Nemesea (the last 3 letters is pronounced like the English "sea") is an Alternative Rock band from Groningen, The Netherlands, who seem to like to undergo Genre Shift whenever they release an album. Founded in 2002 by Henrik Jan de Jong, Manda Ophuis, and Sonny Onderwater, Nemesea first rose to the Symphonic Metal scene after supporting After Forever, and released their first album Mana in 2004.
Following major label talks and funding from Sellaband.com, Nemesea then shifted to full-blown electronica with their sophomore effort In Control, out in 2007, followed by the immersive live album Pure Live @ P3. Signing on with Napalm Records before the end of the decade, the band went Darker and Edgier bringing to fruition their 2011 effort The Quiet Resistance, featuring guests from bands Maerzfeld, Bulletproof Messenger, and Delain. Five years later, Uprise, a Lighter and Softer album against its predecessor, was released, with bonus reworks of some of their old material.
In that same year, Manda left the band to focus on teaching. Nemesea promptly started a search for a new singer via social media and found Sanne Mieloo (of Grandview Avenue and Guinevere), who debuted with the band in their 2017 single "Dance in the Fire" which reappeared in the band's fifth full-length album White Flag, released in 2019.
Current line-up
- Sonny Onderwater – bass, keyboards (2002–present)
- Hendrik Jan de Jong – guitar, keyboards, vocals (2002–present)
- Steven Bouma – drums (2006–2011, 2016–present)
- Sanne Mieloo – vocals (2017–present)
- Mathijs van Til – keyboards (2017–present)
Previous members
- Manda Ophuis – vocals (2002–2016)
- Lasse Dellbrugge – keyboards (2007–2015)
- Frank van der Star – drums (2011–2015)
- Chris Postma – drums (2002–2005)
- Sander Zoer – drums (2005–2006)
- Martijn Pronk – guitar (2002–2007)
- Berto Booijink – keyboards (2002–2007)
- Mana (2004)
- In Control (2007)
- The Quiet Resistance (2011)
- In Control 5.1 Surround/Live @ P3 5.1 bundle (2015)
- Uprise (2016)
- White Flag (2019)
Tropes in the fire
- Almost Kiss: The protagonist of "Afterlife" nearly gets to kiss Manda midway through the video but gets cut off.
- Apocalypse How: A Stephen Hawking-like voice in "2012" dictates things like nuclear war, asteroids, Antichrist, among others.
- Artifact Title: Well, the world didn't end in 2012, did it?
- Badass Boast: "Lucifer" and "The Storm".
- The Baroness: A desperate power-hungry one in "Empress".
- Broken Bird: Lots of songs, especially in TQR, either talk about this trope or are sang in the perspective of one.
- Death of a Child: The video for "Forever". Subverted at the very end.
- Despair Event Horizon: The girl in "Like the Air" seems to be on the verge of suicide.
- Driven to Suicide: After the father suffers a Heroic BSoD he tries to drown himself in the bathtub just to reconnect with his daughter, then gets out of the water. Turns out, the little girl may not be dead yet.
- "Sarah" is all about this.
- Face on the Cover: Seems to be a staple in their album art, but In Control takes the cake for literally being just a closeup of Manda's face.
- Geisha: The video for the "Hear Me" rework features Sanne dressed up as one.
- Genre Shift/New Sound Album: Nemesea started out as a straight-up Symphonic Metal act with Mana, did a full 180-degree turn to electronic rock with In Control, smashed those two styles together into a heavy Gothic Metal sound for The Quiet Resistance, and then went Lighter and Softer since Uprise. After Sanne and Mathijs came on board, White Flag marked their return to the heavy of The Quiet Resistance as a fully electronic rock band.
- Gothic Metal: Mana foremost, The Quiet Resistance in shades. Other albums downplay this.
- Grim Reaper: The Taker in "Mortalitas I".
- Incredibly Long Note: Manda likes to do this. Sanne, not as often.
- Industrial Metal: Well, industrial rock, but they do get heavy in The Quiet Resistance and White Flag.
- Large Ham: Manda loves hitting and sustaining high notes but doesn't get as hammy as Sanne whose theatrical background serves her quite well.
- Lyrical Cold Open: "Like the Air" and "Can't Believe It".
- Male Band, Female Singer: Founded as this with Manda, and continues with Sanne.
- Mind Screw: This band's first two videos with Sanne.
- Ms. Fanservice: Manda in her last two albums with the band. Sanne all the more.
- Ominous Latin Chanting: Mana has a few. Averted after the Genre Shift.
- One-Woman Wail: Manda was prone to this in Mana, but like the Ominous Latin Chanting, was dropped after the Genre Shift.
- Pep-Talk Song: Quite a few in Uprise.
- Precision F-Strike: Averted with Manda. Sanne unleashes the word slut in "The Storm" and fuck in "Don't Tell Me Your Name".
- Rearrange the Song: When Sanne and Mathijs joined Nemesea, "Hear Me" and "Twilight" were given new electronic passages unheard in Uprise along with new voice.
- The all-electronic "Broken" was given an orchestral arrangement.
- "Lucifer" and "Angel in the Dark" were given a nifty Industrial Metal overhaul in the P3 live album.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: "Beyond Evil" and a great deal of tracks from In Control and The Quiet Resistance.
- Revolving Door Band: HJ, Sonny, and until 2016 Manda have been the Long-Runner Line-up as the group changes drummers and keyboardists every few years. Recently they even welcomed back drummer Steven Bouma after Uprise.
- Rule of Three: "Threefold Law" discusses a golden rule that Wiccans abide by: Three times what thou givest will return to thee.
- Sdrawkcab Name: "Krad Eht Ni Legna", a backmasked piano solo at the tail end of Mana.
- Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: The redhead part was invoked by green-eyed brunette Manda during the In Control era. Come The Quiet Resistance she shifted to a Raven Hair, Ivory Skin aesthetic until her departure. Sanne, also a brunette but hazel-eyed, invoked the red hair when she came to the band.
- Singer Name Drop: "Nemesis", the Album Intro Track to Mana. Also possibly an inversion of Titled After the Song when you find out the band originally was christened Nemesis but was altered to avoid confusion.
- Soprano and Gravel: Maerzfeld vox Heli Reißenweber's deep voice provided a striking contrast to Manda's soprano in "Allein".
- Symphonic Metal: Mana is this big time.
- Statuesque Stunner: Sanne.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Manda is a bit of a Tomboy with a Girly Streak; Sanne is more straightforwardly feminine.
- You Are Not Alone: "Afterlife" has shades of this.
