PODIUM, Hardenberg, support-acts: NEMESEA & AUTUMN

Lots of black-dressed people visited Podium in Hardenberg on the eleventh October 2003 for the Gothic Rock Night. Headliner was After Forever, for the upcoming shows also supported by Nemesea and this night for the last time by Autumn, who have been support-act for After Forever for about two years.

The first show was by Nemesea, a band originating from Groningen (the Netherlands) and who only did a few gigs before this one. Nevertheless a very solid performance indeed, with music written by Hendrik Jan de Jong (guitar) and Manda Ophuis (lead vocal), obviously in the vein of their heroes After Forever and especially Nightwish. One of the songs performed was Bless The Child. No grunts and very melodic, so I guess Nemesea belongs to the mellow side of gothic rock. I look forward to their first album that should be released in the spring of 2004. The good looking Manda has got a nice and sweet voice, clearly influenced by Tarja Turunen (Nightwish).

A little more aggressiveness in the show Autumn gave. Female vocalist Nienke de Jong is definitely not a soprano and her voice gives a slightly Celtic touch to Autumn’s music, but as a result of the not well-balanced sound, she couldn’t quite compete with the grunts of Meindert Sterk. The hiliarious intrusion of some members of After Forever halfway the performance, was appreciated by the audienceer. Suddenly there was a witch running around and Luuk van Gerven posed as a tree in the autumn.

Last but surely not least: After Forever, a good show, incredibly good singing by soprano Floor Jansen, and both the setlist consisting of Monolith Of Doubt, Tortuous Threnody, Estranged, The Key, Glorifying Means, Inimical, Yield To Temptation, Pledge I, Forlorn Hope, Follow In The Cry and Emphasis) as well as the new tracks played from Exordium like Beneath, My Choice and the Iron Maiden cover The Evil That Men Do made it clear that After Forever is heading in a somewhat heavier direction: more up-tempo, more aggressive riffs and fewer orchestral arrangements."

In conclusion: there is a lot of talent in Nemesea.  Autumn will be entering the studio for the recording of their second album, but due to technical problems the audience couldn’t hear Nienke's vocals as good as it should and After Forever is one of the leading gothic rock bands in the Netherlands. Floor Jansen is an an extraordinary talented vocalist.