Connect with us

Music

Album Review: ReVamp ‘ReVamp’

Published

14 years ago

on

Since the break-up of symphonic metal band After Forever, fans have been eagerly awaiting the new Floor Jansen project, ReVamp. Possessing one of the strongest voices in the genre, Floor’s classical training allows her vocals to soar from low growls to operatic heavenly heights. But in order to take full advantage of this voice, you need a band that can back it up. So the question begs, does the self-titled debut release from ReVamp measure up? Check after the jump to find out!

revampalbumcover

The album starts off with one of the heavier tracks, ‘Here’s My Hell’. Featuring George Oosthoek (Orphanage, Within Temptation, Ayreon) as a guest vocalist, the track opens up fast, pounding drums and epic strings mixed with heavy rhythm guitars. When Floor begins to sing, the song pulls back a bit, allowing for the beauty of her voice to take center stage. Come the 1:30 mark, we hear the operatic influences of the song when a chorus emits some gorgeous, goosebump-raising harmonies. It’s an invigorating track but never really reaches it’s full potential. 
The production of the album is solid but a bit generic. Each aspect is mixed well enough but does not have a sense of ‘polish’ that symphonic metal needs. The bass drum is a bit too loud as it cuts through the mix more effectively than the snare. The bass guitar has a very nice rolling presence in the low end that certainly does not muddy anything up. The guitar tones are nothing to write home about: They do their job of giving crunch and thickness, but it’s a tone that you’ve probably heard hundreds of times before. The keys jump from painfully overused patches to some intriguing choices. Floor’s vocals are, as stated above, powerful and grabbing. However, they sometimes feel a bit dry. 
The addition of two more guest vocalists, apart from George, make for a fun listening experience. Hearing Russell Allen (Symphony X) join Floor on ‘Sweet Curse’ makes for a duet that easily sent shivers up and down my spine. Also, Bjorn Strid (Soilwork) joins in on ‘In Sickness ‘Till Death Do Us Part: Disdain’, which is easily one of the heaviest and most aggressive tracks on the album. The last track, ‘I Lost Myself’, is a beautiful piano and vocals only piece that mixes styles of Broadway with haunting, ethereal passages. 
ReVamp is a solid, if somewhat generic album. If symphonic metal is your cup o’ tea, you’ll enjoy every moment of this album.
3.5 out of 5 skulls
Related Topics:

Managing editor/music guy/social media fella of Bloody-Disgusting

Advertisement
Click to comment

Music

“He Walks By Night” – Listen to a Brand New John Carpenter Song NOW!

Published

1 week ago

on

April 9, 2024

By

John Carpenter music

It’s a new day, and you’ve got new John Carpenter to listen to. John Carpenter, Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter have released the new track He Walks By Night this morning, the second single off their upcoming album Lost Themes IV: Noir, out May 3 on Sacred Bones Records.

Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.

Sacred Bones previews, “It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that would become Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts. Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. With Lost Themes IV: Noir, they’ve struck gold again, this time mining the rich history of the film noir genre for inspiration.

“Since the first Lost Themes, John has referred to these compositions as “soundtracks for the movies in your mind.” On the fourth installment in the series, those movies are noirs. Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes these songs “noirish” is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone.

“The trio’s free-flowing chemistry means Lost Themes IV: Noir runs like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”

You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now! And listen to the new track below…

Continue Reading