So, if you’ve ever wondered what it would sound like if Epica vocalist Simone Simons decided to team up with Ayreon mastermind Arjen Lucassen for a whole album rather than just the odd guest vocal, then wonder no more, as “Vermillion” is that very album you’ve been waiting for. Equally, this is the first album under Simone’s own name, therefore she’s taking a lot of credit for the whole project, so it can’t be basically a load of Ayreon or Star One songs with Simone singing on them can it?
Well…yes it can. In every way this is a dual collaboration between the two of them, so to a great extent, this SHOULD have a healthy sound of Ayreon, Star One and any other Lucassen Metal project – it’s Arjen Lucassen! But also there should be plenty of epic arrangements and wonderful Simons vocals to keep the Epica fans happy – and there is! Therefore, if you yearned for a Simone Simons solo album, then here you are, this is her current imagining of that. Yet if you are salivating at the mere thought of Simone Simons singing on a whole album of Arjen Lucassen music, then drool away. However, this isn’t Ayreon or Star One or exactly like any other Lucassen project, because as with ‘Gentle Storm’ etc, there’s plenty of the main vocalist’s input to make the project unique.
So yes, of course the music is unmistakeably Arjen Lucassen, just as the vocals are unmistakeably Simone Simons. Simons is brilliant as you would expect and Lucassen is excellent, as you would also expect. The album is clearly aimed at fans of the two and it totally delivers on that score. There is also lots of variation going on in the vocal department to go some way to justify the eponymous project title. Guests include Arch Enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz bringing a bit of angst to ‘Cradle To The Grave’ and of course Epica’s Mark Jansen does the same elsewhere. Fellow Epica man Rob Van Loos handles bass duties and Arjen’s new pal from his Supersonic Revolution project, Koen Herfst pounds the skins.
And really there’s nothing more to add. This album is exactly what I, and I’m sure many more would expect from the two main protagonists. And thankfully so. It’s fabulously arranged, brilliantly executed and I’m sure will delight fans of both. The songs grow, the arrangements have lots of depth both musically and vocally. There’s the odd surprise just to keep you on your toes, but on the whole it’s very much as stated above, which is all anyone needs to know given the high profile in the Metal scene of the people involved.
(8/10 Andy Barker)
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