AFTER FOREVER

Although not really proggy, After Forever do have some progressive influences, this is mainly due to the recruitment of keyboard player Joost Van Der Broek for the past 2 albums, Joost's previous band was Sun Caged (a highly skilled prog metal band but somehow a bit un-original) and his influence on the band's songwriting is pretty obvious and welcome as i think his influences really brought this band to a higher level, the style in this album and in the previous one is less classically inspired and more progressive indeed as the keyboard textures are mutch more varied and less predictable, the band still holds true to the heavy/power metal song structures with the ocasional ballad or power ballad shining through.

As an album this self titled release is indeed a very good release, most of the songs are really energetic and sprikled with good vocal hooks everywere courtesy of one of the best singers in the business (and Floor is very good live too), some of them really stand out like Dreamflight, Energize me or Transitory and there's only one track that doesnt do anything for me and that is Who I Am, this one is a song in witch metal diva Doro Pesch guests and it is painful to listen to two singers with sutch a big differential of talent, Doro isnt a good singer, period! she was one of the first female vocalists in metal (that was the sole fact that gave her sutch a huge reputation in the metal world) but not really a good one, Floor completely outshines her, and the song is very basic and repetitive.

Overall i would say its a 4.5 stars album, trimmed to 4 cause i think it doesnt really deserve 5, still a very good album and with no doubt the best in the band's career IMHO, they really seem to have found their path and drifted away from the numerous nightwish clones they once were a part of.