By now, we all know the history of vocalist supreme Floor Jansen; the Dutch goddess fronted the powerful After Forever before that band imploded to the shock of the metal world, then she formed this gothic metal group ReVamp, before filling in for sacked Nightwish vocalist Anette Olzon on their World Tour, and now permanently accepting the role just recently. Somewhere in all of this she's managed to record another ReVamp album, this one titled Wild Card, along with band members Matthias Landes (drums), Arjan Rijnen (guitars), Jord Otto (guitars), Ruben Wijga (keyboards), and Henk Vonk (bass), with Stream of Passion bassist Johan van Stratum also helping on the album and former After Forever keyboard player Joost van den Broek once again producing. If all that's not enough, throw in some guest vocals from Devin Townsend, Epica's Mark Jansen, Stream of Passion's Marcela Bovio, and Texture's Daniel de Jongh, making this quite the all-star affair.
Much of Wild Card is pretty heavy, symphonic, and majestic, with Floor's soaring vocals leading the charge over some intense arrangements. She's in fine form (as always), with her grandiose, powerful, and melodic delivery just stunning, and she even tosses in some growls in spots for an added surprise. Many of the riffs courtesy of Otto & Rijnen are quite crunchy, and the guitar solos short but impressive, with Wijga's keyboards orchestral and over the top, just like any lover of this style of music expects them to be. Highlights are many, but be on the lookout for the aggressive two part opening suite "The Anatomy Of A Nervous Breakdown", Townsend's awesome duet with Jansen on the raging third part, the complex progressive metal of "Nothing", the soaring bombast that is "Amendatory", and the symphonic gothic metal of closing number "Wold and Dog".
Excellent stuff here on Wild Card, and it will be interesting to see how Floor Jansen is able to juggle her time between ReVamp and Nightwish going forward, as each are extremely formidable heavy metal attractions.
Track Listing
1. The Anatomy Of A Nervous Breakdown: On The Sideline
2. The Anatomy Of A Nervous Breakdown: The Limbic System
3. Wild Card
4. Precibus
5. Nothing
6. The Anatomy Of A Nervous Breakdown: Neurasthenia
7. Distorted Lullabies
8. Amendatory
9. I Can Become
10. Misery's No Crime
11. Wolf and Dog
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