Arpeggio

Arpeggio er et uttrykk innen musikk, der tonene i en akkord spilles raskt etter hverandre, i stedet for samtidig. Ordet kommer av det italienske «slik som harpen» (arpa: harpe), og teknikken er vanlig ved spilling av gitar, piano og harpe. I partituret vil akkordens noter (som skal avspilles i rask serie) vises med vertikal bølge foran.

Anmeldelse

Musiker Åge Sten Nilsen - blant annet kjent som vokalist i puddelrockbandet Wig Wam , har klaget inn Nettavisens Side2 sin anmeldelse av soloskiva ”Glamunition”.

Anmeldelsen konkluderer med terningkast 1, og hevder samtidig at Sten Nilsen har gitt ut ”årets dårligste plate”. Men det er ikke i utgangspunktet dette som får Sten Nilsen til å reagere. Den aktuelle slakten blir nemlig illustrert med et anmeldelsesskjema fra politiet, der artistens navn er plottet inn, og ”det norske folk” står oppført i rubrikken ”fornærmedes/ skadelidtes navn”.

I klagen til PFU er det advokat Brynjar Meling som fører ordet på vegne av artisten.
Ifølge NRK skriver Meling blant annet at ”det virkemiddel som Nettavisen har brukt, herunder et offisielt politidokument, sammenholdt med assosiering med kriminalitet - som overgrep -, innebærer en ærekrenkelse i strid med straffeloven § 247 og et kraftig overtramp av kravet til sakelighet, omtanke og riktighet av opplysninger”. Meling skriver videre at Nettavisen indikerer at Åge Sten Nilsen skal ha begått en straffbar handling ved å lage det aktuelle albumet. Som konsekvens skal flere fans, både unge og gamle, ha tatt kontakt med artisten for å spørre hva galt det er han har gjort.

 

Aural Moon Radio

http://www.auralmoon.com/

Dette er en virkelig suveren prog internett radio som vi ofte lytter til.

Lytterne har kåret de beste albumene for 2008, og her er resultatet,

RPWL - The RPWL Experience

2. The Tangent - Not As Good As A Book
3. Marillion - Happiness is the Road
4. Unifaun - s/t

5. Beardfish - Sleeping In Traffic Part 2
6. Thieves Kitchen - The Water Road
7. Simon Says - Tardigrade

8. Moth Vellum - s/t
9. Pendragon - Pure
10. Ayreon - 01011001

11. Van der Graaf Generator - Trisector
12. Frost - Experiments in Mass Appeal

13. Karmakanic - Who's the Boss in the Factory
14. Pineapple Thief - Tightly Unwound
15. Mike Oldfield - Music of the Spheres

Akkorder

 Besifring

Besifring deles gjerne inn i grupper etter hvilken funksjon hver av skalatonene i akkorden har. Eksempelvis om gruppen tilhører dur eller moll akkordene, som bestemmes av den 3. skalatonens plassering i forhold til grunntonen.

 Brøksymbol

Besifring med brøksymbol (/) betyr at akkorden med tonen angitt under brøken spilles i bassen.

Med besifring kan det altså angis om akkorden ligger i grunnstilling eller i omvending. Eksempelvis vil C dur i grunnstilling angis som C, mens 1. omvending angis som C/E og 2. omvending som C/G.

 Antall grunntoner

Grunntonene kan være alle tonenavn som befinner seg innenfor en oktav. Dette utgjør 7 stamtoner (hvite pianotangenter) og 5 toner som er avledet av stamtonene.

Siden de avledete tonene kan ha 2 forskjellige navn, vil altså antall grunntoner og besifrings tonearter totalt utgjøre 17 forskjellige tonenavn:

C   -   C# eller Db   -   D   -   D# eller Eb   -   E   -   F   -   F# eller Gb   -   G   -   G# eller Ab   -   A   -   A# eller Bb   -   H.

 H, B eller Bb?

Stamtonerekken, C dur skalaen, bygger egentlig på a moll skalaens tonenavn: A B C D E F G, som er starten på vårt alfabet.

På engelsk kalles tonen H, B. På norsk er B det samme som tonen H senket en halv tone, som på engelsk blir en Bb. Dette kan lett skape forvirring, og i værste fall episoder der en utrent musiker spiller feil akkord.

For å sikre seg mot forveksling er det derfor en fordel å bruke H for engelske B, og Bb også på norsk for tonen som ligger en halv tone nedenfor H.

Med bruk av norske H og engelske Bb i samme system skal det mer til for at det blir spilt eller oppfattet galt. Diskusjon om denne bruksmåten kan naturligvis diskuteres.

Nettstedet musikkordboken.no har valgt å bruke dette (egentlig uriktige men praktiske) prinsippet helt konsekvent!

 STORE eller små bokstaver

I enkelte sangbøker og teksthefter finnes det besifring med en blanding av store og små bokstaver, som skiller mellom henholdsvis dur og moll.

A7 vil eksempelvis være en DUR akkord.

a7 vil eksempelvis være en MOLL akkord.

Den riktige fremgangsmåten er å alltid bruke store bokstaver. Moll akkorden skal da skrives som Am7, der m indikerer at dette er en moll akkord.

 Symbolsystemet

For å betegne akkorder ved hjelp av besifring benyttes det et bokstav- og tallsymbol system.

Den føste bokstaven viser til grunntonen i akkorden, og bør alltid betegnes med stor bokstav.

Avledete toner betegnes enten med et kryss (#) eller en b, plassert etter første symboltegn. C# er eksempelvis tonen som ligger en halv tone over C, og Db er tonen som ligger en halv tone under D.

Skalatonene i en akkord kan ha flere posisjoner, altereres dermed opp eller ned ett halvtonetrinn. Dette vil forklares videre i kurset.

 Symboloversikt

En oversikt over symboler som brukes til å angi plasseringen:

Grunntonen alene Akkorder med stor ters (3. skalatone). Dur akkorder.

m Akkorder med liten ters (3. skalatone senket en halv tone). Moll akkorder.

sus4 Akkorder som har byttet ut tersen (3. skalatone) med en kvart (4. skalatone).

sus2 Akkorder som har byttet ut tersen (3. skalatone) med en sekund (2. skalatone).

- (Minus tegn eller en b) Akkorder der skalatonen som følger etter minus symbolet er forminsket (vanligvis 5. eller 9. skalatone, senket en halv tone).

+ (Pluss tegn eller et #) Akkorder der skalatonen som følger etter pluss symbolet er forstørret (vanligvis 5. eller 9. skalatone, hevet en halv tone).

6 Akkorder med en sekst (6. skalatone).

maj Akkorder med en stor septim (7. skalatone).

7 Akkorder med en liten septim (7. skalatone senket en halv tone).

9 Akkorder med en none (9. skalatone), vanligvis fulgt av en liten septim (7. skalatone senket en halv tone).

11 Akkorder med en undecim (11. skalatone), vanligvis fulgt av en none (9. skalatone) og en liten septim (7. skalatone senket en halv tone). Tersen (3. skalatone) er ofte utelatt, og akkorden fungerer som en sus4 akkord.

13 Akkorder med en tersdecim (13. skalatone), vanligvis fulgt av en none (9. skalatone) og en liten septim (7. skalatone senket en halv tone). Av og til også fulgt av en undecim (11. skalatone).

° eller dim er en spesiell akkord bygget opp av små terser innenfor oktaven.

Besifring/tall (eks: A6/7) er en spesiell akkordtype der skalatonen under desimalstreken er lagt til akkorden.

Besifring/tonenavn (eks: A/E) er en spesiell akkordtype der skalatonen under desimalstreken er basstonen i akkorden.

add er en spesiell akkordtype der skalatonen etter ordet add er lagt til akkorden.

 Symbol eksemplene

Samtlige akkord eksempler som brukes videre i kurset har tonen C som grunntone. Ved hvert eksempel følger det en oversikt over hva som inngår i akkorden.

Her er forklaringen til skjemaet som brukes, med C dur som eksempel:

Overskrift viser hvordan besifringen noteres med C som grunntone.

Første kolonne viser skalatrinnenen, i dette tilfellet grunn-treklangen som er 1. 3. og 5. skalatrinn.

Andre kolonne viser skalatonene i akkorden, med C som grunntone. 1. skalatone er grunntonen C, 3. skalatone er E, og 5. skalatone er G.

Tredje kolonne viser navnene på intervallene. 1. intervall er prim, 3. er ters og 5. er kvint.

Siste kolonne viser intervall posisjonen. 1. er alltid ren, 3. er stor i dur og 5. trinn er i dette tilfellet en ren kvint.

Hver linje viser intervallenes nummer i rekken, tonenavn med C som grunntone, intervall navn og om tonen er alterert eller ei.

Treklanger

Akkordene i denne gruppen består av tre skalatoner og danner basis for alle akkorder. Det betyr at også firklanger, femklanger og enda større akkorder har treklangen i bunnen.

Treklanger innehar skalatoner som i de fleste tilfeller befinner seg fra 1. til 5. skalatrinn fra grunntonen til akkorden.

Eksemplene i dette kurset bruker tonen C som grunntone. Skalaen, som er utgangspunktet for intervall tonene, består da av tonene C D E F G A H (henholdsvis 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. og 7. skalatrinn).

 Intervall alterasjonene

1. skalatone - prim
er grunntonen. Den er alltid fast.

2. skalatone - sekund
kan være forminsket, ren eller forstørret.

3. skalatone - ters
kan være stor eller liten.

4. skalatone - kvart
kan være forminsket, ren eller forstørret.

5. skalatone - kvint
kan være forminsket, ren eller forstørret.

 Alterasjon forklaring

Ren
Et toneintervall som kan senkes og heves.

Forminsket
Et toneintervall som ikke lenger er rent. Senket en halv tone.

Forstørret
Et toneintervall som ikke lenger er rent. Hevet en halv tone.

Stor
Et toneintervall som bare kan senkes. Det kan ikke heves for da havner tonen på neste toneintervall posisjon.

Liten
Et toneintervall som ikke lenger er stort. Senket en halv tone.

 Dur akkord

På norsk: dur
På engelsk: major

Dur akkorden betegnes med stor bokstav, der bokstaven er tonenavnet på akkordens grunntone. Akkorden består av 1. 3. og 5. skalatone i dur skalaen, og utgjør en treklang.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som C.

 Moll akkord

På norsk: moll
På engelsk: minor

Bokstaven liten m etter tonenavnet står for moll.

I sjeldne tilfeller brukes det et system som viser moll med små bokstaver og dur med store bokstaver på tonenavnet, eksempelvis e (som er E moll) og E (som er E dur). Bokstaven m brukes da ikke i dette systemet som for øvrig ikke anbefales brukt.

Moll akkorder dannes ved å senke tersen (3. skalatone) ned en halv tone. I moll akkorden er tersen altså liten.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som Cm eller CMI eller c (grunntonen med liten bokstav og uten bokstaven m for moll).

 sus4 akkord

På norsk: sus fire
På engelsk: suspended fourth

Symbolet sus4 betyr at dur treklangens ters erstattes med en kvart, den 4. skalatonen.

En sus4 akkord etterfølges ofte av en dur akkord med samme grunntone. Spenningen som dannes med sus4 akkorden, oppløses når kvarten faller tilbake til ters.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som Csus4 eller Csus.

 sus2 akkord

På norsk: sus to
På engelsk: suspended second

Symbolet sus2 betyr at dur treklangens ters erstattes med en sekund, den 2. skalatonen.

En sus2 akkord etterfølges ofte av en dur akkord med samme grunntone. Spenningen som dannes med sus2 akkorden, oppløses når sekunden faller tilbake til ters.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som Csus2.

 -5 akkord

På norsk: minus fem
På engelsk: diminished fifth

Symbolet minus plassert rett foran femtallet betyr at kvinten, den 5. skalatonen, skal senkes ned en halv tone.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som C-5 eller C5b.

 m-5 akkord

På norsk: moll minus fem
På engelsk: minor diminished fifth

Bokstaven liten m etter tonenavnet står for moll. Den 3. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Symbolet minus plassert rett foran femtallet betyr at kvinten, den 5. skalatonen, skal senkes ned en halv tone.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som Cm-5 eller Cm5b.

 + akkord,   aug akkord

På norsk: pluss, pluss fem eller aug
På engelsk: augmented fifth

Symbolet pluss plassert rett etter tonenavnet betyr at kvinten, den 5. skalatonen, skal heves opp en halv tone.

Dette er en litt spesiell akkord. Med hevet kvint i en dur akkord, blir avstanden lik mellom alle akkord tonene.

Samtlige intervaller utgjør en stor ters. Eksempelvis mellom C og E, E og G# samt mellom G# og oktaven C.

Akkorden er bygget opp av store terser, og de samme tonene vil derfor dukke opp igjen ved en C+ E+ og G#+ akkord.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som C+ eller Caug eller C+5 eller C5#.

 Treklang-varianter

Andre besifring varianter kan konstrueres ved å alterere de forskjellige skalatone-intervallene, men disse er mer sjeldne. Ofte kan det være mer fornuftig å sette sammen standard besifring med en egen basstone, eksempelvis:

Csus4+5 (1. 4. +5.) (C F G#) Mer fornuftig å angi dette som Fm/C (F moll med C i bassen).

