MaYaN's new album Antagonise out in January

Dutch symphonic death metal band MaYaN will release their second album "Antagonise" on January 31st, 2014. The album contains 11 songs and features guest musicians Floor Jansen (Nightwish, ReVamp, After Forever), Marcela Bovio (Stream of Passion) and Greek violinist Dimitris Katsoulis.

According to the press release, the main album's concept is based on "the current state of the world which is going totally insane".


Touring members Henning Basse (Lingua Mortis Orchestra) and Laura Macri became permanent members back in September.

Floor Jansen stays in Nightwish

Nightwish stated numerous times that we have to wait until 2014 to learn the name of new vocalist. But
apparently plans changed and on October 9th Floor Jansen was officially announced as new lead vocalist. Also, Nightwish has no more 5 members but 6! Troy became new full-time member of the band.

Here is the press release:

Ms. Floor Jansen is a keeper.
Also, we will be a six-piece band from now on, as Mr. Troy Donockley (uilleann pipes, low whistles, vocals) will become a full-time member of NIGHTWISH.

Originally we were going to wait until 2014 to make a decision about the future line-up of the band, but the past year has clearly shown us that Floor and Troy are perfect matching pieces of our puzzle, and we are really
grateful of the bond that has grown between all of us. We love you guys.

Tuomas
Marco
Jukka
Emppu

Commented vocalist Floor Jansen: "Words cannot describe what I feel! This union is beyond everything and I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to continue this amazing journey with my new brothers! Once I had a dream....and this is it!!!"

Piper/whistleman, added vocalist Troy Donockley: "'Imaginaeum World Tour' was a revelation to me an in that time, I became aware of a growing unity and then, finally, a transcendence of all the usual nonsense that affects bands. A beautiful process. And since the idea, the musical dream that NIGHTWISH has been a part of me since before I was born, I am delighted to officially sail into uncharted waters with my brother and sister. Wondrous scenes Ahoy!"

The new line-up can be seen on the live / tour documentary Showtime, Storytime, released on November 29th.

Official "Showtime, Storytime" trailer:

Epica's anniversary DVD out on November 8th

Retrospect was filmed to celebrate band's 10th anniversary. The concert was recorded on March 23rd in Eindhoven, the Netherlands and consisted of a 70 piece orchestra, acrobats, special effects, former band members Ad Sluijter, Yves Huts and Jeoren Simons and guest vocalist Floor Jansen. Band introduced new song called "Retrospect" and played "Twin Flames" from "The Requiem for the Indifferent" for the first time.

The DVD will be released as 2DVD/3CD and 2Blu-ray/3CD version. Also there will be exclusive interviews with band members and behind the scenes footage from the show.

The setlist:

1. Introspect
2. Monopoly of Truth
3. Sensorium
4. Unleashed
5. Martyr of the Free Word
6. Chasing the Dragon
7. Presto
8. Never Enough
9. Stabat Mater Dolorosa
10. Twin Flames
11. Serenade of Self-Destruction
12. Orchestral Medley
13. The Divine Conspiracy - Anniversary Edition
14. Delirium
15. Blank Infinity
16. The Obsessive Devotion
17. Retrospect
18. Battle of the Heroes & Imperial March
19. Quientus
20. The Phantom Agony
21. Cry for the Moon
22. Sancta Terra
23. Design Your Universe
24. Storm the Sorrow
25. Consign to Oblivion
26. Outrospect

The official trailer:

New live DVD Showtime, Storytime by Nightwish

Nightwish have decided to release a new live DVD 'Showtime, Sotrytime' on November 29th. The DVD consist of live show recoded at Wacken Open Air Metal Festival with temporary vocalist Floor Jansen. Also, a 120 - minute long tour documentary 'Please Learn The Setlist In 48 Hours' and live videos of 'I Want My Tears Back' shot at Hartwall concert and 'Ghost Love Score' shot in Argentina. 

As Tuomas explained. The DVD was supposed to be only a tour documentary but Nuclear Blast came up with the idea of adding a live concert. Read bit more here.

Sadly, Anette will not be featured on this DVD. Here is the explanation from the DVD director:

Hello everyone,

We began shooting the Nightwish Imaginaerum - world tour documentary in January 2012. The shootings continued all the way until August 2013, so we ended up having tons of material from the tour. The material included, among other things, concerts, rehearsals and interviews from all the members of the band. The editing process of the documentary started already in early 2012.

However, in the beginning of March 2013 we received a message insisting that no visual (moving or still) nor any audio featuring Anette Olzon can be used on the dvd, this being her personal request.

