Nightwish generally gets all the acclaim, but for my money, Epica has been the most consistent of the female-fronted symphonic heavy metal acts of the last two decades. Their ninth studio album, Aspiral, is another gem from the band and their label Nuclear Blast Records, and it resumes the 'New Age Dawns' concept that they started back in 2005 with Consign to Oblivion and 2009's Design Your Universe.
Leading the charge as always are the amazing vocals of Simone Simons, with Mark Jansen (guitar, extreme vocals), Isaac Delahaye (lead guitar), Rob van der Loo (bass), Coen Janssen (keyboards, orchestrations), and Arien van Weesenbeek (drums) rounding out the line-up. As they have capably shown throughout their career, Epica, combines bombastic orchestral metal, power metal, progressive metal, and extreme metal all into one cohesive sound, with both Simone and Mark providing the 'beauty and the beast' element that works so well for them. Tracks like "Cross the Divide" and "Arcana" rock hard with those sweeping melodies, Simone's vocals so angelic and Mark occasionally dropping in his death metal growls for that added touch of aggression. Other highlights here include the irresistible "Darkness Dies in Light-A New Age Dawns Part VII" (the orchestrations are breathtaking!), the bombast of 'Metanoia-A New Age Dawns Part VIII', the grinding "T.I.M.E.", the soaring yet still crushingly heavy "Apparition", and the gorgeous closing title track.
Throughout, Simone's vocals are breathtaking, and there are plenty of raging riffs and glorious keyboard orchestrations. Most importantly, these are memorable songs that stick with you, and in the end, that's what you really want. It's another winner from Epic!
1. Cross the Divide
2. Arcana
3. Darkness Dies in Light - A New Age Dawns Part VII -
4. Obsidian Heart
5. Fight to Survive - The Overview Effect -
6. Metanoia - A New Age Dawns Part VIII -
7. T.I.M.E.
8. Apparition
9. Eye of the Storm
10. The Grand Saga of Existence - A New Age Dawns Part IX -
11. Aspiral
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