Consign to Oblivion

Consign to Oblivion

Track Listings

1. Hunab K'u (A New Age Dawns, Prologue)

2. Dance of Fate

3. Last Crusade (A New Age Dawns, Pt. 1)

4. Solitary Ground

5. Blank Infinity

6. Force of the Shore

7. Quietus

8. Mother of Light (A New Age Dawns, Pt. 2)

9. Trois Vierges

10. Another Me "In Lack'ech"

11. Consign to Oblivion (A New Age Dawns, Pt. 3)

Consign to Oblivion,Epica,The End Records,Pop,Progressive Metal,Rock,Rock/Pop

Average customer rating:

"Wow, I love this music! What is it?"

symphonic metal at it's best

Rock Opera - Not Symphonic Metal

Very impressive

Definitely in the First Division!

Consign to Oblivion
Epica
Manufacturer: Avalon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
Progressive Metal | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music
Hard Rock & Metal | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

The Phantom Agony

The Phantom Agony

At Sixes and Sevens

Vinland Saga

Lovelorn

ASIN: B0007WZXWG
Release Date: 2005-05-02

Tracks:

Hunab K'u (A New Age Dawns, Prologue)
Dance of Fate
Last Crusade (A New Age Dawns, Pt. 1)
Solitary Ground
Blank Infinity
Force of the Shore
Quietus
Mother of Light (A New Age Dawns, Pt. 2)
Trois Vierges
Another Me "In Lack'ech"
Consign to Oblivion (A New Age Dawns, Pt. 3)

Album Description

Details TBA. Avalon. 2005.

Customer Reviews:

"Wow, I love this music! What is it?".......2007-06-10

In my review of Epica's first album ("We Will Take You With Us"), I complained that the band had overly ambitious lyrics, and that Simons' voice lack charisma (and to some extent power) sufficient to stand up to the heavy guitars, drums, and death grunts of a metal band. I am happy to report that "Consign to Oblivion" remedies both deficiencies, while providing another example of the band's remarkable musical composition skills.

Simons has developed further as a rock singer, which requires different technique than her operatic training. In the lower two-thirds or so of her range, she now generates enough power to stand up to the rest of the band. Unfortunately, Simons generally switches to opera in the top third of her range, where her voice can get overwhelmed by all the other things going on. This difference across her range is particularly evident in "Blank Infinity," where she uses both styles and her full vocal range. Criticisms aside, Simons' voice remains an essential part of the Epica sound, and she is also growing in her emotive and interpretive skills, adding considerable warmth to the sometimes-cold performance in "We Will Take You With Us."

Quite a few reviewers object to Mark Jansen's occasional death growls. In contrast to them, I think these work (and I'm not usually a fan of death growls). Here's why: Epica uses the growls as part of the composition. He's not a singer, he's an instrument. The growls add dark color in appropriate places in a few of the tracks. In this respect, the death growls play a musical role in this album comparable to the lyrical role they played in the previous album, where the terrorists sang in death growls. It works.

Lyrically, "Consign to Oblivion" moves closer to the first rule of writing - - write what you know. Several songs explore personal themes about ambition and life choices. Other songs continue with the interest in terrorism and fundamentalist religion that dominated "We Will Take You With Us." Yet even these pieces represent an improvement. Instead of lecturing elites, Epica now connects these themes to regular people, which works much better.

The band remains incredibly ambitious. It still peppers its lyrics with Latin, and its cover art evokes Mayan themes and hieroglyphics.

Though I'm not sure that they would classify themselves that way, Epica writes in the tradition of the best progressive rock of the 1970s. Each piece develops one or more musical themes, usually over a period of 7-10 minutes. Most of the pieces involve changes in key and time signature. I don't know why this should be true, but like Within Temptation, Epica has a fondness for 3/4 ballads and 12/8 uptempo songs, and for triplets even in their 4/4 pieces. Virtually every track is musically interesting, and repays multiple hearings.

It will also grab you from the first. A teen-aged friend of my daughter climbed into the car when I was listening to this album and said after about 15 seconds, "Wow, I love this music! What is it?" Happy will be the day when more Americans discover this Dutch band as she did.

symphonic metal at it's best.......2006-06-17

MPC said this was nothing like Lacuna Coil or Evanescence. Well that's a great thing. After all Epica is far better then either one of those bands will ever be.

