After Forever
| Company type | Band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1995 in the Netherlands |
| Defunct | February 5, 2009 |
| Fate | Disbanded |
| Headquarters | Netherlands |
| Products | Symphonic metal music, albums, EPs |
Number of employees | 6–7 (band members) |
After Forever was a symphonic metal group from the Netherlands, heavily influenced by progressive metal, distinguished by their fusion of soprano singing and death growls.
The band ceased activities in February 2009. Following the split, vocalist Floor Jansen and keyboardist Joost van den Broek collaborated on projects such as ReVamp and Star One, with Jansen becoming Nightwish's lead vocalist in 2013. After leaving After Forever in 2002, former rhythm guitarist Mark Jansen established Epica, and later in 2010 created MaYaN, which included ex-members Sander Gommans and Jack Driessen. Floor Jansen also performed as a guest or touring vocalist for both Epica and MaYaN.
Formation and Prison Of Desire era (1995–2000)
Originating in 1995 under the name Apocalypse, the band initially played gothic metal covers featuring harsh male vocals. With the addition of singer Floor Jansen in 1997, their sound evolved into symphonic gothic metal, blending her soprano voice with growls from Sander Gommans and Mark Jansen. The lineup at this stage comprised Floor Jansen, Mark Jansen, Sander Gommans, Luuk van Gerven, Jack Driessen, and Joep Beckers. They soon began crafting original songs and adopted the name After Forever, inspired by a track from Black Sabbath.
In 1999, they recorded two demos titled Ephemeral and Wings of Illusion, which caught the attention of Dutch label Transmission Records, leading to a contract. Their debut album Prison of Desire, released in 2000, featured guest vocals by Sharon den Adel of Within Temptation on the track "Beyond Me" and received favorable reviews across Europe. By the end of that year, drummer André Borgman and keyboardist Lando van Gils joined the band, replacing Joep Beckers and Jack Driessen.
Also in 2000, Floor Jansen lent her vocals to Ayreon's album Universal Migrator Part 1: The Dream Sequencer.
Decipher release and Mark Jansen's exit (2001–2002)
The 2001 album Decipher incorporated live classical instruments and choral elements. By year's end, After Forever had risen to prominence within the Dutch metal community alongside acts like The Gathering, Within Temptation, Gorefest, and Ayreon. Receiving widespread acclaim, Decipher solidified their standing in the Netherlands' underground metal scene. Critics particularly lauded the musicianship and Floor Jansen's vocal performances both in studio recordings and live shows.
Despite this success, creative disagreements emerged following the album's release. Founding guitarist and principal songwriter Mark Jansen experienced conflicts with other members over musical direction. He had been instrumental in shaping the band's early symphonic sound that fused cinematic influences, classical music, and religious lyrical themes. His vision for subsequent work involved deeper integration of classical instrumentation, Latin choral parts, and death metal elements. Conversely, other members led by Sander Gommans favored a more straightforward and aggressive approach. These artistic differences culminated in Jansen's departure, which he described as an abrupt dismissal just before rehearsals while preparing for major performances such as Pinkpop.
After leaving After Forever, Jansen founded Sahara Dust, which eventually became the symphonic metal band Epica. His successor was Bas Maas, who had served as guitar technician during After Forever's 2001–2002 tours. In August and September 2002, After Forever toured across Europe supporting Finnish band Nightwish, gaining exposure to larger audiences and increased media coverage. Additionally, Floor Jansen expanded her profile through collaboration with Dutch composer Arjen Anthony Lucassen on Star One's album Space Metal followed by a tour later that year.
Exordium EP and Invisible Circles album (2003–2004)
Due to Floor Jansen's other commitments along with members balancing jobs and studies, live performances were limited during 2002 and early 2003. Work on new material commenced in early 2003, culminating in the October release of the EP Exordium. This EP included an instrumental piece, three original songs, plus two cover tracks. Jansen described it as a prelude to their forthcoming full-length record with lyrics addressing contemporary social topics.
In 2004, After Forever unveiled their concept album Invisible Circles, which delved into subjects such as childhood trauma and abuse. This release incorporated progressive metal influences along with introducing clean male vocals. It achieved position No. 24 on the Dutch Top 100 chart. That same year saw keyboardist Lando van Gils depart; he was succeeded by Joost van den Broek—whom Jansen had met during her involvement with Arjen Lucassen’s Star One project.
Remagine era and Nuclear Blast signing (2005–2006)
September 2005 marked the release of After Forever’s fourth studio album Remagine. Owing to drummer André Borgman’s illness, drum parts were pre-recorded prior to his temporary absence. The album featured more straightforward compositions while retaining the band's hallmark dual vocal style.
On 3 March 2006, After Forever parted ways with Transmission Records citing insufficient promotional support. Transmission subsequently issued a compilation entitled Mea Culpa, comprising rare tracks and B-sides. By October of that year, After Forever secured a contract with German label Nuclear Blast Records, aiming to strengthen their market reach.
Self-titled album, hiatus and disbandment (2007–2009)
Late 2006 saw the recording of their final album—and sole release under Nuclear Blast—titled After Forever. This record included guest contributions from guitarist Jeff Waters of Annihilator and vocalist Doro Pesch. It was released on 23 April 2007.
