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Epica - The Quantum Enigma



8.3 | 569 votes |
Release date: 2 May 2014
Style: Symphonic metal

Owners:

466 have it
47 want it


Disc I
01. Originem
02. The Second Stone
03. The Essence Of Silence
04. Victims Of Contingency
05. Sense Without Sanity - The Impervious Code
06. Unchain Utopia
07. The Fifth Guardian - Interlude
08. Chemical Insomnia
09. Reverence - Living In The Heart
10. Omen - The Ghoulish Malady
11. Canvas Of Life
12. Natural Corruption
13. The Quantum Enigma - Kingdom Of Heaven Part II
14. Memento [vinyl bonus]
15. Banish Your Illusion [iTunes bonus]
16. Mirage Of Verity [Japanese bonus]

Disc II [Digipack/Earbook acoustic tracks bonus]
01. Canvas Of Life
02. In All Conscience
03. Dreamscape
04. Natural Corruption

Disc III [Earbook instrumental tracks bonus]
01. Originem
02. The Second Stone
03. The Essence Of Silence
04. Victims Of Contingency
05. Sense Without Sanity
06. Unchain Utopia
07. The Fifth Guardian
08. Chemical Insomnia
09. Reverence
10. Omen
11. Canvas Of Life
12. Natural Corruption
13. The Quantum Enigma

Top 20 albums of 2014: 19

Line-up
Simone Johanna Maria Simons - vocals
Coen Janssen - keyboards, piano
Mark Jansen - guitars, vocals
Isaac Delahaye - guitars
Ariën Van Weesenbeek - drums
Rob van der Loo - bass

Guest musicians
Daniel de Jongh - vocals

Choir: Jan Douwes, Angus van Grevenbroek, Andreas Goetze, Karen Langendonk, Annette Vermeulen, Annette Stallinga, Silvia da Silva Martinho, Astrid Krause, Alfrun Schmid, Ruben de Grauw, Koert Braches, Daan Verlaan, Marcela Bovio, Frederique Klooster, Martha Bosch, Annemieke Nuijten

Violin: Vera van der Bie, Loes Dooren, Floortje Beljon, Merel Jonker, Emma van der Schalie, Ian de Jong, Marleen Wester, Ben Mathot, Judith van Driel

Viola: Mark Mulder, Amber Hendriks, Adriaan Breunis

Cello: Thomas Van Geelen, Jan Willem Troost, David Faber, Annie Tångberg

Additional info
Produced by Joost van den Broek.
Engineered by Joost van den Broek, Maarten de Peijper, and Jos Driessen.
Mixed by Jacob Hansen.
Mastered by Darius van Helfteren.
Cover art and photography by Tonnie Simons & Stefan Heilemann.

Staff review by
R'Vannith
Rating:
8.0
Epica are back with a bang on their sixth studio release, the symphonic metal powerhouse abolishing any doubts that they can maintain their powerful presence within the genre.

Read more ››
published 01.05.2014 | Comments (19)

Guest review by
AngelofDeth
Rating:
7.5
In many ways, The Quantum Enigma is the obvious successor to 2009's much cherished Design Your Universe. And by that I mean bombastic and over the top symphonics melded with Mark's signature heavy riffing and growls, with Simone's operatic vocals making a surprising, yet welcomed, return. Most praiseworthy of all, while it follows in the footsteps of an obvious predecessor, this album still manages to somehow feel new, as the symphonics explore untamed territories. There is no shortage of original riffs and the vocals are - wait, what? Did Elyze Ryd from Amaranthe replace Simone? No, no she didn't. But she may as well have, meaning that this is also Epica's most 'poppy' effort to date.

Read more ››
published 21.06.2014 | Comments (4)

Guest review by
TheJester
Rating:
9.5
After the previous album, which was good but not as memorable as the earlier albums, bland and lacking most signature Epica elements, Epica release The Quantum Enigma, and with it they showed us that Epica is back stronger than ever!

A lot of people said that Simone's vocals are growing weak and that she was the weakest part of the band (with which I was hardly disagreeing even then), but this album is for sure highlight of her career. Strong falsettos are back, vocal harmonies arranged like never before (for example in "The Essence of Silence", "Unchain Utopia" and "Natural Corruption") and a lot more.

Read more ››
published 29.04.2020 | Comments (2)

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Comments

Comments: 126   Visited by: 1456 users
31.12.2013 - 18:42
Neroese
Account deleted
It's whole name of an album? Just TQE? Is there any full name or IT'S full name?
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31.12.2013 - 20:30
Rating: 9
PocketMetal
Written by [user id=127889] on 31.12.2013 at 18:42

It's whole name of an album? Just TQE? Is there any full name or IT'S full name?

TQE stands for something that they haven't announced yet. Simone asked if people could guess what it means so it's surely not the full name.
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31.12.2013 - 23:58
LordHypnos
Account deleted
Written by PocketMetal on 31.12.2013 at 20:30

Written by [user id=127889] on 31.12.2013 at 18:42

It's whole name of an album? Just TQE? Is there any full name or IT'S full name?