Csus2-5 (1. 2. -5.) (C D Gb) Mer fornuftig å angi dette som D7/C (D syv med C i bassen). Kvinten mangler i så fall, men en kvint kan gjerne utelates dersom den er ren.

 Neste side

Firklanger

Akkordene i denne gruppen består av fire skalatoner, er bygget på treklangene og danner basis for større akkorder. Firklanger innehar skalatoner som i de fleste tilfeller befinner seg fra 1. til 7. skalatrinn.

Eksemplene i dette kurset bruker tonen C som grunntone. Skalaen, som er utgangspunktet for intervall tonene, består da av tonene C D E F G A H (henholdsvis 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. og 7. skalatrinn).

 Intervall alterasjonene

1. skalatone - prim
er grunntonen. Den er alltid fast.

2. skalatone - sekund
kan være forminsket, ren eller forstørret.

3. skalatone - ters
kan være stor eller liten.

4. skalatone - kvart
kan være forminsket, ren eller forstørret.

5. skalatone - kvint
kan være forminsket, ren eller forstørret.

6. skalatone - sekst
kan være stor eller liten.

7. skalatone - septim
kan være stor eller liten.

 Alterasjon forklaring

Ren
Et toneintervall som kan senkes og heves.

Forminsket
Et toneintervall som ikke lenger er rent. Senket en halv tone.

Forstørret
Et toneintervall som ikke lenger er rent. Hevet en halv tone.

Stor
Et toneintervall som bare kan senkes. Det kan ikke heves for da havner tonen på neste toneintervall posisjon.

Liten
Et toneintervall som ikke lenger er stort. Senket en halv tone.

 6 akkord

På norsk: seks
På engelsk: sixth

Tallet 6 betyr at den 6. skalatonen legges til treklangen.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som C6.

 m6 akkord

På norsk: moll seks
På engelsk: minor sixth

Bokstaven liten m etter tonenavnet står for moll. Den 3. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Tallet 6 betyr at den 6. skalatonen legges til treklangen.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som Cm6.

 6-varianter

Andre besifring varianter kan konstrueres ved å alterere de forskjellige skalatone-intervallene, men disse er mer sjeldne. Ofte kan det være mer fornuftig å sette sammen standard besifring med en egen basstone, eksempelvis:

C6sus4 (1. 4. 5. 6.) (C F G A) Mer fornuftig å angi dette som Fadd9/C (F add ni med C i bassen).

C6-5 (1. 3. -5. 6.) (C E Gb A) Mer fornuftig å angi dette som Gbm7-5/C (Gess moll syv minus fem med C i bassen).

C6+5 (1. 3. +5. 6.) (C E G# A) Mer fornuftig å angi dette som Am maj7/C (A moll maj syv med C i bassen).

 maj7 akkord

På norsk: maj syv
På engelsk: major seventh

Tallet 7 betyr at den 7. skalatonen legges til treklangen.

Bokstav symbolet maj betyr at den 7. skalatonen brukes slik den naturlig forekommer i dur skalaen. For Cmaj7 vil det si tonen H og for Fmaj7 tonen E.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som Cmaj7 eller Cmaj eller CMA7 eller CΔ.

 m maj7 akkord

På norsk: moll maj syv
På engelsk: minor major seventh

Bokstaven liten m etter tonenavnet står for moll. Den 3. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Tallet 7 betyr at den 7. skalatonen legges til treklangen.

Dette er en litt spesiell og nokså sjelden akkord.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som Cm maj7 eller Cm maj eller Cm(maj7) eller CmΔ.

 maj7-varianter

Andre besifring varianter kan konstrueres ved å alterere de forskjellige skalatone-intervallene, men disse er mer sjeldne. Ofte kan det være mer fornuftig å sette sammen standard besifring med en egen basstone, eksempelvis:

Cmaj7sus2 (1. 2. 5. 7.) (C D G H) Tilsvarer G/C (G dur med C i bassen).

Cmaj7-5 (1. 3. -5. 7.) (C E Gb H) Tilsvarer Hsus4/C (H sus4 med C i bassen).

Cmaj7+5 (1. 3. +5. 7.) (C E G# H) Tilsvarer E/C (E dur med C i bassen).

 7 akkord

På norsk: syv eller septim
På engelsk: seventh

Tallet 7 betyr at den 7. skalatonen legges til treklangen. I motsetning til en maj7 skal denne akkorden ha en liten septim. Den 7. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som C7.

 m7 akkord

På norsk: moll syv eller moll septim
På engelsk: minor seventh

Bokstaven liten m etter tonenavnet står for moll. Den 3. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Tallet 7 betyr at den 7. skalatonen legges til treklangen. I motsetning til en maj7 skal denne akkorden ha en liten septim. Den 7. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som Cm7 eller CMI7.

 7sus4 akkord

På norsk: syv sus fire
På engelsk: seventh suspended fourth

Tallet 7 betyr at den 7. skalatonen legges til treklangen. I motsetning til en maj7 skal denne akkorden ha en liten septim. Den 7. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Symbolet sus4 betyr at dur treklangens ters erstattes med en kvart, den 4. skalatonen.

En sus4 akkord etterfølges ofte av en dur akkord med samme grunntone. Spenningen som dannes med sus4 akkorden, oppløses når kvarten faller tilbake til ters.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som C7sus4 eller C7sus.

 7-5 akkord

På norsk: syv minus fem
På engelsk: seventh diminished fifth

Tallet 7 betyr at den 7. skalatonen legges til treklangen. I motsetning til en maj7 skal denne akkorden ha en liten septim. Den 7. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Symbolet minus plassert rett foran tallet fem betyr at kvinten, den 5. skalatonen, skal senkes ned en halv tone.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som C7-5 eller C7b5.

 m7-5 akkord

På norsk: moll syv minus fem
På engelsk: minor seventh diminished fifth

Bokstaven liten m etter tonenavnet står for moll. Den 3. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Tallet 7 betyr at den 7. skalatonen legges til treklangen. I motsetning til en maj7 skal denne akkorden ha en liten septim. Den 7. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Symbolet minus plassert rett foran tallet fem betyr at kvinten, den 5. skalatonen, skal senkes ned en halv tone.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som Cm7-5 eller Cm7b5 eller CΦ.

 7+5 akkord

På norsk: syv pluss fem
På engelsk: seventh augmented fifth

Tallet 7 betyr at den 7. skalatonen legges til treklangen. I motsetning til en maj7 skal denne akkorden ha en liten septim. Den 7. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Symbolet pluss plassert rett foran tallet fem betyr at kvinten, den 5. skalatonen, skal heves opp en halv tone.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som C7+5 eller C7#5.

 7-varianter

Andre besifring varianter kan konstrueres ved å alterere de forskjellige skalatone-intervallene, men disse er mer sjeldne. Ofte kan det være mer fornuftig å sette sammen standard besifring med en egen basstone, eksempelvis:

C7sus4+5 (1. 4. +5. b7.) (C F G# Bb) Tilsvarer Fm add11/C (F moll add elleve med C i bassen).

C7sus2 (1. 2. 5. b7.) (C D G Bb) Tilsvarer Gm/C (G moll med C i bassen).

Cm7+5 (1. m3. +5. b7.) (C Eb G# Bb) Tilsvarer Ab add9/C (Ass add ni med C i bassen).

 Neste side

Store akkorder

Akkordene i denne gruppen består av minimum fem skalatoner, med basis i treklangen. Vanligvis befinner også minst en av skalatonene seg over oktaven.

Skalatonetrinn (tall) som ikke bør brukes i besifring systemet er følgende:

Trinn 8 er grunntonen i oktav. Grunntonen er basis for akkorden, og 8 bør derfor ikke brukes i besifring.

Trinn 10 og 12 bør heller ikke brukes i besifring da dette tilsvarer resten av grunnpilarene i en akkord, treklangen, henholdsvis ters og kvint i oktav.

Eksemplene i dette kurset bruker tonen C som grunntone. Skalaen, som er utgangspunktet for intervall tonene, består da av tonene C D E F G A H (henholdsvis 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. og 7. skalatrinn).

 Intervall alterasjonene

1. skalatone - prim
er grunntonen. Den er alltid fast.

2. skalatone - sekund
kan være forminsket, ren eller forstørret.

3. skalatone - ters
kan være stor eller liten.

4. skalatone - kvart
kan være forminsket, ren eller forstørret.

5. skalatone - kvint
kan være forminsket, ren eller forstørret.

6. skalatone - sekst
kan være stor eller liten.

7. skalatone - septim
kan være stor eller liten.

9. skalatone - none
samme som sekund, over oktaven.

11. skalatone - undecim
samme som kvart, over oktaven.

13. skalatone - tersdecim
samme som sekst, over oktaven.

 Alterasjon forklaring

Ren
Et toneintervall som kan senkes og heves.

Forminsket
Et toneintervall som ikke lenger er rent. Senket en halv tone.

Forstørret
Et toneintervall som ikke lenger er rent. Hevet en halv tone.

Stor
Et toneintervall som bare kan senkes. Det kan ikke heves for da havner tonen på neste toneintervall posisjon.

Liten
Et toneintervall som ikke lenger er stort. Senket en halv tone.

 9 akkorder

På norsk: ni
På engelsk: ninth

Tallet 9 betyr at både 7. og 9. skalatone legges til akkorden. Dersom besifringen ikke har betegnelsen maj er den 7. skalatonen senket en halv tone.

Den 9. skalatone er det samme som 2. skalatone over oktaven.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som C9.

 9-varianter

Andre besifring varianter finnes, og nier akkordene er kanskje den gruppen som har flest kombinasjoner.

Ters (3. skalatone)
Tersen kan være stor eller liten, henholdsvis dur eller moll. Eksempelvis C9 eller Cm9.

Kvint (5. skalatone)
Kvinten kan være forminsket, ren eller forstørret. Eksempelvis C9-5 eller C9 eller C9+5.

Septim (7. skalatone)
Septimen kan være stor eller liten. Eksempelvis Cmaj9 eller C9.

None (9. skalatone)
Nonen kan være forminsket, ren eller forstørret. Eksempelvis C7-9 eller C9 eller C7+9.

Kombinasjoner
Disse fire alternativene kan igjen kombineres med hverandre, og gi altererte varianter tilsvarende det som er gjennomgått tidligere i dette kurset.

Eksempler på standard none akkord varianter er Cm9-5 og Cm9+5 og Cm maj9 og Cm maj9-5 og C7-5-9 og C7-5+9 og C7+5-9 og C7+5+9.

 -10 besifring

Bruk av -10 i besifring anbefales ikke, men finnes i bruk. Eksempelvis akkorden C7+9 besifret som C7-10.

Det 10. skalatrinn er 3. trinn i oktav, altså tersen som bestemmer om det skal være en dur eller moll akkord. Siden denne tonen skal senkes ned en halv tone, vil besifringen kunne tolkes til en dur/moll akkord med septim (7. skalatone).

Dette kan også mistolkes slik at 10. trinn skal senkes ned sammen med det 3. trinn, men da vil akkorden ikke bli annet enn en Cm7.

7-10 notasjonen er, uansett hvordan en velger å tolke den, både misvisende og gal og bør ikke brukes.

 11 akkorder

På norsk: elleve
På engelsk: eleventh

Tallet 11 betyr at både 7. og 9. og 11. skalatone legges til treklangen. Dersom besifringen ikke har betegnelsen maj er den 7. skalatonen senket en halv tone.

Den 11. skalatonen tilsvarer 4. skalatone over oktaven, en kvart.

Tersen utelates i de fleste tilfeller, og da fungerer 11 akkorden som en sus4 akkord med septim og none.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som C11.

 m11 akkord

På norsk: moll elleve
På engelsk: minor eleventh

Bokstaven liten m etter tonenavnet står for moll. Den 3. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Tallet 11 betyr at både 7. og 9. og 11. skalatone legges til treklangen. Dersom besifringen ikke har betegnelsen maj er den 7. skalatonen senket en halv tone.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som Cm11.

 m11-5 akkord

På norsk: moll elleve minus fem
På engelsk: minor eleventh diminished fifth

Bokstaven liten m etter tonenavnet står for moll. Den 3. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Tallet 11 betyr at både 7. og 9. og 11. skalatone legges til treklangen. Dersom besifringen ikke har betegnelsen maj er den 7. skalatonen senket en halv tone.

Symbolet minus plassert rett foran tallet fem betyr at kvinten, den 5. skalatonen, skal senkes ned en halv tone.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som Cm11-5 eller Cm11b5.

 +11 akkord

På norsk: pluss elleve
På engelsk: augmented eleventh

Symbolet pluss plassert rett foran tallet elleve betyr at undecimen, den 11. skalatonen, skal heves opp en halv tone.

Tallet 11 betyr at både 7. og 9. og 11. skalatone legges til treklangen. Dersom besifringen ikke har betegnelsen maj er den 7. skalatonen senket en halv tone.

Den 11. skalatonen tilsvarer 4. skalatone over oktaven, en kvart.

