AFTER FOREVER

"Prison Of Desire"

(NEMS, 2000)

Holland is a country that has been characterized in these last years, more than for the quantity of bands that has given to light, for the quality of these. Scene mainly strong in what concerns to doom and Gothic, it is not necessary more than to give a glance to the works of Celestial Seasons, The Gathering, Orphanage or Within Temptation to check it.

After Forever, sextet beginner with this "Prision Of Desire", place is made in that list and it becomes comfortable knowingly of its capacity and potential. Located in an universe where the solemnity of Theatre Of Tragedy, the touching Tristania and Within Temptation warmth fill all the spaces, After Forever is able to move to the first one heard. And the culprit that this happens it is, in first instance, Floor Jansen. This girl (that also participated recently in "Universal Migrator Part 1 - The Dream Sequencer" of Ayreon) it possesses a very similar registration to that of Sharon den Adel of Within Temptation who accidentally (or not so much) it officiates of singer invited in the touching "Beyond Me", making us remember as much as we miss their delicious voice singing material of their own band. However, the style of Floor is more operatic than the one of den Adel and it squares to the perfection with the style of the band. Supplementing their melancholic charms, guitarists Mark Jansen's rotten voices and Sander Gommans offers a welcome contrast that it projects disturbing shades on the serene landscapes painted by the singer's sweet vocal chords. And landscapes, exactly it is what there is more than enough in this disk, since the band avoids the dangerous monotony that hangs on the bands of the style with constant changes that they go from dark and sad atmospheres to moments similar of watchmen but that they fill with hope, going by the classic doom at half time, the most symphonic black (the formidable "Inimical Chimera"), interventions corals (the intro "Mea Culpa", the catching "Follow In The Cry"), and even until some passages with riffs thrashers ("Tortuous Threnody"). With this first step, After Forever has advanced distances that many bands don't end up covering in all its career. The dutch sky, from today, has a new star.

Gabriel Herz