1. Hunab K'u - This is the start of the CD. It gets you ready for what is to come next. It has the feel of POTC to it. stars N/A

2. Dance Of Fate - This is where it really kicks off. This is a very good song and it would work well in trying to get new fans into Epica. It's heavy but at the same time can be mainstearm. 4 stars

3. Last Crusade - Where as the last song can be seen as mainstearm this one can not. This song is very anti-religion, and is very heavy. It does not let up much in the song. 5 stars

4. Solitary Ground - Epica has done slow songs before. But this one is the best of them all. Simon really does a good job singing in this song. 5 stars

5. Blank Infinity - 5 Stars it's hard to really explain this song.

6. Force Of The Shore - Ok this is where Mark kicks in on the grunts and screams. He has gotten a lot better from his time with AF and from TPA. This also like TLC is very heavy but it let's you breath for a bit. 5 Stars

7. Quietus - This is a very cool song to listen to. It feels like it could fit into some big epic movie. 5 Stars

8. Mother Of Light - This is a mix of the choir, Simon, and Mark singing. The way it is set up works really well.

9. Trois Vierges - Hmmm it's ok not the best Epica song though. 3 Stars

10. Another Me " In Lack'ech" - Like Blank Infinity this song is really hard for me to explain. Though it is a good song. It just gets lost in a lot of the other great songs. 4 Stars

11. Consign To Oblivion - If you thought that PTA was long well you have not seen heard anything yet. CTO is there longest song yet clocking in at 9:45. It is fast heavy and Mark really breaks lose in the is song. The Death grunts he uses in here are the best he has ever used. The guiters a blazeing the drums are fast. Ever thing fit's well into this song.

Rock Opera - Not Symphonic Metal.......2006-06-01

There is some good singing here, and some ok music, but the metal aspect is minor and out of place. Imagine Celine Dion doing a Disney movie soundtrack with double bass drumming, but with little to no guitars. This band is nothing like Lacuna Coil or Evanescence, and nothing like Dimmu Borgir - who are real symphonic metal kings.

Very impressive.......2006-04-12

The minute I heard Epica, I was hooked.
They play with a lot of energy and incorporate a lot of rhythm in their music, while maintaining their melodic side. The vocals are near perfect offering some good diversity. In my opinion the vocalist has a better voice than Tarja or Sharon (Nightwish/Within Temptation). Very easy to get into, a really good cd, I highly recommend this.

Definitely in the First Division!.......2005-12-15

This group ranks alongside Nightwish and Sirenia for quality.Simone Simons has a voice that is very pleasing to the ear:what more can you ask.It has a kind of "purity" that others seem to lack.The male growling is impressive too.One becomes rather a connoiseur of growls after a time with Goth!As in the biblical parable,they have saved the best tracks till the last, although all the tracks are excellent.The songs have an individuality which sets them apart from each other.[concerning all this see my review of Silent Force from Within Temptation.]The musicianship is "tight" if you get my meaning:it has you moving your body like a human metronome at times.The music does have a cinematic flavour,but what the hell.If you are a fan of Nightwish have no hesitation in buying this.

Average customer rating:

Fantastic Female Fronted Symphonic Metal
Soaring and epic power metal!
If only they would consign the death vocals to oblivion!
"Wow, I love this music! What is it?"
50/50

Consign to Oblivion
Epica
Manufacturer: The End Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Metal | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

The Phantom Agony
We Will Take You With Us
Vinland Saga
Lovelorn
The Silent Force

ASIN: B000B5XSTO
Release Date: 2005-10-11

Tracks:

Hunab K'u
Dance Of Fate
The Last Crusade
Solitary Ground
Blank Infinity
Force Of The Shore
Quietus
Mother Of Light
Trois Vierges
Another Me 'In Lack'ech'
Consign To Oblivion

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic Female Fronted Symphonic Metal.......2007-07-26

First of all, I would like to address those folks who dont like the "death vocals" placed intricately into Consign to Oblivion.....Epica is a B'n'B band. That stands for the rather outdated term of Beauty and the Beast type vocals. This was the genres name back in the name of the late 90's and the earlier part of the new millenium. Now, most just settle for Symphonic Metal or mention the fact all of these type of bands have a female as the main singer and also incorporate the growling put into some of the songs. Female fronted bands like After Forever, Within Temptation, Sirenia, Tristania and Epica have slowly but surely cut back on the amount of death vocals they use in their music. I dont know why, but I'm sure it has something to do with being more accessable to the general listener. I have been listening to b'n'b for a long time and I like nothing more than to hear the frighteningly beautiful contrast of the female operatic vocals and the growling followed up with a soaring symphony and epic choirs. Epica does this to near perfection.

