:: Epica - Design Your Universe

Epica

When Netherlands based symphonic power/gothic metal outfit Epica made the move from Transmission Records to Nuclear Blast Records for their third full-length effort ‘The Divine Conspiracy’, many were expecting big things from the band. And sure enough, the album was hailed as a critical success, not to mention something of a watershed release for the band, with the album eventually going on to become one of Epica’s biggest releases to date. After spending the better part of a year on the road in support of the album, and releasing their live album ‘The Classical Conspiracy’ in the interim, the six-piece act has finally returned with their long awaited fourth thematic full-length effort ‘Design Your Universe’. Picking up where ‘The Divine Conspiracy’ finished, Epica have decided to expand upon their sound in every conceivable way on ‘Design Your Universe’, with their familiar sounds pushed to previously unheard extremes. No Epica album is complete without a heavily orchestrated introduction piece, and ‘Samadhi (Prelude)’ certainly fits the bill. Combining choirs and bombastic orchestration, the short piece adds an air of drama to the start of the album, with ‘Resign To Surrender (A New Age Dawns Part IV)’ picking up seamlessly where the opener drops off. The added aggression this time around is certainly noticed from the outset, with Jansen’s growl predominant alongside Simons’ operatic efforts, while the symphonic aspect is well and truly upfront in their sound alongside the band themselves. Although Epica tend to get a little lost amongst the grandiose orchestral efforts, ‘Resign To Surrender (A New Age Dawns Part IV)’ is definitely one of the album’s stronger moments, and a clear sign that they have pushed their sound to entirely new areas compared to their earlier efforts.
The first single/promotional video clip ‘Unleashed’ is easily one of the catchier and instantly recognisable songs on the album, with Simons’ melodies the central focus point throughout the song, while the follow-up tracks ‘Our Destiny’, the eastern tinged ‘Burn To A Cinder’ and ‘Deconstruct’ follow a similar path. ‘Martyr Of The Free Word’ and ‘Semblance Of Liberty’ see the band introduce something new to their trademark formula, with melodic death metal influences infiltrating their symphonic sound with great success, while the slower paced ‘Tides Of Time’ and ‘White Waters’ represent the ballads on the album. But as strong as the album is in parts, as a whole, Epica still run into the same problems that plagued their last release. Despite the best of intentions, both the thirteen and a half minute/five piece suite ‘Kingdom Of Heaven (A New Age Dawns Part V)’ and the nine and a half minute title track ‘Design Your Universe’ tend to overstay their welcome with some passages sounding padded out to unnecessary lengths, while the instrumental ‘The Price Of Freedom (Interlude)’ just disrupts the follow around the middle of the album. Overall, ‘Design Your Universe’ is a good album, and a worthy follow up to ‘The Divine Conspiracy’. But like most Epica releases, ‘Design Your Universe’ is a little bloated, and could have been so much stronger as a whole with a little constructive editing in length.