Track Listing

1. Indigo-Prologue
2. The Obsessive Devotion
3. Menace Of Vanity
4. Chasing the Dragon
5. Never Enough
6. The Last Embrace
7. The Embrace That Smothers-Part VII
8. The Embrace That Smothers-Part VIII
9. The Embrace That Smothers-Part IX
10. Beyond Belief
11. Safeguard To Paradise
12. Saneta Terra
13. The Divine Conspiracy

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3990 in Music
• Released on: 2007-08-28
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Love this album...
I must admit this album is very, very good. If you love Nightwish and the likes, chances are you will like this too, and I definitely do. The first CD I ever downloaded by this band was the Score an epic journey. I actually got the impression that the band doesn't have a singer or anything, and thank goodness that I downloaded this album by them, because they are just pure talent. I have to admit that the growling is a bit over done on songs like the Death of a Dream or The Obsessive Devotion. Otherwise, the whole growling fits pretty well with all of the other tracks. I would actually miss it if it wasn't there. Took a few listens to get used to their style, but I really ended up liking them.

Fantastic!
From the moment I heard the first track to the title track at the end it was nothing short of perfection! Simone Simons has an exquisite voice and the choir throughout is a great touch. The orchestration of the album is fantastic! It gets you pumped right away and keeps you pumped to the end. Tracks like "Menace of Vanity", "The Obsessive Devotion", and "Sancta Terra", a song with a great opening, are exciting tracks mixed with some slower songs such as, "Chasing the Dragon", which is slow but also picks up pace because it is such a long song, and "Safeguard to Paradise", which showcases Simone's beautiful voice! I can't name enough songs from this album. Though I have to agree a bit of a down side are the death grunts, but after a few listens you can get past them and you can just fall in love with it because it is a brilliantly put together album!

Epic Symphonic Metal Cantata
What Epica has done with this album is nothing less than a symphonic metal cantata or oratorio, with angels, demons, power chords and celestial choirs - a goth metal Paradise Lost.

Does it work? Almost. Like a lot of progressive rock of the past, its reach exceeds its grasp. Some it is fantastic, other parts seem a bit sophomoric. It does't quite hold together, but it's sure got some great moments.

If you like Nightwish, you'll love Epica, but I find that Nightwish integrates orchestral sounds with the metal a bit more effectively than Epica. It helps that, at least on their 2 most recent discs, Nightwish is using a real orchestra, whereas a lot of the orchestral parts on Epica's "Divine Conspiracy" sound synthesized.

What really makes Epica appealing is the stunning voice of lead singer Simone Simons. When the music gives her room to shine, the results are amazing - like on the 4th track, "Chasing the Dragon." It's just beautiful.

If you read the other reviews, you'll find that some are not fans of the growling/grunting of Mark Janssen, which is also a big part of the sound of this disc. I think it actually works pretty well and certainly fits the lyrics and the overall themes of the music. To my ears, this is not an especially "heavy" record, with the biggest impression being made by Simone's soaring lead vocals.

As you can probably tell, I like Nightwish a little better overall but Epica gets big points for Simone.