Now on to the actual item of discussion...Consign to Oblivion. Rating the cd on a ten point scale, I give it a 9. Its not perfect, but its damn near. The production, orchestration, vocals, drums, guitars, growling, and just overall epicness is overwhelmingly awesome. The riffs here are amazingly well done and the way they come at you in harmony with the double bass blasts are nothing short of outstanding.
Simones vocals are top notch...although her work in their newest release "The Divine Conspiracy" is much better. In CtoO she hits all the notes pretty well and works really well with the choirs. Sometimes, the choirs and chanting overpower her vocals, but for the most part her voice fits in nicely.

On to the highlights.....In my opinion, the best songs on the disc are the ones where Mark Jansen chimes in with his "death vocals". They only appear in 3/12 songs which makes it stand out and original once they happen. Force of the Shore, Mother of Light, and the title track Consign to Oblivion all incorporate the growling. If they appeared in every song, then it would decrease its effectiveness. When I hear the growling, then the choirs, then Simones voice......its magic. The title track Consign to Oblivion is by far my favorite song on here, but then again its more of an opus than a song.

Besides the three with death vocals in them, other highlights include: The Last Crusade, Blank Infinity, and Another Me. These are all top notch, but dont have the death vocals in them....not that that detracts from them in any way. It doesn't. In fact these songs just make the other ones all the better. The majority of the other songs are either good or ballads. Im not a huge fan of ballads, but they make the whole cd more complete.

I played this cd for one of my buddys who listens mostly to punk or emo stuff and he loves Epica now. According to him, its one of his favorite bands and he plays this cd all the time in his car and everybody is like, "whats this its weird, but really really good." Compared to what most American audiences get with Evanescense, Epica really is in a league of its own.

9/10 Great Stuff, but wait till you hear The Divine Conspiracy!

Soaring and epic power metal!.......2007-05-30

I like Epica's approach to the whole symphonic opera sub genre of metal. Sure, they have all the elements of typical music of this time: heavy guitars, chorus of chanters, keyboards, epic songs, and female vocals. However, Epica use one thing most of the other bands don't: moderation. Their songs are not overly long, using excellent choruses and instrumentation to write songs rather than draw out the same boring melodies that infuse this genre. Their singer, while taking an operatic approach, doesn't sound as corny as everyone else. She brings her voice up the skies when she has to but never goes out of her way to bombastic.

The guitars are centered around riff playing rather than being a heavy backdrop for the keyboards. Speaking of the keyboards, there is no annoying keyboard solos that go out of their way to scream, "look at me". Instead, they are used to create an epic background that pushes the song as whole up the front for the listener.

Their sound never strays into the dark gothic realm when the melodies are used the most. In fact, the songs are rather upbeat with one's head filling up with the grand schemes of adventure driven by the beat of the music. The drums are a power house of pound double bass and the death metal vocals used later in the record give the band an edge that other power metal bands simply don't have.

Quite simply, Epica show use they can write grand, epic, songs without over doing the cheese factor or showing off how good they can create pointless instrumentation that shows off to no one. You can tell they have fun writing and playing this music and translate well for the listener.

If only they would consign the death vocals to oblivion!.......2007-05-27

This is a great symphonic metal album and Simone Simmons' performance is excellent. I know there are a number of bands in this style; I have heard several, but this was my first CD in this sub-genre of metal and overall I was very impressed. I particularly like Epica because Simone Simmons' vocal delivery is a little more natural, not quite so over-the-top operatic as some others in this style of metal.

I didn't think this would be quite my cup of tea, but I saw Epica live (opening for Kamelot) prior to picking up this CD and they rocked. However, as on the night of that show, the only thing that tarnishes the listening experience with Epica is the unfortunate "cookie monster" death metal vocals featured on (thankfully only) 2 of the songs ("Force of the Shore" and "Consign to Oblivion"). All the more painful as, excluding those extreme vocal passages, the songs are quite good. On "Force of the Shore" you can almost cringe through those parts and still enjoy the balance of the song; with "Consign to Oblivion" it's a little more difficult---and that's a shame because some of the heaviest riffing and most rocking moments of the album are featured here---and my headbanging enjoyment was summarily derailed by the silly, juvenile growling. One other song, "Mother of Light," features a more black metal styled raspy, shouted vocal, but there it is layered underneath Simone's melodic lead vocal, and used in that more subtle way it doesn't detract from the song and, arguably, adds an intriguing counterpoint.

