Ex-After Forever frontwoman Floor Jansen forges on with her latest project, Revamp. Their debut album comes via metal powerhouse Nuclear Blast Records and is certain to please After Forever fans even more than they expect it to. As if Jansen herself weren’t woman enough to bring something great to the table, guitarist / composer / producer Waldemar Sorychta (Grip Inc., Enemy Of The Sun) and former After Forever keyboardist Joost van den Broek are featured here as well.
The album opens with a giant sounding, angry number called “Here’s My Hell” which showcases Jansen very well while not alienating the After Forever fans that are still in shock that the band called it a day after finally gaining the credit they earned. The real surprise here (and maybe the only one) is the soaring “Sweet Curse,” a monster ballad if there ever was one sans all the wild cliché and goofy hair of course. The three part “In Sickness Till Death Do Us Part” is interesting as well and actually reminds me a good bit of After Forever’s early work if it had been better mixed and produced. The semi-haunting “Kill Me With Silence” is another good showcase of what Jansen is capable of vocally.
Really, Revamp has a built in fan base between Jansen and Sorychta and the result is not surprising at all. The debut album is pretty much exactly what you would expect from the two, which, in essence, is a heavier and more aggressive take on what After Forever has been doing for a longtime. Jansen sounds great here. She sounds comfortable, willing to try some new things without getting crazy, and so much better than she ever did in After Forever. Revamp is an excellent choice if you love Progressive, Power, Gothic, or Female Fronted Metal music.
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
