A new Epica album is an event. The band put in so much time, thought and effort to write and record it that I feel a comparable amount of time, thought and effort needs to go into reviewing it. So therefor reviewing a new Epica album is an event…and a bloody difficult one. There’s just never enough time to really live with the album in it’s entirety, to allow it to grow and familiarize. You also have to be in the right mood for it and give it your full attention. Even then, as happened with their last album, 6 months after reviewing it I was hearing parts that I can’t believe I missed or didn’t mention at the time.
That previous album, “The Quantum Enigma” was a little easier to grasp quicker than it’s counterparts, with a noticeable tilt towards immediacy and memorability in the choruses and arrangements. I enjoyed it immensely (as you can see from my over-lengthy review elsewhere on Ave Noctum) and liked the direction the band were heading. However, the band have decided it was not the direction that THEY ultimately were heading and have unleashed one of the most complex and demanding albums I’ve heard them do since “Consign To Oblivion” – if not ever. Thanks Epica…
Obviously, this isn’t a backwards step, and elements of all previous albums are on evidence, it’s just another shift in priorities and attitude. There’s still some great vocal moments and hooks delivered in Simone’s fabulous style, but even though the complexity of the orchestration has taken yet another step upwards, there’s also a re-embracing of the guitar riff, and an emphasis on overall intensity once more. There is usually a way into each Epica release, something that each listener hears, latches onto and makes them want to return and explore the whole album, which then (for me at least) unveils itself gradually. This time it’s the wonderful ‘Once Upon A Nightmare’. A 7 minute Epica classic chock full of melody, emotion, drama and musical wizardry.
So I’m in, and all the essential Epica elements are there – a scene-setting intro, grandiosity in every song, excellent orchestration, aggression in the guitar/Mark’s vocals, intricate rhythms, a lengthy even-more-epic one to finish and of course Simone in wonderful vocal form. The thing is…the frustrating thing for me anyway…is that I just can’t find anything quite as special elsewhere to cling to. It’s all so well crafted, the genius is still there and I know it’s a great album, but it’s their Seventh…and I’ve heard all seven. I’m left feeling a little like I did with 2007’s “The Divine Conspiracy” – that I’d heard the band do it all before, that they have almost backed themselves into a musical corner. They had rectified that to various degrees with consequent albums but I’m just not sure that this album IS a forward step. Maybe it’s just sideways rather than backwards – The band put so much effort into every release that, yes, I’m sure Mark and the rest totally believe each release is a giant step onward from it’s predecessor…but is it really?
I’m sure that in 6 months I’ll view this album differently, it will have grown and matured and changed it’s appeal. But I’m judging this as a guy with 2 weeks to live with it and formulate an opinion. That opinion is that if you’ve never heard Epica before it might just blow your mind, as everyone’s first Epica hearing has the potential to do. But personally – and I can’t believe I’m saying it – I was a little disappointed. However, the fabulous thing about Epica is that the next one might just be the one of the best albums you’ve ever heard – they have that potential and always have had. They always deliver a stunning musical adventure and I find it impossible not to join them on it every time. I just didn’t sync with this one as I have with others, and maybe that’s just me this time around.
(8/10 Andy Barker)
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