REVAMP, the band launched by NIGHTWISH touring vocalist Floor Jansen following the demise of AFTER FOREVER, started recording their second studio album late last year.
Floor Jansen states: “I will start recording the vocals for the second ReVamp album next week! Been working on the last vocal lines and lyrics today and have some days ahead to spend on this great part of my work as musician!
The guys have been working their asses off already recording the drums, guitars, bass and keys. Can’t wait to hear the finished result pounding through the speakers… but we all have to be patient a while longer…
Stay tuned though for more updates!”
ReVamp hope to release the new album in the fall of 2013. The exact date and more info about possible tours will be announced soon. ReVamp’s self-titled debut was released via Nuclear Blast in June 2010.
Courtesy of http://floorjansen.com/blog/fourth-blog-nightwish-usa-tour
Floor Jansen has updated her Blog from the Nightwish USA tour:
“Hello to you from our night liner! We are driving to our show in Fort Lauderdale. If I look outside I see nothing but beautiful green water lands. I tried to spot an alligator…did see some deer and the most amazing birds!
Last time I wrote was in Oklahoma City. Days fly by so fast I cannot believe we are about to do the last two shows of this USA tour already! In a weird way the show on Tuesday seems ages ago, and yesterday at the same time. Coming here feels the same. Time is like the Dali clocks, liquid, relentless.
But memories are timeless and fortunately I have beautiful ones to share with you. I just wish words could describe them better!
How can I tell you how amazing the show in Oklahoma was? Or in Austin? Or in New Orleans? There is something special about every show. A unique night, a magical ride that always ends too soon! And with a unique audience. Hundreds of wonderful people at the meet&greets every day. Thousands of sweating and rocking bodies; getting just as high on the music as we do.
We played ‘Ghost Love Score’ twice now. My favorite song! Goosebumps on my entire body every time I sing, “My fall will be for you”. Tears came to my eyes the second time we played it. First time I was thinking a bit more. Second time I only had to feel. Again, words are failing on me to describe the real emotion I had. But I have hope that the people who were that in New Orleans that night felt it too.
Back in Austin we went shopping at Congress Avenue. A street full of antique shops and other rare and funny stores. Lovely to be in places that sell stuff you cannot find anywhere else. We had a good time! (see the main picture of me)
The next morning we were in New Orleans. Tuomas, Troy and I had breakfast in a sushi restaurant, with a nice Japanese beer…a great start of a great day!
We took a stroll through the city afterwards. A unique atmosphere is there in those streets. Beautiful neo colonial houses, bars and restaurants everywhere, the Mississippi, the huge necklaces you that have a ritual of its own, the cigars. I bought one. I never smoke but an occasional (mild) cigar is something I can enjoy.
After a super show we left the venue and headed into town. We went to a famous bar that sells absinth… I tried it and it turned out so much nicer than I expected. The cigar and the drink together made me look like a femme fatale haha. We had the most amazing night off together. Really special!!!
For now, we have the two last shows coming up. I will miss this!!! But I also look forward to come home! I will go back to ReVamp songwriting because we have a planning to hold on to, album will come in March/April next year!!!!!! On the 4th of November the Nightwish shows continue in the UK. I am super exited to join them on the rest of the World Tour and the summer festivals in 2013!!!
A big hello from Oklahoma City! Another backstage moment, and actually again, I am writing right before the meet & great we’ll have today!
I left you in Anaheim. We had a nice meet & great there. So wonderful to see people really welcome me into the band! We do one every night now and it’s great for me to meet loyal Nightwish fans who are happy to see me and thank me for stepping in. I feel loved!!!
Also behind the scenes I meet the most wonderful people! We played Higher Than Hope after I met the mother and sister of the man whom this song is about. They came to the show in Anaheim and when they were also there the day after in San Diego, we played it for them. Emotional rollercoaster, but so beautiful! Music is emotion and to be able to sing these songs live is just something special, I can’t put this into words really…
My cold is almost gone and hasn’t been bothering me when I sing anymore. I can now belt out the notes and vary in dynamics and vocal styles. The songs scream for that! It feels so good!
This is picture taken at the meet&greet in the Diamond Ballroom in Oklahoma City:
Nightwish meet & greet in the Diamond Ballroom in Oklahoma City. Pic courtesy of http://floorjansen.com/blog/third-tour-nightwish-tour-usa
Vocalist Floor Jansen (REVAMP, ex-AFTER FOREVER), who replaced NIGHTWISH singer Anette Olzon to finish out the remainder of shows on the band’s North American tour for Imaginaerum, has checked in with the following update:
“I am writing to you from our backstage in a venue called ‘The Grove’ in Anaheim. I will go back to where I left you at the last blog, in San Francisco.
