AFTER FOREVER The 5th combination

It may sound overbearing at first sight, but it´s remarkable any time: guitarist Sander Gommans mentions the new album of his band and METALLICA´s 'Black Album' in the same breath. Two different worlds musically, but there are common things: with both the fifth production is self-titled, and with both every record was straighter, more goal-directed, just better than the one before. Well, you all know how it went on with METALLICA: commercially mega stardom, musically... err...

Iron Pages: "In the info you say that this album is named after the band because it´s a summary of everything you have done so far. But can it be that it´s also like a new beginning for you in some way?"

Sander Gommans: "In some way it is. I mean, of course the new record deal is also a new beginning. But you have to see that we made a lot of albums in different styles. This time it´s the first time that we have actually combined all these styles into one album. And that´s why I think it really deserves to have the title 'After Forever'. There are a lot of styles that you hear on the first 4 albums passing by on this album. It´s like a new energy flowing through this album, combining all this stuff, and adding some new things."

I.P.: "I wrote in my review that I´m not familiar enough with your new material yet to say if it´s your BEST record to date, but it seems to be the most explosive, the most colourful, shortly: the most intense."

S.G.: "Yeah. I think these words fit the album. It´s a very loud album, but also very dynamic because of its many styles. Everything you hear is pretty intense because the sound is intense. And the classical orchestra makes the emotions more extreme. So yeah, I think you´re right!"

I.P.: "After many listenings it came to my mind that the essence of 'After Forever' is in 'Cry With A Smile', both musically and in the contrast in the title."

S.G.: "It fits with the album, that´s true. You can have several emotions that are opposite, but you can have them all at once when you listen to the album. And our music also reflects that a little bit, you know. Sometimes it´s very sad, but it´s also very energetic and powerful. I guess you can call it 'Cry With A Smile' or something like that. Cool observation!"

I.P.: "Fitting to the various styles Floor sings with more different voices than ever before. Sometimes it´s like two or more people talking! But how will you reproduce all that live?!"

S.G.: "Well, of course a lot of it is done with grunts and stuff like that. I do them live. But some things you cannot do live because you have just one singer, one female singer. Sometimes the choirs are played on a harddisc, you know, you still hear them. Sometimes we just leave them away. Live it´s always a different vibe than on record. Live it´s also the energy of the show itself. Of course the music has to sound perfect, but you don´t have to hear everything exactly the way it sounds on the album. Live is different, a different emotion, a different atmosphere. You have to see it as something different."

I.P.: "Maybe the greatest thing that you can say about your new album is that the guest appearances of Doro and Jeff Waters (ANNIHILATOR) are great, but they are not needed to make the album better. Strictly speaking, you don´t even need the orchestra! To quote from my review, 'There is a power in 'After Forever' that goes beyond the music.'"

S.G.: "Well, that´s a great compliment. I think it´s really cool to have the guest musicians, and I´m really proud of it. You didn´t expect to hear Doro on an AFTER FOREVER album? I wanted to have Doro on the album because, you know, a lot of younger people listen to our music. And they don´t really know what the basics and who the originals of this kind of music are. They think it started with the Gothic metal that we... I´m not really Gothic-oriented at all, actually. We come from Hardrock and Metal. We like that scene. So Doro is much more an influence for us and much more a relation to us than any of the other bands. And that´s why I try to give the link, you know, by using Doro on our album, to make people aware of the music that was already there in the Eighties and was already cool in the Eighties. I wanted to show that you can also have female-fronted music based on Hardrock or Metal. You don´t have to have all kinds of Gothic elements next to that. Female vocalists also can rock and can have really rocky, really aggressive voices like Doro. And I wanted to show that to the people who are not really into that kind of style."

I.P.: "Does Jeff Waters embody another character on the album?"

S.G.: "Yeah. Well, actually it´s a little bit the same as with Doro: Jeff Waters also embodies the Metal part of the album. We all like solos. To me Jeff Waters is the king. It was just a big honour - for me at least - to have him on the album. This is also a side of AFTER FOREVER that some people don´t know yet."

I.P.: "My review closes with, 'This record will bring its creators the international breakthrough.' What do you think about that? I mean, with excerpts of 'Energize Me' you even appeared in the commercial breaks on the German TV channel Pro 7!"

S.G.: "Well, I think I´m the perfect example for that. I mean, I´ve been working my ass off for this band to get bigger and bigger. I did a lot of things. I did the business stuff, I wrote a lot of songs... Right now, I have some kind of a burnout. I´m totally not able to do any gigs or whatever because of this. That´s the price you have to pay, you know. We are on a level now that we can be very proud of. But I have worked FAR too hard for it to be able to continue now. And I think that´s the price. Commercial success or a breakthrough... I´d rather have a breakthrough in the Metal scene worldwide, you know, just playing a lot and selling a lot of albums worldwide than having a single hit in one country and then you have to do playback performances and stuff like that."

I.P.: "Especially as the mainstream people turn away so quickly!"

