Author Topic: Epica appreciation thread  (Read 61875 times)

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Offline cramx3

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #385 on: October 09, 2020, 10:55:21 AM »
Whoa, Kingdom of Heaven part 3 is on Omega, surprised they're still going with that  :lol

I really, really need to play catch up with this band like I did with Ensiferum this year (caught up on the last 10 years of music). I own The Quantum Enigma but I don't think I've ever listened to it, and I only gave Requiem a couple spins. I'm on vacation next week - I think over the next 9 days I'll check out what I've been missing.

I'd say those are two of their more forgetable albums.  Nothing really wrong with them, but they don't stand out to me.  I would totally recommend The Holographic Principle though, I think that may be my favorite album of theirs now.  Also, the acoustic versions they did for a few songs on that album are absolutely amazing.

Also, since I bumped this thread I saw my last post about seeing Epica back in January, sadly that has been their last show.  That was sooo much fun that night.

Offline cramx3

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #386 on: December 18, 2020, 08:02:30 PM »
EPICA - Abyss O'Time (OFFICIAL ACOUSTIC VIDEO)


Looks like the new album will also continue the awesome trend of featuring acoustic bonus tracks  :yarr LOVE these

Offline bosk1

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #387 on: January 26, 2021, 06:59:44 PM »
Single:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rW7Vpep3II

Nice slower, lighter song.  But I like Epica for the heavy.
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Offline MinistroRaven

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #388 on: January 27, 2021, 08:25:39 AM »
Single:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rW7Vpep3II

Nice slower, lighter song.  But I like Epica for the heavy.

Do you want to review the album?

Offline cramx3

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #389 on: January 27, 2021, 08:37:29 AM »
Single:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rW7Vpep3II

Nice slower, lighter song.  But I like Epica for the heavy.

Song is nice, but I feel the same.  The ballads are usually solid, as is this one, but it's not what gets my Epica juices really flowing.  Definitely looking forward to this release though

Offline bosk1

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #390 on: January 27, 2021, 09:57:18 AM »
One thing that I find intriguing about this band is what a different listening experience they are for me personally.  In general, I don't identify with and vehemently disagree with the statement that lyrics are unimportant and just sort of window dressing for music.  The vast majority of music I listen to is stuff that, at some point or another, whether I'm in my car, doing work in my yard, or whatever, I want to sing along with (even if I am just singing along silently in my head). 

Epica is one of those rare exceptions where the lyrics are meaningless to me.  That is due in large part to the fact that the singing is often unintelligible to me, and I have to look at a lyrics sheet to figure out what they are even saying.  Another part is that they are a band that is really into soundscapes, and I feel like the vocals are part of that soundscape more than trying to make a lyrical point or tell a lyrical story. 

The few times I have gone and looked up Epica lyrics, or have heard the band talk about the meaning of particular songs, I often find myself shaking my head and either thinking the lyrics are really dumb or so antithetical to my life philosophy that I don't care to sing along at all.  Normally, that would cause me to just take a pass on the band altogether.  But in the case of Epica, I am for some reason able to more easily compartmentalize and just ignore the lyrics and just enjoy the scoundscape.
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Offline bosk1

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #391 on: February 01, 2021, 06:59:17 PM »
The Skeleton Key could be my favorite Epica song ever.  Nothing overly complicated about it.  It's just a really solid song.  Kinda reminds me of Charon on Symphony X's last album.  Not that it sounds similar.  But I had a similar reaction in terms of immediately being hooked by a song that doesn't try to do too much, and doesn't need to, and is just solid.
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Offline MinistroRaven

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #392 on: February 22, 2021, 05:19:50 AM »

Offline bosk1

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #393 on: February 22, 2021, 08:42:48 AM »
Not my best work, but hopefully, it conveys that I liked the album.  I just had a tough time finding things to say about it because it really isn't anything different for them.  Anyone who liked The Holographic Principle will likely like this album a lot as well.  It doesn't break any new ground, but that's okay.  They just stuck to what they do well and put out a solid album.
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Offline pfillion

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #394 on: February 27, 2021, 06:02:54 AM »

Offline Willthescout7

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #395 on: February 27, 2021, 06:53:30 AM »
The new Epica album sure sounds like Epica

Offline Zoom E

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #396 on: February 27, 2021, 04:28:27 PM »
bosk1 album review:

https://lotsofmuzik.com/epica-omega-album-review-by-jerry-deschler/

 :metal

 :metal

I may check this out. The only Epica album I own is the Divine Conspiracy and, while I like it, for some reason I haven't listened to it much.

