Epica – Omega

It’s certainly been an eventful year or so for the music industry with live music put on hold and any return still months away. While some bands have split or have parted ways with members, and others have gone on hiatus while the members take other work to survive. Some bands though have defied the pandemic and used the time to write and record new material, and happily Epica have done just that, recording the album at a time when restrictions make things difficuly. Once again they’ve worked with Dutch producer Joost van den Broek at Sandlane recording studios.

The album starts with a gentle introduction (Alpha – Anteludium) before the first song kicks in and takes the power level way up. Epica are classed as a symphonic metal band, which is a genre that really does encompass a wide range of music. Epica are definitely at the heaviest end of the spectrum and if you stripped away the symphonic elements would be more Death metal than anything else. The symphonic elements and the beautiful female vocals of Simone Simons really do have a huge effect on the overall sound but there’s still that very heavy core to the music, so the result is heavy while still having a lot of richness and melody.

Vocally Simone Simons has an amazing voice and her clear vocals are always a pleasure to listen to. They’re supplemented with growling vocals from Mark Jansen.
Musically the power comes from the drums, guitars and bass and there’s certainly a lot of power here. That raw sound is supplemented with keyboards and the orchestral elements, and together they give a heavy, rich and complex sound.

Lyrically you won’t find Epica writing simple songs about love or drinking – there’s a far deeper level of writing here than that, and the album title is enough to show that. It refers to the Omega Point theory which is a future when everything in the universe spirals toward a final point of unification. Past albums have written about science and quantum physics, human nature and much more

Epica have once again delivered a superb album and I can’t wait to hear the songs played live.

Track listing:

1. Alpha – Anteludium
2. Abyss of time – Countdown to singularity
3. The skeleton key
4. Seal of Solomon
5. Gaia
6. Code of life
7. Freedom – The wolves within
8. Kingdom of heaven part 3 – The Antediluvian universe
9. Rivers
10. Synergize – Manic manifest
11. Twilight reverie
12. Omega – Sovereign of the sun spheres