Outside of the unfortunate featuring of extreme vocals on those 2 songs, this is truly an epic and poignant album, with enough crunch to balance the delicate moments and symphonic elements. It's too bad that bands like Epica (and some other melodic metal bands) feel compelled (in my opinion) to inject the extreme vocals almost as if to maintain some elusive notion of "metal credibility" in the current scene. If they want to make it more "metal", then bring the guitars up in the mix a little more or---I think---a tasteful guitar solo here and there would add some emotional impact and nice metallic spice. The growls add nothing.

Good band, great CD. Just leave Cookie Monster on Sesame Street where he belongs.

"Wow, I love this music! What is it?" .......2007-05-22

Epica, Consign to Oblivion
In my review of Epica's first album ("We Will Take You With Us"), I complained that the band had overly ambitious lyrics, and that Simons' voice lack charisma (and to some extent power) sufficient to stand up to the heavy guitars, drums, and death grunts of a metal band. I am happy to report that "Consign to Oblivion" remedies both deficiencies, while providing another example of the band's remarkable musical composition skills.

Simons has developed further as a rock singer, which requires different technique than her operatic training. In the lower two-thirds or so of her range, she now generates enough power to stand up to the rest of the band. Unfortunately, Simons generally switches to opera in the top third of her range, where her voice can get overwhelmed by all the other things going on. This difference across her range is particularly evident in "Blank Infinity," where she uses both styles and her full vocal range. Criticisms aside, Simons' voice remains an essential part of the Epica sound, and she is also growing in her emotive and interpretive skills, adding considerable warmth to the sometimes-cold performance in "We Will Take You With Us."

Quite a few reviewers object to Mark Jansen's occasional death growls. In contrast to them, I think these work (and I'm not usually a fan of death growls). Here's why: Epica uses the growls as part of the composition. He's not a singer, he's an instrument. The growls add dark color in appropriate places in a few of the tracks. In this respect, the death growls play a musical role in this album comparable to the lyrical role they played in the previous album, where the terrorists sang in death growls. It works.

Lyrically, "Consign to Oblivion" moves closer to the first rule of writing - - write what you know. Several songs explore personal themes about ambition and life choices. Other songs continue with the interest in terrorism and fundamentalist religion that dominated "We Will Take You With Us." Yet even these pieces represent an improvement. Instead of lecturing elites, Epica now connects these themes to regular people, which works much better.

The band remains incredibly ambitious. It still peppers its lyrics with Latin, and its cover art evokes Mayan themes and hieroglyphics.

Though I'm not sure that they would classify themselves that way, Epica writes in the tradition of the best progressive rock of the 1970s. Each piece develops one or more musical themes, usually over a period of 7-10 minutes. Most of the pieces involve changes in key and time signature. I don't know why this should be true, but like Within Temptation, Epica has a fondness for 3/4 ballads and 12/8 uptempo songs, and for triplets even in their 4/4 pieces. Virtually every track is musically interesting, and repays multiple hearings.

It will also grab you from the first. A teen-aged friend of my daughter climbed into the car when I was listening to this album and said after about 15 seconds, "Wow, I love this music! What is it?" Happy will be the day when more Americans discover this Dutch band as she did.

50/50.......2007-02-12

Please understand when I state this is NOTHING like Nightwish, The Gathering, or even Evanescence (which is not even metal, btw.) The vocals on this album, well, are what you might call impressive as to how they blend male death metal grunts with soprano-like female vocals and use a full orchestra and choir for the background, something I quite like. But then again, the singing is rather opposing and "pop-ish", something I find ironic seeing as how Simone Simmons call herself a mezzo-soprano and all, and just when it starts to get good you can always count on Mark Jansen's screeching to ruin the riffs. Mabey if you took out the grunting and screaming, you could just call this another Lacuna Coil hybrid. Other than these little flaws, Epica is a pretty good band and Consign To Oblivion is a pretty good album, and I like the way the band uses a full orchestra and latin choir, and also uses some foreign traditional music which I guess adds a sort of uniqueness to them. Also, I did find attractive how the band's music has a somewhat Meditteranean feel to it (even though they are Dutch), as you here in songs like "Force of the Shore", and you would here on several songs in their debut album "The Phantom Agony." All in all, Epica is a pretty good symphonic metal band that I highly recommend to fans of Lacuna Coil, Within Temptation, and Leaves' Eyes.