Offline cramx3

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #397 on: March 01, 2021, 11:02:13 AM »
The new Epica album sure sounds like Epica

I've listened to some of it so far and definitely this seems to be the case.  I don't have an issue with that, I enjoyed them quite a bit and haven't found their sound to become boring or uninteresting yet, actually thought they may have perfected it with their last album.  I definitely need to dig in more though and I'll share my thoughts once I've done so.

Online Evermind

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #398 on: March 01, 2021, 11:08:54 AM »
The new Epica album sure sounds like Epica

Yeah, I checked it out once and it's an Epica album. Probably won't return back to it, but I'll see them live on tour when that's a thing again.
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline cramx3

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #399 on: March 17, 2021, 01:38:17 PM »
Once again confirming this is indeed an Epica album.... and I love it.  I'm not sure yet where it lands in my album rankings yet, but it's probably pretty high.  I definitely like the last two albums more than the old school Epica.  It seems Mark might have hit his ceiling with his vocals.  I noticed a lot of improvement from the early albums, but Holographic Principle might be his best work and I feel like he kind of stayed in that same zone on this album.  There's really not a whole lot to say as if you like Epica, you will like this and if you don't, this won't change your mind.  Kingdom of Heaven Pt3 is a nice continuation of the series and the centerpiece of the album. However, I'm not sure it's my favorite track here.  Gaia and Twilight Reverie really stand out to me as my favorite tracks so far.  Synergy is a really nice song as well as Freedom.  I don't think there's a bad track here at all.  Rivers and Skeleton Key might be on the bottom end for me (and they were singles) but I still really enjoy them.  I've consumed 4 new albums in 2021 and so far this is my favorite.

Offline Willthescout7

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #400 on: March 18, 2021, 05:26:35 AM »
My wife really digs the album, especially Skeleton Key

Offline bosk1

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #401 on: March 18, 2021, 09:17:57 AM »
Once again confirming this is indeed an Epica album.... and I love it.  I'm not sure yet where it lands in my album rankings yet, but it's probably pretty high.  I definitely like the last two albums more than the old school Epica.  It seems Mark might have hit his ceiling with his vocals.  I noticed a lot of improvement from the early albums, but Holographic Principle might be his best work and I feel like he kind of stayed in that same zone on this album.  There's really not a whole lot to say as if you like Epica, you will like this and if you don't, this won't change your mind. 

Yeah, that's pretty much where I land as well.  I think I probably would put it just a notch below The Holographic Principle.  But it really feels like a continuation of that album.  And when I say that, I mean that it almost feels like these songs could have all been written and recorded at the same time as those, and they just put all the songs in a hat and randomly drew out names to decide which would go on which album--it's that strong a similarity.  It really feels like The Holographic Principle pt. 2 to me.  I kind of shied away from saying that in my review because it sounds like a knock on the album, and I don't mean it that way at all.  But that is exactly the vibe I get.  And since, like you, I liked The Holographic Principle so much, I am perfectly fine with that.

And, yeah, Skeleton Key is pretty great.  Rivers is aging pretty well for me too.  I went from, "Yeah, this is pretty good, but I don't generally turn to Epica for the ballads," to "This is a really well-constructed song with some really pretty moments.  I really like this."
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Offline cramx3

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #402 on: March 18, 2021, 09:22:17 AM »
Yup, I think we pretty much are both in total agreement.  I by saying those two songs might be my least favorite is not even a knock.  Skeleton Key actually has some slightly different vibes to it, which makes it a bit more unique regarding this album and THP.  I really enjoy it and Rivers.  I downloaded the album from Amazon and it didn't include the acoustic songs.  I need to check those out, because historically, those are amazing versions of the songs.