In January 2008, After Forever announced an indefinite hiatus lasting at least one year to address health concerns affecting vocalist/guitarist Sander Gommans who had been absent during much of the supporting tour. Floor Jansen indicated intentions to reconvene in early 2009 to evaluate the group's future direction.
Ultimately, on 5 February 2009, After Forever officially disbanded due to diminished enthusiasm following the prolonged break.
Post-breakup endeavors (2009–2017)
Following the split, Sander Gommans released two albums—System Overload (2009) and Serenades of the Netherworld (2014)—under his solo project HDK; he also developed Magic-O-Metal, a metal/comic venture aimed at children, alongside working as an art teacher at a high school.
Floor Jansen established ReVamp, signed by Nuclear Blast Records; they released ReVamp in 2010 and Wild Card in 2013. ReVamp’s activities were paused due to health issues affecting Jansen as well as her recruitment as Nightwish’s lead singer—effectively ending ReVamp’s continuation.
Joost van den Broek collaborated extensively with Gommans and Jansen on various projects; led symphonic/crossover productions like Christmas Metal Symphony (2008–2009); contributed to Stream of Passion’s album The Flame Within; focused on composition and studio work; while occasionally performing live with acts such as Ayreon and The Gentle Storm.
Bas Maas joined German hard rock vocalist Doro Pesch’s live band in 2008.
During After Forever’s hiatus period, André Borgman and Luuk van Gerven played with Robby Valentine’s live ensemble. Borgman later became part of Amanda Somerville’s band Trillium in 2017—reuniting with former bandmate Gommans.
2025 reunion
On 4 and 5 October 2025, After Forever reunited for two performances commemorating the 25th anniversary of their debut album. The lineup featured original members Sander Gommans, Bas Maas, Luuk van Gerven, André Borgman, Mark Jansen alongside Jeffrey Revet and Angel Wolf-Black filling roles for keyboardist Lando van Gils and lead vocalist Floor Jansen respectively. This reunion combined members from their Desire era with Maas—who replaced Jansen after his departure—and substitutes completing the ensemble for these special shows.
Band members
- Current roster
- Sander Gommans – bass guitar (1995–1996), lead guitar, screamed vocals (1995–2009, 2025)
- Mark Jansen – rhythm guitar, screamed vocals (1995–2002, 2025)
- Luuk van Gerven – bass guitar (1996–2009, 2025)
- André Borgman – drums, percussion (2000–2009, 2025)
- Bas Maas – rhythm guitar, clean vocals (2002–2009, 2025)
- Jeffrey Revet – keyboards (2025)
- Angel Wolf-Black – lead vocals (2025)
- Previous members
- Joep Beckers – drums, percussion (1995–2000)
- Jack Driessen – keyboards (1995–2000)
- Floor Jansen – lead vocals (1997–2009)
- Lando van Gils – keyboards (2000–2004)
- Joost van den Broek – keyboards (2004–2009)
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Highest chart rankings | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NLD | GER | FRA | BEL (FL) | BEL (WA) | JPN | ||||
| Prison of Desire |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Decipher |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Invisible Circles |
|
24 | — | — | 74 | — | 272 | ||
| Remagine |
|
21 | — | — | 55 | 96 | — | ||
| After Forever |
|
6 | 98 | 105 | 89 | 72 | 234 | ||
| "—" indicates albums that did not enter charts or were not released in the specified market. | |||||||||
Compilation albums
| Title | Album details | Highest chart position | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NLD | |||||||||
| Mea Culpa |
|
69 | |||||||
| Eccentric |
|
— | |||||||
| "—" signifies releases that did not chart or were unavailable in that region. | |||||||||
EPs
| Title | Album details | Highest chart position | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NLD | |||||||||
| Exordium |
|
56 | |||||||
| "—" represents recordings that either did not chart or were not issued in that country. | |||||||||
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NLD | |||||||||
| 2000 | "Follow in the Cry" / "Silence from Afar" | — | Prison of Desire | ||||||
| 2002 | "Emphasis" / "Who Wants to Live Forever" | — | Decipher | ||||||
| "Monolith of Doubt" | — | ||||||||
| 2003 | "My Choice" / "The Evil That Men Do" | — | Exordium | ||||||
| 2004 | "Digital Deceit" | 41 | Invisible Circles | ||||||
| 2005 | "Being Everyone" | 54 | Remagine | ||||||
| 2006 | "Two Sides" / "Boundaries Are Open" | — | Mea Culpa | ||||||
| 2007 | "Energize Me" | 94 | After Forever | ||||||
| "Equally Destructive" (DVD single) | 89 | ||||||||
| "—" denotes tracks that did not chart or were not released in that market. | |||||||||
Music videos
- "Emphasis" (2002)
- "My Choice" (2003)
- "Digital Deceit" (2004)
- "Being Everyone" (2005)
- "Energize Me" (2007)
- "Equally Destructive" (2007)
- "Discord" (2007)
Demos
| Title | Demo information |
|---|---|
| Ephemeral |
|
| Wings of Illusion |
|
Interviews
- Floor Jansen Interview (August 2007)
- Ragnarok Radio Interview featuring Floor Jansen and Lori Linstruth (December 2008)