In my last words I was hoping to see something of the city. There was no time for this for me though. Fully consumed by all the new things, saving all my energy for the show. My cold was nasty as well so I focused on the show, and the show only! It was a great one!!! The venue was beautiful and gave the magical Nightwish show and extra glance with its theatrical look. This was the third show and for me things were getting easier (even though I did miss some words here and there The fun in the backstage was superb as well, just a great and magical night all the way through!
We had a day off after this one and we spend it in LA. We had a great bbq with our dear promoter John and some of the guys had some energy left to go to the famous Rainbow Bar. I went back to my hotel room for a nice long sleep to fight the cold and to get all my reserves back to go for the next round of three shows!
Today we are in Anaheim, right next to Disneyland! We took a taxi to Disney Downtown and enjoyed the sun, the stores and the ‘world within a world’ there for a little while.
Right now I’ll be preparing myself for a second meet and greet and of course, the show tonight! I look forward to it!”
Remaining tour dates are available below:
October
7 – The Marquee – Tempe, AZ
9 – Diamond Ballroom – Oklahoma City, OK
10 – Emo’s – Austin, TX
11 – House Of Blues – New Orleans, LA
13 – Revolution – Ft Lauderdale, FL
14 – House of Blues Lake Buena Vista – Lake Buena Vista, FL
Fan filmed footage of Nighhtwish performing at the Warfield in San Francisco on October 3rd is available below:
Floor Jansen: Photo taken from http://floorjansen.com/blog/with-mayan-at-progpower-usa
New NIGHTWISH touring singer Floor Jansen has revealed that she was originally asked to join the band for their upcoming dates in November, December and January but that plans changed over the weekend following the sudden departure of Anette Olzon in the middle of the group’s North American tour.
During an October 2 interview with the “Giel Beelen” show on the Dutch radio station 3FM, Floor said, “Saturday morning [September 29] I got a text message saying, ‘How fast can you come to the USA?’ So I packed everything as quickly as I could and booked a ticket for the first plane and practiced the songs. They had already previously asked me to join them on the road for the dates in November, December and January, [so] I had been preparing for it a little bit for only one week. And since those plans changed [over the weekend], I ended up only having a few days to get ready and a rehearsal of two hours with [the songs'] lyrics in front of me.”
Jansen, who called the opportunity to sing for NIGHTWISH a “dream come true,” also confirmed that she will be on the road with the band through the end of January.
Asked if fans can also expect to hear her on NIGHTWISH’s next studio album, Floor said, “There has been no discussion about that at this point. Right now, the plans is just for me to be a temporary replacement for Anette. All is I know is that it is really an awesome opportunity for me and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it and we’ll see what the future brings.”
In announcing the sudden singer switch on Monday (October 1), NIGHTWISH said, “In recent times it has become increasingly obvious that the direction and the needs of the band were in conflict, and this has led to a division from which we cannot recover.”
They added, “We are all strongly committed to this journey, this vehicle of spirit, and we are sure that this will lead to a brighter future for everyone.
“We forever remain excited about the adventures to come, and we are extremely proud of the two beautiful albums and the wonderful shows we shared together.”
Olzon joined NIGHTWISH in 2007 as the replacement for Tarja Turunen after the latter was fired in 2005.
Multi-instrumentalist and NIGHTWISH touring musician Troy Donockley, has also posted the following update from Nightwish’s current North American tour:
“‘Keep Calm and Carry On….’. Oh yes indeedy. These were the famous words written on “morale boosting” posters by the British government at the beginning of WW2. Now, I am not for one moment suggesting that the first half of our US tour has been like the outbreak of the war, but those words are pretty bloody pertinent!
Oh how we love touring the states. It’s trite to say that the fans here are so brilliant (they are of course) because the fans are brilliant EVERYWHERE. But they have been particularly lovely to us; especially in light of the recent explosive events.
Yes, a split with the singer Anette occurred but it was really, really for the best. Believe me. The joy of this adventure was being wrecked and everyone was feeling very insecure… It was seriously interfering with our tasting sessions of the fine wines from the Napa Valley. Outrageous!
