Omega – The Sovereign Abyss

I really get a kick out of Epica’s latest album so why not review it? I also meant to do The Holographic Principle which was amazing but first, I’ll be starting with Omega.

Initially, I only was listening to three songs on this album but as I have preached many times, you can discover new songs by listening to the album.

I’ve been doing so many album reviews lately and the more I do them, the more I enjoy them and they are less likely to be sitting in the draft backlog for long periods of time.

Alpha – Anteludium

Can’t start a good metal album without a prelude right, where Coen’s keyboard kicks in just to make it sound so beautiful like looking over the horizon of the sun rising. I can’t help but hear a similarity in this instrumental to the bridge of the next song. There’s not a single overture that the band has created that hasn’t impressed me in a way, even if I don’t love it. But this one is definitely a winner.

Abyss of Time – Countdown to Singularity

I’ve listened to this song so many times I don’t need to listen to it for the purpose of writing my thoughts of it for this review. It’s amazing from start to finish and I just fell in love with the melody at first listen. The music video is a bit unusual but one of the things that make me love symphonic metal, especially Epica, is the ethereal themes they have.

This one is no exception, the song makes me think of the overall theme of my RE8 Heisenberg fanfiction during an iconic scene that I have yet to write where a turning point occurs in my character’s growth and her relationship with Karl that will reflect on the choice she’ll make not long after that. Sorry, I can’t spoil what that is yet but lately I’ve been having a hard time crafting the buildup towards that critical point.

Anyway, the song also makes me think of myself lost in Karl’s factory and then I just start singing this song for no reason at all in one of the larger antechambers of the factory, like the large catwalk overlooking the production line or the ventilation shafts in hopes that he will hear me! Still one of my favourite songs on this album ever.

The Skeleton Key

Another amazing track that won me over and although the music video makes little sense, I just like to focus on the fact that it makes me think of the start of the final battle in that same fanfiction I mentioned with this song’s predecessor, and that part is still a while away to come. I just know it’ll involve Karl’s mutated form and a transformation my character undergoes as well to make him stronger.

It definitely has a darker tone to it but that’s also what I love about it, it could be about breaking a curse and maybe that’s why I will tie it to the fanfic. My character finally shows her full potential and embraces her abilities alongside Karl, you can expect the beginning of the final confrontation to go a little something like that with this song playing in the chapter.

Seal of Solomon

This is what I call one of those Mark-strong tracks where he does a lot in the song, it’s like he does all the verses for this one! In the beginning, when I first got into Epica, he was only involved in the bridges but with recent albums, his vocal contribution has expanded.

I think this is a pretty solid song and my favourite part starts at 3:45 because it sounds so cosmic, like it stands out to add the one piece the song needs to appear that it is wholly part of the album.

Gaia

I feel like I’ve seen this name before, are we talking about Gaia the Fierce Knight? Or is it part of an acronym in a game I may not have actually been exposed?

Anyway, this one’s not too bad, but, it’s once again that in that key that I’m used to hearing from Epica and it’s no wonder the songs I love are often the ones with the most distinctive sound that are released as singles to lure us to buy the album.

Of course, this isn’t always the case, with the band’s last album there was a hidden gem that was never released as a single before the album’s release that I discovered once the latter event occurred. I do like how this song has a tendency to echo with the score after the last part of a verse before we get to the next part. I want to picture machines wandering a forest clearing, maybe some Watchers, a herd of Grazers and a Sawtooth lurking in the shadows while a Tallneck roams nearby. I don’t know why I picture that but I do, if only I enjoyed the song a little more then the image would become clearer to me.

Code of Life

The intro to this song gives me Horizon vibes with that tribal beat to it, like the percussion that plays whenever I discover a campfire, a site with a specific type of machine or when I complete a quest. This is what I mean by hidden gems when you listen to the album because once this song kicked up a notch at the 1:17 mark I was skeptical until the chorus began and then I realized I was enjoying it more than I thought.

Now I’m thinking of riding a Broadhead through the Sundom and then a Stormbird gives chase. Those things are all over the Sundom and not exactly a walk in the park to kill so it’s going to be fun travelling there when I see one!

Freedom – The Wolves Within

I consider this song to be something I like but I am not always willing to admit it because I don’t listen to it often as other notable tracks that I love even more. But I think it tells a wonderful story and the music video visualizes it well.

If San from Princess Mononoke had a favourite Epica song then this would be it. Simple as that, the theme, the melody, the story fits her and her story from the film like a glove.

Kingdom of Heaven, Pt. 3 – The Antediluvian Universe

This was actually the hardest song to write about on this album for being thirteen minutes long and I’ve seen Nightwish pull this off as well, but it’s interesting how Epica chose to have this to start the last quarter of the album rather than the true final track.

Admittedly, I liked the first half with the instrumental and chorus but then when it switched gears to a different sound, I wasn’t a fan of it so I was glad it switched back to that other sound towards the end. It’s a beautiful progressive track albeit not perfect.

I’m imagining tons of Eluvian mirrors from DAI: Trespasser when I listen to this because if you take that fancy word from the song’s name, you can make the work Eluvian. If there’s a part III then I must find parts I and II.

Rivers

This beautiful ballad is one of the best things I’ve heard since Tides of Time, Simone looks stunning in the music video as she sings and it shows that symphonic metal can have its slower songs that can capture the heart at first listen, if not then, hopefully, the second. It was definitely the first for me.

Another song I plan to add to the RE8 fanfiction but I will not give any hints this time of when it’ll be and what happens! If I had the same vocal range as Simone I would try to sing this, but I most likely will have to change the key to do that and my version may not sound as great as hers. Regardless of that, I love this song so much, it’s wonderful in a way that I can’t describe other than the words I’ve already said.

Synergize – Manic Manifest

We’re back to the classic sound again, I can’t help but think that this band has a signature key that they swear by just like Lordi.

It’s a solid song but it doesn’t really do it for me. For something that goes for seven minutes, it goes by quickly. I do like the way it ends though.

Twilight Reverie – The Hypnagogic State

You can tell that this song’s beginning connects to the end of its predecessor. Although shorter, I failed to see much of a difference in sound from this one so it’s fair to say that it was a miss. Then again I’ve been sick since this week and pumping out blog posts like wildfire so maybe my judgement is a little clouded

Omega – Sovereign of the Sun Spheres

I really like the instrumental of this one, but the rest of the song, not so much. What can I say, it’s another solid progressive track that concludes the album strong even if I don’t like it. There really isn’t much to say other than I like it but again I’m not in love with it.

Finalizing my thoughts, it’s a decent album from Epica, many of their songs will either win me over immediately or some of them may sound the same to my ears that will conclude as not for me. I wanted to share my thoughts on this album since I recall buying it a while ago but never listened to it wholly, just the tracks I loved the most that were coincidentally released as singles first. That seems to be the strategy bands do with their albums before they actually release: they put out the strongest singles first from it.

So yeah, a good album even if not perfect, the tracks I like the most are:

Alpha – Anteludium

Abyss of Time – Countdown to Singularity

The Skeleton Key

Code of Life

Freedom – The Wolves Within

Rivers

I wish I wrote this review sooner but hey because I’m quarantined right now it’s a perfect time to catch up.

👽Emily