De Boerderij, Zoetermeer, NetherlandsApril 29th 2005
After Forever and NovAct
It was 29th of May; 17.30 o’clock when André decided that he was feeling good enough to join me to the After Forever gig in Zoetermeer. After a couple of phone calls and cheerful laughter of Bas on the phone we had arranged that we could get in. Only we were a bit too late to see After Forever’s new support act NovAct.
NovAct
After Forever’s new support act is called NovAct. The band is formerly known as Morgana-X. They describe themselves as Powerful, refreshing, intense. And that’s absolutely true. Unfortunately we arrived too late to see or hear anything form NovAct, but I have seen them twice before. NovAct stands for experimental and progressive rock music played very well, combined with atypical yet atmospheric vocals. This band is really worth seeing and I think we will be hearing more of them in future times.
After Forever
After Forever was formed in 1995, their music was mostly death metal orientated with classical influences. When Floor Jansen joined the band (1997), the music got more diverse but always contained metal elements. After making 3 albums and a mini album, After Forever has hit the studios again to record their 4th album, which will be called ‘Remagine’. This album will be released in September this year.
Music
When speaking to Sander (grunts/guitar) on the phone that afternoon he already announced me that he wasn’t feeling very well. Unluckily it didn’t turn out very well for Sander and he had to leave the stage after ‘Pledge of Alliance 1’. Floor (vocals) took over very well by playing an adjusted setlist where they mostly played songs without grunts. A couple of old songs were added to the set like ‘Forlorn Hope’ and ‘Monolith of Doubt’. When playing ‘The Evil That Men Do’ the crowd got wild and sang along with their favourite cover. Ending with the old-time ‘Follow in the Cry’ Floor asked someone in the crowd to join them on stage and grunt along. In the end it was Rinus, one of After Forever’s biggest fans, who took over the grunts from Sander. Rinus, you were awesome! Even though there was only one guitarist left, the sound was still doable. Bas (second guitarist) took over Sander’s parts very well without making too many mistakes.
When speaking to Sander (grunts/guitar) on the phone that afternoon he already announced me that he wasn’t feeling very well. Unluckily it didn’t turn out very well for Sander and he had to leave the stage after ‘Pledge of Alliance 1’. Floor (vocals) took over very well by playing an adjusted setlist where they mostly played songs without grunts. A couple of old songs were added to the set like ‘Forlorn Hope’ and ‘Monolith of Doubt’. When playing ‘The Evil That Men Do’ the crowd got wild and sang along with their favourite cover. Ending with the old-time ‘Follow in the Cry’ Floor asked someone in the crowd to join them on stage and grunt along. In the end it was Rinus, one of After Forever’s biggest fans, who took over the grunts from Sander. Rinus, you were awesome! Even though there was only one guitarist left, the sound was still doable. Bas (second guitarist) took over Sander’s parts very well without making too many mistakes.
Performance
As you all know After Forever’s drummer André has been suffering from cancer for three months now. He has been replaced for the time being by Koen Herfst. The morning of the concert André and I went to the hospital for a scan of the lungs. The photo’s turned out almost clean and André happily announced this to the band that afternoon. After ‘Beautiful Emptiness’ Floor informed the audience about André’s physical state and the crowd went wild! It was a very emotional moment and you could really sense the emotion on Floor’s face and voice.
Despite the fact that Sander had to leave the stage soon after the show started, you could really see the band was enjoying themselves with the fans. Bas (guitars) was moving around and making faces and Joost was as turbulent as ever during ‘Two Sides’ when he plays the keytar (portable keyboard).
Too bad was the fact that the lights weren’t very good. Many times there was only front light and too much smoke in the back, which made Joost and Koen almost invisible on stage.
As you all know After Forever’s drummer André has been suffering from cancer for three months now. He has been replaced for the time being by Koen Herfst. The morning of the concert André and I went to the hospital for a scan of the lungs. The photo’s turned out almost clean and André happily announced this to the band that afternoon. After ‘Beautiful Emptiness’ Floor informed the audience about André’s physical state and the crowd went wild! It was a very emotional moment and you could really sense the emotion on Floor’s face and voice.
Despite the fact that Sander had to leave the stage soon after the show started, you could really see the band was enjoying themselves with the fans. Bas (guitars) was moving around and making faces and Joost was as turbulent as ever during ‘Two Sides’ when he plays the keytar (portable keyboard).
Too bad was the fact that the lights weren’t very good. Many times there was only front light and too much smoke in the back, which made Joost and Koen almost invisible on stage.
We hope to see the band at full strength very soon…
Rating
Music 8
Performance 8
Sound 7
Light 6
Total 7
Music 8
Performance 8
Sound 7
Light 6
Total 7
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