I mean, we never could have predicted that myself and Tuomas would find ourselves on stage, alone, asking an audience of over 1,600 in Denver to vote by a show of hands on whether the band should perform or not. Touchingly we were met by a sea of upraised hands; beautiful but how surreal.
Anyway, we have fully embraced the slogan from that heroic old poster, and we are all feeling a squillion times better. Our replacement singer Floor is simply majestic and we are having fearless fun. And on evidence of the ecstatic response to the last two shows, the fans seem to understand that this “vehicle of spirit” cannot be derailed so easily.”
Remaining dates on the tour are as follows:
October
5 – The Grove – Anaheim, CA
6 – House of Blues – San Diego, CA
7 – The Marquee – Tempe, AZ
9 – Diamond Ballroom – Oklahoma City, OK
10 – Emo’s – Austin, TX
11 – House Of Blues – New Orleans, LA
13 – Revolution – Ft Lauderdale, FL
14 – House of Blues Lake Buena Vista – Lake Buena Vista, FL
Floor Jansen: Photo taken from http://floorjansen.com/blog/with-mayan-at-progpower-usa
Here is a posting taken from Floor Jansen’s blog before last night’s show in San Fransisco:
“Dear reader,
I am writing to you sitting here in the tour bus with Nightwish! We are heading to San Fransisco. The sun is shining bright here and the scenery is beautiful. I am trying to find words to describe how I feel but it’s impossible to really cover it. I am on a high!
What do you do when Nightwish asks you to join them on tour? Stay calm and say, well OK….? Or does your heart start beating twice as fast instantly, hands start to sweat and your mouth is unwilling to pronounce words like “that sounds amazing”. I guess I don’t need to tell what happened to me
The time to prepare was scarily short…I packed my bags and left and printed the lyrics into my head all the way over from Amsterdam to America. 15 hours of airplane later I arrived with a jetlag, a full head and the most happy feeling ever. The next day I jumped on board on this bus and the adventure truly began. I was welcomed into the group as an old friend and I felt great instantly. It is now 10 years ago I joined Nighwish on tour with After Forever as their support act. We stayed in touch ever since and that made the whole situation so much easier and smooth.
The day of the first show we also did a long soundcheck to rehearse the songs. That was the only possibility… You cannot imagine how nervous I was before that first show started!!! Next to nerves my voice was battered by a cold due to all the travels, lack of sleep and airco’s.
The intro started…..I ran on stage….and all nerves were gone! The music and the guys took me in and so did the audience. What an experience! The excitement lasted the entire show, and way after. When I went to my tour bus bed that night I still had a smile on my face. I felt so happy and satisfied I fell asleep instantly.
The next morning I woke up, ahum afternoon….in Portland. Show number 2 was there already. So were the first online reactions and the massive amount of press that responded to the news. You must be living under a stone if the news didn’t reach you yet J I even did an interview with the Dutch radio, standing outside the venue in my stage outfit. With a 9 hour time difference…
My cold got worse and the doctor had to give me some power supplies to help me. Thank goodness for that, they helped instantly and the second show was an amazing blast. The Crystal Hall in Portland is a beautiful venue and the atmosphere extraordinary! Again the audience welcomed me warmly! I am so grateful!!!
Today we’ll play in San Fransisco (see the pic)! I always wanted to see this city so I hope there is some time (and energy) left for this! I will keep writing to you. And for those who came to the show: thank you for your support!!!
Love,
Floor”
Below is some fan-filmed video from last night’s performance:
Dutch singer Floor Jansen (REVAMP, ex-AFTER FOREVER) made her glorious live debut as the frontwoman of NIGHTWISH on night (Monday, October 1) at Showbox Sodo in Seattle, Washington. Reports from fans have been resoundingly positive.
Fan-filmed video footage of the songs “Storytime” and “Amaranth” can be seen below.
Jansen is filling the role of lead vocalist in NIGHTWISH on the band’s current North American tour after the group parted ways with Anette Olzon over the weekend. NIGHTWISH stated about the sudden singer switch, “In recent times it has become increasingly obvious that the direction and the needs of the band were in conflict, and this has led to a division from which we cannot recover.”
They added, “We are all strongly committed to this journey, this vehicle of spirit, and we are sure that this will lead to a brighter future for everyone.
“We forever remain excited about the adventures to come, and we are extremely proud of the two beautiful albums and the wonderful shows we shared together.”
Olzon joined NIGHTWISH in 2007 as the replacement for Tarja Turunen after the latter was fired in 2005.
