Hi guys~!
I know it's been ages and I've been going through a lot of stuff lately. Just got back from home two weeks ago, feels refreshing and then here's the work stuff. A pretty stressful week but I quite manage it.
So, when I got back from home, I had a glimpse of Epica's new single which was The Essence of Silence, which was included in their The Quantum Enigma album. I love it a lot when I first heard it. It has a catchy chorus which really got stuck in my head for quite sometime, found myself humming to the tune most of the time.
I just got my copy of The Quantum Enigma, going through with some songs while blogging. The Epica-feel is still there, but there's something new. Something is new. It's still symphonic yet there's a touch of fast beats and rolls which I love that I found on the last two albums they've released.
I couldn't compare the new ones in to their past songs but one thing is for sure, Simone Simons, I think she finds it a bit harder to sing. She's torn somewhere between being a classical singer in to a power metal singer. It is quite powerful but not as powerful as Floor Jansen. Don't get me wrong, I love Simone. I still look up to her as one of my idols. They're both incredible vocalists, I just find it that there's something missing.
The growls, the choir, all the rest of the stuff is really perfect or close to perfect. Maybe it's just because of the recording, since it's either more vibratos or just give it a clean voice (What the hell am I talking about? >.<). I just missed the old classical feel like in Feint and Cry For The Moon.
I have to be honest, I did not enjoy Canvas of Life studio version though, but I did enjoy the live acoustic version (because I get to see Isaac >.> jk XD). I hope she sing it the way she did in Trois Vierges.
Amidst all the sh*tty stuff I've said, there is another song that I love. It gives me that "Tarja"-feel in it and that's In All Conscience. There was this almost a thin borderline between what Tarja used to do in her My Winter Storm album. Close to Die Alive but heavier, and a darker version of Paradise (What About Us?) (yup it's a WT song, but to hell with it, I love that song too XD)
The thing that never fails to amaze me is that, the construction of the lyrics. The lyrics are meaningful. They usually made me question my own existence every time I listen to it.
Overall it is quite new to my ears, but then there's so many elements incorporated in each songs that I don't think I'm quite ready to absorb. I love Epica and I've been listening to them for years, but this album it's a bit too much. It is quite polished and not at the same time. It's like packing in everything in one album that it's hard to chew and swallow because of the contents and then I get too full after three songs.
So what rating is The Quantum Enigma for me? I'd give it an 8 out of 10. The album is not totally bad but it isn't as good as other albums. I will still continue to buy and listen to their future albums anyways so please don't label this as a "hate" review.
Horns up \m/
Love,
~M~
