Epica - Design Your Universe
After Epica's previous album, The Divine Conspiracy, Epica had a hell of a job to improve upon what they had already done. Their previous albums were all improvements over what came before and at some point that run of improvement has to end... right?
Well not on this occasion. If anything, Epica have produced an album better than anything they have done before. There is just as much bombast as with previous efforts in regards to choirs and orchestra, but here is sounds more powerful. DYU is heavy and probably more so than previous efforts and is something that is probably a direct result from the introduction of former God Dethroned guitarist Isaac Delahaye. Not forgetting that from the same band Ariën van Weesenbeek was recruited, giving the band a very heavy edge to it. The biggest negative for me of all things on previous albums was there were no guitar solos, however this time Isaac brings some good melodic death-styled riffs to the band in songs like Kingdom of Heaven and Deconstruct. Having said that, he also brings a more laid back style of playing in tracks like Tides of Time which is a ballad and very soft for the majority of the song.
Since I mentioned Tide of Time, I will also mention this is Simone's best performance. Simone Simons is, in my humble opinion, one of the very best female vocalists not just in metal, but in the world and is matched only by Vibeke Stene, Tarja ,and Magali Luyten. At times she has a very classical edge to her voice and at others sounds more like a rock vocalist, but whatever voice she adopts is just perfect for the song in which it accompanies.
Mark Jansen has never been the best at doing harsh vocals and at times he sounds to me like he is struggling. He certainly isn't as accomplished as Johan Hegg, for example. There are times when he sounds great, but they are few and far between. The rest of the time he sounds average.
The album also has a guest appearance from Tony Kakko from Sonata Arctica on the track White Waters which is a hauntingly beautiful ballad. Simone sounds almost hypnotic and flirtatious as she beckons the subject of the song towards the water:
"Lie down in my arms
Try not to breathe
Quiet love, you are now with me
You need no words to speak"
The production is very crisp and clear. Sascha Paeth has done a great job and nothing is drowned out at the expense of something else. It is all balanced very well. The album cover in my opinion is ok, but not as good as The Divine Conspiracy.
On past Epica records, the lyrics have been the weakest point (if you don't include a lack of solos), not because the ideas behind them were bad, but because they sounded awkward in the way they were written. This time around they are a bit better, though still not spectacular. The lyrics deal with a variety of things like love, quantum physics, and greed, for example, and the New Age Dawns saga is also continued here, something that was last done on Consign to Oblivion.
Choice cuts: Kingdom of Heaven is the longest song on the album at nearly 14 minutes, but remains interesting throughout. The song has a varying pace and uses a variety of different atmospheres to keep you engaged. Mark is good here with his grunts and Simone is amazing as always, especially in the softer sections. The song contains a spoken passage that some have commented sounds bad, but I like it and I usually hate spoken sections in music. This is one of the strongest songs here and the solo is great as well.
Tides of Time is a beautiful ballad as described above while Resign to Surrender is one of Mark's better performances, although the lyrics themselves could use some work. Simone is great and the ending of the song is superb. Isaac is again great and the performance from Ariën van Weesenbeek is good not only here but throughout the album.
Our Destiny has great riffs and again great vocals from Simone and the ending where the choir and Simone are trading lines always give me a tingle down the spine
The negatives: "The Price of Freedom (Interlude)" seems a little out of place and unnecessary. It also goes straight into Burn to a Cinder which it has nothing to do with that I can make out.
Aside from a good solo and the very last verse sung by Simone (which is one of my favorite parts of the album) - "Why can't I bleed with you? Forever I will be thrown to the wolves.
They'll feed on all our dreams." - Burn to a Cinder reminds me of Twilight and I hated that movie (my girlfriend wanted to see it and I was dragged along) and aside from the aforementioned positives is quite a weak track.
Conclusion: Overall, the album is great, the lyrics are mostly an improvement, and the instrumental skills of the band have improved thanks mostly to Isaac whose repertoire is larger than Ad Sluijter. Simone puts in yet another jaw-dropping performance and Mark's harsh vocals are mostly decent. The drumming is powerful and consistent and Yves Huts and Coen Janssen are solid on bass and piano respectively.
Any fan of their older work will no doubt love this album and anyone who is not convinced whether symphonic metal is any good may just be convinced otherwise. A great album and well worth the time to give it a listen
Side note: If you can get a hold of the Japanese version, it includes a cover of a song called Nothing's Wrong. It is a cover from a band called Heideroosjes and is very good.
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Tracklist:
1. Samadhi (Prelude)
2. Resign to Surrender (A New Age Dawns Part IV)
3. Unleashed
4. Martyr of the Free Word
5. Our Destiny
6. Kingdom of Heaven (A New Age Dawns Part V)
7. The Price of Freedom (Interlude)
8. Burn to a Cinder
9. Tides of Time
10. Deconstruct
11. Semblance of Liberty
12. White Waters
13. Design Your Universe (A New Age Dawns Part VI)
14. Incentive [bonus] (04:14)
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