Prison of Desire

For those history buffs amongst us metal heads who obsess over the origins of every little nuanced variation of the various sub-genres of our beloved art of choice, the story of After Forever is a significant one, almost to the same level as that of Nightwish and Theater of Tragedy. Much like both bands in question, the early roots of the band suggest a different path from what finally came about, in fact more so than said pioneers. Originally an Iron Maiden cover band that ended up playing death metal before the arrival of vocal impresario Floor Jansen, this band would kick off one of the most commercially viable hybrids of mainline and extreme metal genres yet, and also paving the way for the well known and respected spinoff that is Epica.

During the formative years that spawned this impressive debut in “Prison Of Desire”, After Forever had stumbled upon an interesting counterpoint to the up and coming Death/Doom/Gothic craze featuring the now cliché beauty and the beast duet vocal sound. Unlike the slow and fatalistic sounds of Tristania and other similarly oriented bands, this sound is closer to the epic, melodic style that Dark Moor and Rhapsody (Of Fire) were beginning to bring to the forefront, but with the nasty guttural vocal beast that originated out of the likes of David Vincent and Chris Barnes several years earlier. This is music that is meant to entrance, but not necessarily to impress, focusing on atmosphere and percussive counterpoints through the riffs and drum beats, all of which walk a line between a consonant power metal sound and an aggressive death/thrash tendency.

Many have hinted a strong similarity between this album and the later Epica debut “The Phantom Agony”, and truth be told, the similarities tend to be understated. The first of Mark Jansen’s many fruitful works with Simone Simmons could all but be qualified as “Prison Of Desire” version 2.0, differing only in a slightly thicker guitar sound and a much nimbler soprano at the microphone. While Simone has a highly expressive and warm voice that captivates with a similar level of power, Floor’s vocal gymnastics provide a much more auspicious foil to Mark’s demon grunts and barks and ultimately makes for a more exciting listen. But it should likewise be noted that this album also puts a strong emphasis on vocals and has little fancy guitar and keyboard tricks to steal attention away from the prima donna.

As with all of Mark Jansen’s associated creations, this is an album that stands its tallest by an effective mixture of vivid, almost film score oriented atmospheres and a good sense for symmetry. Songs such as “Inimical Chimera” and “Semblance Of Confusion” do a good job of playing up the thrash and melodeath tendencies of the band, but also keep things straightforward enough not to rob Floor of her dominant role in the fold. Likewise, the consistently memorable 3 part series that was continued on “The Phantom Agony” in “The Embrace That Smothers” offers up a highly memorable journey into the Mark’s own brand of socio-political commentary. The opening part of the series “Leaden Legacy” is irresistibly catchy and immediately familiar sounding, showing a band that knows how to make a concise yet impressive entrance to cut heads with the likes of “Oceanborn” and “Beyond The Veil”.

In every hypothetical sense, this is the first Epica album, and actually upstages the official debut of said project. When listening to this, I can’t help but wonder if this was the sort of sound that the disastrous Italian power metal outfit Power Symphony was going for, given a similarly epic feel though minus most of the actual symphonic trappings. If nothing else, it showcases that while songwriting quality may vary, the strength of whoever is taking the lead is what will make or break a band, especially in this genre. Suffice to say, Floor Jansen’s radiant voice alone would be enough to get this album, especially for all of those symphonic power metal fanatics out there who wouldn’t get enough of the first 4 Nightwish albums.

This first full-length release by the Dutch band After Forever represents a refreshing entry in the female-fronted power metal genre. Note that I shy away from the label "gothic" - even though it's not entirely inappropriate in this particular case.

The reason for my hesitation to label this band gothic comes from the misuse and abuse of the term, meaning so many different things to different people. Yes, After Forever features a female vocalist; yes, they mix in growls; yes, the keyboards is responsible for sometimes soaring, sometimes melancholic atmospherics - but the material here in its totality still does not quite fit the label - so I'll stick with female-fronted power metal. Having said that, if you are a fan of the goth genre, this will probably find favor with you.

The female front is handled extremely capably by Floor Jansen. Allow me to put in my 2 cents' worth as far as the vocals go: Floor Jansen, in my opinion, is an excellent alto with the range necessary to handle singing in the upper register - she is not a soprano in the classical sense, and she sounds NOTHING like Tarja Turunen, in that she does not approach her singing from the operatic style. These distinctions become very clear if one listens to the tracks where Floor Jansen is supported by a soprano - the difference is apparent. Floor Jansen has complete command of a superb voice, and has a unique sound, but is much more a 'normal' singer, in the sense that you could attempt to sing along; something you would be hard-pressed to do with the more operatic singing.

The rest of the sound is driven and controlled by the keyboard, and can to some extent be classified as typical Dutch power metal with emphasis on the keyboards. The guitars and rhythm section are very present, often nicely crunchy and quite good, but are in a clear supporting role to the voice and the keyboard atmospherics. Thematically, there is a recurring undercurrent of Middle Eastern musical influences, particularly in the first half of the CD (see the opening of the track "Follow in the Cry" for the most obvious example). The material is not without progressive elements as well, and mixes fast ("Inimical Chimera") and slow ("Silence From Afar") tracks very effectively.

