VUUR is the new band from Dutch vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen and it consists of some of the best heavy metal players in The Netherlands, being: Jord Otto (guitar), Ferry Duijsens (guitar), Ed Warby (drums) and Johan van Stratum (bass guitar). The band's debut In This Moment We Are Free is a sort of concept album as the lyrical themes of the CD revolve around cities and freedom and Giersbergen wanted to capture the spirit of the cities she has been to into words and music. Musically this album is a mix of the sound of The Gathering and the sound of Gentle Storm, so it is a rather “heavy” album with lots of guitar riffs and hooks. After listening to the album several times I must say that after a while the songs tend to sound-a-like a bit too much, as the sheer amount of repetition is a bit overdone and I am afraid that therefore this album does not always hit the mark. Opener My Champion - Berlin is without any doubt one of the best songs on the album and it also depicts all what lies ahead, being: stunning vocals by Anneke, backed by a great band that however did not seem to have much creative freedom. My favorite tracks are Freedom - Rio, featuring a beautiful guitar solo and Days Go By - London, due to the fact that London is my favorite city in the world.... In This Moment We Are Free is a good rock album and especially guitar player Jord Otto shines on a couple of tracks, but it unfortunately lacks that necessary variety to call it an excellent album. Maybe this album is a bit too much on the safe side if you catch my drift, but check it out for yourself and maybe you feel that I am absolutely wrong...... *** Martien Koolen (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