Tersen utelates i rene 11-akkorder. Siden kvarten er hevet vil akkorden ikke lenger ha en sus4 funksjon, og tersen tas derfor gjerne med.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som C+11 eller C11# eller Caug11.

 11-varianter

Andre besifring varianter kan konstrueres ved å alterere de forskjellige skalatone-intervallene, men disse er mer sjeldne. Ofte kan det være mer fornuftig å sette sammen standard besifring med en egen basstone, eksempelvis:

C11+5 (1. 3. +5. b7. 9. 11.) (C E G# Bb D F) Tilsvarer Bb9/C (B ni med C i bassen).

Cmaj11 (1. 5. 7. 9. 11.) (C G H D F) Tilsvarer G7/C (G syv med C i bassen).

 13 akkorder

På norsk: tretten
På engelsk: thirteenth

Tallet 13 betyr at både 7. og 9. og 11. og 13. skalatone legges til treklangen. Dersom besifringen ikke har betegnelsen maj er den 7. skalatonen senket en halv tone.

Den 11. skalatonen tilsvarer 4. skalatone over oktaven, en kvart. Utelates ofte, for å oppnå en varmere klang og unngå dur/sus4 disharmonien.

Den 13. skalatonen tilsvarer 6. skalatone over oktaven, en sekst.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som C13.

 13-varianter

Enkelte varianter av 13 akkorden forekommer, eksempelvis:

Cm13 (1. b3. 5. b7. 9. 13.) (C Eb G Bb D A).

C13sus4 (1. 4. 5. b7. 9. 13.) (C F G Bb D A). Egentlig en 13 akkord der tersen (3. skalatone) er utelatt og undecimen (11. skalatone) er tatt med.

C13-9 (1. 3. 5. b7. b9. 13.) (C E G Bb Db A).

Andre besifring varianter kan konstrueres ved å alterere de forskjellige skalatone-intervallene, men disse er mer sjeldne. Ofte kan det være mer fornuftig å sette sammen standard besifring med en egen basstone, eksempelvis:

Cmaj13 (1. 3. 5. 7. 9. 13.) (C E G H D A) Tilsvarer D11/C (D elleve med C i bassen).

C9b13 (1. 3. 5. b7. 9. b13.) (C E G Bb D Ab) Tilsvarer E7-5+9/C (E syv minus fem pluss ni med C i bassen).

Andre akkorder

Denne siden av kurset om akkorder omhandler andre og noe mer spesielle akkorder.

Eksemplene i dette kurset bruker tonen C som grunntone. Skalaen, som er utgangspunktet for intervall tonene, består da av tonene C D E F G A H (henholdsvis 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. og 7. skalatrinn).

 Intervall alterasjonene

1. skalatone - prim
er grunntonen. Den er alltid fast.

2. skalatone - sekund
kan være forminsket, ren eller forstørret.

3. skalatone - ters
kan være stor eller liten.

4. skalatone - kvart
kan være forminsket, ren eller forstørret.

5. skalatone - kvint
kan være forminsket, ren eller forstørret.

6. skalatone - sekst
kan være stor eller liten.

7. skalatone - septim
kan være stor eller liten.

9. skalatone - none
samme som sekund, over oktaven.

11. skalatone - undecim
samme som kvart, over oktaven.

13. skalatone - tersdecim
samme som sekst, over oktaven.

 Alterasjon forklaring

Ren
Et toneintervall som kan senkes og heves.

Forminsket
Et toneintervall som ikke lenger er rent. Senket en halv tone.

Forstørret
Et toneintervall som ikke lenger er rent. Hevet en halv tone.

Stor
Et toneintervall som bare kan senkes. Det kan ikke heves for da havner tonen på neste toneintervall posisjon.

Liten
Et toneintervall som ikke lenger er stort. Senket en halv tone.

 5 akkord

På norsk: fem
På engelsk: fifth

Ingen regel uten unntak, heter det. Regelen om at en akkord per definisjon skal ha minimum tre forskjellige samklingende toner gjelder ikke her. Denne akkorden har kun to forskjellige toner, grunntonen og kvinten henholdsvis første og femte skalatone.

Akkorden har med andre ord ikke noen ters og kan derfor brukes både i dur og moll sammenheng.

Fem-akkorder, ofte betegnet som power chords, brukes mye inne pop, rock, metal og jazz.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som C5 eller C(no 3rd).

 ° akkord,   dim akkord

På norsk: dim
På engelsk: diminished

Symbolet gradetegn, eller bokstavsymbolet dim, plassert rett etter tonenavnet betyr at dette er en septimakkord der samtlige av akkordens toner er senket en halv tone.

Tersen, den 3. skalatonen, er senket en halv tone.

Kvinten, den 5. skalatonen, er også senket en halv tone.

Det samme gjelder til og med den lille septimen i septim akkorden. Det 7. skalatrinn er dermed senket 2 halve trinn, som i praksis utgjør det sjette skalatrinn.

Akkorden er i tillegg bygget opp av små terser. Samtlige intervaller, fra skalatone til skalatone på akkordens toner, utgjør en liten ters. Eksempelvis mellom C og Eb, Eb og Gb, Gb og Bbb (i praksis tonen A) samt mellom Bbb og oktaven C.

Akkordens oppbygning av små terser resulterer dermed i at de samme tonene dukker opp igjen ved en C° Eb° Gb° samt en A° akkord.

Denne akkorden har også mange besifring varianter.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som C° eller Cdim eller også C°7 eller C7° eller Cdim7 eller C7dim.

 6/7 akkord

På norsk: seks syv
På engelsk: six-seventh

Tallet 6 betyr at den 6. skalatonen legges til treklangen.

Tallet 7 betyr at den 7. skalatonen legges til treklangen. I motsetning til en maj7 skal denne akkorden ha en liten septim. Den 7. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Med både det sjette og det syvende skalatrinn lagt til, utgjør akkorden en femklang.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som C6/7 eller C7/6.

 m6/7 akkord

På norsk: moll seks syv
På engelsk: minor six-seventh

Bokstaven liten m etter tonenavnet står for moll. Den 3. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Tallet 6 betyr at den 6. skalatonen legges til treklangen.

Tallet 7 betyr at den 7. skalatonen legges til treklangen. I motsetning til en maj7 skal denne akkorden ha en liten septim. Den 7. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Med både det sjette og det syvende skalatrinn lagt til, utgjør akkorden en femklang.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som Cm6/7 eller Cm7/6.

 6/7-varianter

Andre besifring varianter kan konstrueres ved å alterere de forskjellige skalatone-intervallene, men disse er mer sjeldne. Ofte kan det være mer fornuftig å sette sammen standard besifring med en egen basstone, eksempelvis:

C6/7sus2 (1. 2. 5. 6. b7.) (C D G A Bb) Tilsvarer Gm11/C (G moll elleve med C i bassen).

Cmaj7/6 (1. 3. 5. 6. 7.) (C E G A H) Tilsvarer Am9/C (A moll ni med C i bassen).

C6/7-5 (1. 3. -5. 6. b7.) (C E Gb A Bb) Tilsvarer Gb7-5+9/C (Gess syv minus fem pluss ni med C i bassen).

 6/9 akkord

På norsk: seks ni
På engelsk: six-ninth

Tallet 6 betyr at den 6. skalatonen legges til treklangen.

Tallet 9 betyr at den 9. skalatonen legges til akkorden.

Med både det sjette og det niende skalatrinn lagt til, utgjør akkorden en femklang.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som C6/9.

 m6/9 akkord

På norsk: moll seks ni
På engelsk: minor six-ninth

Bokstaven liten m etter tonenavnet står for moll. Den 3. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Tallet 6 betyr at den 6. skalatonen legges til treklangen.

Tallet 9 betyr at den 9. skalatonen legges til akkorden.

Med både det sjette og det niende skalatrinn lagt til, utgjør akkorden en femklang.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som Cm6/9.

 6/9-varianter

Andre besifring varianter er sjeldent i bruk for denne gruppen akkorder.

 add9 akkord

På norsk: add ni
På engelsk: added ninth

Symbolet add9 betyr at den 9. skalatonen legges til akkorden.

Dette er forsåvidt det samme som besifringen add2, siden 9. skalatrinn er det samme som 2. skalatrinn over oktaven.

Ved enkelte tilfeller symboliserer add9 at akkorden skal ha tonen plassert over oktaven, i motsetning til add2 som da skal ha tonen plassert mellom 1. og 5. skalatone.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som Cadd9 eller Cadd2.

 add11 akkord

På norsk: add elleve
På engelsk: added eleventh

Symbolet add11 betyr at den 11. skalatonen legges til akkorden.

Dette er forsåvidt det samme som besifringen add4, siden 11. skalatrinn er det samme som 4. skalatrinn over oktaven.

Ved enkelte tilfeller symboliserer add11 at akkorden skal ha tonen plassert over oktaven, i motsetning til add4 som da skal ha tonen plassert mellom 1. og 5. skalatone.

Vær også oppmerksom på at en add4 akkord ikke er det samme som en sus4 akkord. En add4 akkord legger til den 4. skalatonen, mens en sus4 akkord erstatter tersen (3. skalatone) med kvarten (4. skalatone).

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som Cadd11 eller Cadd4.

 add-varianter

Symbolbetegnelsen add står for addert tone, en tone som er lagt til akkorden. Det kan både være en tone som hører naturlig til akkordens skalatoner eller det kan også være en akkordfremmed tone, altså en tone som ikke høre til skalarekken for akkordens grunntone.

Her står en nærmest fritt til å legge på spennende toner, eksempelvis:

C addF# (1. 3. 4#. 5.) (C E F# G).

Cm add11 (1. b3. 4. 5.) (C Eb F G).

C7addH (1. 3. 5. b7. 7.) (C E G Bb H).

Argentina

I serien HVORFRA? Er det nå Argentina som er under lupen, og landet sør i Sør-Amerika vil nok overraske en og annen musikkelsker. Antakeligvis er både kvantitet og kvalitet langt over hva folk flest skulle tro. Dypdykk i Argentinsk prog vil sannsynligvis fører til noen virkelige vidunderlig musikalske opplevelser for de aller fleste som leser disse sidene!

Republikken Argentina er et land i Sør-Amerika, plassert mellom Andesfjellene i vest og Atlanterhavet i øst og sør. Det grenser til Paraguay og Bolivia i nord, Brasil og Uruguay i nordøst, og Chile i vest og sør. Argentina gjør krav på de britiske oversjøiske territoriene Falklandsøyene og Sør-Georgia og Sør-Sandwichøyene. Landet gjør også krav på 1 000 000 km² av Antarktis som overlapper deler av Chile og Storbritannias krav. Arealmessig er landet det nest største i Sør-Amerika etter Brasil, og det åttende største i verden.

Also Eden

About Time

About Time is an apt name for the first album by Cheltenham band Also Eden whose roots span a full dozen years. From a "bloody awful blues-based metal [band] with endless guitar solos and soul-less vocals about partying all night long", vocalist Huw-Lloyd Jones and keyboardist Ian Hodson took a sensible change of direction and formed a progressive rock band. Eventually, a stable line-up was completed by the addition of Simon Rogers (guitar), Ralvin Thomas (bass) and, the recently departed, Mark Hall (drums), with the group's first live performance in July 2005. The album was recorded off-and-on between late 2005 and throughout 2006, finally being released at the Summer's End Festival in October last year.

Between The Lines sets out the prog stall with riffing guitar and layers of synths. Some fine melodies, interesting drum beats and intelligent lyrics combine to give a very interesting induction to the album. The sound is akin to some of the 1980s period prog bands and Abel Ganz, in particular, come to mind, while there are traces of early Marillion towards the end. For Bumble is a sensitive song dealing with suicide. Again, the intelligent lyrics are sympathetic to the topic and, despite the subject matter, there are some very uplifting moments, particularly the keyboard solo and the ending. A well arranged song that nicely flips between acoustic and electric moments, the best song covering this subject matter since the single Just Another Case Of Suicide by 1980s band Money.

Pandora starts with a metronomic beat resembling the grandfather clock mentioned in the opening lyrics. A tale of the internet (the titular Pandora's box) and it's opportunities for disseminating information against it's rather more nefarious uses, the piece is more centred on the lyric (there are a lot packed into the six minutes of the song!). As a consequence the song seems somewhat flat although Hodson contributes a reasonable guitar solo. The Enemy Within is an oblique love song, which is performed at a steady pace. Perhaps too long an 'introduction' for the tempo, things get more interesting at about the seven and a half minute mark with a nice change of pace, added backing vocals and a rather dirty guitar solo followed, inevitably, by a keyboard solo. Some shades of early IQ but a good way to wind up the track. Final song, Children Of The Night, tackles another 'controversial' subject in child prostitution - a far cry from wizards and goblins that a lot of (uninitiated) people seem to think that is all prog rock bands sing about! Musically more up-beat and rhythmically quite involved, the band really gel on this song. Well arranged, the song is a rousing end to the CD.

Over all, About Time is a promising debut album. The CD is well packaged and looks better than a lot of major label releases. If you remember the so-called prog-rock revival of the 1980s with fondness, then Also Eden have done a decent job of updating that sound and may well be worth checking out. Go on, take a listen to the samples on their website, you know you want to!

