Heavy and majestic, just how I like my Epica 
The last two albums feature a new drummer and guitarist, both from death metal band God Dethroned, so it's no coincidence that these have been Epica's heaviest efforts. Great stuff...
Resign To Surrender is my fave atm...the grunting verses are so rhythmic and fierce, nice choral punctuation, Simone's parts are sweet, good solo, and a cool ending.
Unleashed is a great single, has a cool vibe to the verse, and nice lilting middle section.
Martyr Of The Free Word, another great track, LOVE that Gregorian chant matched with the chugging riff...wished that part was longer.
Our Destiny, starts out a bit slow, but the second half of the song really soars and takes flight, good stuff.
Kingdom Of Heaven, what can I really say, a beast of a track, so dynamic, brutal, and beautiful. We get a second dose of monk greatness, Tibetan this time, a stroke of genius, short as it is. I love the heavy death-influenced riffs, time changes, and general craziness going on, certainly never gets boring and it is not chaotic either. Simone's "chorus" is very catchy. The slow section starts out with a great mystical vocal layering, and 9:00-9:30 reminds me a lot of Opeth, very cool. This track alone needs several listens to truly absorb and appreciate...just oozes epic.
Burn To A Cinder, I love Simone's eastern-tinged vocal melodies, just outstanding.
Tides Of Time gets better each time I hear it...a sweeping ballad with endearing vocal lines and a nice buildup.
Deconstruct, a pretty good mid-paced track with good vocal trade-offs between Mark and Simone.
Semblance Of Liberty, a thrashing number is that dark & heavy, one of my faves. I dig the staccato-esque verse riffage. There is also the "read my lips" soundbyte from George Bush Sr...interesting, reminds me a bit of Tony Blair's excerpt from Facade Of Reality on the debut.
White Waters, probably my least fave, but still a solid track...good use of atmosphere, and Tony Kakko does a nice job.
Design Your Universe, a cool track, but for a song of that length, I feel it could use some more dynamics, but maybe it's just me comparing it to KoH, probably not fair The use of acoustics in the intro and verses is well-placed.
Incentive, badass bonus track, brutal and unforgiving, ends the album with a nice punch to the face
The last two albums feature a new drummer and guitarist, both from death metal band God Dethroned, so it's no coincidence that these have been Epica's heaviest efforts. Great stuff...Resign To Surrender is my fave atm...the grunting verses are so rhythmic and fierce, nice choral punctuation, Simone's parts are sweet, good solo, and a cool ending.
Unleashed is a great single, has a cool vibe to the verse, and nice lilting middle section.
Martyr Of The Free Word, another great track, LOVE that Gregorian chant matched with the chugging riff...wished that part was longer.
Our Destiny, starts out a bit slow, but the second half of the song really soars and takes flight, good stuff.
Kingdom Of Heaven, what can I really say, a beast of a track, so dynamic, brutal, and beautiful. We get a second dose of monk greatness, Tibetan this time, a stroke of genius, short as it is. I love the heavy death-influenced riffs, time changes, and general craziness going on, certainly never gets boring and it is not chaotic either. Simone's "chorus" is very catchy. The slow section starts out with a great mystical vocal layering, and 9:00-9:30 reminds me a lot of Opeth, very cool. This track alone needs several listens to truly absorb and appreciate...just oozes epic.
Burn To A Cinder, I love Simone's eastern-tinged vocal melodies, just outstanding.
Tides Of Time gets better each time I hear it...a sweeping ballad with endearing vocal lines and a nice buildup.
Deconstruct, a pretty good mid-paced track with good vocal trade-offs between Mark and Simone.
Semblance Of Liberty, a thrashing number is that dark & heavy, one of my faves. I dig the staccato-esque verse riffage. There is also the "read my lips" soundbyte from George Bush Sr...interesting, reminds me a bit of Tony Blair's excerpt from Facade Of Reality on the debut.
White Waters, probably my least fave, but still a solid track...good use of atmosphere, and Tony Kakko does a nice job.
Design Your Universe, a cool track, but for a song of that length, I feel it could use some more dynamics, but maybe it's just me comparing it to KoH, probably not fair
The use of acoustics in the intro and verses is well-placed.Incentive, badass bonus track, brutal and unforgiving, ends the album with a nice punch to the face