This meant that we had to go back to the very beginning of the editing process. We respect her wish, and that's why Anette will unfortunately not be seen or heard on the "Showtime, Storytime" - dvd.

Ville Lipiainen

- Director

Anette made a comment on this issue as well:

Regarding the documentary- yes, I decided not to be a part of it since I no longer are in the band and therefore didn't have any influence on my participation in it which on the other hand the 4 remaining members had. Therefore it's better for me to not be in it to avoid any disappointments in either direction.

Gig review: Nightwish live at O2 Academy Brixton 5/11/2012

Nightwish played their only gig in London on 5 November 2012 at O2 Academy Brixton and I was there. The last time saw Nightwish was back in 2005. I was very happy to see them again beacuase I decided to skip the Dark Passion Tour. And of course I was looking forward to see Anette live. But as we all know by now Anette is no longer member of the band and Floor Jansen (ReVamp, After Forever) joined Nightwish to help them to finish the on-going Imaginaerum tour. 

So there I was queuing since 4:30pm waiting for the doors to open at 7pm. There was already a bigger crowd there. I actually felt a bit strange, because I decided to go on my own but I don’t regret it. The first surprise of the evening came before the concert itself. One guy started to shout that O2 network costumers will have a priority line so therefore will get inside sooner. Lucky me I am O2 costumer so basically I got inside the venue before the poor people who were freezing there in the cold longer than I did. Might be not fair but some witty people went to Poundland to buy O2 SIM cards. Easy solution.

The doors opened at 6:55pm and when I got inside the venue I could decide whether to go to 4^th row or lean against a “bar’’ and be safe or go and sit at the balcony. I decided to play it safe and lean against the bar. It was also a practical solution in case I will need to take off my coat I could safely put my coat on it. And here comes the second surprise of the evening. It was rather cold in the venue.  Air-condition was on almost all the time so I wore my coat all evening. But I’m happy for that. I hate when venues are hot.

I managed to get a good spot. I was in the middle so I could see the stage without big problem. Even people in front of me were shorter so everything seemed perfect. But not for long.

Pain was the support act and the only one. They got on the stage at 7:45pm and played for 45mins. I am not very familiar with Pain songs. But I recognised two of them. “Dirty Woman” and my favourite “Shut Your Mouth”. The last named was also the last song of their set. I think Pain was a good support act. Maybe not everyone’s cup of tea but their performance heated up the crowd bit. Peter is very funny guy and he did interact with the crowd well. I might go and see them in February when they play in London again.

And now we had this, what seemed to be never-ending waiting, for Nightwish. And now follows a little rant. Why the hell you 6 feet tall guy push your ass through everybody just to get better spot ending up in 8^th row standing in front of 3 girls who are pretty short, who had stood there well before you came and when they dare to tell you to move a bit because they can’t see anything at all you start to swear at them?? And then standing there like a bloody statue taking a couple of photos and making faces like what am I doing here??? Thank God he didn't stand in front of me. But I was a bit unlucky as well. There was a tiny little gap in front of me and guess what happened? Another idiot came and squeezed there. This time it was girl who wasn't as tall as that guy but she definitely ruined my perfect view. But there was no point in saying anything. I just didn't want to end up with a black eye. 

At about 9:10pm the lights went off and the intro ‘Roll Tide’ started to play. From then on I experienced something called ‘the shortest 90minutes of my life’.

After the intro ‘Storytime’ was on. Floor came on the stage and a big roar echoed around the venue. I believe she just owned the whole evening. The setlist was the same one as they played in Manchester night before. Mostly, it was a mix of ‘Once’ and ‘Imaginaerum’ songs with a classic ‘Over the Hills and Far Away’. To be honest I was a little bit glad that Anette wasn’t there that night. Don’t get me wrong. I have always supported Anette and am curious to hear her solo album, but most of her ‘oldies’ versions were simply bad. She just lacks power. And power is a key point in most of the oldies. Floor did an amazing job on oldies. She might struggle a little bit with ‘Ever Dream’ but she didn’t use her operatic voice. Actually, she used her operatic voice only on ‘Dark Chest of Wonders’ and ‘Ghost Love Score’ but you could barely hear that. She also pulled ‘Imaginaerum’ songs off very well, too. One song I couldn’t stand live was ‘Amaranth’.  Anette struggled with it a lot but Floor managed to make this song listenable. She even added a little twist to the song. The way she sings ‘the Never-Fading Rain in your heart’ sounds really great. ‘Scaretale’ was the song I was really looking forward to hear live. Anette sings this one incredibly. After watching YT’s videos of Floor singing this song I was skeptical  I didn’t expect Floor to be able to pull it off the ‘’theatrical’’ way as Anette did. But she did it. She even growled! The acoustic set was very nice also. Many people complain about ‘Slow, Love, Slow’ and ‘Nemo’. I don’t really mind that. Another surprise of the evening was ‘Last of the Wilds’. When I listen to ‘Dark Passion Play’ I always skip this song. I find the studio version very boring but man it is a great live song. Almost everyone was jumping up and down. It’s really good song to add a bit of speed or even wake up some people after the acoustic set. Definitely, the highlight of the night was ‘Ghost Love Score’. Floor sounds really superb. Although, she doesn’t sing this song operatically throughout, she does add some operatic vocals here and there. 