Tracklist: Between The Lines (8:47), For Bumble (13:21), Pandora (6:09), The Enemy Within (12:13), Children Of The Night (8:33)

Andromeda

Extension Of The Wish

Question: what is the similarity between Flower Kings, Pain Of Salvation, A.C.T, Evergrey, and Wolverine? Indeed, these are all Swedish prog/metal bands that have gained quite a reputation outside the land of elks and IKEA. I would not be very surprised if Andromeda could soon be added to this list, since their debut album Extension Of The Wish immediately managed to conquer a spot on my high-rotation list and that certainly does not happen to each and every CD that I receive for review purposes.

Andromeda was formed in June 1999, but did not manage to record their debut album until last year, because of their problems finding a suitable vocalist. They actually ended up using a session vocalist on Extension Of The Wish, Lawrence Mackrory (ex-Darkane). By now they seem to have found a permanent singer in David Fremberg, though. Apart from him, Andromeda consists of Thomas Lejon (drums), Gert Daun (bass), Martin Hedin (keyboards), and Johan Reinholdz (guitar).
The cover of Extension Of The Wish is interesting: a branded, doll-like figure is standing waist-deep in water, stirring the fabric of the universe where the water ends. The inside of the booklet is nice, but not very adventurous. It contains all lyrics, which have been printed on a background of stylised letters, and mainly deal with the (psychological) problems which so many people have to face every day (e.g. problems with a loved one, betrayal, fear, thoughts of suicide).

Although Andromeda is centered around guitarist Reinholdz, Extension Of The Wish has not become a collection of tracks filled with "guitar masturbation". Reinholdz is responsible for all the music and lyrics, but the seven tracks on the CD are definitely proper songs (i.e. not endlessly repeated chord progressions over which a continuous stream of flashy guitar licks and solos is played, like one can often find on CDs by the likes of Joe Satriani and Steve Vai) in which the keyboards play a large role.

The first track, The Words Unspoken, kicks off with a great, reverbed guitar riff. When the other instruments join in, the music becomes a nice mixture of Dream Theater and Evergrey, though some of the keyboard sounds remind me very much of A.C.T. Especially the parts where the keyboard melody is doubled by the guitar are very nice.
Mackrory's vocals are not your typical high-pitched metal screams. They carry a great deal of emotion and - as will become clear in the other songs - are very versatile in sound. I do detect a slight accent and the way the words are stressed is not always entirely correct, but I have heard much, much worse, so this is only a minor complaint. The information sheet accompanying the CD mentions that Mackrory had never heard either the music or lyrics before stepping into the studio with Andromeda, but it sounds like the guy has been singing with the band for ages. Impressive!

Apart from some Dream Theater-like sections (in the style of Awake), Crescendo Of Thoughts contains some (keyboard) parts that remind me strongly of Ayreon (Into The Electric Castle). Very much in the vein of the previous song, but different enough to be a great track as well.

Track 3, In The Deepest Of Waters, is one of the heaviest songs on the album. It starts with a massive wall of power chords, the sound of which reminds me a lot of some Rammstein tracks, but then three times as fast, and Metallica's Sad But True. When the vocals join in, the track gets a different feel. Mackrory's (sometimes distorted) vocals and the floating keyboards create a threatening atmosphere very much like the one on Faith No More's Midlife Crisis. This combination, plus some great guitar solos, killer-keyboard parts, a brilliant job by the rhythm section, and the very quiet middle of the song, make me play this track again and again. This is definitely my favourite on the album!

Chameleon Carneval seems to be the odd one out on this album. Contrary to the other tracks, this one is without vocals and it sounds a lot like an extended jam. Using a recurring theme as a basis, all instruments get the chance to take center stage in their respective solos. It does not do very much for me, though. Good musicianship, sure, but this track just does not seem to be in place on this album.

Track 5, Star Shooter Supreme, also contains some nice guitar melodies doubled by keyboards (once more, Dream Theater seems to have had a large influence on the band). The vocals are distorted and all but shouted into the microphone. They bear a strong reminiscence to Junkie XL's Rude Boy on, for instance, Saturday Teenage Kick and Billy Club. A couple of great keyboard and guitar solos add some extra spice to this song.

The title track, Extension Of The Wish, is the longest one on the album (10:03). It starts very quietly with some undistorted guitar and I must say that that is a nice resting point after all the violence of the previous songs. After a nice guitar solo the band change gear and the heavy guitars return, accompanied by some lovely keyboard licks. As if to demonstrate that he possesses even more different vocal styles, Mackrory now takes on the guise of Steve Wilson (Porcupine Tree) as he sounded in The Nostalgia Factory (from On The Sunday Of Life...) mixed with a bit of Babylon Zoo's vocal sound on their only hit Space Man.
At 4:15 minutes the song seems to end abruptly, but it continues with a long instrumental section which I think is a bit too repetitive at times. Once more one can hear a big hint of Dream Theater, especially in the parts where the guitar melody is doubled by the keyboards.

Arch Angel starts like a somewhat average metal track, but soon becomes more complicated both in melody and in rhythm changes. The first few verses and choruses are delivered over a rather calm section with undistorted guitar, after which the music becomes as heavy as before. I think this is very fitting considering the lyrics (the narrator is looking for protection from the violence around him). Apart from some more Dream Theater references, this track contains some nice oriental influences. Sadly though, it ends with a rather cheapish fade-out.

Andromeda's debut album Extension Of The Wish is highly recommended to anyone who enjoys the heavy side of prog. On this album you will find some high-powered music in which both guitar and keyboards play a large role, and which includes a steaming rhythm tandem and a versatile singer. Related bands: Dream Theater, Evergrey and Pain Of Salvation.
Knowing how much I appreciate Mackrory's vocals, I really hope that the "new" singer David Fremberg has the same kind of voice. I have seen that Andromeda will play at ProgPower 2001 and that (as well as the rest of the bands that have been confirmed by now) sure makes it worth visiting this festival!

Tracklist: The Words Unspoken (5:28), Crescendo Of Thoughts (5:25), In The Deepest Of Waters (7:07), Chameleon Carneval (5:00), Star Shooter Supreme (5:18), Extension Of The Wish (10:03), Arch Angel (5:55)

Andromeda

II=I

This is the second review of an Andromeda album to be featured in DPRP CD Reviews Page, and because Hester included a band bio in her review of Extension Of The Wish, I have omitted it here. For their previous album, Andromeda used a session vocalist, but on II=I, a permanent vocalist in David Fremberg, has been added to the band. Although I have not been able to listen to the previous album, the mp3 samples from the Andromeda website give me the impression that this new singer is an improvement (although the session vocalist was also pretty good). I also get the feeling that Andromeda has moved towards Dream Theater-like music even further.

Encyclopedia starts off with a keyboard loop that fades in, right after that the metal guitars kick in. The song is a rich collection of tempo changes, something that can be said of all songs on this album. Andromeda is not a band that likes to drag melodies endlessly with heavier guitars, and more screaming guitars following each other constantly, and at the end comes a slow keyboard tune with a screaming guitar fade out. The beginning of Mirages reminds me of The Gathering's Strange Machines. The refrain has been stuck in my head for days. I find myself yelling "Mirages" (in my mind of course) all the time.

In Reaching Deep Within the keyboard takes the prominent role and has a haunting sound that supports the refrain. This does not mean that other instruments have a lesser role, as on all the other songs on this album, they are nicely balanced. The first half of Two is One is a slow ballad and shows that David Fremberg is an excellent singer. In the second half of the song, the transitory ballad becomes more up-tempo as the metal guitars and then the speedy loops of the guitars emerge. This song is not only the longest on the album but really is the masterpiece as well.

Morphing Into Nothing could have been a song on a Dream Theater album, with a large number of tempo changes, the drums not only determine the rhythm but also are part of the melody. This instrumental song is impressive. Castaway is a slower piece that does stay interesting throughout the complete song, because of the vocals and backing vocals which sound good together. Parasite takes some getting used to, at first it seems a bit incoherent reminding me of the earlier Pain of Salvation songs. David Fremberg proves here that high pitched vocals are also within his reach. The first piano tones of One In My Head could be the start of a subtle horror movie. The uptempo piano and guitar parts further on however, are too straight-forward for that same horror movie. This Fragile Surface closes the album and it leaves you wanting for more. The dramatic keyboards and again the tempo changes of subtle guitars and metal guitars. Drums that are right all the time.

Andromeda is a band of good musicians, and although I am not a Death Metal lover, the fact that Andromeda's guitarist Johan Reinholdz also plays in NonExist makes me curious to explore their music too.

Comparison sometimes is the best way to give an idea of what a band or songs sound like, but Andromeda is in no way a copy of any other. I immediately liked this album and after listening more often, I think I can safely say: this one is a keeper. I am really impressed. I have not written a lot of reviews yet so you cannot know if I would say this easily. I think not, as Andromeda really deserves it. Find out for yourself!

A final point to note is that the excellent cover artwork is by former DPRP team member, Mattias Noren.

Tracklist: Encyclopedia (7:35), Mirages (5:42), Reaching Deep Within (4:50), Two Is One (10:09), Morphing Into Nothing (7:34), Castaway (6:16), Parasite (6:54), One In My Head (8:02), This Fragile Surface (8:04)

Andromeda

Chimera

The last album that I acquired 'On Import' was the debut release from a little-known New Jersey band called Bon Jovi. Thanks to the worldwide reach of the internet and online record stores, the whole concept of 'import' albums has pretty much disappeared.

However the third album from Swedish ProgMetal masters Andromeda was actually released in Japan way back on January 21, yet for some reason, unless you live in France where it came out on the Replica label on March 27, it won't get a worldwide release until June 23 on the Massacre label. Therefore grabbing my second ever import album, was the only way to avoid a frustrating wait.

The band's first two releases, the intense, riff-based Prog of Extension of the Wish and the more refined II=I, have set this band as one of my favourite purveyors of classic progressive metal. No Dream Theater clones here. Thanks to the amazingly gifted voice of David Fremberg and the even more amazing guitar work of Johan Reinholdz, Andromeda have crafted a sound that is immediately recognisable as their own. Indeed you won't read any comparisons here. Andromeda stands alone, in their own corner of this ever expanding genre.

Chimera is certainly not as heavy or complex as the band's debut. That may be off-putting to some, but will probably be more attractive to a great number of people. It really is a natural, albeit slightly simpler version, of II=I. Slightly more accessible, slightly more melodic and, at the present time for me, slightly more enjoyable.

The opener, Periscope, leaves you with jaw dropping ever downwards, as it's one of the best song's the band has ever recorded - and will be a major contender for my favourite tracks of the year. From then on, the music just takes the listener to wonderful places - constantly moving, never stagnating. This is no musical ego trip but progressive metal with the song at its heart.

And if you splash out for the import - then you get the pleasant bonus of the instrumental track, Chameleon Carnival, captured live in concert.

I said this with their last album, and I'll say it again with this time around, Andromeda really should be one of the big players in the ProgMetal genre - equal in quality to the likes of Threshold, VandenPlas and Fates Warning. Hopefully the worldwide deal with Massacre will help them on the way. And if you're put off by the price of an import, then put the date of June 23 in your diary now! Awesome.

Tracklist: Periscope (6:11), In The End (4:58), The Hidden Riddle (5:51), Going Under (6:27), The Cage Of Me (7:08), No Guidelines (6:23), Inner Circle (7:03), Iskenderun (5:30), Blink Of An Eye (12:29) Bonus: Chameleon carnival - Live! (5:12)

American Folk-rock

En undersjanger av folk-rock, som også går under betegnelsen US folk. Amerikansk folkemusikk eller amerikanske folkeviser vokste frem rundt slutten av 1930-tallet.

Folkrock betegnelsen ble etablert når artistene tok i bruk elektriske instrumenter, og ble musikalsk inspirert av band som Beach Boys rundt midten av 1960-tallet. Sjangeren hadde sin storhetstid under hippiebevegelsen.

F.eks. artister som:

Joan Baez

Buffalo Springfield

The Byrds

Crosby, Stills and Nash

Donovan

Bob Dylan

Woody Guthrie

The Mamas & The Papas

Joni Mitchell

Peter, Paul & Mary

Pete Seeger

Simon & Garfunkel

Neil Young

osv.

AOR

Forkortelse for Album Oriented Rock, en undersjanger av rock som dukket opp eller hadde sin storhetstid ved begynnelsen av 1980-tallet. Forkortelsen kan også bety Adult Oriented Rock, som betegner samme fenomen.

Det startet med amerikanske FM radiostasjoner som spilte utvalgte låter av artister og band som ble kjent for sine gode album fremfor enkelte singel utgivelser. Generelt sett mainstream radio poprock, som gjerne har voksne lyttere.

Ved slutten av 1970 og begynnelsen av 1980-tallet kom også flere av de mer progressive band fra 70-tallet med karakteristiske AOR tendenser, eksempelvis ELP, Kansas og Yes.

