Ok, so maybe you think the “beauty and the
beast” vocal dynamic, with guttural male shrieks,
screams and growls contrasting with ethereal and operatic
female vocals, is old hat and completely overdone.
You’d essentially be right, but that doesn’t
mean that all bands which employ this tactic are poor
imitations of former trendsetters. Take Dutch symphonic-goth
band EPICA and their 4th studio album “The Divine
Conspiracy”. What stands this group apart from
their contemporaries, like THEATRE OF TRAGEDY, EVANESCENCE,
NIGHTWISH and LACUNA COIL is the sheer breadth of
division between the consummate grace of the beauty
and the unbridled savagery of the beast.
Mezzo-soprano Simone Simons’ voice is simply
heavenly, operatic and powerful with enchanting levels
of nuance and emotion, and Coen Janssen (Synthesizer
and piano) creates lush gothic soundscapes and moving
symphonic elements while the beastly side of the act
consisting of Mark Jansen (guitar and male vocals),
Ad Sluijter (guitar), and Yves Huts (Bass) stampedes
and rages in such a fashion as to approach black metal
levels of ferocity. There is a mile wide gap between
the two extremes of EPICA, bridged by instrumental
skill and superb songwriting. The dichotomy of black-goth-symphony
sounds divergent in theory but it comes together as
a stunning whole.
If you’ve never heard EPICA before (I was introduced
and awed by 2005’s “Consign To Oblivion”)
then let me suggest you mentally combine EVANESCENCE,
MOONSPELL and SYMPONY X and spin that around your
cranium for a bit. That’s what EPICA comes up
with. Lots of metal ferocity, oodles of sublime female
grace, and epic (pun intended) levels of symphonic
orchestration. I know you think you’ve heard
it all before, but you haven’t heard it done
this well.
Bottom Line: Quite possibly the band’s greatest
work to date, Simone Simons’ seductive siren
song leads you into the cold black depths of metal
where a symphony awaits. Beautiful, moving, and without
a doubt *metal*.
Key Tracks: "Living a Lie ~ the Embrace that
Smothers part VIII", "The Obsessive Devotion",
"Fools of Damnation ~ the Embrace that Smothers
part IX", "The Divine Conspiracy"
Reviewed by Farron Watson |
