i find these bands in the same line, they have wonderful female front voices, grunts, good musical composition, great chorus

i´ll stay with After Forever, found them before Epica and they´re just After Forever

This is a difficult decision, I really like both bands, the reasons you posted above are completely true.

I like very much After Forever, this band has a wonderful female voice and the music is excellent too, but my vote goes for Epica, because of the lyrical content and for the music, I really like the influences they have, I mean, medieval music, classical music, etc.
And besides that, the musicians are very interesting people

I only recently got into both bands. From what I've heard by both of them my pick goes to After Forever. I just think their music has more depth to it then Epica's.

My vote goes to Epica.

After Forever has a great singer, one of the best female voices in metal, and a keyboard genius, but I'm not sure if the rest of the band is good enough for these two.

Epica, though, has even mightier arrangements, more complex song structures, and on top of that, they are brilliant musicians. Simone Simons is also one of my favourite female metal voices, and with Mark Jansens grunts, it makes a strange, yet interesting, combination. The musicians are great as well, especially the drummer and keyboard/piano player.

Obviously After Forever. Floor's vocals are better than Simone's. Also, without Mark, After Forever managed to keep a great quality, both in lyrics and music. Another point is that After Forever is always refreshing its sound.

Epica is a good band too, but my vote was for After Forever.

To quote Bitch Boy: "Obviously After Forever"

Actually, I think these bands sound NOTHING alike anymore. AF's first 2 albums are slightly somewhat similar to Epica but they have 3 releases since then that go in an entirely new direction. Post-Mark After Forever is one of my favourite bands of all time. I could list reasons why I voted this way, such as Floor's voice, etc, but I feel it's totally not necessary next to such competition

shadowlady where is the points of comparing both those bands, huh?? tell me

LOL

just joking with you

well .. i choosed Epica ..

After Forever : Floor's voice is stronger and more powerfull than Simone Simons's voice, and the music is a bit heavier

but Epica : it has Mark, and the voice of Simone still very good to me, better symphonics, and both albums are as good as i can't describe, rather than AF that AF's first two albums are definitly better than the newer ones.

shadowlady

... this is so hard... First, this 2 bands are really good.
After Forever well for me this band is really unique, I mean, Floor's voice is different, there no way to compare her voice with other female singer... And the music is also more powerful than Epica.
Epica of course the have Mark now and he is an amazing musician and Simon is just so sweet... really good an as my dear Alchemist said before the have good symphonic elements, and all the medieval things.
But I choose After Forever, because the are something different and I love their music...

I voted Epica, I don't like After Forever all that much, actually it gets kind of boring for me after a while... but I do love Floor's voice..

Probably After Forever, I find Simone a bit whiny.

Crap. I voted AF and then realized that this was about the bands and not the vocal styles. I think I perfer Epica because they have a more atmospheric sound which shows a lot more at live shows but Simmone's voice is poor and more 'poppy' compared to Floor's. Her voice is most excellent and excells totally in power. Epica, however, do an awesome cover of Death's 'Crystal Mountain' too.

I vote for Afte Forever, because Epica are simmilar like opere,a dn I cant lsietn all albums, I need break and I know After Forever albums and songs better and this band are closer to me how Epice, thats why I vote for it

I really don't know. I liked Epica better live and After Forever better on the CD.
I really can't say that I overly like either one of these bands though because both of them have lyrics that make me cringe.

I voted for Epica. Tough decision but, I like Epica's approach to metal music more than AF's. They do get boring after listening a while.

This depends more on the metal style that u like, they are similar but not the same, i like both, but Symphonic is more my style so..... Epica

I have vote for Epica , cause her voice is more symphonic than Floor.
But as Lyrain said these two bands are now on two diffrent ways. You have to choose

Hmmm i cant decide which one i like better, i think they are both talented and both floor and simone are great singers.

i vote for After Forever.Epica is also a great band but sometimes i find their music a little boring,especially in their debut 'The Phantom Agony'

I vote for After Forever. I love Floor's voice, the alternance with male vocals, their music is more powerfull and different than Epica. To finish last After Forever's album 'After Forever' is a pure pleasure for ears and not boring.

Written by White Winter Sun on 18.04.2007 at 20:36

I vote for After Forever. I love Floor's voice, the alternance with male vocals, their music is more powerfull and different than Epica. To finish last After Forever's album 'After Forever' is a pure pleasure for ears and not boring.

yeah the new After Forever album is really a good one

Yes, if you want to have a pleasent moment, hear it. I think it's one of their best albums, perhaps the best of all.

After Forever is the best, The lyrics are better , the ambient and the guitar work also the vocals i think Floos is the most powerfull female voice ever

I'm not fan of either of these bands, but most definitely Epica for me

After Forever sucked balls after Mark Jansen left to form Epica... after that AF went downhill and started to sound too generic and watered down. Epica's new CD proves they are the better musicians. Besides... Simone is hot, much hotter than Floor

i chosse after forever beacuse floor's voice is much more powerful than simones

Well,both bands are great-with very good and beautiful vocalists,but I personally prefer After Forever.Also,they're way better than Epica because of the music itself.AF have always better concepts and very original ideas,indeed!Perhaps Epica beats them up only if it comes to the lyrics but AF have also truely amazing ones.So,it's hard for me to choose who's better lyrically.However,the way that most of AF's songs are written,makes me think that this band's composers are much better.They always do a good job.Well,it's not very easy to compare these two bands because of Mark Jansen,who has previously performed in AF,and has also formed this band,too,but after a few years-has left them and formed Epica.So,he has improved AF's music for sure(because of his music skills which are totally amaizing).As for the male vocals of Epica and After Forever-I prefer AF's ones for sure. It's very strange that Mark Jansen has totally lost his voice after leaving After Forever.And as for AF's former and new metal singers-their voices sound quite the same.I can't say there's a big difference between them.

Simone-Floor

Both operatic vocals.Hard to compare,of course.But Floor surely beats because of her powerful voice which sounds even better on live performances.She also uses many different singing techniques.And as far as I can recognize,Simone uses mainly two.I could hear her real voice on their third album,but not on their other releases,too. :

There's only one sphere in which I can't compare them-the live performances.Of course,I've heard lots of them,but still-have never seen them live.

So,it seems After Forever are much better,aren't they? I think almost everyone in here is going to agree with me.No doubt that Epica are still a new band and it has to take a few years more for them to get as good,as AF are.(Although this might happen.)

Epica for me, Simone's voice is one of the best in the world, and i know her brother xD

ok they dont have the similar kind of voice, floor is betterrrrrrrrrrr sooo far than Simmon sorry we need excellent voices not preety faces...but the other point is A F need more than a great singer ....they need more power on music...ok thast my point of view...whatever
for me : AFTER FOREVER;)

i go for After Forever - Monolith Of Doubt is simply genius song

Epica, cause their singer is hotter than the one in After Forever.