Review Summary: dumping a massive crap in the toilet, ReVamp idiotically left without flushing.
It was tragic when the esteemed gothic metal band After Forever called it quits. The band was the best that gothic metal had to offer at the time, there were no comparable bands. So when the fan boys found out what happened after forever ended for the popular band, the only hope was for the lead singer, Floor Jansen, to release a solo album. Her vocals were superb when attached to her former band, so it seemed perfectly reasonable for her possible solo album to be just as good as anything from After Forever. Of course, nothing would be as good as the original band, but at least the fans had hope. Then hope turned to feverish excitement when ReVamp’s debut hit the ears of the eager public. Then the public realized that the band had taken a hammer and smashed their ears to pieces with it.
ReVamp is essentially an extension of After Forever, with virtually no differences except that ReVamp is worse. For crying out loud, even their logo is the same logo as After Forever’s but with a minor tweak. Nothing about this release is new or exciting, it’s the same gothic metal as before, and it feels like the band is just going through the motions. Even the lead singer, Floor Jansen, sounds bored and uninspired, halfheartedly throwing out the thinnest vocals of her career. As such, no matter how technically proficient the guitars are, or how chaotic the drums get, they somehow lack punch. The recording quality of the album is partly to blame, as it is surprisingly unclear, so there is much ruining the album. The potential is here, but the power isn’t.
After Forever’s final album wasn’t exactly groundbreaking, but it was executed flawlessly, and simply because of its incredible execution, it was an album to remember. In ReVamp’s album, the same style is collected, but that’s all that is done with the collection. It lies on the shelf, scattered pieces of what could be built into something special (or at least neat), but instead it just lies there gathering dust. It’s like a certain Lego set that was stolen by a copy-cat company, and then copied again by an even worse clone company (this has probably happened before). The symphonic elements are once again present, but there is absolutely no thought put into them. Unnecessary evils are afoot in this album, but regrettably, those evils were not meant to be vile to begin with. Symphonic elements can be keen when employed properly, and it’s quite apparent that Floor Jansen had no idea what she was doing in that regard. They were meant to be enjoyable just as this album was supposed to be something awesome. Instead, the band kidnapped us, hypnotized us, whipped out a shotgun, and proceeded to blow our brains out.
