“Pushing The Envelope”. On the surface a strange phrase, but something I often say that Epica do with their Symphonic Metal genre – so I thought I’d better check exactly what it means; To attempt to extend the current limits of performance. To innovate, or go beyond commonly accepted boundaries. Yep, that’s Epica, that’s what they’ve always been about. I’m with you there Professor, but seeing as I’m asking, what is the phrase’s actual definition? The envelope here isn’t the container for letters, but the mathematical envelope, which is defined as ‘the locus of the ultimate intersections of consecutive curves’. In a two-dimensional example, the set of lines described by the various positions of a ladder sliding down a wall forms an envelope – in this case an arc, gently curving away from the intersection of the wall and floor. Inside that envelope you will be hit by the ladder; outside you won’t. Eh? Nope, not following you there (wish I hadn’t asked…), but I kind of got the ladder bit. So I Read it again, and applying the ladder theory the rest started to make more sense – I just needed a way in. That, for me is an Epica album. First time through it’s an amazing complex blur, second time you can recognize certain bits and that’s your way in, from then on it all starts to make sense. And you just thought I was quoting random pointless shite didn’t you?
I felt the band at times really nailed the balance between orchestration, melody and metal with last year’s “Requiem For The Indifferent”, and I totally agree with the review elsewhere on Ave Noctum by Jon Butlin, where he states the album tapers off a little in the middle. Spot on. Epica seem to be all about that combination of all the elements within their sound, blending them together, sometimes perfectly, but sometimes just getting the balance a little off. I was looking forward to seeing if the band had continued the trend I enjoyed last time around or reverted to their earlier blueprint. Their signature intro is always an orchestral multi-layered musical curtain-raiser that just has to set the scene – which it does of course. They are always excellent and this one is no exception. ‘The Second Stone’ then kicks things off for real, with Rhapsody-esque manic guitars and drums, before Epica carry on where they had left off on the better moments of “Requiem…”! It has all the elements that should be there, with a great time-change chorus – a very good start. Next up ‘The Essence Of Silence’ is the track where they nail it and that phrase Pushing The Envelope crops up again. It’s so easy to get blasé about a band as talented and multi-faceted as Epica, because they usually put everything they have into each song, thus they can sometimes be accused of not evolving. And yes ‘The Essence Of Silence’ has it all – a fabulous violin intro, uber-heavy guitar and grunted verse, interspersed with choral soprano lines, a totally memorable bridge and a fabulously catchy chorus. OK, they’ve managed that before, but half way through it all stops to make way for an absolutely killer guitar riff! No reliance on orchestration as normal – just a full-on Metal guitar passage with grunts and double-kick, before a classic solo. Oh yes! More please! What a fantastic track. This for me is Epica.
The technical ‘Victims Of Contingency’ is somehow even heavier, the kind of track that shows all Epica really have in common with Nightwish is a female singer. It goes without saying that the production on this album is stunning (though I just said it), highlighted perfectly on this track, making it possible to pick out every instrument – a real feat. After such a power explosion, the haunting strains of the orchestral intro to ‘Sense Without Sanity’ must signify a ballad. Epica write a really classy ballad, just sit back and…BANG! No ballad yet then – the hammer blow of guitar, bass and drums kick in and we find ourselves in a mid-paced track that reminds me of a couple of tracks from “Divine Conspiracy”, with it’s Mezzo-Soprano mellow chorus flanked by Symphonic Metal passages akin to Kamelot or Sonata Arctica. Being hyper-critical, and maybe it’s an ‘The Essence Of Silence’ hangover, but this is a little bit what you would “expect” from Epica rather than a bit more Envelope-pushing. I was beginning to worry that this was Mr. Butlin’s mid-album drop all over again, but they have had the sense to stick one of their catchier, more immediate tracks ‘Unchain Utopia’ in the middle this time around. Not a million miles away from a Delain-style track, Simone Simons is all over this song, very vocal-driven with a really cute main keyboard riff.
We are actually treated to a second instrumental piece with the wonderful Far-Eastern-flavoured ‘The Fifth Guardian – Interlude’, which is just gorgeous (and thankfully has nothing to do with Scrooge McDuck…!), and the track it runs into ‘Chemical Insomnia’ is a justifiably grandiose number, if unfortunately not in a similar musical style. This again has a great riff, arrangement and unforgettable chorus, another of the album’s best tracks. ‘Reverence – Living In The Heart’ kind of blends elements of previous tracks – intentionally or not, and decides to rely on a rather nice Choral-style chorus rather than Simone carrying it on her own. ‘Omen – Ghoulish Malady’ has a beautiful piano and strings intro, Ah, here’s the ballad, just sit back and…SMACK! Right in the face, full on drums, guitar and orchestration. The verse is mellow-ish and the chorus melodic over a drawn out guitar riff. – this just really a catchy, slightly more melodic track in the vain of the earlier ‘Sense Without Sanity’. ‘Canvas Of Life’ is actually the ballad, and it’s another winner – piano, acoustic guitar, strings, and Simone in top form. Not a “Disney-ism” in sight, just a really, really sweet song, with heart-wrenching vocal lines and another highly memorable chorus. It’s a really simple song to be honest, just all the parts working well together and given the Epica work-out, growing and morphing, never cheesy or commercial.
‘Natural Corruption’ has a rather cool, underlying slightly folkier Metal feel, that is nicely on a par with the best of the tracks heard previously (ANOTHER great chorus by the way – Simone and the vocal writers have really pulled out all the stops this time around!), before the 12 minute title track looms into view. All that has gone before has been leading to this…and unbelievably it left me a little cold. I’ve played it and played it but it’s really nothing different to anything the band produced on “The Phantom Agony” or onwards. I hate criticising something of this complexity and talent, but Epica set the bar SO high! I get why – it’s like the band have crammed the first two albums into 12 minutes, and there are many of the band’s fans that see this as the true Epica, so it should be done. You have to please your whole fan-base. Epica are amazing at what they do, but I feel they could write album after album like this track, and have, the skill comes in making it different. This last track is what is expected, so that’s fine. And if this was the first time I had heard the band I would think this track was just as truly awesome as the first time I had heard them do an opus like this.
But I’m not finishing this review with a negative, because I think yet again the band have outdone themselves, and it’s best to concentrate on an album as a whole. If somehow you have never heard the band, this album has everything the band are about and is a fantastic way in. A stunning example of how involved and classy Metal can be. “ The Quantum Enigma” is another masterpiece. And apologies for the length of this review – Epic band, Epic Songs – Epic review!
(8.5/10 Andy Barker)
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