Remaining dates on the North American tour are as follows:
October
3 – The Warfield – San Francisco, CA
5 – The Grove – Anaheim, CA
6 – House of Blues – San Diego, CA
7 – The Marquee – Tempe, AZ
9 – Diamond Ballroom – Oklahoma City, OK
10 – Emo’s – Austin, TX
11 – House Of Blues – New Orleans, LA
13 – Revolution – Ft Lauderdale, FL
14 – House of Blues Lake Buena Vista – Lake Buena Vista, FL
REVAMP, the band led by former AFTER FOREVER vocalist Floor Jansen, will enter the studio in December to begin recording its sophomore album for a tentative March/April 2013 release.
A new one-and-a-half-minute video update from Jansen regarding the progress of the songwriting sessions for the upcoming CD can be seen below.
REVAMP returned to the live stage in January at Metropool in Hengelo, The Netherlands as the support act for EPICA.
Video footage of REVAMP performing a brand new song, entitled “Sins”, during the concert can be seen below.
Jansen performed at Carioca Club in São Paulo, Brazil in November 2011 as a special guest of MAYAN, the band featuring EPICA/ex-AFTER FOREVER guitarist/songwriter Mark Jansen alongside Jack Driessen (ex-AFTER FOREVER) and Frank Schiphorst. This marked his first live appearance since her burn-out last year, which forced her to put on hold all concert activities.
REVAMP’s self-titled debut album was released in Europe on May 28, 2010 via Nuclear Blast Records.
While traveling to the Scala, I was contemplating a couple of things; I hope that the sound is good and also that the singers have brought their good voice today.
I do like a female vocalist, soaring vocals over heavy guitars, gets my juices flowing as they say! But it has to be good, especially in this style of music as a poor sound or vocal performance, can turn the most beautiful of song in to the worst thing in the world.
The new band MaYaN with many Epica members involved will release their debut album: Quarterpast on the 20th of May 2011.
The 7 singers on this album will be:
Mark Jansen: grunts & screams, Arien van Weesenbeek: grunts, Jack Driessen: screams, Floor Jansen (ReVamp, ex-After Forever), Simone Simons (Epica), Henning Basse (Sons of Seasons) and the revelation and one of the biggest Italian Opera talents, named Laura Macrì. See Laura sing here:
MaYaN will upload every day a new movie about the vocal recording sessions.
REVAMP, featuring ex-AFTER FOREVER singer Floor Jansen, have issued the following tour report:
“Ninth show: Tuesday, October 5th – Itay
It was nice to have had a day off! At the end of that day I wished we could have another. It was so relaxing and nice. But when we came to the venue that feeling was all gone! But the weather was cloudy and a bit cold. That wasn’t what we expected, we’re in Italy… it should be sunny.
Well, half hour later the clouds moved and it was so great to be out in the sun! I had a nice breakfast and tried to upload video report number 2. The internet connection wasn’t fast enough so I had to do this in Switzerland. We had a relaxed schedule that day. We played late so there was enough time to eat and get ready before the show.
During the afternoon many people already came to the venue to meet us. It was heartwarming to be welcomed so nicely! The Italian audience was so happy to see the ex-After Forever singer back.
When the show started everybody went crazy immediately. Yeah! After the first song or maybe second they started chanting: “Floor”. I thanked the audience from the bottom of my heart but also introduced ReVamp.
A few songs later they chanted: ”ReVamp! ReVamp”!!! How amazing that felt! Also after the show I met a lot of fans and everybody seemed so happy to see me again and to like ReVamp a lot. I got a second chance with this new band and it’s so great to see how good it’s being pickup up!”
A nine minute video of behind-the-scenes & live footage from REVAMP’s appearance at this year’s Graspop Metal Meeting festival in Belgium is available for viewing here. Fan-filmed footage of the song “Disdain” (featuring Björn “Speed” Strid from SOILWORK on the studio recording) is available here.
REVAMP’s live line-up includes Floor Jansen on vocals, Jord Otto on guitar, Arjan Rijnen on guitar, Jaap Melman on bass, Ruben Wijga on keyboards, and Matthias Landes on drums.
The band’s self-titled debut album was released in North America on July 27th. They will be supporting EPICA on their 18-date headlining European tour in September and October. The tracks“Million,” “Head Up High,” “Sweet Curse,” and “Disdain” are available for streaming on REVAMP’s MySpace page.
