Nemesea are a minor ripple in the overall Gothic metal pool if one considers their entire history. They've been slow on the uptake in terms of deciding which influences to tout, establishing a hybrid After Forever meets Within Temptation sound on their debut at a time when the latter had abandoned that sound and the former had split off into 2 projects, the one bearing more resemblance to them being Epica. But somewhere along the line a sentiment caught on that when they jumped ship on the metal scene after a singular yet impressive effort in 'Mana' that they were doing so in order to develop their own identity. But if their previous album 'In Control' and their superior yet still flawed latest effort 'The Quiet Resistance' are any indication, the new identity that they've assumed is anything but their own.
To this band's credit, 2011 has ushered in a sound that is far less obnoxiously electronic and pop-infused and a bit more hard hitting, but the end results range from nominally impressive to largely forgettable fluff. The target sound is definitely the long established and now passe Evanescence influenced sound of Within Temptation's 'The Silent Force' and 'The Heart Of Everything', which is a fitting sound for Manda's vocals to accompany as she sounds very similar to Sharon Den Adel, but also something that was well established back when this fold was an opening act for After Forever. It's painted over a bit more with a mixture of electronic drums and droning keyboard ambiances that remind a bit of Nine Inch Nails at times, but it largely conforms to the slow to mid-tempo, groove based rock sound with very few points of intrigue to speak of.
The flaws with this largely self-produced venture are pretty glaring, but also fairly localized and stop shy of delivering an absolute death blow to any and all redeeming elements. Anyone who doesn't like suffering through a minute of unabashed awkwardness that makes concepts like cringe-worthy an understatement, avoid the abrasive whispered intro track, which brings whole new meaning to the term unnecessary. Similarly, this album maybe be a bit frustrating for those who want an instant impact from the get go, as this thing takes its good old time getting to any strong moments. The semi-balladry and groovy fanfare dominate the equation, with 'Afterlife' possibly turning a few heads if anyone really enjoyed Evanescence's straight up rocker 'Going Under' and don't mind a slightly less bombastic guitar backdrop, but a similar general feel.
It isn't really until the tail end of this album that things get a bit interesting, mostly because the radio friendly 2-dimensional works make way for some more heavily industrial material that, while not quite being metal, definitely showcase a road that actually is a bit less traveled. 'Rush' is pretty much the only song on here that has any metallic qualities and sees the drums moving away from Phil Rudd straight beat territory, and the next song 'Release Me' takes some interesting Depeche Mode elements and marries it to their otherwise arena anthem chorus approach with solid results. Following this are some stranger moments, such as a heavily electronic instrumental dubbed '2012' that sounds a bit closer to a quirky concoction that Marilyn Manson might have put together for a movie soundtrack, and a bonus song 'Allein' that has a keyboard theme similar to 90s Stratovarius mixed in with a very Gothic sounding rock anthem with a nice, driving guitar groove to it and a gritty, deep voiced male vocal slot.
All in all, there's very little here that can be classified as unique in terms of musical identity. 'The Quiet Resistance' is essentially a commonplace affair that was already tried and true by 2005, and differs only by having a somewhat more ambitious guitarist occasional throwing out some good lead work. Come to think of it, that is what they were in their roots when they were on the Symphonic scene, a slightly more technically proficient rehash of what was already well established in The Netherlands since 2001. It's an enjoyable album when ignoring the handful of truly horrendous moments (the title song for one), but not something that really has the same level of charm as WT's 'The Unforgiving' or Tarja Turunen's similarly styled solo material.
To this band's credit, 2011 has ushered in a sound that is far less obnoxiously electronic and pop-infused and a bit more hard hitting, but the end results range from nominally impressive to largely forgettable fluff. The target sound is definitely the long established and now passe Evanescence influenced sound of Within Temptation's 'The Silent Force' and 'The Heart Of Everything', which is a fitting sound for Manda's vocals to accompany as she sounds very similar to Sharon Den Adel, but also something that was well established back when this fold was an opening act for After Forever. It's painted over a bit more with a mixture of electronic drums and droning keyboard ambiances that remind a bit of Nine Inch Nails at times, but it largely conforms to the slow to mid-tempo, groove based rock sound with very few points of intrigue to speak of.
The flaws with this largely self-produced venture are pretty glaring, but also fairly localized and stop shy of delivering an absolute death blow to any and all redeeming elements. Anyone who doesn't like suffering through a minute of unabashed awkwardness that makes concepts like cringe-worthy an understatement, avoid the abrasive whispered intro track, which brings whole new meaning to the term unnecessary. Similarly, this album maybe be a bit frustrating for those who want an instant impact from the get go, as this thing takes its good old time getting to any strong moments. The semi-balladry and groovy fanfare dominate the equation, with 'Afterlife' possibly turning a few heads if anyone really enjoyed Evanescence's straight up rocker 'Going Under' and don't mind a slightly less bombastic guitar backdrop, but a similar general feel.
It isn't really until the tail end of this album that things get a bit interesting, mostly because the radio friendly 2-dimensional works make way for some more heavily industrial material that, while not quite being metal, definitely showcase a road that actually is a bit less traveled. 'Rush' is pretty much the only song on here that has any metallic qualities and sees the drums moving away from Phil Rudd straight beat territory, and the next song 'Release Me' takes some interesting Depeche Mode elements and marries it to their otherwise arena anthem chorus approach with solid results. Following this are some stranger moments, such as a heavily electronic instrumental dubbed '2012' that sounds a bit closer to a quirky concoction that Marilyn Manson might have put together for a movie soundtrack, and a bonus song 'Allein' that has a keyboard theme similar to 90s Stratovarius mixed in with a very Gothic sounding rock anthem with a nice, driving guitar groove to it and a gritty, deep voiced male vocal slot.
All in all, there's very little here that can be classified as unique in terms of musical identity. 'The Quiet Resistance' is essentially a commonplace affair that was already tried and true by 2005, and differs only by having a somewhat more ambitious guitarist occasional throwing out some good lead work. Come to think of it, that is what they were in their roots when they were on the Symphonic scene, a slightly more technically proficient rehash of what was already well established in The Netherlands since 2001. It's an enjoyable album when ignoring the handful of truly horrendous moments (the title song for one), but not something that really has the same level of charm as WT's 'The Unforgiving' or Tarja Turunen's similarly styled solo material.
The Quiet Resistance is the third studio album by the Dutch gothic metal band Nemesea, released in 2011. The album was produced and mixed by Joost van den Broek. The album was produced and mixed by Joost van den Broek. Nov 18, 2011 Nemesea - 'The Quiet Resistance' CD Reviewed on Metalunderground.com. Bottom line: 'The Quiet Resistance' starts and ends with a bang, but there is.