonus DVD and it offers you a little more insight into the group along with a video and a making of. There is a good clip that shows various stages of the band and a lot of artwork to enjoy. I would have liked to see some live footage since the CD itself was so short, but the chance to observe a little more was nice.

"

My Head Hit the Floor...

djhexane | Ohio, USofA | 07/15/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"...When I heard this long EP/min-album. It's excellent. Neo-classical metal. It's hard and symphonic and Floor Jansens voice is to freaking Die for. I first heard her sing on "Space Metal" by Star One. And I knew I had to check this band out. Unfortunately this is the only album I could order through where I work, I'll have to check the net for the rest I suppose, but I shall. This band is telented! I love their cover of Iron Maiden's (ROCK!) "The Evil that Men Do." And this comes with a DVD which has their music video for "My Choice" as well as pictures, liner notes/lyrics, a making of my Choice, as well as a Live Performance of their Iron Maiden cover. Freaking awesome!"

Short, but sweet.

David Cato | Paris, TX USA | 07/17/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After Forever, even though I have only been familiar with them for a little over a year, grew very quickly on me. As soon as "Exordium" was released, I knew I had to get it (from samples of other songs I heard online). The only problem that I think "Exordium" has is that it was too short. This is good, because it made me want more. The reviews that I read that I feel are most effective take each song and break them down by ratings, so I will use that method.

1. Line of Thoughts [Instrumental] - 4/5 - My favorite part of After Forever, of course, is Floor Jansen, the female vocalist. This is a very good energetic instrumental, but it lacks her voice. A good transition into "Beneath".

2. Beneath - 7/5 - Yes, 7 out of 5. This is my favorite track on the CD. It starts out kind of slow and mellow, and of course, her voice is amazing. It picks up in the chorus with the heavy guitar riffs and her voice rising above. After the chorus, she goes into a sort of fast-paced rap-singing or something... It's not rap, but it kind of sounds a little hip-hoppish. Then there are some newscasts from different countries (in different languages) reflecting violence, with heavy riffs still present in the background. Then it goes back into the song.

3. My Choice - 4/5 - This is a pretty good song, but it lacks something, not sure what... I think it's just the chorus I don't like that much. It just feels like something is missing. However, the only reason this song got 4 out of 5 instead of 3 out of 5, is because of one line in the song, which I feel is the best part of the entire CD. When she sings, "A choice without the illusion... That luck is for sale, `cause I have all that money can buy!!" Not much more to say about it.

4. Glorifying Means - 5/5 - This is a very good song... But the one thing I don't like about After Forever, as a whole, is the screaming male vocals. Grunting, grinding... Whatever you want to call it. I really don't like that. But even though there are some grinding parts in this song, the music, and Floor's voice does more than make up for it.

5. Evil That Men Do - 5/5 - This may sound bad of me being a metal fan and all, but I never heard the original version of this song by Iron Maiden. But, I can say, whatever it sounded like, this song probably did it justice. The only thing I don't like, is when she keeps saying, "Leaning on a razor's edge... Yeah..." Maybe I'm just picky about the music. But this is a very, very good song, I especially like the ending. Then again, for me, it's all about the voice.

6. One Day I'll Fly Away - 6/5 - I know this is also another cover, but I'm not going to even try to guess, because I would probably be completely wrong. I had heard it several times before After Forever, I think it was even in the movie "Moulin Rouge". Anyway, this is a great song, and it's the perfect way to end the CD.

The CD, although short, is worth having, especially for metal, goth/opera fans. This CD was very low on the growling male vocals, so I liked it a lot. I hope this review helps you."

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