2004-09-21
The gothic metal group “After Forever” brings us their eighth album.
The band surprises us with a new exciting concept album, their first album without Mark Jansen , and prove us that there is indeed life after Mark. You are all welcome to the life after forever.
The album “Invisible circles” is a concept album, which tells the tell of a little girl who is sadly born to a two self centered parents, who care more about the own careers then their child’s life. Through the album the girl grows up and company her as she faces adolescence and its difficulties (such as divorce & loneliness ) ‘till she reaches the point when she’s grown and is a part of a dysfunctional relationship and that is when she completes her own circle.
The story is told through the eyes of the little girl and passed to us by the lyrics and music except few dialogs between the girl’s parents, in my opinion those are the weakest moments in the album, they slow the flow of the story and the actors hardly sound real and the result is quite ridicules.
This is the first album the band has recorded since the departure of Mark Jansen, who usually gave the album it’s aggression and black influences which lack in this album.
A surprising new voice can be heard throughout the album, it’s the voice of guitar and now clean vocal singer Bas Maas.
Floor Jansen’c (who also co-worked with Ayreon on his “Flight of the migrator part 1-2”) voice is wonderful as always and even more powerful on this album and especially stands out in the beautiful piano ballade “Eccentric” .The song “Life’s vortex” is very powerful in its dramatic theme and big classical arrangement, also, presents us a great vocal melody by Floor and Bas combined which gives us a whole new atmosphere to “After forever”
This album, is a turning point in the bands musical influence and style, it is less gothic and more metal style. The band itself defined itself as “melody dark metal”, once you read this title on the album cover, you know you’re about to hear something new and different.
The guitar sound is much heavier and much more leading then in past albums and there are touches of Progressive rock in it that mostly are noticeable in time signature changes, key changes and the classical arrangement that could be heard throughout the album.
The most standing out track are the powerful “Blind pain” the very much metalish “Beautiful emptiness” and “Sins of idealism “
The band accomplish to mix all its older influences with their new ones. The album has a full sound and complex melodies, they sound different then their old albums a very few “doll” moments and mostly flowing and interesting to hear.
Roy Povarchik