TQE stands for something that they haven't announced yet. Simone asked if people could guess what it means so it's surely not the full name.

No, that would be TBA (to be announced). TQE is probably the album title (whatever that means).
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01.01.2014 - 00:00
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Staff
Written by [user id=135634] on 31.12.2013 at 23:58
TQE is probably the album title (whatever that means).

That's literally what he just said.
----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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01.01.2014 - 00:04
LordHypnos
Account deleted
Written by Troy Killjoy on 01.01.2014 at 00:00

Written by [user id=135634] on 31.12.2013 at 23:58
TQE is probably the album title (whatever that means).

That's literally what he just said.

Oops
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04.01.2014 - 00:04
Rating: 8
Hellbrann
I hope it stands for 'The Queen Explodes'.
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Druantia | Folk metal
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04.01.2014 - 00:20
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Staff
The Quantum Enigma?
----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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04.01.2014 - 00:33
mz
The Qualified Ejaculation?
sorry I'm not even familiar with this band
----
Giving my ears a rest from music.
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04.01.2014 - 14:58
Rating: 9
Written by [user id=135634] on 31.12.2013 at 23:58

Written by PocketMetal on 31.12.2013 at 20:30

Written by [user id=127889] on 31.12.2013 at 18:42

It's whole name of an album? Just TQE? Is there any full name or IT'S full name?

TQE stands for something that they haven't announced yet. Simone asked if people could guess what it means so it's surely not the full name.

No, that would be TBA (to be announced). TQE is probably the album title (whatever that means).

If I´m not mistaken, admins of this web no longer accept TBA albums - at least so I was told when I tried to add a TBA album. So it 100% must have something in common with real album title.
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04.01.2014 - 20:43
Karlabos
TQE = The Quest Ends. And that's where they announce they'll split up
----
"Aah! The cat turned into a cat!"
- Reimu Hakurei
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04.01.2014 - 20:55
Vombatus
Potorro
Written by Karlabos on 04.01.2014 at 20:43

TQE = The Quest Ends. And that's where they announce they'll split up

One can only hope
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13.01.2014 - 11:37
Chriwalker
Account deleted
The Question Eternity? Nah.. Wherever it really stands for, I'm hoping the album will sound good! I liked the last, and I do hope this will be even better!
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26.01.2014 - 12:10
Rating: 8
The Quoted Eloquence

there, nailed it.
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31.01.2014 - 20:22
Rating: 9
swatata
From the hints they been dropping the last several days it appears to be The Quantum Enigma.
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01.02.2014 - 17:27
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Staff
Written by swatata on 31.01.2014 at 20:22
The Quantum Enigma.

I thought that looked familiar...

Written by Troy Killjoy on 04.01.2014 at 00:20
The Quantum Enigma?

----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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01.02.2014 - 17:33
Rating: 9
swatata
Written by Troy Killjoy on 01.02.2014 at 17:27

Written by swatata on 31.01.2014 at 20:22
The Quantum Enigma.

I thought that looked familiar...

Written by Troy Killjoy on 04.01.2014 at 00:20
The Quantum Enigma?



Yeap, just to confirm it. Although I dont get why they still don't announce it when they see their fanbase knows the answer already.
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01.02.2014 - 17:34
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Staff
TIL I'm part of the Epica fanbase.
----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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10.02.2014 - 01:49
Rating: 7
DraconianJays
Considering what they have written about in the past and having studied Quantum Physics myself my guess is that the Quantum Enigma itself (a topic) discusses the topic of our consciousness traveling faster than the speed of light and how our very consciousness affects the reality we live in, and the universe itself possibly being a hologram of our very consciousness. The rulers of our time know this and have been trying to keep these subjects a secret, but it shall be a secret no longer! I have never read the book touching on this topic but Quantum Physics is probably the most important science and most important field of study anywhere.
----
One is only as ignorant as they choose to be
-DraconianJays
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07.03.2014 - 17:20
HyperDrifter
Quote:
14. In All Conscience [Digipack bonus]
15. Dreamscape [Earbook bonus]
16. Memento [Vinyl bonus]
17. Banish Your Illusion [iTunes bonus]

Damn all those different bonuses, I want them all but don't want to have to waste money buying it 4 times

Stuff from the studio documentuary so far sounds a lot like Design Your Universe!

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30.04.2014 - 17:58
Rating: 10
hiruken8472
Wow, this album is awesome! The high concentration of epicness can be much at times, but still an absolutely mind-blowing release. After the atrocity that was Requiem for the Indifferent, it's a real masterpiece, it even surpasses Design Your Universe IMO.
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01.05.2014 - 01:05
Rating: 10
Clushje
As a long-time fan The Second Stone is one of their best songs to date IMO. Really solid follow-up album to Design Your Universe, I can forget Requiem for the Indifferent exists now.
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01.05.2014 - 03:10
HyperDrifter
Wow! What an album, the song writing is top notch on this one and I love each song! Dare I say that I like it even more than Design Your Universe!

