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It seems nowadays The Netherlands is taking the leading role in
brining forth excellent gothic/atmospheric metal bands. After bands
such as The Gathering, Within Temptation, After Forever, Epica and
Autumn, we can welcome yet another new, very talented band: Nemesea,
a band from the north of Holland. This band was founded in 2002 and
in 2003 they already toured with After Forever, as their support
act, which enabled them to build up a great live reputation. The
Dutch label Ebony Tears (amongst others of Imperia and The Wounded)
gave this band the opportunity to record their skills on a silver
disc.
That was a very good move, because after the first time listening to
the album, I had only one reaction: WOW! What an impressive debut
album has Mana turned out to be. And the album is close to
perfection. I noticed gothic bands devote much attention to their
releases, both sound wise as well as artwork and Nemesea is not
different.
The vocals of Manda Ophuis, a Conservatory graduate, are crystal
clear and just great to listen to. Fortunately she does not sing as
high as some singers in the genre do something my ears are thankful
for. The arrangements of the songs are well worked out and result in
strong, melodious, atmospheric songs, where the metal does not
dominate, but forms a consistent whole with the orchestrations.
The band members show they are very skilled musicians, but their
fantastic play on the album, and everything is executed perfectly.
On the right places choir and strings are mixed in. Of course these
belong on a gothic metal album, but make no mistake by throwing
Nemesea on the great heap of gothic metal bands! They are absolutely
different than the aforementioned bands and show they do not depend
on others, but choose their own path.
Remarkable is the absence of grunts on the album. There are male
vocals on the album, those of Hendrik Jan de Jong, but this enhanced
the dark atmosphere, yet at no time you hear grunts or screams. And
notwithstanding the fact Ophuis’ vocals are beautiful, they form a
whole with the rest of the band, and the vocals and the music are
one.
The album is produced by guitar player Hendrik Jan de Jong and I was
baffled, such a perfect production is not expected from a young,
relatively inexperienced guitarist. I know very few bands that left
a better calling card than Nemesea. Mana is an album you simply MUST
have. Even if gothic metal is not your thing, you still need to get
this album, as it is simply an amazing album filled with melody and
atmosphere. |