REVAMP, former After Forever singer Floor Jansen’s new band
Björn “Speed” Strid of Swedish modern metallers SOILWORK makes a guest appearance on the debut album by REVAMP, former After Forever singer Floor Jansen’s new band. REVAMP’s self-titled new album will be released in North America on July 27th.
Strid shares: “Actually, I have never met Floor in real life, but I do remember being impressed when I heard her voice the first time, though. She’s got balls. She had a certain song in mind [‘In Sickness ‘Till Death Do Us Part: Disdain’], sent me the music and a lyric sheet while I was in the studio with SOILWORK, and gave me a bit of guidance but also wanted me to improvise a bit. I spent a day working out my lines in a tower of the house we were renting in Mooresville, North Carolina also known as ‘The Genie Room.” Perfect. I recorded the vocals sometime in February while drinking some wine. With the intense verse and the open atmospheric chorus, it felt perfect as a duet! To me it’s about betrayal and being let down.”
States Jansen: “I am always inspired to write new music, but I must say that the end of After Forever and some personal changes in my life did give extra ingredients. Every song I heard could become a source of inspiration. Stories of others, movies or books, my personal relationships, everything mixed and melted into one and became an album. ‘Speed’ from SOILWORK brings another form of power to the album’s diversity with his screams/growl and clean voice. He masters so many different vocal sounds, just like me. Again, a lot of power together in one song. He gave ‘Disdain’ the energy and aggression it needed!”
Also performing guest vocals on Revamp is Russell Allen from SYMPHONY X and George Oosthoek from ORPHANAGE & PLEURISY.
The track listing for Revamp is:
01. Here’s My Hell – featuring George Oosthoek from ORPHANAGE & PLEURISY
02. Head Up High
03. Sweet Curse - featuring Russell Allen from SYMPHONY X
04. Million
05. In Sickness ‘Till Death Do Us Part: All Goodbyes Are Said
06. Break
07. In Sickness ‘Till Death Do Us Part: Disdain - featuring Björn “Speed” Strid from SOILWORK
08. In Sickness ‘Till Death Do Us Part: Disgraced
09. Fast Forward
10. Kill Me With Silence
11. The Trial Of Monsters
12. Under My Skin
13. I Lost Myself Bonus Track: No Honey For The Damned
The track “Head Up High” – the song from this record Floor Jansen would choose to put into an astronaut’s iPod at the International Space Station to represent all of humanity – is available for free download here (e-mail sign-up required). “It’s diverse, heavy, new, short and catchy, but still heavy and very metal.”
View Part 1 of an interview with Floor Jansen where she discusses her new band, REVAMP, here. Part 2 is available here.
The REVAMP team includes:
Floor Jansen: songwriter/singer
Joost van den Broek: songwriter/producer/arranger & studio keyboardist
Waldemar Sorychta: songwriter/producer/ studio guitarist and bass player
Koen Herfst: studio drummer
Jaap Melman: Live bass player
Ruben Wijga: Live keyboard player
Jord Otto: Live guitar player
Arjan Rijnen: Live guitar player
Matthias Landes: Live drummer
The Godfathers of Swedish modern metal, SOILWORK, will release a “Best Of” album entitled TheSledgehammer Files on June 30th via Marquee/Avalon Records in Japan. The band commented on the compilation to be released shortly before their latest full length record of new material, The Panic Broadcast:
“We’re proud and stoked to unleash the first ever official collection of classic SOILWORK tunes! The only way we could imagine our ‘Best Of’ album was as a complete chronological retrospective, and that’s exactly what The Sledgehammer Files is, from the raw ’n relentless Steelbath Suicide days to the modern majesty of Sworn To A Great Divide. We made sure to include the lyrics and cover art for each album, rare promo and live shots from each era, and a bonus DVD with most our official videos. Topped off with re-mastered songs from the first two albums and a new mix of ‘Exile’, this package is 100% SOILWORK!”
TheSledgehammer Files Tracklisting:
1. Sadistic Lullabye (remastered version)
2. Steelbath Suicide (remastered version)
3. The Chainheart Machine (remastered version)
4. Bulletbeast (remastered version)
5. Generation Speedkill (remastered version)
6. Bastard Chain
7. Needlefeast
8. Grand Failure Anthem
9. Follow The Hollow
10. As We Speak
11. Black Star Deceiver
12. Rejection Role
13. Figure Number Five
14. Light The Torch
15. Stabbing The Drama
16. One With The Flies
17. Nerve
18. Sworn To A Great Divide
19. Exile (Orchestral Mix) – previously unreleased version
