Th whole concept of this one is the story of two lovers, one ais a voyager going to India in the old days the other is his wife, waiting for him in Amsterdam and both sending letters which arrive by the biais of other sailing ship with of course a bit of décalage...
For this one, Arjen does the Music but does not sing.. the whole parts (both woman and man) is sung by Anneke Van Giersbergen. The songs are basically put on two versions, a gentle one, more acoustic and a Storm one, more full metal band. Both CD are together.
The songs are classic Lucassen albeit not very heavily riff oriented.
The songs does not really differ from one version to the other save for the shores of India and the heart of Amsterdam (damn jazzy) which are the songs that really stands out. Anneke does a really lovely work but when she sings about forlorn love, she is at her best. The moment is another of this highlight.
Live the songs really kick off. the metal version mostly takes the part and really soars giving depth and power.
On the contrary the gentle version like the moment are stripped to the bone and are really gems that makes Anneke's voice shines.
The albums is a really nice concept album with great artwork and two cd that makes you choose which versions you like.
It was some times said that Russel Allen could have sung the album. I guess a duet would have been better suited. Not that Anneke does not do good work on the male vocals but her feminine parts are so much more lively when she sings about love and lingering feeling towards the missing one....
But enough of what ifs, very nice release, maybe not a big highlight in both performers discography but a solid one, far from the bottom.
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