First thing that comes to mind is "Whoa! Change in direction, much?" There is only one similarity between the two albums, and that’s Manda’s voice. Otherwise, the band goes from a solid gothic metal sound with choirs, strings and the like to a synth-driven pop/rock sound, albeit a decent one. The songs on "In Control" are powerful, yes, but seem to have changed genres completely. Manda even uses a completely different vocal style on this album, although you can still recognize her distinctive voice fairly easily.

"I'd say that Mana is a typical gothic metal album. Classical vocals, a choir, strings etc. In Control is a rock album with trance/electro elements. The whole bombastic sound we tried to make on Mana through choir and strings is replaced on In Control with trance/key sounds," says Manda in an interview with Musical Discoveries. "It's no longer gothic metal, although the gothic aspect is not completely gone. The songs are shorter and better, the lyrics are totally different and the classical way of singing is totally gone."

That’s pretty accurate, I’d say, although "better" isn’t the word I’d use. Maybe it’s just a matter of preference, but I prefer the darker, gothic sound the band had with "Mana", and I’m sure many of the original Nemesea fans would too. But "In Control" will definitely appeal to a wider audience than "Mana" did. Maybe that’s why they changed?

Well, for a "rock album with trance/electro elements", it’s not bad at all. I’d say one of the better ones in the genre. The songs here are catchy, but heavy and powerful, mainly driven by Manda’s powerful voice. She has quite a range, but it is a lot more evident on "Mana" than it is on "In control".

Of the 10 tracks on this album, there is really only one that I can’t listen to, and that is "The Way I Feel" featuring Cubworld. It’s a slow song, and although Manda did some beautiful ballads on "Mana", I feel that it doesn’t work that well on this album. There are a few slower songs on this album, but they are all better than the aforementioned track. They at least showcase Manda’s vocals and their power.

Some standout tracks are "No More", "In Control", "Lost Inside", "Broken", and "Never". The rest of the songs are decent, with the exception of "The Way I Feel".

One of the things on this album that makes it more-or-less enjoyable, even to someone who leans more toward gothic metal, is the absolute confidence that Nemesea shows with their new direction, more so than "Mana", for sure. Manda seems like she’s really enjoying singing the songs...

Basically, this album just shows an extreme change in direction in Nemesea’s sound, from classic gothic metal to electro-rock. The songs are catchy, and very much aimed toward a more mainstream audience, but Nemesea exudes confidence in their new material. They like it, so why shouldn’t we?

7 / 10