REMAGINE

After Invisible Circles one might be expecting another progressive masterpiece from Dutch female fronted metallers After Forever.

Well, I'm sorry to say, people expecting that will be very dissapointed. In a few short words, Remagine pretty much sucks. If you want to just stop reading right now, please do, but if not...I will explain why.

Let's start with something pretty simple, the album artwork. As one looks at it...one overwhelming question comes to mind. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?!?! Ms. Floor Jansen looks like her head has been photoshopped to a fake body and her hair is completely up in some weird braid thing that makes her look like she's the newest member of Hitler's SS. It's hideous. Gives you a vibe about what the music is going to be like from the very start.

But hey, never judge a book by its cover, right? Everything deserves a chance, despite how horrible it looks on the outside. Alas, the actual content of the album is not much better than the artwork.

First and foremost, this album is by no means progressive. Not even a little bit. It really feels wrong reviewing it on Prog Archives. This album is something I like to call pop metal, following the simple intro+ verse + bridge + chorus (rinse, repeat) in almost every single song. The guitar, in most songs is used as a backing chordal instuments, with the nifty riffs that were present in Invisible Circles few and far between. The same can be said about the percussion tracks, which are used almost exclusively to compliment the music (not exactly a bad thing, just not as proggy as it could be). I'm not even going to bother remarking on the bass guitar, because I'm sure you can imagine what its role is.

Despite this being a poor effort by the band, it does have its redeeming qualities that are going to give it a 2 star rating instead of one. Floor's vocals are heavenly as always. She does a fantastic job with her mix of rock and classically trained vocals. It works really well with the music, and really shines on a track called Strong. In addition, Sander Gommans (guitarist, growls) showcases his brilliant growling skills once again, I think he is one of the best in the business. His solo track is one called No Control, and I think it is the best song on Remagine, period.

Also, it is to be noted that the keyboard work is also very good. For this album, they landed a new keyboardist (Joost van den Broek, from Ayreon fame) who really adds a new element to the band with his more synthy keyboard sound. It's really good!

But, overall...this album is boring, uninspired, and geared towards the masses. In a few songs (Being Everyone, for example) I seriously thought that maybe I had accidently picked up an Evanescence album. It's not progressive, it's not complex, it's not even that catchy.

Better luck next time, guys.

When I read in a magazine that the band put electronic elements into their music was a little worried because I had heard other bands with similar sound that did not get a very nice result. A year after launch "Invisible Circles", a concept album with progressive elements, the band decided to change focus. More heavy than before, and somehow the electronic inserts to help. Inevitably "Joost van den Broek" stands out because of the keyboard and electronic arrangements but again the high point is the individual with the singer "Floor Jansen." Here in "Progarchives" stated that he ("Joost van den Broek") played bass but as far as I know he played keyboard even. "Lando Van Gils" (keyboardist) left the band after "Invisible Circles" and who came up with was "Joost van den Broek". Tracks that stand out are: "Boundaries Are Open " , "Being Everyone", and "Strong ". In short, the album presents itself as a more heavy, far away from the gothic and prog.