ReVamp - ReVamp - review
ReVamp - ReVamp - review
Tracklist
01. Here's My Hell [feat. George Oosthoek]02. Head Up High
03. Sweet Curse [feat. Russell Allen]
04. Million
05. In Sickness 'Till Death Do Us Part I: All Goodbyes Are Said
06. Break
07. In Sickness 'Till Death Do Us Part II: Disdain [feat. Björn "Speed" Strid]
08. In Sickness 'Till Death Do Us Part III: Disgraced
09. Kill Me With Silence
10. Fast Forward
11. The Trial Of Monsters
12. Under My Skin
13. I Lost Myself
14. No Honey For The Damned [bonus]
A review by
Ivor October 07, 2010
In general it's a decent symphonic metal album that I'd totally enjoy live. However, the album lacks the punch. The inevitable comparison with After Forever will easily reveal that. The production side is somewhat muddy, or muffled, whichever way you want to put it, and that is actually one of the first details that caught my attention. Like any proper symphonic album should, this one has orchestrations and choirs. It also has good underlying riffs, good background bass and keys support, nice drum drive, and, I have to remind it again, awesome Floor on vocals.
However, it still just doesn't work. But why? Not to question song writing skills, I must say that while the ideas and key elements are all there, they don't comprise a whole. Put handful of this, mix with a spoonful of that, in the end - add cinnamon. There! It's ready... No, it's not. The resulting mix is both, interesting and tiring at the same time. And while I dig Floor's vocals, and understand the desire to diversify her singing style, she doesn't seem to push the limits. The dominating impression is that she could do oh so much better. Even the name ReVamp that is probably hiding multiple intended meanings primarily kind of suggests a second-hand effort, a rekindled flame of the past. This impression is even more enforced by a lyrical theme dealing with loss. And yet...
And yet I've found myself listening to this album far more than I thought I would from the first impression. No, it doesn't grow on you. It stays as the first impression you get after a couple of spins. But there is something to it, something that needs to be listened to again. Slower songs that really bring out Floor's beautiful voice sound great, "Sweet Curse" with Russel Allen joining in for a duet is totally awesome - now there is a match in excellence. "In Sickness 'till Death do Us Part: Disdain," "Kill Me with Silence" as well as bonus track "No Honey for the Damned" have some really cool driving riffs that leave you in anticipation of hearing them again. And while there are more such memorable details, in the end they remain just a handful of moments without a context.
While in all honesty I admit I totally love Floor's vocals and would most likely enjoy them no matter what, the album itself is nowhere near to what it could or should be. It's not staggeringly awesome, and I don't say that because of my really high expectations for it. It's just what it is, unfortunately floating around somewhere in the upper layers of average. And even though it has it's moments, it still feels like it's been stitched together of undeveloped and underdeveloped ideas.
Comments
|
Posts: 268  |
Posts: 268
I listened to it , and being an old fan for Floor , this is disappointment , there is much mediacore in the album.
Loading...
|
|
Posts: 710  |
Loading...
|
| Lovecraft
Account deleted |
|
| paulo figueiredo
Account deleted |
|
 Posts: 4774 |
Loading...
|
 Posts: 6941 |
Posts: 6941
Yeah, I liked this album, but you're so right it's "floating around somewhere in the upper layers of average." Maybe one notch above that, but still. A bit watered down at times, but awesome at others. I haven't had it long enough to see if it grows on me or not but I can definitely understand how it will continue to be an enjoyable listen without actually improving. I hope it does, but I don't expect it to. Sometimes it IS just nice to have an enjoyable album, though, and more Floor is never a bad thing  Speaking of Floor, she mostly rocks here, but too often I felt she was holding back when she could have really been letting loose and making a song extra special. Especially I felt this in the opening track.. but more power followed in later songs. She is so immensely talented that I hate to see her not using all of her resources sometimes. So in the end it seems I agree with you: I enjoyed this lovely little album, though it could have been more. I'm not worried about Floor, though, she'll be fine... she'll continue to make great music 
---- "A life all mine Is what I choose At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
Loading...
|
 Posts: 3857 |
Posts: 3857 Written by advent on 08.10.2010 at 02:13 Mediocre ≠ noun, my good man.  Yeah, I expected this to be a pretty average album, which is why I haven't gotten it yet. :/
Loading...
|
 Posts: 5721 |
Posts: 5721 Written by Fat & Sassy! on 08.10.2010 at 21:52 No, you're misinterpreting him. It's media + core.  I.
Loading...
|
| Posts: 3857 |
Posts: 3857 Written by Ivor on 08.10.2010 at 22:10 I've never heard that term before. Does that mean it's really commercial sounding or something? o_o
Loading...
|
| Posts: 5721 |
Posts: 5721 Written by Fat & Sassy! on 08.10.2010 at 22:13 Beats me. You have to ask the original poster. I.
Loading...
|
|
Posts: 268 |
Posts: 268 Written by Fat & Sassy! on 08.10.2010 at 21:52 it was a spelling and grammatical mistake , but it wont be the first or the last time i mistake .
Loading...
|
|
Posts: 795  |
Posts: 795
I believe as long Waldemar will be on the songwriting this will happen again and again. I am not questioning Waldemar's skills, but he is a producer, and all of his products sounds a little bit plastic. Floor needs another member in the band with a truly amazing writing skills. Cause Joost can't do it alone.
---- the riddle wants to be...
Loading...
|
|
Posts: 117  |
Loading...
|
 Posts: 3555 |
Posts: 3555
I agree with this review; I'm also a sucker for Floor's vocals, but ReVamp wasn't as bombastic as I've expected. It's a nice time-to-time listen, but I still prefer hearing Floor in After Forever than ReVamp. So far! It's their debut, the foundations have been grounded and well, as talented as these musicians are, I'm quite optimistic that they will ''upgrade'' ReVamp.
---- You think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it. Molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was a man. But it was nothing to me but blinding.
Loading...
|
| Posts: 6941 |
Posts: 6941
A few weeks later and this album has grown on me immensely. After a bit more time and attention I have come to see what's special about many of the songs. The first few spins really flew by unnoticed, but now I hear something really nice One big problem is still the opening number. It damages the whole record by getting off to a slow start with Floor's held back (almost wimpy) vocal performance. But from track #2 and onwards she brings the power and energy and it's really kind of an epic album!
---- "A life all mine Is what I choose At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
Loading...
|
 Posts: 1175 |
Posts: 1175
Okay, I finally took my time to listen to this record. As many of you are, I'm also a big Floor Jansen appreciator. However, I just couldn't like that album! Yeah, sure - I did enjoy it at times but that was it. I found "ReVamp" pretty average, damn mediocre... : @Lyrinan: I totally agree with you - Floor could have done so much better on that record...  P.S.: Let's hope that these guys come up with something better next time...
---- Speak up dear 'cause I cannot hear you...
Loading...
|
Hits total: 10511 | This month: 1