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REVAMP
Wild Card

Nuclear Blast (2013)
Rating: 5/10

Dutch singer Floor Jansen returns from her stint fronting live dates for Nightwish with a sophomore effort from her “solo” band ReVamp. Jansen has become well known in symphonic, gothic and progressive metal circles over the years as the frontwoman for After Forever (who officially disbanded in 2009) and for her vocal contributions to Ayreon and Star One albums. Wild Card is ReVamp’s second album for Nuclear Blast and takes a much more aggressive stance than the band’s 2010 self-titled debut, which had a much stronger commercial edge to it.

Wild Card is a hit and miss bag of operatic vocals, growling, and metal-tinged songwriting that grinds and parades in fairly typical patterns. This is best looked at through the album’s focal point, a trio of songs generally titled ‘The Anatomy Of A Nervous Breakdown’.

The ‘Neurasthenia’ portion is a helping of aggression that features almost-growling male vocals counterpointing Jansen’s strong, but distinctly feminine, vocals. She sings fairly straightforward here and the avoidance of overly operatic parts gives it a live feel that I really like. Unfortunately, musically the song doesn’t seem to go anywhere at all. The time changes get annoying and when it does settle in a groove, it feels a bit too much like what Five Finger Death Punch might do.

‘On The Sideline’ continues the time change-happy confusion, but balances out a little better than ‘Neuresthania’ with a semi-radio friendly chorus that sneaks into your psyche on repeated listens. ‘The Limbic System’ completes the trio, offering up a more progressive approach that sounds a little like what I’d imagine a heavy metal performance on Broadway might sound like. Like the others, it’s got some nice moments but it never stays in them long enough to allow you to really feel it deep down in my opinion.

While the album’s obvious centrepieces aren’t really my cup of tea, the album is not without out its solid moments. The title track reminds me a good deal of the band’s debut. It’s semi-aggressive but it keeps the commercial appeal that ‘The Anatomy Of A Nervous Breakdown’ songs seem hell bent on destroying. Mid-song, the big symphonic parts come to life and by the song’s end they almost have you ready to bow down before them.

‘Distorted Lullabies’ slows things down to a pace that I personally feel is better suited to Jansen’s voice. It moves in a mid-tempo groove that allows her to sing more operatically without it sounding quite as awkward as it does on some of the other songs.

Overall, I want to love this album. I really dug After Forever, I’m praying Jansen joins Nightwish, and I’m certainly a fan of ReVamp’s debut. For me, Wild Card is an ambitious project but it never manages to quite wrap itself around you in the way her music usually does. This is an average album; it isn’t bad by any means, but also not one we will be seeing on 2013 “Best Of” lists either.

Mark Fisher

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