After Forever "Decipher (2007 Reissue, Collector's Edition, Japan, Avalon, MICP-90030)"

Decipher is the second album by Dutch symphonic metal band After Forever, released on 27 December 2001. In this album, the band make use of live classical instruments and a complete choir to back up the soprano voice of lead singer Floor Jansen. Thrown in the mix are also a duet of soprano and tenor voices in "Imperfect Tenses" and the recording of the late Israeli PM Yizhak Rabin's voice during the 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty signing ceremony in "Forlorn Hope". This is the last After Forever album with guitarist and founder Mark Jansen, who left the band soon after its release.

In 2003, the album was reissued in a limited edition of 5,000 copies worldwide. The limited edition in digipack had an extended booklet, a sticker with new artwork and two live bonus tracks. It was again reissued in 2012 by the re-financed Transmission Records, this time as a two-disc set containing previously unreleased studio sessions, single edits and a handful of demo recordings.

Tracklist:

Disc 1 - Decipher

1. Ex Cathedra - Ouverture 02:02   
2. Monolith of Doubt 03:31
3. My Pledge of Allegiance #1 - The Sealed Fate 06:25
4. Emphasis 04:18   
5. Intrinsic 06:43
6. Zenith 04:21   
7. Estranged - A Timeless Spell 06:55
8. Imperfect Tenses 04:08  
9. My Pledge of Allegiance #2 - The Tempted Fate 05:07   
10. The Key 04:47
11. Forlorn Hope 06:21   

Time:   54:38  

Disc 2 - Exordium

1. Line of Thoughts 02:15  
2. Beneath 04:52  
3. My Choice 04:53
4. Glorifying Means 05:00  
5. The Evil That Men Do (Iron Maiden cover) 04:50   
6. One Day I'll Fly Away (Randy Crawford cover) 04:43  

Time:  26:33

Released as part of the DIVA Collector's Edition series.

Recording information:

Additional keyboards and piano recorded at Cees Kieboom's Digital Residence.

Produced, recorded & engineered June - August 2001.

Additional production & mix at Studio RS29, Waalwijk, The Netherlands. August - September 2001.

Mastered at Sound Factory, Soest, The Netherlands.

Stephen van Haestregt – production, engineer

Oscar Holleman – additional production, mixing

Hans van Vuuren – executive producer, coordination and research

Peter van 't Riet – mastering