I hope that that album title doesn't mean they plan this album as their last.

Exciting news. Hope it's better than the last one. I don't like the cover art tho.

P.S. Kingdom of Heaven Part 3? Me likes!

I'm a bit disappointed. Even though it's better than the last one, but it continues THP trend: a lot of form, but no substance. Melodies and choruses are unmemorable and more technical than melodic. They said this is more like Quantum Enigma and I can hear that in general sound, but the melodies and writing are a lot weaker.

The only songs that I really enjoyed were Abyss Of Time, Code of Life, Freedom and Kingdom Of Heaven. Sad, cause I was really looking forward for TQE continuation and Abyss of Time even gave CTO vibes.

Oh well.

It's a solid release overall but kinda sound the same as the last two albums and has a similar theme which I'm ready for it to change.
Don't know what they were thinking with "The Skeleton Key" should have just been a bonus track.
They released the best songs as singles and Code of Life stands out as well. Kingdom of Heaven pt3 is better than pt2 but not even close to being as good as the first one.

Believe it or not, this my first time listening to a whole Epica album. This is actually good even if there are a few songs I didn't pay much attention to.

Written by Gothic Metalhead on 26.02.2021 at 11:39

Believe it or not, this my first time listening to a whole Epica album. This is actually good even if there are a few songs I didn't pay much attention to.

Definitely too long for its own good, but I expected them to fall off much more than they did. Pleasantly surprised by it.

Quite curious to see what you think of their older albums since you're not looking at them with nostalgia googles. The Phantom Agony was my favorite album ever at one point in time.

Quote:

Quite curious to see what you think of their older albums since you're not looking at them with nostalgia googles. The Phantom Agony was my favorite album ever at one point in time.

I'll have to check them out. Symphonic metal is a style I'm not too focused on.

I actually saw Epica live once. The best/funniest story I ever told my metal friends is that Epica started a wall of death at their show. Literally everyone was baffled a symphonic metal band would start a wall of death, I was cracking up.

I'm not sure that I like it, the records seem a bit samey to me apart from a couple stand out songs....shame

Enjoyed the first few songs... then lost interest. Either because things got repetitive. or because I wanted to go back to Moonspell's album, which I'm in love with. will get back to the 2nd half of the album later.

Evergrey, Empyrium, Moonspell, Epica - all in one day. it's gonna be a busy weekend. It's a good time to become a good hubby and tell my wife she can spend the weekend at her mother's

Well....its a good album...have a very good songs...but...its not better than the quantum enigma...not better than design your universe..and...its feel like one only very long song...maybe need more diferent textures.
In the other side epica still in the best metal bands today.no doubt about it

It´s a very solid and very good record, in my opinion slightly better than "The Holographic Principle", but not on the level of "The Quantum Enigma". We have some strong highlights here, in my mind, that deserve to be specially mentioned, which are: "Abyss Of Time - Countdown To Singularity", "Seal of Solomon", "Freedom - The Wolves Within", "Rivers", "Omega - Sovereign Of The Sun Spheres" and the best song of the álbum and an absolute epic song "Kingdom Of Heaven, Part 3 - The Antediluvian Universe".

Now I think latest Cooper album was super good, totaly boring album to me. Listenedcir at work while slept.

I was right, after a few listens, no song stands out. nothing much to go back to. it's good for passive listening. you won't have to skip a song if it comes in your playlist randomly... but otherwise I don't see myself coming back to this album by choice.

WTF 7.9? Are we crazy?

Best Symphonic metal album since Once from Nightwish.

What would an 8.5 score for a symphonic metal album be today? Steve Harris meets Holopainen meets Youngblood meets Sammet meets Opeth meets Wilderun all in the same super group?

You guys are nuts.

Written by Tale on 27.02.2021 at 21:37

WTF 7.9? Are we crazy?

Best Symphonic metal album since Once from Nightwish.

What would an 8.5 score for a symphonic metal album be today? Steve Harris meets Holopainen meets Youngblood meets Sammet meets Opeth meets Wilderun all in the same super group?

You guys are nuts.

Very respectful of everyone's opinions.

(Having said that, I've also said the colors are wrong here. 7.9/10 has to be considered very good by any standard, yet the yellow color suggests average IMO).

Another solid album. Not top tier, but close. Parts I love, parts I like, parts I don't care for. If it is their last, it's not a bad one to go out on.

Written by SAY10 on 28.02.2021 at 01:08

Written by Tale on 27.02.2021 at 21:37

WTF 7.9? Are we crazy?

Best Symphonic metal album since Once from Nightwish.

What would an 8.5 score for a symphonic metal album be today? Steve Harris meets Holopainen meets Youngblood meets Sammet meets Opeth meets Wilderun all in the same super group?

You guys are nuts.

Very respectful of everyone's opinions.