Asia

Bad Company

Barclay James Harvest

Bon Jovi

Boston

Bryan Adams

Chicago

Duran Duran

Europe

FM

Foreigner

Honeymoon Suite

It Bites

Jefferson Starship

JoJo

Journey

Little River Band

Magnum

Mr. Mister

Pink Floyd

REO Speedwagon

Styx

Supertramp

Survivor

Toto

osv.

Age Of Nemesis

Psychogeist

I admire Queensrÿche, mostly enjoy the band’s work, and acknowledge their importance (and especially that of their Operation: Mindcrime album) to progressive metal. Why do I mention Queensrÿche as I begin a review of Age Of Nemesis? Because comparisons between the two bands (and between this album and Operation: Mindcrime) will inevitably be made. Both bands play powerful, inventive progressive metal; Age Of Nemesis’ singer, Zoltán Kiss, has a voice in many ways similar to that of Queensrÿche’s Geoff Tate; and both bands have recorded concept albums (in Age of Nemesis’s case, sort of a concept half-album) about the manipulation of innocent people by shadowy government forces. But I’m happy to say that Age of Nemesis not only survives that comparison but perhaps comes out on top.

Now, I’ll admit that Queensrÿche’s album was, at the time of its release (can it really be eighteen years ago?), groundbreaking; and I’ll further admit that Age Of Nemesis’s story is more particular and bizarre and thus less generally engaging than Queensrÿche’s. And with those admissions I’ll abandon for now the comparison and concentrate on this particular album. The first six songs constitute "The Psychogeist Story" – and, as I say, the story’s a weird one. Very briefly, it concerns a young boy from a broken family who’s raised in an unknown location by his doctor father. When the father dies, the mother finally locates the child, only to discover (eventually) that he’s been the subject of horrific medical experiments that have turned him into a “psychogeist.” As the extensive liner notes explain, he’s been “taught to step outside himself, to places independent of his body” and has thus become “a horrific weapon of unimaginable power.” Eventually, the mother persuades (or so she believes) the son to abandon his powers, his desire to kill those who harmed him, and his determination to kill himself as well.

Yes, this is gloomy stuff as well as odd. But it’s an ambitious idea, because it forces the band to try (I think successfully) to suit the music in the six pieces that make up “The Psychogeist Story” to the many twists and turns of the story. And again here the band’s link (and I’d say debt) to Queensrÿche can be clearly heard. The album’s superb production showcases all the instruments in turn, probably most noticeably the widely varied keyboards and the excellent guitars, the former courtesy of György Nagy and the latter of Zoltán Fábián. In fact, I can hardly praise Fábián more highly than to say that, before I read the liner notes, I’d assumed that the band had at least two guitarists. Nope: Fábián does it all, from deft shredding to soaring Strat-sounding leads to chunky riffs that put me in mind of nobody so much as Zakk Wylde.

But the virtuoso guitar work and those neat keyboards only contribute to the overall excellence of the album. The songs themselves (those that constitute “The Psychogeist Story,” the three other songs, and the two instrumental pieces) are all individually interesting, well-constructed, and melodic. I think my favourite song on this album is the weird Eye Of The Snake, which on its own fulfils the band’s promo letter’s promise of “an exotic Eastern vibe” with its minor harmonic leads and nearly-sitar-sounding guitar. Also excellent is the album-closing instrumental Awaking Minds, a lovely keyboard-and-guitar piece that nicely lightens the overall dark mood of the album. But there isn’t a weak song on the album, and that’s another of its many strengths.

But no album’s perfect, and this one has a few flaws. It goes on too long and (perhaps this is largely the same thing) is a bit too ambitious, especially in the case of the conceptual half of the CD. I’d have to say that the story is a bit much, melodramatic or portentous but not truly chilling (as, I think, Operation: Mindcrime’s story was). And, while I’m very hesitant to fault the band’s English (they’re Hungarian, and this is only their second English-language release after four in their native language), it’s probably an indication of the obscurity of the story that each song, beside the printed lyrics in the booklet, has a lengthy paragraph explaining those lyrics. While I’m one of those fans who love to read CD booklets – though, as my poor eyes age along with me, I long nostalgically for the much larger print we used to see on record sleeves! – I also believe firmly that an album should stand without explanation. And, frankly, the lyrics (themselves translations) really do need explaining.

Musically, though, for fans of progressive rock and especially of progressive metal, this album is a treat from beginning to end. Over six albums, the band has found its groove, and both the music and its execution are simply excellent. I happily recommend this album and look forward to more from Age Of Nemesis.

Tracklist: Fate’s Door (6:10), Grey Room (4:33), Faceless Enemy (4:56), Mommy’s Crying (6:33), Psychogeist (3:16), Breaking Away (7:53), Goddess Nemesis [Instrumental] (3:26), Eye Of The Snake (6:03), Karma (7:02), Abraxas (7:51), Awaking Minds [Instrumental] (2:36)

Amber Light

Stranger And Strangers

Wiesbaden's finest The Amber Light follow up their recommended debut album Goodbye To Dust, Farewell To Dawn with a four-track EP Stranger & Strangers. Continuing with their eclectic blend of musical genres, this latest disc is quite a diverse package. Opening number Softly There, Everywhere has a prominent bass line and recurring drum pattern that gives it a feel somewhat akin to early The Cure, although the guitar riff and smooth, yet plaintive, vocals make it somewhat less morose. Continuing with Still Going Nowhere, The Amber Light prove that progressive bands can run with a groove. This upbeat number is a fine mixture of engaging beat and chiming guitars. The juxtaposition of slower melody line with a faster tempo back beat works well resulting in a song that will get the feet of even the most reluctant dance floor participant tapping!

For better or worse, prog rock has become synonymous with songs of extended duration. This has sometimes resulted in tracks that are lengthened beyond their natural duration or containing one too many solos. This may be one of the reasons why progressive music is dismissed by the wider population as being self-indulgent and a forum for displays of technical ability with style overcoming content. The Amber Light succeed in their longer pieces by having an arrangement that keeps the listener actively engaged for the entire length. Stranger & Strangers is no exception. Closest in style and structure to the group's album, the song will undoubtedly be the main incentive for a lot of people to buy this release. And they will not be disappointed. Starting slowly, the song gradually builds from a brief vocal introduction leading to the extended instrumental section with keyboards and bass holding the song together and laying down a foundation for the guitar to provide the light and shade. No solos as such, but a heady mixture of crashing chords, feedback, arpeggiated riffs and more reflective and subdued sections. Sigur Ros comparisons are still valid in places but this is only a small part of the whole and is so integrated with the song that it almost renders the comparison redundant - the band have really defined their own sound.

Hide Inside rounds of the album and again shows a different side to the band. Recorded live for a German radio session in May of last year, the song is stripped back to basics performed on two acoustic guitars. This gives it a more immediate impact and focuses the attention on the vocals and lyrics largely hidden in the more frantic electric band version found on Goodbye To Dust, Farewell To Dawn. As with any good song, laying bare the basic elements should still result in a piece that stands up and, indeed, should reveal otherwise hidden nuances. Again The Amber Light succeed and, if anything, the acoustic version holds sway in the preference stakes over the electric version.

Stranger & Strangers is a worthy filler while we wait for the next full-length album (although when you think of it, the early albums by The Beatles and The Stones were of a similar length to this EP!!). However, 'filler' is entirely the wrong word to use as each of the songs on this release is worthy of inclusion on anyone's MP3 playlist. And one shouldn't just focus on the title track, great as it is. The other three tracks are well worthy of attention displaying the diverse nature of what I consider to be Germany's hottest band. Well worth a listen.

Tracklist: Softly There, Everywhere (4:20), Still Going Nowhere (3:29), Stranger & Strangers (14:27), Hide Inside (acoustic) (3:55)

Alex Carpani

Alex Enrico Carpani was born in Montreux (Switzerland) in 1970 of an Italian father and a French mother. At the age of 6 he gave clear signs of a particular inclination for music, starting playing electronic organ and taking his first lessons of solfeggio and music theory. Later he passed to piano and composition. He was gifted of an ear for music that his first music teachers defined "out of the ordinary", but his musical education has been mostly a self-taught one. He constantly refused to enter in a conservatorium and to follow an "academic" musical education. 

He took a graduation in Musicology at the University of Bologna, he specialized in "music for film" at the C.E.T. (a famous Italian school of music) in Central Italy, as well as in "sound engineering" with top Italian sound technicians at the Arte Scenica Foundation in Bologna. He's also been awarded in several Italian and international composition prizes.
From all these training and forming experiences, he acquired the tools and knowledge to become an indipendent artist and to be able to produce his own music, taking care of all the artistic and technical aspects of a project: composition, arrangment, recording, mastering, creation of the cd artwork, promotion via Internet (by his self-built site), etc.

Alex Carpani is a versatile composer and his repertory ranges from progressive rock to classical music, from electronic music to new age, from music for films/video to electro-jazz, from music & poetry to jazz-rock. The meeting with "Keith Emerson" at the age of 7 has been fundamental in his musical formation: Emerson's son Aaron was a classmate of Alex in his parents' college in Switzerland. From this moment, the progressive rock and the love for keyboards became part of his life, influencing his style and his following music experiences. 
In 1990, at the age of 20, he formed the instrumental duo Gemini with another keyboardist and composer, starting to compose intensely and in a continuous way. Gemini recorded two concept albums: "Polychromie" and "States of Mind from a Surrealist Existence" with a mix of new age, Renaissance melodies and ballads and progressive rock. The duo made also several concerts in italy in which music, videos, dance and scenographies were mixed together.

One of their pieces, "Gentle Ballad", has been included in a compilation LP distributed in Italy. Despite of the interest of the listeners and the producers, the duo disbanded in 1992 because of soloist projects that started to overlap, just before the recording of the third album, that remained unaccomplished. However, some tracks have been re-arranged by Alex Carpani and have been included in his first solo album "Hypothesis" in 1993. 

Later, the meeting with Mogol (the best Italian lyrics writer, author of Lucio Battisti's greatest hits) in 1994, when Alex has been selected to enter in Mogol's top level music career school, has been basic for him as well. There he studied with some great film composers and started writing symphonic and orchestral music.

From 2000 his attention has been mainly focused on the following genres: 
- Progressive rock: this genre has always influenced and inspired him, maybe because of the "magic" encounter he had with "Keith Emerson" when he was a child... In 2005 he signed a contract with Cypher Arts, an American indipendent label that will publish and distribute his prog albums.;

- Electronic music: he composed several electronic albums and has been performing multimedia concerts with fractal animations and slides; he also has been reviewed on the Italian electronic music webzine "21st Century Music" in 2004;
-Music & poetry: he composed a 3cds-trilogy inspired by the poems of Edoardo Sanguineti, one of the greates Italian living poets, and 2 albums inspired by the poems of Filippo Finardi, another Italian poet and writer; in both cases, the music has been composed starting from the recorded voice of the poet reading his poems;
- Music for theatre and multimedia: he composed the music for a multimedia theatre show called "Il Ritorno" (The Return) written by Filippo Finardi and represented in an historical theatre of Bologna, the music for the multimedia theatre show "Cerco un paese innocente" (Looking for an innocent country), directed by Sandra Cavallini and represented in Bologna,  the original soundtrack of a short film called "Passaggi" directed by Dario Marzola, the original soundtrack of a promotional DVD of CMAS (an international diving association), that has been distributed all over the world and the original soundtrack of a short film dedicated to the "Caritas" House of Piacenza, Italy, directed by Giorgia Scalia.

Alex Carpani lives in Bologna, a nice historical city of about 400.000 inhabitants in northern Italy. He speaks three languages (Italian, French and English) and has got a true passion for cinema, computer music, vintage synthesizers and modern & contemporary art. Besides being a composer he's the manager of the culture department in a municipality near Bologna.

Comments:

Perfect, amazing, great,  wonderful, marvelous and a pleasant Progressive Music come from Switzerland with an Italian spirit and, deserves all our attention. Influenced by the best and famous Italian bands from the seventies, the musical style retains the pure late 70s Progressive Rock, with touchs of the European Symphonic Prog Rock groups. We are talking about a complete musical orchestration including, elaborate arrangements of which consist of very tasteful intrumental. In fact, I´m talking about Alex Carpani, a versatile composer and keyboard player, the man behind some interesting musical projects and, one of them is "Waterline". The music on this album is rich, with a perfect balance of orchestral-driven sympho progressive instrumentals, playing by a collection of musicians with different experiences and many inspiration. Delightful guitar solos flows brilliantly into atmospheric keyboards sounds, complemented by melodic vocals from "Aldo Tagliapietra". The music from Alex Carpani remind me of "Genesis", "EL&P", "Gentle Giant", "Camel", "Le Orme", "Locanda Delle Fate", "Banco", "La Torre Dell'Alchimista", "CAP", "Il Castello Di Atlante", "Foglie Di Vetro", "Nuova Era", "La Maschera di Cera", and "PFM", in any moments. Listen carefully "The Siren And The Mariner", "The Levees' Break", "In The rocks", "Recalimed", "Agua Claro", "Starcurrents", "A Gathering Storm", "The Waterfall" and "Catch The Wave" you realize how many different passages of music they play on "Waterline". Brilliant and fantastic, highly recommendable...

