Sander Gommans - After Forever

 

English Version

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Guilherme Mitre – At first, we’d like to thank you for this opportunity and also greeting you for the extraordinary work you’ve been doing over the years.

Sander: Thank you very much, I appreciate that!

Metal Clube – You didn’t feel well some time ago. You had vertigo, convulsions and stress, and for that reason, some shows were canceled. By and large, how’s your health doing? Did your teammates give support you?

Sander: Well, I'm doing ok, but once you go too far with working over your limits, it's hard to get over that. I have to focus on things that make me relaxed, but obviously not everything in life makes you relaxed, and life still goes on, I also have to make a living and work.

But it's to take a break from After Forever for a while; the rest of the band has always been great to me and supported me 100%!

Metal Clube – The last work has already been quite spread and well accepted for the fans. Which is the outcome that After Forever has been getting from this work?

Sander: The outcome is good, but with After Forever albums there are always different opinion. We never do the same thing twice, and we also didn’t do that with the last album, so the opinions differ. In general, it's been received really positive by the press, and I feel happy with the way the album is doing! É possível que seu navegador não suporte a exibição desta imagem.

Metal Clube – According to you, Sander, this CD has a right to the name of After Forever, since it brings material from the beginning of the band. This is an effective method, since now a lot of bands prefer to innovate, but many times it is useless and even controversial. However, why did After Forever prefer to bet in a traditional style? Will the new work bring great innovations?

Sander: Well, like I said, also this album is innovative in a lot of ways for After Forever (compositions/real orchestra/different sounds/guest musicians/experimental songs) and every album will be like that.

I named it After Forever because it's a mix of all other albums AND new things, but mixed in a far better way. I honestly believe that we created the best we could when we wrote it. If there will be a next album, it'll be innovative again, and believe me, aggressive :-)

Metal Clube – You produced a heavier experimental work based on Trash Metal influences called HDK. There are several guest appearances into it, including the Brazilian singer, André Matos. Tell us about this work and André’s appearance.

Sander: Andre has a great personality, and he wants to make things perfect. He also experiments, and his voice sounds different on the HDK song Request than on his other work. It was great to meet him and experience him singing the stuff, and I'm really proud he helped me out with that!!!

Andre, if you happen to read this, YOU RULE!!!!!!!!

Metal Clube – Is there any chance of After Forever to release an album or even doing a tour with HDK?

Sander: No, I'm finishing the HDK together with Joost (keyboards After Forever) right now, and than I'll talk to the labels.

It's a project though, so not a live band. I think the After Forever might be surprised since it’s not only thrash, but a combination of many metal styles and vocalists, as well as musicians.

Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon) is also cooperating!

Amanda Somerville played a big role in the vocal lines/lyrics/vocals, which makes the project far more versatile. I can't wait to release it and hear all of your opinions!

Metal Clube – In the tour of the last album, After Forever didn’t come to Brazil. The forecasts given, including by you, that the band will return to Brazil in the first half of 2008 do not confirm because of the break of a year that you will give, right? So, is there any other prediction?

Sander: Yes, I was planning a tour through Brasil and, as you well said, unfortunately that didn’t work out because we decided we really needed a break.

I feel sad we couldn’t do the tour, but we need to offer you the best thing possible, and not an After Forever that can only give 50 %. É possível que seu navegador não suporte a exibição desta imagem.

So a tour in 2008 will definitely not be a possibility, but if we come back, you can be sure that a South American tour is one of the main priorities.

Whenever someone asks me about my After Forever experiences, I always talk about Brasil.....we won't forget you!!!!!!

Metal Clube – You already paid homage to some bands when you played versions like “The Evil that Men Do”, Iron Maiden and “The Final Countdown”, Europe. In September, you played a version of the song “For Whom The Bell Tools”, Metallica, in Milan, Italy, and the keyboard sound along with Bas Maas voice were perfectly pleasant. Could you tell us which is the process used for these covers and how is your fans’ reaction?

Sander: The reactions is always better than I expect, and for myself it's great to play covers, it's like a dream coming true, especially with The Final Countdown;-)

As a band, we decided what we want to play, and the main priority is that the song has to have certain energy and that it has to show a different side of what After Forever is about!

Metal Clube – In November 26, when After Forever and Epica played together on stage, in Hardenberg, Holland, an outstanding moment happened in the career of two bands. Although you did not participate, how was this meeting? Does After Forever have an easy relationship with Mark Jansen?

Sander: I don't know how the atmosphere was actually, I wasn’t there.

Mark and I see each other regularly, the relationship is good!

Metal Clube – Could the speculations about the recording of a live DVD be confirmed next year?

Sander: Tell us what is already known about the work.

Unfortunately, our old label Transmission owns the right about all our albums/songs/videos etc until the new album.

They won’t cooperate in making a DVD, so that's the reason we still haven’t got one. Transmission has done everything to ruin After Forever and I would like to know when they'll stop with that...

A DVD is so important for the fans and After Forever, it's really frustrating that we haven't been able to release decent one!

Metal Clube Even with a break of one year of After Forever, future plans should exist, correct? What are they, both of the band as Sander?
 
Sander: I will focus on finishing my project HDK, we'll take a break of at least a year with After Forever. This will be a real break, so I try not too think too much already about the things to come for After Forever. Let's first make sure I'll become healthy again, ahaha.

Metal Clube – Sander, I thank you very much for the great exclusive interview. Please, leave a message to the Brazilian fans that long for the After Forever return.

Sander: Thank YOU a lot!

Well, I already gave the message in one of the answers, Brasil will always be special to us, we are always talking about the Brasilians (but also about the people in general in South America), and your support is incredible!!!!!!!

Keep checking our myspace pages for news, on my mysace www.myspace.coms/sandergommans I'll be regularly posting news about After Forever related stuff (not that long ago I posted some early early After Forever artwork) and projects, hope to see you there and especially in Brasil again!

Sander Gommans
 
www.afterforever.com
www.myspace.com/afterforeveronline
www.myspace.com/sandergommans

 

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