(Having said that, I've also said the colors are wrong here. 7.9/10 has to be considered very good by any standard, yet the yellow color suggests average IMO).

No, I'm respectful really, it's OK for people to think it's average, I'm just surprised, and thinking aloud what would an 8.5 symphonic album be....haven't seen a score for more than 8.3 on any symphonic - power metal release in over 10 years..

And I don't think it's only the bands to blame (I can understand that the level has gone downwards since the end of the 90's but come on...)

As an example, for me Ghostlights from Avantasia is an absolute masterpiece, and it reached 8.3 miraculously, and thats like the top score for a power metal album since 2010 or more..

The freefall continues... Despite writing the same wall as I did in the previous release I will summarize that I just listened to every bad aspect Epica could write in their first releases. It is like a sea of mediocrity with no memorable moment and completely out of the epic or even gothic atmosphere they once had. It is like a symphonic collection that does not provoke any feeling. If this is what you are searching for, be my guest. Listened to some groovy passages in "Seal Of Solomon" and "Code Of Life" that kept me slightly interesting and that's all. Considering they still get some support, their downfall, from my point of view, will continue so on.

Written by The Melting Snow on 26.02.2021 at 13:38

Enjoyed the first few songs... then lost interest. Either because things got repetitive. or because I wanted to go back to Moonspell's album, which I'm in love with. will get back to the 2nd half of the album later.

The best songs are at the end of this album imo so it's unfair rating this based on just the first half. Listen to all or don't rate it all

Written by HyperDrifter on 28.02.2021 at 17:01

Written by The Melting Snow on 26.02.2021 at 13:38

Enjoyed the first few songs... then lost interest. Either because things got repetitive. or because I wanted to go back to Moonspell's album, which I'm in love with. will get back to the 2nd half of the album later.

The best songs are at the end of this album imo so it's unfair rating this based on just the first half. Listen to all or don't rate it all

yup. rated it AFTER listening to the whole album more than once. the second half seemed pretty much the same as the first half. no song is bad, but it is all very repetitive and nothing really stands out to me.

as i said above, good for passive listening. It isn't something i'd consciously go back to and play again. 7 is pretty high for an album like that I guess

Simone did career high vocal part, but the band lost its creativity, lead single is ok, title track is freshing and that's all, rest feels like bsides left over from past albums. Kingdom of Heaven pt.3 fails expectation.

Much better album than The Holographic Principle (their worst IMHO), although perhaps a notch below their best albums, like Design, Requiem and The Quantum. Anyway an excellent album.

Highlights: The Kingdom of Heaven - Omega - Seal of Salomon - The Skeleton Key - Code Of Life - Abyss of Time - Rivers (the acapella version is simply awesome)

The brass on Omega - Sovereign of the Sun Spheres - is incredible. Reminds me of early Seventh wonder.

So, according to the rating, this is Epica's second worst album... Unbelievable.

The album suffers from its length. I could live without 2 of the last 3 tracks. That being said, I still think it's a great album, perfectly executed from a technical standpoint and with some memorable melodies. Not their best, but far from average.

Well, compared to The Holographic Principle (which had literally no song I could remember even after 4-5 spins), this is a step up. I'm still a bit disappointed though, most songs somewhat fail to catch attention and the the whole 70-minute thing just drags so much at times.
How is "The Skeleton Key" a single??

Just listened to this for a second time. Overall, a solid album. The best part is the bombastic choruses which are quite catchy as well. The album might be a BIT long, but I was able t endure it more during the 2nd listen. A few highlights for me:

Abyss of Time: Probably the catchiest song on the album, both with the riff and chorus

Skeleton Key: Could do without the "creepy" verse, but the chorus and the children's choir make up for it. This song reminded me of a darker version of Nightwish's "Rest Calm" with superior vocals

Soul of Solomon: Simone's best vocal performance of the album in my opinion

Code of Life: Middle Eastern vibes in the song that actually work.

Synergize - Manic Manifest: Best drum and guitar work on the album. Pretty cool blast beats here and a good solo.

I am scared by the fact that there are people out there who will wilfully listen to this album more than once.

Written by Duck Dodgers on 13.03.2021 at 15:26

I am scared by the fact that there are people out there who will wilfully listen to this album more than once.

Didn't consider that but now I'll do it just to spite you

Written by RaduP on 13.03.2021 at 17:32

Written by Duck Dodgers on 13.03.2021 at 15:26

I am scared by the fact that there are people out there who will wilfully listen to this album more than once.

Didn't consider that but now I'll do it just to spite you

Sweet! If you are into self-harming your hearing I also recommend the last Nightwish album!
Jokes aside though, I think the problem with Epica is that they started as an After Forever spin off band but they never managed to achieve anything close in quality to the first After Forever album. And they have been trying for almost 20 years!