ReVamp – Wild Card (2013)

After a long year of fronting Nighwish, today we have Floor Jansen’s band ReVamp and their sophomore release “Wild Card”. Being the charismatic and unique vocalist she is, Floor manages to make this album very special and quite engaging from beginning to end. Coming back after being sick for a while, inspiration was drawn from this period of her life, thus making this release very emotional and personal.

Opening with the first part of the trilogy “The Anatomy of a Nervous Breakdown” – “On the Sideline”, ReVamp starts in very high spirits with powerful guitars and the incomparable vocal leads of Floor. There are some growls thrown here and there, giving the song that extra aggressive kick. The trilogy continues with the more modern sounding “Lymbic System”, a track that has some of that Groove Metal vibe mixed with the lush keyboards and well-crafted drums.

Moving away from the first two parts of the trilogy of songs, “Wild Card” brings forth very catchy vocal sections, which on the chorus parts feature the talents of Marcela Bovio (Stream of Passion). “Precibus” and “Nothing” are more of your traditional ReVamp tracks with a bit of an After Forever flavor to them. The band’s sound in general is more unified than on their first release, probably due to the fact that they have been together for quite a while.

The trilogy “The Anatomy of a Nervous Breakdown” culminates with the very unique and quite interesting “Neurasthenia”. Featuring a guest appearance by Devin Townsend, this is one of the best and most diverse tracks in the release. “Distorted Lullabies” keeps the momentum going with a very lush and melancholic opening that slowly progresses into a powerful and dramatic conclusion. One of the most powerful songs of this release comes under the name of “I Can Become”, we again got some After Forever flashbacks with this one, making it one of our favorite songs in the album.

With Mark Jansen (Epica) as a special guest, “Misery’s No Crime” is our favorite song in this release. The vocal lines are quite epic and the guitar riffing is very intense and powerful. The keyboards greatly enhance the atmosphere, and in conjunction with the rest, Floor’s vocals nicely shine (even more) on this one. The Groove Metal vibe is back with the closer “Wolf And Dog”, a track that sounds quite modern, and at the same time it still has a little After Forever vibe.

Overall, ReVamp has come a long way and with “Wild Card” they make a clear statement that they are here to stay and that they can make very high-quality music. Floor Jansen is extremely talented and as always it greatly shows in this release. We still have to make After Forever comparisons, but ReVamp for the most part has their own unique style that will surely make them gather are many (and even more) fan as Floor’s previous band. If you are a fan of After Forever, Epic, etc., you do not want to miss this excellent album.

Label: Nuclear Blast Records

Release: August 23rd, 2013 (Europe) / September 3rd, 2013 (North America)

Genre: Symphonic Gothic Metal/Rock

Country: Netherlands