The musicians on "Waterline" are:
Alex Carpani - Keyboards 
Aldo Tagliapietra - Vocals 
Dan Shapiro - Bass
Ken Jaquess - Bass
Neil Bettencourt - 
Drums
Tony Spada - Guitar
Lindsey Boullt - Guitar
Michel Sajrawy - Guitar
John Thomas - Guitar
Robert Wolfe - Guitar
Marc Pattison - Guitar
David Scott - Guitar
Shelley Doty - Guitar
Cory Wright - Sax And Flute
Beatrice Casagrande - Vocal On ‘the Siren And The Mariner'

The musicians on Alex Carpani band multimedia show are: Alex Carpani - Keyboards and Vocals
Ettore Salati - (former ‘The Watch’) Guitar
Maco Fabbri - Drums
Fabiano Spiga - Bass, Guitar and Singer

"Waterline"

01) The Siren And
......The Mariner
02) The Levees' Break
03) In The rocks
04) Recalimed 
05) Agua Claro
06) Starcurrents
07) Song Of The Pond
08) A Gathering Storm
09) The Waterfall
10) Catch The Wave
11) Prelude No. 2 In
......C Min. (BWV847)*
* composed by J.S. Bach, arranged by Alex Carpani

"Waterline" (c2003-2004) this album has been published in 2007 by the American label Cypher Arts.

Also, you can read more informations, and all about Alex Carpani recording process for all albums in, Alex Carpani´s MySpace Site.

After Forever

After Forever

The best Dutch rock band of this moment has finally released their finest album to date called After Forever, as it is a “compilation” of everything the band has done so far. The album has lots of atmosphere (Decipher), progressive aspects (Invisible Circles), catchy melodies (Remagine) and lots of power (Prison Of Desire). The new album is a splendid musical mix of pop, industrial, progressive, metal, classical and rock elements, perfectly produced by Gordon Groothedde. There are also some well-known guest appearances on the CD, namely Doro and Jeff Waters of Annihilator. The entire album is filled with heavy guitar riffs, killer grooves, keyboard layers, amazing melodies, but most of all with the fabulous, unbelievable voice of Floor. Her vocals are so crystal clear on this album that one wonders how this will sound on stage. Especially in brilliant songs like Cry With A Smile (an extraordinary ballad), the epic Dream Flight and the out of this world chill to the bone power ballad Empty Memories her golden voice enchants the listener.

But there is a lot more to enjoy on this album, take for example the up tempo song De-Energized with sparkling guitar solos of Mister Annihilator and Sander Gommans. Or the wonderful song Who I Am featuring the German metal lady Doro, a couple of really doomy riffs and some Eastern influences. Energize Me is the first single of the album and that one could well turn into a hit single as it has a really addictive chorus that will stay in your system for days to come…

However the musical highlight of this CD is without any doubt the longest track called Dream Flight, a song with lots of diversity. It is bombastic, you can enjoy grunts (not really my thing, but they fit in here nicely), the keyboards are very dominant, Bas Maas (the other guitar player) sings a couple of lines, and there is again the magical throat of Floor, giving me gooseflesh almost during the entire eleven minutes.

Need I say more, this album will become After Forever’s real musical breakthrough and that is well deserved after four studio albums and their tenth year anniversary. Buy or die!

Tracklist: Discord (4:36), Evoke (4:23), Transitory (3:28), Energize Me (3:09), Equally Destructive (3:31), Withering Time (4:31), De-Energized (5:09), Cry With A Smile (4:25), Envision (3:56), Who I Am (4:35), Dream Flight (11:08), Empty Memories (4:55)

After Forever

Mea Culpa

Review one

The Dutch symphonic metal band After Forever have been around now for 10 years and after working for Transmission Records for 6 years they decided to change record labels. This "farewell album" consists of the best tracks that After Forever recorded with Transmission. Among others there are songs with great musicians like Sharon den Adel, Arjen Lucassen, Damien Wilson en Marco Hietala. Furthermore the album features previously unreleased songs, non-album tracks, alternatives mixes, rarities and previously unreleased remixes, making this a special album for all the fans. The album is divided into two parts: Chapter 1 features the AF episode with guitar player/composer Mark Jansen and Chapter 2 contains all the songs that were recorded after Jansen left to form Epica.

"Mea Culpa", the Latin title refers to the Roman Catholic native region in the south of The Netherlands from which the band originates, is NOT the beginning of the end. On the contrary: this collection simply marks the end of the beginning!!

The artwork of the album is sheer magic, just check out the extensive 44 page booklet and you know what I mean.

For people who are not familiar with the CDMs Follow In The Cry (2000), Monolith Of Doubt (2002), Emphasis (2002), Exordium (2003), My Choice (2003), Digital Deceit (2004), Being Everyone (2005) and Two Sides (2006) this album is extra worthwhile as lots of songs from those albums are featured here. For die-hard fans there are only three "new" interesting pieces to discover: Life's Vortex (unreleased single version), Attendance (unreleased industrial remix) and a piano version of Strong taken from the SACD version of Remagine.

A fantastic album of an amazing band, only two misses, namely the covers Who Wants To Live Forever (Queen) and The Evil That Men Do (Iron Maiden).

Hopefully After Forever will release a lot of new and great albums in the near future, but for the moment you can enjoy this marvellous compilation!!!

Review two

The break up of After Forever and their record label Transmission is one that is subject to a number of explanations, and although there more than 40 pages in the CD booklet it does not give an explanation of the break-up. It simply states that this is the end of the beginning. In any case this is the closure of an era. This album contains an overview of six years of collaboration between Transmission and After Forever.

Before anything I need to get the following off my chest: this CD is copy protected and I hate that! I tend to rip my CDs to MP3 and put them on my iPod something that is made very hard by copy protected CDs. Next to that I archive my CDs with a tool that retrieves information from the internet. In fact most of the tracklists in reviews I copy and paste in stead of typing them myself. But not with this CD, the copy protection prevented that.

I must admit that the software that starts up once you insert the CD in the computer is pretty good. It shows album covers while playing the tracks, it does give the ability to create audio files for an iPod or even send MP3s to a friend. And it even gives the ability to copy it to a CD-R. It might seem strange this software does everything copy protection should prohibit but of course it does this on the terms of the software. So maybe this is one of the best copy protected CDs this far countering all the complaint people have about copy protection. Still I would just like the freedom of an "ordinary CD". Unfortunately stuff like this is probably needed to help copyright owners protect their property.

After this short side step we still have the music to discuss:

Compilations like this are probably only interesting if you use them to get to know the band or if the compilation itself contains new music. Looking at the tracklist of this album it is very suitable for getting to know the band, as it gives a great overview of their back catalogue and the most important songs have been included. Every stage of the band's development is addressed. If, like me, you already own most of the studio albums then this compilation also has about 15 new tracks in store, a very acceptable number (although some of them are of course different versions of known tracks). If you own the complete After Forever's back catalogue there is only three surprise on this album but then again a die hard fan would want to own this album just because it exists.

Mea Culpa is an A Cappella version of the first track on Prison Of Desire. So this album starts like most of the AF albums: with a choir. Follow In The Cry, Yield To Temptation and Silence From Afar are the same as the Prison Of Desire album version (but with a quality brush up). Wings Of Illusion can be found on the CDM Follow In The Cry, it is an excellent track that would not have been out of place on the afore mentioned Prison Of Desire, probably why it is the bonus track on some versions of this album. Beyond Me also taken from Prison Of Desire, like the album version, is a duet with Within Temptation's Sharon den Adel. Forlorn Hope is taken from the album Decipher. From the same period is For The Time Being which can be found on the CDM Monolith Of Doubt, which also on this compilation. Imperfect Tenses originally a duet with Within Temptation's Caspar de Jonge this version is done by Damian Wilson it is taken from the CDM Emphasis. It makes my realize again what a great voice Wilson has.

Intrinsic , Emphasis, My Pledge Of Allegiance all taken from Decipher but adding only the extra quality. Who Wants To Live Forever is of course a cover of the Queen song again with the excellent voice of Damian Wilson. The second CD starts chapter 2, the After Forever period without Mark Jansen (now Epica). First track is The Evil That Men Do, an Iron Maiden cover that can be found on Exordium but this version is 1,5 minutes shorter. Glorifying Means is also from Exordium, at that time a little disappointment first sign of life without Mark Jansen. My Choice and Beneath are from the same mini album but My Choice in a single version. Digital Deceit (single version) is taken from the first full album of the second era, Invisible Circles, and showed that After Forever could hold ground without Mark Jansen. Two Sides also a single spun-off from the same album. Sins Of Idealism , Eccentric and Blind Pain are taken from the CDM Digital Deceit. Life's Vortex is a previously unreleased single version of an track on the Invisible Circles album. Being Everyone is a track from Remagine, this is the single version. Face Your Demons is a duet with Nightwish's Marco Hietala just like Taste The Day and Live And Learn it can be found on the CDM Being Everyone. Boundaries Are Open is a single version of a Remagine track. Come is a track taken off the Remagine album. Attendance is a previously unreleased remix of a track from the same album. Strong is taken from the SACD version of Remagine.

Above track by track description should make you realize that there are no really new tracks or big surprises on this compilation. It does add some music to my collection that I personally did not own (a track like Wings Of Illusion is a welcome addition) but new or old, all tracks on this album are examples of the gothic/metal/progressive/rock mix that After Forever seems to hold patent to. If you passed several chances to get acquainted with After Forever then at least take this one. I am not too fond of compilation albums but must admit that this After Forever overview is certainly one of the better. Taking into account that the album is released by Transmission I was hoping for an SACD version but I will settle for this version, as it does deserve our DPRP recommended label.

Chapter 1: Mea Culpa (1:50), Follow In The Cry (4:04), Yield To Temptation (5:51), Silence From Afar (5:52), Wings Of Illusion (7:21), Beyond Me (6:11), Forlorn Hope (6:21), For The Time Being (5:04), Imperfect Tenses (4:09), Monolith Of Doubt (3:31), Intrinsic (6:53), Emphasis (4:17), My Pledge Of Allegiance #1 (6:26), Who Wants To Live Forever (4:47)

Chapter 2: The Evil That Men Do (3:18), Glorifying Means (5:00), My Choice (4:01), Beneath (4:52), Digital Deceit (4:07), Two Sides (3:15), Sins Of Idealism (4:10), Eccentric (4:35), Life's Vortex (4:35), Blind Pain (4:16), Being Everyone (3:08), Face Your Demons (4:57), Taste The Day (2:54), Boundaries Are Open (3:29), Come (5:04), Attendance (3:03), Live And Learn (4:23), Strong (3:41)

After Forever

Remagine

Review one

Since the departure of guitarist Mark Jansen (now, of course, with Epica) following 2001’s Decipher, After Forever appear to have streamlined their approach somewhat – the lead track on the next release, the EP Exordium, was a relatively mainstream ballad (My Choice), and whilst their next album, Invisible Circles, was a concept affair, it still saw the band, whilst hardly forsaking the bombast and symphonic approach of yore, at least marrying it to more conventional song structures. Inevitably that led to a mixed response from the fan base, many of whom were clearly disappointed with the more ‘mainstream’ approach the band had taken. It must be said that those fans are hardly likely to be placated with Remagine which, whilst certainly containing moments comparable to that which could be found on Prison Of Desire and Decipher, in the main takes the approach honed on Invisible Circles and runs with it. Unlike that album, this isn’t a concept affair, and this perhaps allows the band more freedom, and has arguably led to a release of greater stylistic variety.

Following the now-customary orchestral intro, which has a particularly dark feel thanks to a main keyboard melody which echoes that of the Exorcist theme, the opening track proper, Come is a good illustration of the band’s sound in 2005; there’s a typical, grandiose intro but when the guitars enter they have a sharp, modern buzz to them. Vocalist Floor Jansen’s delivery is controlled and classy on the verses, before soaring to higher places on the symphonic chorus. The mid-section of the song has a Middle-Eastern flavour to it, whilst there’s a strong vocal section where Floor goes into a vocal trade-off with the now-familiar After Forever Choir.

Whilst Come could be seen as having its foot in both the past and present After Forever sound, Boundaries Are Open has a much more straightforward approach, a strong catchy track with a memorable, spiralling lead riff, good chorus and convincing momentum – certainly one that has commercial potential. In contrast, Living Shields showcases the heavier side of the band, with Floor reaching well into her soprano range for the chorus, whilst guitarist Sander Gommans' exercises his love-it-or-hate-it vocal growls during the verse sections. The riffs here are pleasingly weighty, bearing some similarity to Master Of Puppets-era Metallica.

Being Everyone is a grandiose but easily accessible track, building from a slow-paced verse, through a somewhat eighties-style hard rock bridge section to a big, bombastic chorus. Attendance keeps the pace at pedestrian level; it’s a slightly odd track, which grinds along to a rather clunky, almost industrial rhythm. Not my favourite piece on the album, but its enlivened by a strong choral vocal section towards its end. Free Of Doubt, meanwhile, is probably one of the few tracks which would have sat easily on their earlier releases. Its perhaps a little more simplistic than Decipher-era work, but is still in that vein. Only Everything is the album’s obvious ‘epic’, a grandiose track which sees the band covering all bases of their sound, from the balladic opening to a trade-off vocal section between Floor and Sander, and encompassing plenty of tricky tempo and mood changes. I’d imagine those fans pining for a return to the band’s earlier sound will be at least a little placated by this song.