Offline bosk1

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #403 on: March 18, 2021, 09:25:22 AM »
I bought the deluxe edition that came with the acoustic tracks, but I haven't ripped and listened to them yet.  I need to do that.  I really enjoyed the ones from The Holographic Principle.  In fact, I think I'll listen to those now.  (I'm at work and have that ripped to my work computer)

EDIT:  Those acoustic tracks also really highlight how much understanding of music these guys have as composers.  They know exactly what they are doing in terms of creating certain moods in their music.  These acoustic tracks have vastly different vibes from their album counterparts, and it isn't just because they are acoustic rather than electric.  When you listen to any of these tracks, you can instantly tell what songs they were derived from, and yet also simultaneously appreciate them as completely separate entities that have a completely different feel.  And that is all due to deliberate choices they made to spin these songs in completely different directions from their counterparts.  I just love that.  It's not just a "bonus unplugged disk."  It's a collection of completely alternative versions of those songs.
« Last Edit: March 18, 2021, 09:42:00 AM by bosk1 »
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Offline Working man

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #404 on: March 19, 2021, 10:15:00 AM »
I am really enjoying this. Got it on vinyl. This will kill live.

WM

Offline cramx3

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #405 on: March 19, 2021, 10:47:32 AM »
EDIT:  Those acoustic tracks also really highlight how much understanding of music these guys have as composers.  They know exactly what they are doing in terms of creating certain moods in their music.  These acoustic tracks have vastly different vibes from their album counterparts, and it isn't just because they are acoustic rather than electric.  When you listen to any of these tracks, you can instantly tell what songs they were derived from, and yet also simultaneously appreciate them as completely separate entities that have a completely different feel.  And that is all due to deliberate choices they made to spin these songs in completely different directions from their counterparts.  I just love that.  It's not just a "bonus unplugged disk."  It's a collection of completely alternative versions of those songs.

Yup, this is why I love them, and they slightly change the name of the song to reflect that difference. I totally agree that they aren't really "acoustic versions" they are alternate "softer" versions. 

Offline 425

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #406 on: March 24, 2021, 09:48:39 PM »
I just got Omega and am really liking it on first listen. I only really got into this band pretty recently with Design Your Universe, so I don't know much of their discography, but I'm definitely enjoying this new one.
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Offline bosk1

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #407 on: March 25, 2021, 12:27:54 AM »
I just got Omega and am really liking it on first listen. I only really got into this band pretty recently with Design Your Universe, so I don't know much of their discography, but I'm definitely enjoying this new one.

IMO, they are one of those few bands whose live efforts are consistently better than studio.  Their Retrospect release is absolutely fantastic, and I would highly recommend it.  That is pretty much my go-to album from them unless there is a specific song I want to hear that isn't on it (or if I want to listen to the two most recent albums).  REALLY strong effort, and it has TONS of music, since it is 3 CDs.
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Offline 425

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #408 on: April 10, 2021, 04:39:11 PM »
I just got Omega and am really liking it on first listen. I only really got into this band pretty recently with Design Your Universe, so I don't know much of their discography, but I'm definitely enjoying this new one.

IMO, they are one of those few bands whose live efforts are consistently better than studio.  Their Retrospect release is absolutely fantastic, and I would highly recommend it.  That is pretty much my go-to album from them unless there is a specific song I want to hear that isn't on it (or if I want to listen to the two most recent albums).  REALLY strong effort, and it has TONS of music, since it is 3 CDs.

I'm only just now seeing this. Thanks for the suggestion! I've been listening to them a lot recently, and have lately been thinking about where to go next. I'm always a little apprehensive about symphonic bands' live releases because sometimes the symphonic elements can get buried, but it's good to see a strong endorsement on this one, which I also gather has a live orchestra. I'll probably get it next, plus maybe one of the last two studio albums before Omega. I actually also own The Divine Conspiracy, which I tried years ago and didn't click with, so I'll go back to that at some point.

I don't know how it's sitting with longtime fans of the band, but I'm really enjoying Omega a lot. What I notice in contrast to my other main point of familiarity, from 12 years ago, is that the choir arrangements are really sophisticated, and they're not afraid to put the choir front-and-center at times, despite having a really impressive lead singer. Seal of Solomon is just absolutely owning me right now, and it's because of the chorus of the song which is all choir(!).