S.G.: "Yeah, but I think you have to see 'Energize Me', the clip, as a way of showing ourselves in other ways than we can show ourselves live. I mean, sometimes you just can´t be in a certain country to promote yourself live because you are touring in another country or whatever. And then you have to have something like a video clip or something like that. And with a clip you show more people that Metal can be cool. Then of course you shouldn´t pick the most extreme song. You should pick a song that is more catchy, that people can relate to. But I don´t really see AFTER FOREVER breaking through commercially. I don´t really see that because we are too extreme for that. This is a great promotion tool to get more people interested worldwide. And that´s how I´d like to see it."

I.P.: "The tricky thing about this is that if 100,000 people buy your new disc, you cannot say, 'Oh great, 100,000 more AFTER FOREVER fans!' - too many of them will not stay with you..."

S.G.: "That´s why I´m so proud of the fan base we have now. It´s so intense and so loyal... These are the people that really matter. These are the people that were there for you all the time. These are Metal fans, you know, loyal Metal fans. It´s so cool to have such a loyal base. There are few styles that have such a loyal base."

I.P.: "Did you have other album titles in mind, like 'Cry With A Smile' or 'Dreamflight'?"

S.G.: "Well, there were a few working titles, like 'Energized'. But we didn´t have it named after a song. That was not our intention. But when I heard the material, I thought, 'No, no, no! This should be just 'After Forever' because it´s also important for the story.' Every album has a certain story. I like that if it has a certain vibe, if it tells a certain story. This album is like the 'Black Album' of METALLICA in a way. It deserves to have that title!"

I.P.: "Do you think it really is your best record? Did you have a better feeling when the recordings were finished?"

S.G.: "For me at least - and for the most people - this IS the best album. I think this album stands out WAY more than the other albums songwriting-wise. This is what we have learned the past years, what we have experienced. This is AFTER FOREVER in the most energetic shape!"

I.P.: "How popular are you in the Netherlands?"

S.G.: "Well, in the Netherlands we have been working towards a ceiling for quite a while. You have the Metal scene, and all the people who might be interested in AFTER FOREVER in the Metal scene know AFTER FOREVER and are interested. But that´s for a few years already. So you have this good position, but you cannot really get higher because then you need a hit. You need a commercial success, and that´s the difficult thing. We have achieved a lot there, our position is good, but unless you don´t score a hit, it will not get much bigger. It´s secure and safe, and that´s good. What is more important is: How can we get more people interested in other countries?"

I.P.: "Even if this IS the best album of yours: How close does it come to the idea of the band that you had when you started it?"

S.G.: "Oh, that´s difficult! That´s an interesting question actually, because when I started the band... You know, the image of AFTER FOREVER always changes. That´s the tricky thing."

I.P.: "What do you mean? The image the public gets or the image that you have of yourselves?"

S.G.: "The image I have myself. You know, I think as a human being you can never say, 'Okay, this is who I am. I´m not going to change anymore!' I mean, you learn from other people. You get influenced. You gain experience, you use your emotions and maybe you act different next time when something happens."

I.P.: "Sometimes they also use you."

S.G.: "Exactly. And that´s what also happens in music. You can´t say, 'This is the band, this is what it represents, and that´s how it always will be.' No, I think the power of a band is that you have a tool to communicate with the people and communicate what you learn, what you experience. Let me put it this way: It can happen that I listen to Heavy Metal for two years, you know, only Heavy Metal. Well, that´s apparently I like it, then I´m not going to say, 'Okay, I listened to this music so long; but now I´m going to write a new album for AFTER FOREVER and it will be classical music again.' No, of course there will be a lot of Heavy Metal influences in it because I like it, because it gave something to me. That´s why it´s a tricky question. The image I had of AFTER FOREVER when we started the band is totally different than the image I have now. You can also hear that when you listen to the albums. But there´s one remaining aspect, and that will always remain: I´d love to combine styles. I´d love to combine different styles in the Metal scene and in the classical scene to make a unique combination. And I think that´s what AFTER FOREVER is still about. Of course you will always recognize AFTER FOREVER, due to Floor´s vocals and due to the way the songs are written. But often there are other styles and other atmospheres used. I think that´s just the way we are - and the people respect that. We are not very predictable in that way."

I.P.: "Your fans seem to reward that. With many bands who don´t change their style - or don´t dare to do so - the fans forget that a musician is also an ARTIST. And for the artist it´s not very fulfilling to always do the same."

S.G.: "Exactly. And that´s why we decided from the beginning that as long as we have fun with what we are doing there should be one thing certain: being able to make the music WE want. Then you can play it with enthusiasm and put a lot of energy in it because you have fun doing it. That´s the most important thing: First of all, you must like the music you make. Second, it´s brilliant if the fans like it. I mean, you need that, you know, that´s really important. But first, you must like it yourself."

I.P.: "I know that Floor writes all the lyrics, but what can you tell me about them?"

S.G.: "I think the most important thing with this album is that it´s the most personal, but also reflecting on other persons. There are some lyrics about energy, the way it can influence you, the way it can be given. But there are also some lyrics about how you... For example 'Cry With A Smile', you know, you cry with a smile when you lose somebody. You can be very sad that he or she is gone. But you can also be very happy about the life that he or she had. You cry because that person is not there anymore, but you´re also very happy about his beautiful life. Some lyrics are more reflective this time.

Interview + story: Michael Schübeler