Strong lets listeners take a quick breather, as it’s the (almost obligatory) ballad on the album, and a good one at that, quite poignant, with Floor’s vocals at their best. Keyboardist Joost van den Broek gets a good church organ-like sound out of his keyboards which suits the track, and there’s a very strong melodic guitar solo. Face Your Demons sees the band back playing up-tempo, aggressive metal, with Floor’s vocals displaying a convincingly ‘evil’ side. Following strong verses, the chorus is a bit weak, and the sound a Floor producing a very ‘nu-metal’ vocal style in the latter part of the track may not go down too well with some of the band’s traditional fan base!

No Control keeps the heaviness, and is distinguished by the fact that vocals are handled by Bas Maas and Sander Gommans, with no Floor; a pity, as her voice would have fitted the song well and improved it considerably. The album concludes with Forever, a symphonic piece which, musically, edges into Kamelot territory, especially on the lengthy introduction, with its sweeping keyboards and Middle-Eastern flourishes. It’s a reasonably strong way to close out what is a reasonably strong album. Personally I think it’s a little below the standard of Invisible Circles, and as I’ve previously said will doubtless not go down well with some fans of the band’s earlier work; then again, the music’s directness and accessibility may see them attract a new generation of fans weaned on the likes of Evanescence and Nightwish (I imagine that’s the hope anyway). Certainly worthy of investigation for fans of the scene, even if you’re new to the band. I just hope the awful cover doesn’t put too many potential purchasers off!

Review two

From their founding onwards After Forever have always been a steady factor in Gothic Metal, yet they never really succeeded to break through to a larger public (the way e.g. Within Temptation and Nightwish did) I think this is totally undeserved as After Forever scores high on originality and musicality. This new offering is very much proof of that. While they are not really leaving their Gothic roots behind, After Forever has certainly moved on. Feeding the doubt whether the label for this band should be Gothic Metal or Progressive Metal, this new album is a large step towards the latter. Not in the least because there is much more of a keyboard sound, and this keyboard orientation is not a real surprise as former Sun Caged member Joost van den Broek joined After Forever. The booklet states that together with Floor Jansen and Sander Gommans he had a large say in the music of this album. But part of the band's change can also be accounted to Floor Jansen vocals: she does not only do opera-like soprano.

The band did not have an easy time before the release of this album, of course keyboard player Lando van Gils left, but more importantly their drummer André Borgman fell seriously ill. This was at the time the album was supposed to be recorded but still they could make use of his pre-production work. Borgman is now touring with the band again so hopefully this means he is fully recovered.

There are some pleasant surprises on this album, they are the reason for pronouncing this album a shift towards prog metal. It is of course something that already started in their previous album Invisible Circles. But tracks like Being Everyone (a keyboard melody), Attendance (electronic drums) and Strong (almost Dream Theater like guitars) are not found on previous After Forever albums, and even the name Lacuna Coil pops-up every now and then while listening to this album. After Forever did not do a 180 degrees turn of style, they are still a very guitar oriented band and are still not satisfying people that have been asking for more guitar solos, but much melody and solos can be found in the keyboard parts. And of course in Floor's voice - tracks one can easily recognize as After Forever tracks are also there (Living Shields, Free Of Doubt), they are good but to me less interesting.

There is something about this album that I really don't like: the cover. Luckily After Forever got rid of the tight glittering suits of the previous release but the photograph with Floor in front, with her hair all strange over her head, the rest of the band standing/sitting behind her doesn't do anything for me.

The DVD that comes with the special edition shows a band in the studio, having fun, goofing off and being disappointed when things go wrong, but it struck me how young this band still is - I had never realized that before. The DVD is nice enough, and does have a 5.1 sound track, but does not really win me over enough to the buy the special edition, especially because the other version of the album is a SACD. Transmission has already released a number of SACD's and I can only applaud them for taking this 'new' medium so seriously. Of course it is a hybrid CD which means that it can also be played on "normal" CD player.

The SACD mix sounds quite cool but as soon as Floor starts to do "her opera voice" it becomes a bit hollow - as if they were recorded in a bathroom. At first I thought it was my system because I do not have a subwoofer, but all the other music on this album sounds good, so probably this is the way it is intended.

This new release shows After Forever is progressing without losing their identity. The new things I hear sound very very interesting. Still this is not their best release but it is a good album. Within a Gothic scene that is getting a bit overcrowded with much the same sounds, it is good that After Forever is evolving. In my opinion they could have made a larger step, but maybe it would be too much too soon. Anyway, not only does this album show the promise of After Forever's future but they show once again that they deserve their spot in the higher regions of prog metal (or was it Gothic)?

Tracklist: Enter (1:06), Come (5:02), Boundaries Are Open (3:44), Living Shields (4:11), Being Everyone (3:37), Attendance (3:27), Free Of Doubt (4:40), Only Everything (6:33), Strong (3:38), Face Your Demons (4:57), No Control (3:17), Forever (5:10)

After Forever

Digital Receit

If you look at the total time of this CD-single you would expect it to be filled with music. While there are the standard four musical tracks a large part of this disc is filled by Irene Janssen interviewing two of the bands members. It is a nice interview. And in my opinion that's exactly what's wrong with it: you learn at what age they started playing guitar/drums and what they like most of playing in After Forever but not one of the questions really matters, it's all nice. Maybe it is caused by Irene's involvement with the band (Floor Janssen is her sister). I would have liked to know how they look back at Mark Jansen departure, what they think of Epica and how they hate those questions. But maybe they are fed up with these questions because they must have been asked over and over again.

As for the music: the tracks on this disc are what one should expect from After Forever and for those of you in possession of the album Invisible Circles there are no surprises on this single. All of the tracks are previously unreleased but are not really far from the originals. Digital Deceit and Sins Of Idealism are single versions which means they are a bit shorter than the album version. On the album Eccentric is a real intimate track on this single an orchestral version can be found, while it is nicely done and some instruments work really well, I personally like the album version better mainly because it is even more of a showcase to Floor's voice. Track four is a version of Blind Pain labelled "Aggressive Version" and it is more, well, aggressive.

All in all a nice single, nice to get acquainted with After Forever. For real fans it is just another item that just has to be in their collection. And for people like me, that already know After Forever, this single is just another CD-single. It does not have much added value, decide for yourself if you want to spend your buck on it.

Tracklist: Digital Deceit (Single Version) (04:08), Eccentric (Orchestral Version) (04:36), Sins Of Idealism (Single Version) (04:12), Blind Pain (Aggressive Version) (04:20), Interview (09:50)

After Forever

Invisible Circles

Review one

In my previous After Forever review (of Exordium I ended assuring fans that After Forever still had it. In that same review I worded the hope that a full album would soon follow. This hope has now been fulfilled by this album. And it was well worth the wait. Much has been said on the departure of Mark Jansen (who then started Epica) and because of that you tend to forget that 5 of the original members are still there. On this album the six piece band from The Netherlands show that they are still true to their roots and this album fits perfectly to the line set out from the very start. My hope is that not only old fans will embrace this album but that it will also attract new ones. The album certainly deserves it.

I my previous review I also made a remark on Floor Jansen's singing that I now largely regret. One of the most stunning features of this album is her voice, and this time I like it, in all it's facets, be it soprano or be it otherwise. Oh man, does this lady have an amazing voice. Just listen to Eccentric and you will know what I mean.

Many times After Forever is used as a good example of Gothic music and therefore it's a pity that they did not really profit from the increased popularity of this genre like other bands did. In my opinion this might be because After Forever is so much more than just 'Gothic'. After Forever is just, well, After Forever. A mix of many genres but most appealing to me: it is heavy music that has a firm body without only being a wall of loud and heavy sounds/screams. It has a lot of complexity and melody without being all polished and slick. In fact After Forever is one of the few bands that uses grunts in such a way that I can not only accept it but even like it at times.

This album tells the story of a child that was not exactly welcome because her parents were so busy with themselves. You are led in this story by the child writing in her diary. Most of the story is of course expressed in music and lyrics but some parts are conveyed by (long) dialogs between the parents and that to me is the only negative aspect of this album. They could have done without these dialogs, for one they slow down the pace of the album too much and it is as if the album's story is force fed. At times I find the lyrics a bit too simple and corny but then other pieces are very powerful.

Musically it took me no time at all to appreciate this album, from the first time I heard the children's music in the introduction I was sold. And, as said, the vocals on this album are better than ever before. Although the music is very recognizably After Forever, it does not mean they have copied all of their previous albums in this one. I especially like the tracks Sins Of Idealism because of the superb guitar solo's and vocals, Eccentric although it might be called the obligatory ballad it is much to good to wave it off like that, Digital Deceit because of the built up from heavy bombastic short guitar loops to soft and mellow, Life's Vortex because of the use of strings and keyboards.

After Forever is highly appreciated by a somewhat select group of people. They have played a number of larger festivals but still a lot of people have never heard of them. Of course their group of followers is growing, but a band that is able to release albums with such consistent quality should finally get the appreciation they deserve. I can only do my part in that and recommend this album.

Review two

In 2001 After Forever released their brilliant album Decipher. That album is three years old now and a lot has happened since then; Mark left the band to form Epica and Bas Maas replaced him. Before this album came out After Forever released a mini-album called Exordium and on this album it was clear that the musical development of After Forever was still growing.

This new album shows that After Forever is no longer a gothic metal band anymore; they have really chosen for the metal side of music on Invisible Circles. So for the die-hard fans that loved the previous album this one is rather a bit “weird”. You really have to get used to this album, which means that you have to listen to it a lot to truly appreciate it. Sander, guitar player, composer and grunter describes their music on the new CD as the new wave of Dutch heavy metal, which means that the bombastic choir and orchestral passages, as on Decipher, belong to the past. Furthermore it is a concept album and it deals with the daily problems of a modern family, seen through the eyes of a child.

Right from the start After Forever hits you in the face with heavy guitar riffs, howling keyboard parts, beautiful vocals by Floor and mysterious grunting by Sander, as for example in the first real song (after the intro Childhood In Minor) Beautiful Emptiness. However as I am not a real fan of grunting I rather prefer Eccentric, a superb piano ballad, beautifully sung by Floor. Digital Deceit, a very diverse, almost power metal like song with typical hooks and guitar riffs. Or the third grunt-free song Life’s Vortex, a track with orchestral parts, very bombastic and dramatic, an example of how good prog metal should sound like. Together with Reflections, Life’s Vortex belongs to my favourite tracks on this album. Reflections begins as a piano ballad, but then it evolves into a heavy song with extreme high vocals by Floor, especially the chorus sounds like an opera aria. On this CD it is evident that the voice of Floor is even more “dominant” than on the previous albums, but it is also clear that the music has changed from gothic metal to darker, heavier, powerful metal.

I truly believe that After Forever will “reach” more people with the kind of music they are displaying on this album, which not means that you could call them more commercial now. As I said before it is an album that needs some time to really enjoy, but then you will agree with me that this is one of the best Dutch metal albums ever. The only two things I do not like on this CD are the soap-like conversations at the end of Between Love And Fire and Blind Pain and the grunting of Sander. If every song on this CD would be grunt less I certainly would have given it 9 points or maybe even 9.5…… But there is no accounting for taste!!

Review three

The mini-album Exordium which appeared last year served as a reminder that After Forever were still very much alive after having lost a key member the year before, but it was this, their new full length studio album, that I have been looking forward to with most relish. Its predecessor Decipher was my pick for best album of 2001, and my expectations were pretty high.

The first time I heard Invisible Circles I was working late at the office. For the first twenty minutes I wasn't able to do much work because I couldn't stop jumping up from my chair every other minute and exclaim "this is friggin' great!". And it is: I can safely say that the suite consisting of the first five songs on the album is the best After Forever have ever done. Varied, with exciting dual rhythm guitar, tasteful keyboard accompaniment, and great riffing.

There are moments of utter brilliance here, like in Between Love and Fire, where the song is picked up after a brief narrative interlude with a three way vocal: soprano, grunts, and clear vocals, courtesy of Floor Jansen, Sander Gommans and Bas Maas. With the latter After Forever have not only found a replacement guitarist, but an additional vocalist as well, which is quite a revelation. He does great, especially in offsetting the other two vocalists, which works very well. I wouldn't mind After Forever using this song element more often.

But the band's (f)(v)ocal point remains Floor Jansen, and she's at her emotive best here. Of special mention is Sins of Idealism where she shows the incredible range of her voice in a heartrending cry which cannot fail to send shivers down the spine even of someone who's been dead and buried for three days.

This first phase of the album is closed by the gentle piano/vocal piece Eccentric, which gives the listener some much needed respite after the preceding emotionally draining tracks. What follows is really a mixed bag. With Through Square Eyes (nice vocal duel between Floor and Sander) and the orchestra heavy Digital Deceit the band manages to come close to reaching the high standard set by the first songs on the album.