Anyone else think of Wintersun's When Time Fades Away during the interlude song?
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01.05.2014 - 03:51
Rating: 10
KrobMetal
This album is flipping awesome.
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01.05.2014 - 18:22
Rating: 10
Patrick.
For someone who only discovered the band with 'Requiem For The Indifferent' and haven't really listened to any earlier stuff, I'm joining the choir (based on first listening); that this new album is a masterpiece! Unclear which one of those two I prefer, but to me this one seems a bit more epic while 'Requiem' seems a bit more progressive. I don't know, but either way I love both, and can't wait to dig deeper into their discography ('Design Your Universe' seems to be thrown around all the time as their magnum opus, so I'm excited about that one).

If the rest of their work is as good as these last two, quality-wise, then it might look like there's a new competitor for all-time favorite band (and I don't say that lightly!!). Heck, even the artwork is godly..... Album of the year. And that's another one I don't say with "light heart", considering other worthy candidates released so far (Anubis Gate, Delain, Vanden Plas, Dynazty...).
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01.05.2014 - 22:46
HyperDrifter
Written by Patrick. on 01.05.2014 at 18:22

For someone who only discovered the band with 'Requiem For The Indifferent' and haven't really listened to any earlier stuff, I'm joining the choir (based on first listening); that this new album is a masterpiece! Unclear which one of those two I prefer, but to me this one seems a bit more epic while 'Requiem' seems a bit more progressive. I don't know, but either way I love both, and can't wait to dig deeper into their discography ('Design Your Universe' seems to be thrown around all the time as their magnum opus, so I'm excited about that one).

If the rest of their work is as good as these last two, quality-wise, then it might look like there's a new competitor for all-time favorite band (and I don't say that lightly!!). Heck, even the artwork is godly..... Album of the year. And that's another one I don't say with "light heart", considering other worthy candidates released so far (Anubis Gate, Delain, Vanden Plas, Dynazty...).


If you love this one and Requiem then you have to listen to Design Your Universe, was my favourite until QTE came along I like Divine Conspiracy a lot too, not to keen on anything before, it's all great though! Also Epica are becoming my favourite band too, hoping for an awesome show when I go see them in December!
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Album Release day (May 02, 2014)
02.05.2014 - 11:44
Rating: 10
hidden_ninja
Wow!!!

This album defines symphonic metal as an artform!!!

It is a complete masterpiece!

And the mixing is an artwork in it's own right, a big applaud for the mixer/studio here!

JUST WOW!!!

PS: THIS SHOULD BE HEARD ON PROPER MONITOR HEADPHONES OR HIGH-END SETUP!
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02.05.2014 - 14:23
Firiox
Account deleted
I'm gonna copy what I said at the review:

I love classical music, and I love SYMPHONIC METAL, in fact, Symphonic Metal is the only metal that I really love, I enjoy folk too, but not that much, anyway this album is a bad Symphonic metal one.

I'm in love with the first 4 albums of Epica, but, for me, they have lost their symphonic magic, I even find this album kinda pop sometimes and, in general, boring... I'm seriously dissapointed... Maybe I have to keep listening to it, but in the first spin...

I'd save three songs, but that's all... I'll give it another chance, anyway.

I'm giving it a 1, but just until the note comes to an more appropriate mark... I'll give it a 6.
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02.05.2014 - 15:08
Rating: 9
PocketMetal
Written by [user id=147367] on 02.05.2014 at 14:23

I'm giving it a 1, but just until the note comes to an more appropriate mark... I'll give it a 6.

It's not for you to balance the ratings, that's just childish. Do you want to keep people from listening to this or something? If you think it deserves a 6, just give it a 6. If you think it deserves a 1, then give a 1.
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02.05.2014 - 15:21
Rating: 2
God Alone
It's not that I hate the genre, because I like Therion or even Septicflesh, which both combine symphonic elements with their music - sometimes with outstanding results.
I don't know how to explain it, but for me Epica are one of the most ridiculous and worthless bands ever existed. Bloated, bombastic, kitschy, obnoxious, utter nonsense; so bad that I even find myself enjoying them.
It's like watching The Room or Birdemic, if you know what I mean... "You are tearing me apaaaart, Epica!"
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02.05.2014 - 16:14
Rating: 8
Rasa
Written by [user id=147367] on 02.05.2014 at 14:23

I'm giving it a 1, but just until the note comes to an more appropriate mark... I'll give it a 6.

This is the most ridiculous reasoning I have ever seen. Who are you to say which is an 'appropiate' mark? If people love it, they will rate it good, if not, the sixes and ones will come as well. Really, dude, step down from your self-righteous throne.
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