Epica We Will Take You With Us
Transmission Records / The End Records TM3020-2 October 4th, 2004
By Jason Jordan
Epica a group that trots hand in hand with fellow Netherlanders After Forever graced the metal world just recently with Consign to Oblivion. We Will Take You With Us, the album Im listening to at this exact moment, preceded the aforesaid and features songs the band performed on a Dutch TV show named 2 Meter Sessies. Who cares about the background, right? I know I dont, so lets move on to the actual material.
Anyone familiar with Epica knows what seeps out of the stereo when the former are being played. Its a sound not unlike After Forever, Lacuna Coil, and other female-fronted troupes that arent afraid to wander into edgy territory saturated with distortion. Here, though, various forms of growling do enter the picture as a result of Mark Jansens input, and I think his style (at times old Amorphis; at times BM-influenced) is invaluable. In short, without him, We Will Take You With Us would be way more boring which implies that this record is kind of boring from the get-go, eh? Well, yes, if you arent swayed by symphonic metal with high-class, female vocals. The first six numbers wont blindside you in any way, shape, or form, because theyve been borrowed from the sextets 2003 debut, namely The Phantom Agony. More interesting, perchance, is the acoustic reworking of Feint and Run for a Fall, which again were both lifted from their previous effort. Not content to let sleeping cats lie, Epica also included Memory (from the musical Cats) on this compilation.
Despite minor cosmetic changes, and the inclusion of rarer versions of songs, We Will Take You With Us is not that alluring. If I were an Epica fan, Id stick with the full-lengths and leave it at that. There are some awe-inspiring moments to be uncovered, but Im positive that The Phantom Agony is a more sensible investment. Either way, this is kind of good, but kind of redundant, which makes it kind of unnecessary.
7/10
Official Epica Website
Official Transmission Records Website
Official The End Records Forum
Official The End Records Website
Transmission Records / The End Records TM3020-2 October 4th, 2004
By Jason Jordan
Epica a group that trots hand in hand with fellow Netherlanders After Forever graced the metal world just recently with Consign to Oblivion. We Will Take You With Us, the album Im listening to at this exact moment, preceded the aforesaid and features songs the band performed on a Dutch TV show named 2 Meter Sessies. Who cares about the background, right? I know I dont, so lets move on to the actual material.
Anyone familiar with Epica knows what seeps out of the stereo when the former are being played. Its a sound not unlike After Forever, Lacuna Coil, and other female-fronted troupes that arent afraid to wander into edgy territory saturated with distortion. Here, though, various forms of growling do enter the picture as a result of Mark Jansens input, and I think his style (at times old Amorphis; at times BM-influenced) is invaluable. In short, without him, We Will Take You With Us would be way more boring which implies that this record is kind of boring from the get-go, eh? Well, yes, if you arent swayed by symphonic metal with high-class, female vocals. The first six numbers wont blindside you in any way, shape, or form, because theyve been borrowed from the sextets 2003 debut, namely The Phantom Agony. More interesting, perchance, is the acoustic reworking of Feint and Run for a Fall, which again were both lifted from their previous effort. Not content to let sleeping cats lie, Epica also included Memory (from the musical Cats) on this compilation.
Despite minor cosmetic changes, and the inclusion of rarer versions of songs, We Will Take You With Us is not that alluring. If I were an Epica fan, Id stick with the full-lengths and leave it at that. There are some awe-inspiring moments to be uncovered, but Im positive that The Phantom Agony is a more sensible investment. Either way, this is kind of good, but kind of redundant, which makes it kind of unnecessary.
7/10
Official Epica Website
Official Transmission Records Website
Official The End Records Forum
Official The End Records Website