Average customer rating:

Consign to Oblivion
Epica
Manufacturer: Transmission
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Progressive Metal | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Hard Rock & Metal | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0009XPB5M
Release Date: 2005-05-03

Album Description

SACD. The rapid success of Epica has quickly become a worldwide phenomenon. In 2005 the Dutch female-fronted metal band released two albums across Europe and South America. A soundtrack album, entitled `The Score - An Epic Journey', and their second studio album `Consign To Oblivion', which features the Dutch hit single `Solitary Ground'. With their unique style of bombastic orchestral metal and the mezzo-soprano vocals of red-haired gothic princess Simone, Epica is set to take the gothic metal crown from Nightwish and their dethroned lead singer. Transmission. 2005.

Average customer rating:

Amazing.
IMPRESSIVE!
Enjoy!!!

Consign to Oblivion
Epica
Manufacturer: Transmission
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Progressive Metal | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Hard Rock & Metal | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

The Phantom Agony
Century Child
Decipher
Mother Earth
Vinland Saga

ASIN: B000817ZKE
Release Date: 2005-05-03

Album Description

European pressing - CD & DVD. The rapid success of Epica has quickly become a worldwide phenomenon. In 2005 the Dutch female-fronted metal band released two albums across Europe and South America. A soundtrack album, entitled `The Score - An Epic Journey', and their second studio album `Consign To Oblivion', which features the Dutch hit single `Solitary Ground'. With their unique style of bombastic orchestral metal and the mezzo-soprano vocals of red-haired gothic princess Simone, Epica is set to take the gothic metal crown from Nightwish and their dethroned lead singer. The 11 track album includes a bonus DVD (PAL/Region 0) featuring Consign to Oblivion 'Making Of' Documentary. Transmission. 2005.

Customer Reviews:

Amazing........2007-02-26

This CD is truly amazing. It's atmospherically orchestral and accompanied with the beautiful vocals of Simone. The growling in certain songs is even bearable this time around unlike in "We Will Take You With Us" where the male growls were placed where they didnt belong. This album is one of my favorite albums of all time...and has been for awhile now. I listen to every genre (except rap)...and out of everything I listen to (which is a huge amount...believe me) this is my favorite album. Wonderfully done. I could listen to it all day. It's that good! Trust me! Buy it!

IMPRESSIVE!.......2006-01-23

Epica's newest release, Consign to Oblivion, is a KILLER album. You're probably thinking that the use of killer to describe a Symphonic Metal album is a little peculiar but I'm sorry, the usual adjectives like magnificent or remarkable fall short here. This is surely the best Symphonic Metal album to be released since Therion`s, double masterpiece Lemuria/Sirius B, amazed everyone in May of last year. But that was last year and this year Epica has taken the torch from the likes of After Forever, Sirenia, Tristania and Penumbra and ran away with it. I would say that Consign to Oblivion is their `Magnum Opus', except I wouldn't be surprised to see them top it. This is only their second album and I thought their first, The Phantom Agony, was fabulous and wrote so with my March 4, 2004 review. Far be it, for me to put a limit on Epica's potential.

Epica's creative founder, lead guitar player, Mark Jansen, is a former member of Holland's After Forever. He left them a couple years ago, citing the usual, artistic differences. From my perspective, it looks Mark was right, Epica is soaring, while After Forever is foundering after three mediocre albums.

Epica's lead singer, Simone Simons, an attractive woman with long flaming red hair is competition to Cristina Scabbia for the most attractive Femme Metal singer but singing wise, she is no Floor Jansen, the exquisite singer for After Forever. Then again, who is? Nevertheless, Simone really isn't bad. In fact she's pretty good and has done a commendable job on Consign to Oblivion. The remaining members of Epica's nuclear family are Ad Sluijter - guitars, Coen Janssen - synths, Yves Huts - bass and Jeroen Simons - Drums and percussion.

Consign to Oblivion

If I were to have a problem at all with this album, which I don't, it would be the odd choice of name for the album, a rference to the historical oblivion or the empire of the Mayan Indians, which again is the odd choice for the subject matter of this marvelous album but that's what it is and who am I to second guess so talented composer in the face of such beauty.