The growls are decently done - and I should add that, generally speaking, growls have no place in my kind of power metal. Mark Jansen does a good job with his deep growls, which offset the soaring singing of Floor Jansen in a well-constructed manner most of the time. For my money this release would work if the growls where entirely missing; as they are not, they do not detract too much from the whole.

This effort is shaped at all times by the voice of Floor Jansen. The absolute highlight to me is the final track "Beyond Me", but there really is not a bad track to be found here. As a first effort, this is excellent - and lays the foundation for what is to come from After Forever.

As the title says, I know very few more ceremonial albums than the debut by AFTER FOREVER, which mixed with a touch of innocence gives us very beautiful and emotional stuff.

Everything begins with the subtle, religious intro "Mea Culpa", that is a smooth embrace that prepares you perfectly for what is about to come. Then, the track "Leaden Legacy" is just a haunting opening track, balancing a very dark passion with a calm atmosphere... as the CD continues, we find lots of variations, from mournful, desperate ballads like "Silence From Afar" to an unleashed scary fury in the growling of "Yield To Temptation".

There is difference between the songs' quality... there are good ones, there are extraordinary highlights (add "Follow In The Cry" to all the already named) and also a few weak ones, but all of them have some weird bewitching ambient, that makes you feel a dreadfull sadness inside the beauty. The pure, sincere and clean voice of Floor finds a perfect complement in Mark Jansen's harsh voice, who has an extremely sinister tune and everything in this album seems to walk the same direction towards the dark.

"Prison Of Desire" is certainly not a mature album, but so what! immaturity means to write lots of stuff left to improvement, a few misplaced vocals and and some weakness in symphonic textures, but on the other hand it gives a daring attitude that is not present on more sophisticated and conservative releases... Most people like "Decipher" the most because that album is musically better, but "Prison Of Desire" keeps an emotional strength that their praised second Full-Length lacked. Absolutely recommended!

The first song on this album is called Mea Culpa (The Embrace That Smother - Prologue), and indeed it seems to smooth you in order to prepare you for this spectacular album. Prison of Desire is an album with a very rich plethora of musical elements that are expressed and displayed with great professionalism.
In respect to music, the songs in this album are filled with slow, soft and beautiful melodies that at the same time are perfectly and harmonically synchronized with heavier parts. For example, there are slow, soft songs like the ballad Silence From Afar, and there is also songs like Inimical Chimera that are heavier regarding riffs, melody and rhythms. Death metal elements are noticeable in this album. The use of keyboards virtuously surrounds songs giving them a beautiful atmosphere that is further enriched with the use of violins, and sometimes acoustic guitars also. One of the things that are most admirable about this album is the wide variety of original and complex melodies that are embellished with a great number of technical details that shows the great genius and creativity of the members of After Forever.
The musical pieces are adorned by the amazing and beautiful voice of soprano Floor Janssen who with great ease displays her powerful and gifted voice with high and low tones on each of the tracks. Also, lead singer of Within Temptation, Sharon den Adel, appears as a guest vocalist on Beyond Me. The After Forever choir also plays an important role on the music giving atmosphere, and Floor herself participates in the choir. The lyrics are written by Mark and Floor Janssen. The lyrics written by Mark deal with religious subjects and mortality, while the lyrics written by Floor talk about experiences and strange atmospheres.
The first time I listened to this album I was very much impressed. This album has a superb production. The booklet is just beautiful. The music is just delightful. After Forever will surely go very far with this a magnificent album.

First off, I'd like to say that this band sounds similar to Nightwish. And while Nightwish rules at what they do, this band doesn't, particularly. The styles are somewhat different, this being more symphonic driven with deathy, growly male vocals contrasting the operatic female lead.

Most of the album is fairly midpaced, but with some fast bits, and some slow, bludgeoning parts as well. The riffage is very strong for the most part, the guitar tone is good and heavy.

The female vocalist is incredible, and sounds exactly like Tarja from Nightwish on several occasions. She has immense range and is obviously classically trained.

The male, growling vocalist is alright for growling I guess. I'm not going to pretend I've listened to alot of growlers because I don't like death metal, but I suppose this guy gets the job done.

The vocalists usually trade off for most of the album, but the female vocals are more prominent.

The guitars don't particularly stand out, there is little to nothing in the way of licks or solos. Alot of it is just pounding power chords (but not in that stupid nu-metal kind of way).

Bass is decently played, accents the guitars nicely and there are a few doodles here and there from the bassist as well.

The drums are typical 90's metal drums. Loads of double bass and some flashy moments, but nothing stands out. Very solid, as is the rest of the band.

There are also keyboards and various symphonic instruments represented here, which do nicely to accent the sound. There are a couple keyboard solos tossed throughout, and are well done. Alot of the songs have full-on orchestrated intros, and if you're like me and enjoy classical music, they are a treat.

Most of the songs sound alot alike, a good mix of heavy and slow stuff as well as blistering fast bits, and there are a few ballads here as well.

Basically, if you enjoy Nightwish or any other operatic/symphonic metal band but like the more growly and aggressive vocal style with some pounding riffs, then you should check out this one for sure.