‘Last Ride of the Day’ was indeed the last song played by band. I find this song to be a good one to close a successful night with. And Monday night was successful without any doubt. The band was all smiles throughout the night. Marco and also Floor were very talkative. Generally, they all seemed to be very relaxed and happy. I believe they enjoyed the night as much as most of us did.

Truth to be said, I didn’t miss Anette much or better said at all. As I said I have supported her right from the beginning but her live performance was just bad. Although, people say she improved her   live performance a lot since 2007, most of her ‘oldies’ versions were bad. I think I need only one hand to name the old songs I like with her vocals. With Floor on the board now, the justice was done to them, finally. And she doesn’t even sing them the ‘original’ way. I enjoyed Floor’s performance a lot. She is an incredible singer and knows how to put the show on.  The crowd loved her yesterday. And when I said that I don’t want her in Nightwish that was probably the biggest nonsense I have ever said. Being a witness to what happened yesterday I have to say I want her to stay with Nightwish. I will be disappointed if she doesn’t but whoever will be Nightwish’s new singer I feel sorry for her already. She won’t be compared to Tarja and Anette only but even to Floor. And given the circumstances Floor has had to face and how well she is handling it, whoever comes next will have it very tough. 

Setlist: 

Intro: Crimson Tide

1. Storytime

2. Dark Chest of Wonders

3. Wish I Had an Angel

4. Amaranth

5. Scaretale

6. Slow, Love, Slow

7. I Want My Tears Back

8. The Islander

9. Nemo (acoustic)

10. Last of the Wilds

11. Planet Hell

12. Ghost River

13. Ever Dream

14. Over the Hills and Far Away

15. Ghost Love Score

16. Last Ride of the Day

Outro: Imaginaerum

FYI: These photos are mine and since I took them with my BlackBerry mobile phone, they are very bad quality. 

CD Review: ReVamp's "ReVamp"

The disbandment of After Forever in 2009 was a tough experience for a lot of fans of the band and in the symphonic metal world. It came as a surprise and everyone was curious on what would happen with the members of the group, especially ex-lead singer Floor Jansen, who has started a new band named ReVamp, a symphonic/gothic metal group.

Alongside Floor on their first album is After Forever's ex-keyboardist Joost van den Broek who provides a lot of the symphonic sounds on this first release. Besides the fact that Floor sings for this group, the fact remains that his contributions on the band's debut really makes it sound "After Foreverish" besides just Floor's vocals. I must say that as similar in style as ReVamp is to After Forever, there are some noticeable differences. ReVamp is much more edgier, angsty, and angry than what After Forever ever was. Looking at the album art and session photos of Floor and the band, it is no wonder what kind of image they were able to pull off here.

One of the big things I admire about this album are Floor's vocals. She really is the bright point of this release and without her, it just would not be the same! Her feelings, emotions, and power really come through on just about every song on this album and she sounds just as good as ever, if not even more powerful and versatile than with After Forever. I must say that as much as she does so well with the vocals on "ReVamp", can the songs provide her justice? Well, let's look into that in my song by song review:

1. "Here's My Hell": I must say, the opening section of this song is very epic and powerful with the symphonic chaos that is unfolding. The song is extremely heavy, fast, and dark. The chorus is very powerful and it will not disappoint fans of old After Forever or symphonic metal in general. A great way to start the album and is indeed the best song this album has to offer! 4/5

2. "Head Up High": This is the most popular song that this band has put out so far. While not the most impressive song out there, it has it's good moments. The chorus part is very catchy, the instrumental breakdown sounds great with a nice wah-wah guitar solo. Floor really gives out a nice performance here as well. 3.5/5

3. "Sweet Curse": This is a ballad that features Symphony X's Russell Allen. If you are unfamiliar with him, he is quite the vocalist with a lot of power and tone. But in this song, he does a fairly good job, but not at the level of what we would expect from him. Floor does a good job providing some depth in the chorus, but the song is just rather average and nothing too special. Both singers are class, even though they do not show all of their potential here. The lyrics however are perhaps the best written on the album. 3/5

