After Forever

The band that would later be called After Forever was founded in the Netherlands in 1995 by two metal guitarists/singers: Mark Jansen and Sander Gommans. This project really only takes shape in 1997 with the recruitment of a classical singer named Floor Jansen. At the time, the team was not yet called After Forever. It is under the name "Apocalypse" (proposed by Sander) that they begin, before finally changing their name and releasing a first album: Prison of Desire in 2000, after two demos recorded in 1999. This album achieves real success in the Netherlands, a country that has given birth to numerous female-fronted metal bands (The Gathering, Within Temptation, Epica), but also in the rest of Europe. After Forever records a second album named Decipher in 2001. In 2002, co-founder Mark Jansen leaves After Forever and creates Epica with singer Simone Simons.