Victim of Choices and Blind Pain on the other hand are rather forgettable, with the latter suffering from the inclusion of a lengthy stretch of spoken text, which becomes annoying on repeated listening. Two Sides features fast synthesizer noodling courtesy of ivory tinkler Lando van Gils, and a second vocal spot for Bas Maas. Reflections reintroduces a theme from Between Love and Fire and features nothing less than a guitar solo, a rarity in After Forever's work.

Invisible Circles peaks one more time with the fantastic closer Life's Vortex: a rising crescendo of guitars, strings, church organ and emotive vocals, leading into an operatic interlude with choir, before climaxing and trailing off rather ominously with a gargling sound similar to the one that started the album: these circles may be invisible, but they are not silent.

To conclude: a worthy album, its lesser moments more than compensated by the brilliance of especially the first quartet of tracks. Therefore, with 9.5 points for the first half and 7 points for the second half, this makes for a grade of 8 points and a big fat recommended tag.

Review four

I must be honest in saying that at the turn of the year, Invisible Circles was firmly at the top of my list of new releases that I was looking forward to hearing in 2004. Despite my disappointment with the Exordium release, I was hoping that given a full length release, the band would deliver a worthy follow-up to Decipher, but even 2 months or so after its release, and many spins, I still can’t quite come to terms with this disk.

Invisible Circles is a concept album, a format that is still quite popular in these times, yet it is a concept album written from the female perspective and from that of a young girl - an unusual point of view - at least in the world of Prog Metal, though any one who has experienced problems in matching up to their parent’s expectations will find something here that they can relate to. My main source of dissatisfaction is however the music.

The disk opens with the sounds of the schoolyard and a brief overture before the whole band make their entrance in Beautiful Emptiness. During the more tranquil passages the voice of Floor Jansen, generally playing the role of the child, sings of her plight as a child who is but an annoying presence that her career-obsessed parents prefer to ignore. Sander Gommans’s growling voice is used to represent the child’s anger at her mistreatment as well as playing the role of the Father figure but this is confusing at first and one has to refer to the detailed notes and lyrics in the booklet in order to work out exactly what is happening and which voice is playing which role.

The arguing between the child’s parents is played out during Between Love and Fire and is dramatised with the first of two major clashes between Amanda Somerville (as the mother) and Jay Lansford (as the Father). While not being the sort of acting that Oscars are made of, the words of their argument reveal the story to those listeners who have not followed the scene-setting up to this point. Introducing such spoken word sections is always a tricky thing and while it works well on the first couple of listens, it does become a real distraction after several spins. The voice of Jay Lansbury is a familiar one to those who have albums from Rhapsody, Aina etc where his voice adds the necessary cheese and pomposity required. Here however, we have serious subject matter and his voice and acting does not carry the gravitas necessary to make it all believable.

The following series of tunes have the child trying to please her parents but always falling short, eventually taking solace in the world of television, video games and an online world of her own creation, in which she is a "queen". Eccentric, which has Floor singing with just piano for accompaniment is the best of the bunch, freed as it is from the heavy and rather boring repeated motifs that link many of the songs. In fact the heavy pounding bits feature a guitar sound that becomes increasingly annoying as the disk progresses and the riff that appears repeatedly, does so to the detriment of some otherwise promising tunes.

Blind Pain is perhaps the most dramatic song on the album with the rage of the child rising once more and the riffs and vocals becoming even more brutal, especially when set alongside the contemplative passages. The second of the lengthy spoken passages closes the track and is even more dramatic than the first. It is also all the more disturbing, as one can hear the breathing of the child above her parents’ arguing voices. Unfortunately the dialogue is a little stilted and it comes off as slightly unconvincing, becoming more annoying with each subsequent spin.

Fortunately the final third of the disk is the most satisfying and positive part. In Two Sides the child begins to see that she is in danger of seeing history repeating itself, a point that is made even more clear during Victim of Choices as her grandmother warns her father about the effect his treatment of his daughter is having on her, comparing it with the mistake she herself made during his upbringing. Then we have the delightful Reflections, which is probably the highlight of the disk, the orchestra, the keyboards and Floor’s voice all being used to perfection. If only the rest of the disk was as good as this track. Yet, after the slight uplift in mood, the final track Life’s Vortex leaves the listening whether the whole process is going repeat as the child herself becomes a mother 10 years further on.

While I admire the fact that After Forever have tried very hard to do something a little out of the ordinary, I have to say that I do not find it a very satisfying disk to listen to. Vocally Floor Jansen seems to go from strength to strength and her performance here is powerful, dramatic and very impressive overall, not matter how she chooses to sing. The music unfortunately does not match up and both in the guitar department and in terms of compositional variety the band do miss the departed Mark Jansen. There is a dourness to the music which gives it a heavy feel that is lifted only briefly during Reflections and one or two passages elsewhere. After the shock of the first listen I wasn’t sure that I could bear to play the disk again. However it has become a little more palatable over the course of a further 10 spins, but even so, this will never become a disk that I’ll listen to for pleasure. Hard going.

Review five

Since the release of their last full-length album, Decipher, in 2001, there have been many changes to the musical sphere in which After Forever operate, both internally and externally. Within the band there have been line-up changes, not least the departure of guitarist and key songwriter Mark Jansen (to form a new outfit, Epica). Meanwhile, the whole female-fronted gothic/ symphonic/ progressive metal scene has taken a leap forward in popularity, with Evanescence cornering the mainstream side of the market, and acts like Nightwish and Lacuna Coil rapidly gaining in popularity. After Forever are currently popular in the low countries, but still relatively unknown elsewhere – therefore quite a lot is riding on Invisible Circles.

To be honest the stop-gap EP Exordium offered up more questions than answers – the material seemed to be taking a more ‘conventional’ turn, with a decided lessening of the orchestral bombast the band were known for. In addition, the band included a couple of covers, making it difficult to judge the effect of losing a key member such as Mark Jansen.

On first listen, Invisible Circles came as something of a surprise – quite the opposite from going in a different direction, it is in fact every bit as bombastic and majestic as before – in fact more so! All the main elements associated with the After Forever sound – strong, powerful guitar riffs, soaring strings, choirs, symphonic synths, the use of ‘grunts and screams’ – are present and correct, and turned up to 11 on this release. On top of all this, of course, is the stunning soprano vocals on Floor Jansen, and I can tell you that on Invisible Circles she has never sounded better; whilst on Exordium she seemed to be refining her range, here there seem to be no limits to where her voice will go, and she maintains a fine command over it at all times, knowing when to reign things in and when to let go. Without question, Floor Jansen establishes herself beyond doubt here as one of, if not the, best vocalists in the genre.

Of course, all this is well and good, but would be meaningless if the songs weren’t up to scratch. Thankfully, the loss of Mark Jansen doesn’t seem to have had a particularly detrimental effect on the band’s song-writing abilities, and the majority of the tracks on this album work very well indeed. The band have gone for a concept album on this occasion (the not particularly upbeat reminiscences of a child growing up, neglected by her parents and taunted at school, who retreats into her own world and confides her thoughts to her ‘diary’) and this concept holds together very well, seemingly giving the band some focus. There’s a good range of material on offer here, with stately mid-tempo affairs (opening track proper Beautiful Emptiness, the epic closer Life’s Vortex), powerful, aggressive numbers (Sins of Idealism, Victim Of Choices) and strong, emotional balladry (the excellent piano and voice effort Eccentric is a highlight, whilst Reflections makes excellent use of the string section).

The album isn’t beyond criticism, however. Two things in particular grated on me a little. Firstly are the two spoken interludes, where the ‘mother’ and ‘father’ engage in arguments, firstly about the merits of having a child, and later about how annoying she is. These simply don’t work – although short, they completely disrupt the flow of the album – especially the first break, which comes slap bang in the middle of the raging Between Love And Fire. In addition, I found the male voice very annoying indeed, and its’ hard to resist the urge to skip the CD forward at these points. Secondly, the use of grunting male vocals (courtesy of guitarist Sander Gommans) is very heavy in this album, and I think overused. Sure, at times its effective (especially on the more aggressive tracks) but at other times it seems inappropriate (in particular when Gommans’ takes the lead on Blind Pain) and besides the overuse blunts its impact. Personally I’d have preferred the band to use more ‘clean’ male vocals on the album as a counterpoint to Floor’s singing – these are used (presumably courtesy of second guitarist Bas Maas, whose credited with ‘vocals’) but very sparingly compared to the grunts.

Overall, this is a strong album, and certainly better than I expected following Exordium. Whether it will take them to the next level, or is actually better than either of their previous efforts (or indeed Epica’s The Phantom Agony) is a moot point, but then we are comparing strong albums against each other here. Suffice to say, existing fans will certainly want this, whilst it is also a decent starting point for the uninitiated.

Tracklist: Childhood In Minor (1:20), Beautiful Emptiness (5:25), Between Love And Fire (4:56), Sins Of Idealism (5:22), Eccentric (4:10), Digital Deceit (5:38), Through Square Eyes (6:23), Blind Pain (6:47), Two Sides (4:34), Victim Of Choices (3:21), Reflections (5:11), Life's Vortex (5:53)

After Forever

Exordium

Review one

What do you do when one of the principal songwriters in your band decides to leave? You either try to reinvent yourself or stay true to your chosen course. And judging from this first new offering since the departure of Mark Jansen last year, After Forever have largely chosen the second option. Because while only two of the songs on this six track mini-album bear the After Forever trademark established so succesfully on the preceding two full length albums Prison of Desire and Decipher, the other four are more the odd ones out (or odd four out, if you want) than that they establish a pattern.

Beneath, the first proper song on the album, falls into the first category: the use of breaks, the guitars and bass that provide the body and the keys and vocals that provide the melody, and the use of strings are characteristics strongly reminiscent of the Decipher album. The inspiration for the first few seconds of Glorifying Means seems to have been Nightwish, who After Forever supported on their European tour last year. This opening could however not be more deceptive because what follows would knock Tarja and her cohorts of their socks. This is by far the heaviest track on the album, owing in no small part to Gommans' grunts. The first odd one out is opener Line of Thoughts. Musically in the tradition of Metallica's The Call of Ktulu, this short instrumental is a sort of synopsis of the album, consisting of pieces of the other songs. My Choice is a ballad in which the rhythm guitars have mostly made place for the acoustic variety. The string section that again assists After Forever play a more significant role here.

The final two songs on the albums are covers. The inclusion of Iron Maiden's The Evil That Men Do (from this reviewer's favourite Maiden album Seventh Son of a Seventh Son) is not very surprising, as this rocker has been an After Forever concert staple for some time now. This rendition is very close to the original, with the vocals being the least similar, which also is not very surprising, as Bruce Dickinson may sing high but he's not a woman! The second cover is rather shockingly the cloyingly sweet One Day I'll Fly Away. An odd choice, but it actually works pretty well. And I guess the fade out at the end of the song is an ode to the days when the original version of this song was recorded and this awful practice was still in vogue!

Also included in this beautifully packaged release is a DVD, which is appropriately called Insights as it contains two behind-the-scenes featurettes, one covering the recording of this mini album, and the other the shooting of the My Choice video clip. These featurettes are more a collection of glances at a day in the life of After Forever than a documentary on the recording process, so they are for entertainment only. The aforementioned My Choice video is of course included, and is a worthy effort. It sees singer Floor Jansen exploring an old building (the Gevangenpoort in The Hague) in a very tight outfit (it sells, I guess) interspersed with shots of the band performing on stage. Extras include a live version of The Evil that Men Do and a number of photo galleries, of which the one containing pictures taken at Dutch TV programme Kopspijkers is hilarious.

In conclusion: Exordium is the introduction of a concept that will be more fully explored on the band's forthcoming third full length album. In the mean time, After Forever have proven that they can do very well without Mark Jansen, as this is a well produced effort. Even so, listeners unfamilair with the work of this Dutch band are recommended to pick up Decipher first. If you're already a fan, add another half point to the score below: this is obligatory fare for you!

Review two

Dutch band After Forever have, in their short career, already carved out a niche for themselves as quality exponents of symphonic, progressive metal, and in vocalist Floor Jansen have something of a secret weapon – a versatile singer capable of outstanding range and power. The band are already well known in their homeland, so I imagine that this EP has dual purposes; to tide their loyal fanbase over until the next full length album, and to serve as a ‘taster’ to those yet to discover the band.

Effectively what we have here are three original tracks (Line of Thought really being an extended intro to Beneath) and two cover versions. Of the originals, both Beneath and Glorifying Means are good examples of the band’s fairly unique fusion of the power of heavy metal with the dynamics of classical music. Beneath is probably the stronger song, with a well-worked structure, nice changes in pace and mood, a strong chorus and memorable melodies. Glorifying Means is, however, perhaps a more typical After Forever track, in the vein of the material from their debut album Prison Of Desire – here, the band go for the patented ‘beauty and the beast’ vocal style (i.e. a guy delivers death-metal style growls while the female provides the ‘clean’ vocals), and singer Floor Jansen reaches the high notes usually only attained by opera singers, providing a good demonstration of why she’s so highly rated in