Epica - Design Your Universe

November 19, 2009

Reviewer: Peter

Mention the band Epica and the first thought that is likely to be associated with the name is the ever present lead vocalist Simone Simons.  For obvious reasons, it would be hard to imagine Epica without her, as it is her vocals that drives the band’s music, and never was that more evident than on the 2007 release The Divine Conspiracy.  Now, with some success in North America under the band’s belt, thanks to the album and subsequent North American tour that year, Epica is ready to unleash another album in Design Your Universe.

For Design Your Universe, Epica seems to have found a happy medium between the over the top, yet great The Divine Conspiracy and the rather mediocre, yet promising Consign into Oblivion.  Whereas the former focused more on Simons’ vocal range and heavy use of symphonic elements, the latter focused more on the concepts that it was presenting and adapting the music to those themes.  On Design Your Universe, all of those things seemed to have come together to create what is undoubtedly the band’s best effort to date.  Simons is given a greater opportunity to showcase the wide vocal range, which helps to capture the mood of each song while the music provides a perfect backdrop without going overboard on the bombastic elements.  The album will definitely take some time to sink in, as “Kingdom of Heaven” and the title track provide a lot for the listener to take in on top of all of the lyrical concepts that the band presents on the album.  Overall though, the entire album is solid throughout, with the highlights being “Martyr of the Free World” and “Kingdom of Heaven.”  If you listen to “White Waters,” there is a special treat, as Tony Kakko of Sonata Arctica provides vocals with Simons in what is one of the more moving duets this year.

Overall, Design Your Universe is the ideal album for the person that is just getting into Epica.  A combination of lyrical concepts, music that is powerful enough, yet also knows when to dial it down, and vocals that can emotionally take a listener anywhere it wants, all of those things are what make Design Your Universe one of the contenders for album of the year.  A must have for Epica fans…and even those who haven’t gotten into the band.

Release Date: October 16th, 2009
Label: Nuclear Blast Records

TRACK LISTING

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)

Total playing time: 1:14:50

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