Song/Track List

1] "Hunab K'u" (a new age dawns prologue), 1:43, Question: What does Epica and `Pirates of the Caribbean' have in common? Answer: This song. When I hear this instrumental intro, I get visions of `Pirates' and Johnny Depp, it just seems to have the same feel. This is the first of a four part song "A New Age Dawns" (5 stars)

2] "Dance of fate" 5:13, We get right with it with strong keyboards and nice riffs that lead into Simone's stronger vocals, which throughout the album are assisted by the seven member `Epica' choir and the strong symphonic feel that is created by the eight musicians in addition to the band members, the `Epica' string orchestra. "Dance of Fate" starts out fairly fast, but the pace slows down for Simones vocals an speeds up in between. (4½ stars)

3] "The last crusade" (a new age dawns part 1), 4:22, The choir leads off with soft voices, evolving into to a stronger grouping of voices and a galloping back beat. Simone carries this very lovely composition through this variable paced with a variety of hooks and interesting applications. Oddly the lyrics are in Latin as well as English. (5 stars)

4] "Solitary Ground" 4:24, This is a very nice ballad with a very pleasant harmony. I didn't think I liked it that that much but repeated listens made me see tha error of my ways. (4½ stars)

5] "Blank infinity" 4:01, Starts with a piano solo before everyone joins in. Blank Infinity is a melodious medium fast tempo piece, with full orchestra, choir backing and Simone Simons. (4 stars)

6] "Force of the shore" 4:02, On track six, the choir has a prominent part including the beginning. This is the first song in which we get to hear Mark Jansens snarling vox, though it is restrained. "Force of the shore" is a variable paced number and has a lot of interaction happening between the band orchestra and the various singers. (4½ stars)

7] "Quietus" 3:47, Track seven seems a little out of place with it's initial medieval folk melody in a story about ancient Indians, yet it is a powerfully catchy melody, that is carried throughout the song, very nicely by Simone Simons. This is her best work and it was done with little help from the choir. (5 stars)

8] "Mother of light" (a new age dawns part 2), 5:56 A strong song, maybe the best of many great songs. Simone gives us strong deliberate delivery and the choir is also strong. Nice piano interlude, great power drums and strings. Just a wonderful bombastic, epic number. (5 stars)

9] "Trois Vierges" 4:42, Now we go from what may be the most impressive to the least impressive song. To bad too because Trois Vierges is a mediocre ballad, featuring Kamelot's excellent singer, Roy Kahn guesting in a duet with Simone. (2½ stars)

10] "Another me" "in lack'ech", 4:40, Another me is a medium tempo meandering, easy going, pleasant composition. Nothing special but a nice break from some of the more dramatic numbers, including setting up the ten minute finale. (4 stars )

11] "Consign to oblivion" 9:45, This lengthly grandiose classic seems to combine the best elements of all the best preceding tracks. Again a movie score feeling, featuring powerful beats and memorable melodies, permeates this great composition performed seemingly ad infitum, with extra strong performances by a growling Mark Jansen, lovely soprano vocals by Simone Simons and all the rest of the orchestra, band and choir finishing up this powerful melancholy song, depicting the end of the Mayan empire. (5 stars)

Conclusion

One thing is irrefutable, Epica's music is epic, bombastic, highly melodic and cinematic. The fact that it is cinematic, shouldn't be surprising since Epica has a forthcoming, mostly instrumental album, simply entitled The Score, an album containing `film music`. Mark Jansen himself, has said, "We have a great admiration for people such as Hans Zimmer and Danny Elfman. They are the major composers of the great Hollywood films of this era. The sound of Epica is a combination of scores and elements from metal and rock." and Epica's label, Transmission Records describes their music as, `classical/ film music with the elements of metalrock.'

Now, if I may, I'm going to quote myself from the aforementioned Phantom Agony review from last year, "I like this new direction. It also reminds me, somewhat, of a musical score for a historical movie. I can see myself turning down the sound and playing this album whilst watching The Highwayman or the Count of Monte Cristo, emoting romance, tragedy and adventure. ", so yes, I guess it is movie style music. You know what? I don't care. If it feels good to my aural senses, that's what counts and this music is what I like and if you have marveled at the wonderful music in some of your favorite movies like Gladiator and Lord of the Rings, you should too!

Enjoy!!!.......2006-01-22

This album is a wonder.... Perfect music, perfect voices, perfect balance... An album with a voices and a music that only few times can we enjoy before.

The album with Maya inspirations is a piece of Art of the Rock Gothic that nobody sould miss it...

Perfect....