4. "Million": This one is faster paced in a way that reminds me of "Here's My Hell". It has a lot of intensity and feels like an old After Forever song. One of the album's better and more epic tracks. It has a nice breakdown section and guitar solo. 3.5/5

5. "In Sickness 'Till Death Do Us Part- All Goodbyes are Said": This is the point where the quality of the album starts to go down. This is the first part out of three in the "In Sickness 'Till Death Do Us Part" series. The song is a narration of a mother and a patient. Both parts are sung by Floor. This is the best song in the series, but this is still just a rather average symphonic metal song. Nothing here is really memorable. 2.5/5

6. "Break": This song as you guessed takes a break from the ISTDDUP series. This song is written more progressively than most of the album, but this is another song that I find pretty bland and more like a filler with some very depressing lyrics. Once again, nothing here is memorable, except Floor's voice but even she can't help the song. 2.5/5

7. "In Sickness 'Till Death Do Us Part- Disdain": The second song in the ISTDDUP series. This song is very forgetful though. For one thing, this song is VERY heavy and has some cool little guitar riffs here and there, but it just doesn't work too well with Björn "Speed" Strid as a guest vocalist on this song. He literally sings like a hardcore vocalist would, which kind of throws me off and makes this song sound too over the top. I am sure he does a fine job in his band Soilwork, but his excessive shouting in this song sounds a little overdone and over dramatic to me. Plus, the lyrics aren't good which doesn't help at all. Definitely the album's worst song. 1.5/5

8. "In Sickness 'Till Death Do Us Part- Disgraced": The third and final part of the ISTDDUP series. This is another very mediocre song once again. Nothing really stands out and the song is really boring with the exception of Floor's voice. 2/5

9. "Kill Me With Silence": Right from the beginning, the song is very boring and never really picks up from there. Floor sounds good but the song is just not anything to brag about. Very bland and repetitive. 2/5

10. "Fast Forward": I give the song this; it has a very nice intro and main melody to it. But after the intro, it begins to become very boring to me and it never picks up any kind of thrill since the intro. Another filler song that never takes off. 2.5/5

11. "The Trial of Monsters": The guitar and symphonic work in this song are actually quite clever. There are however some very corny and cheesy lyrics though. Despite this, "The Trial of Monsters" is one of the stronger tracks on the album. Floor's voice sounds great in this song with plenty of power and attitude. 3.5/5

12. "Under My Skin": This is definitely a filler song too, but I admit the middle instrumental section of the song is pretty cool and it really gives this song a boost. It's okay and worth a listen, but not very interesting at all. 3/5

13. "I Lost Myself": A piano ballad. Floor sounds pretty and nice as she normally does in these types of songs, but I don't find this song very interesting though as it is very average and steady with no real good hooks or interesting parts. It's worth a listen though. 3/5

14. "No Honey For the Damned": This is the bonus track for this album. It has some good riffs and nice symphonic parts that really flow well here and there and Floor's voice sounds very good too, but there isn't much here to take in as it is just an average symphonic metal song that doesn't really stand out. Solid, but not amazing. 3/5

So that is my review of "ReVamp". Here is my overall impression:

Pros:
-Floor's vocals are top notch as expected
-Impressive symphonic sounds and melodies through the production

Cons:
-Too many average, boring, and filler songs
-Lyrics aren't that good
-The band sounds uninspired and bland at times
-"Distain", they could have left that one out

So as much as I admire and adore Floor with her great voice, this album really just did not cut it for me like the way After Forever was. It could have been better in my opinion. Something was missing here, and trust me I really wanted to like this album more, but it really is like a hit or miss album that only has a few good songs. "Here's My Hell", "Head Up High", "Million", and "The Trail of Monsters" are the best and the only songs that seem to stand out to me. Besides those songs, the rest is either filler, average, bland, or just not good like "Distain" or "Kill Me with Silence" is for example. I am a bit disappointed because I really think Floor is a great vocalist that really needs some better material to work with. I am going to have to give this a horns down unfortuneatly, even though I really do not want to. /w\ I see what they want to do with what they got as they tried to put some "edge" into the music, but this is really just an average and bland symphonic/gothic metal album that isn't much different than what other bands in the genre are doing. It's not the worst album and it is only their first release, so I have to give them a little slack. I do think they can and will make some better material in the future. Only time will tell. So listen and buy at your own risk!

Overall rating: 2.5/5