Floor Jansen at 2007 Master of Rock. Photo by KaJaNa.
It’s time for another installment in my Female-Fronted Metal series. Last time it was Nightwish. Now it’s the now-defunct After Forever. Below, you’ll find the band’s wonderful cover of Iron Maiden’s “The Evil that Men Do.”
Now, I have to say - this band is not as good as the sum of its parts. They should be way better than they are. Floor Jansen has a monster set of pipes and possibly the best stage presence of any singer drawing breath (a brief aside: People “ooh” and “ahh” over that chick from the YeahYeahYeahs. I know it’s a different genre, but Floor absolutely destroys her on every level.).
The rest of the band can play just great. What they can’t do is consistently write awesome songs. That might be why there are no longer. That and, in my opinion, a keytar is a kiss of death! The band has a lot of skill and enthusiasm and they bring it full-force for this classic tune. Great chemistry among them. Just not, to me, the best songwriters.
Floor says she has something new in the works - I’m looking forward to it. She is a grade-A metal singer.
As for the video - I love it. It shows real musicians, and you can tell that they’re fighting hard like real musicians do. The guitarist is having a devil of a time with his Floyd Rose tremolo system, having to adjust and lock the collar down. Floor herself seems to be making adjustments to her in-ear monitor system. Overcoming challenges and still delivering. Love it!
