In a creative process that had lasted a little over a year, three splendid parts finally formed a wonderful whole.

The Dutch band Ex Libris, led by frontwoman Dianne Van Giersbergen, set out headlong on an audacious project but extremely happy outcome: the album “ANN – A Progressive Metal Trilogy”, designed from August 2018 onwards in the form of 3 EPs of approximately 20 minutes, with 3 songs each, addressing in each of them the musical story of 3 great “Annes” of world history, all huge victims of terror from the human race itself, namely:

Review: Ex Libris – “Ann, Chapter 1: Anne Boleyn”.

Review: “Ann, Chapter 2: Anastasia Romanova” – Ex Libris (also in English).

… And finally, the newcomer “Chapter 3 – Anne Frank”, which I will talk about in the lines below.

In the third chapter of this prog-metallic trilogy, Dianne and her companions of Ex-Libris invites us to explore Anne Frank’s strong and sad story, but with the impressive lyrical charm they always manage to deliver in their works.

Anne Frank, born in Frankfurt to a Jewish family, desperate by the Nazi terror, takes refuge in the Netherlands in 1943, where Anne begins making her famous dutch written diary in a tiny notebook she had been given for her 13th birthday, which would later be published by his father and translated into over seventy languages.

The work begins precisely with the song “The Diary”, which brings us to Dianne, emerging with her beautiful and smooth voice, accompanied by piano and keyboards, by the incredible Joost van den Broek, creating an initially lucid and tranquil atmosphere, where Frank begins the diary writing, writing the first lines, still serene and with a certain tranquility.

Harmony and contemplation give way to fear, anguish, and tension in the face of the coming threat in EP’s second song “The Annex,” which erupts bursting with ex-Libris’ wonderful prog-metal elements: powerful riffs, phrasing, and guitar solos by Bob Wijtsma, variations of tempo, always pervaded by Lady Dianne’s breaking voice. Here we even have a beautiful little excerpt that brings us to flamenco music, with guitars and voice.

Suddenly, sirens announce the dread and turn “The Annex” to “The Raid”, undoubtedly one of the best songs of the Ex-libris career. A beautiful ten-minute suite, bringing the moment of the arrest of Anne Frank and her family by the Nazi Gestapo in August 1944 and the torturous stay and death in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in February 1945.

Here, there are qualities to spare. First, Dianne does almost too much of her well singing, showing one of her greatest vocal virtues: her ability to sway intermittently between lyric singing and raw metal. Moreover, the instrumental part of the song is elaborately exquisite, with the musicians seeming to frolic, as if shifting melodic cadences from here to there was extremely easy.

The song, the EP and the album ends with Dianne van Giersbergen singing a beautiful chant without lyrics, as if the specters of Anne Boleyn, Anastasia Romanova and Anne Frank looked at us in farewell and grateful for the beautiful tribute they received from Ex Libris.

Five stars.

Review: Ex Libris – ANN – A Progressive Metal Trilogy (Chapter 3 – Anne Frank) (Texto em Português)

Transleted from Portuguese by Renato Azambuja.

Ex Libris: Exclusive Interview with Dianne van Giersbergen

Tracklist:

1.The Diary (04:22)
2.The Annex (06:03)
3.The Raid (10:16)

A Banda:

Dianne van Giersbergen – Vocals
Joost van den Broek – Synth, Keys
Bob Wijtsma – Guitars
Luuk van Gerven – Bass
Harmen Kieboom – Drums