I also absolutely love Rivers, and honestly between it and Tides of Time, which I love even more, I'm inclined to compliment Epica as being every bit as good at the ballads as they are at the bombastic stuff.

The main downside for me—interestingly enough since I think it's pretty clear Bosk and I have pretty different life philosophies in a lot of ways—is this:

The few times I have gone and looked up Epica lyrics, or have heard the band talk about the meaning of particular songs, I often find myself shaking my head and either thinking the lyrics are really dumb or so antithetical to my life philosophy that I don't care to sing along at all.  Normally, that would cause me to just take a pass on the band altogether.  But in the case of Epica, I am for some reason able to more easily compartmentalize and just ignore the lyrics and just enjoy the scoundscape.

But fortunately I also agree about being able to compartmentalize pretty well in Epica's case. I also generally sense that Omega has less material that I find antithetical/conspicuously dumb than DYU. Really only one song has clearly audible lyrics that make me roll my eyes. Some of the other ones seem to even tend toward a sort of Jon Anderson word-soupy mysticism, which is what I prefer from those with a mystic bent (and yes, I still consider it mysticism even if you say "quantum physics" a few times).
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Offline cramx3

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #409 on: April 10, 2021, 05:43:48 PM »
Seal of Solomon is fantastic.

I think the general consensus on omega is very positive. If you like it, check out their previous The Holographic Principle. Very similar albums. Also the EP The Solace System with the leftover songs from The Holographic Principle is a really good. Generally, for me, their newer output is better than their first few albums. They've grown and refined their sound.

Offline bosk1

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #410 on: April 13, 2021, 03:14:28 PM »
I never got Solace System, for some reason.  I need to do that.  I also need to rip the acoustic tracks, so I can listen to those.

@425:  I know I already said what I needed to about Retrospect, but I will just reiterate that I cannot recommend it highly enough.  If I had to pick a desert island Epica CD, that would be the one.  And if I could get three, it would be that, and the two most recent studio albums.  The only caveat I have about that release is that Epica seem to like using lighting that not conventional, so if that sort of things bothers you, just prepare yourself before watching the video portion of the show.  It often looks washed out, or is hard to see some things onstage.  But other than that...I'll just say that Retrospect took me from "I can't say I'm a true 'fan' of the band, but they have some songs I really like" to "they are now on my short bucket list of 'must see' bands."
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Offline cramx3

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #411 on: April 13, 2021, 03:42:34 PM »
The lighting in the video is pretty bad.  Just makes it hard to see the band, but doesn't hurt my eyes.

Here's a video from it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2GaSc90wME that song was exclusively performed for the live album and I really enjoy it.  But the audio is fantastic, it's overall a really good live album, just kind of sucks they shot all those lights into the cameras so I still recommend it as well.

Offline 425

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #412 on: April 13, 2021, 07:59:52 PM »
That certainly is strange lighting, and I would prefer if it were somewhat more conventional, but it doesn't really bother me. I also tend to listen to live albums more often than I watch live DVDs, so even if I end up hating the lighting over the course of a whole show, I'm sure I'll get something out of it.

Just went ahead and ordered Retrospect. The Holographic Principle is on my list as well, but I'm probably going to grab it as part of my next Laser's Edge order since they have the 2CD version at the same price as Amazon has the 1CD.
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Offline bosk1

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"The Supreme Court of the United States has descended from the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and Joseph Story to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie."

Offline cramx3

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #414 on: June 11, 2021, 08:20:24 AM »
I'm not going to be around to watch it live, but I may still purchase and watch sometime during the weekend.  I do want to see the new songs performed.

Offline 425

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #415 on: June 12, 2021, 03:24:19 PM »
I decided to buy this since I've been into Epica lately and definitely regretted missing the first Nightwish show. The initial airing just finished. Since it will be available for replay and it looks like they're still selling tickets, there's still an option for folks to get in on it. Here are some of my thoughts:

First, while I suppose one could raise questions about any of these streams where they don't interact with the live viewers (as, for example, Leprous did on their first stream), bands are generally trying to create the impression that these performances are being broadcast live. Here, there is absolutely no question that this was not a live performance. There were multiple rearrangements of the stage and outfit/makeup changes for Simone that could not possibly have been done during the 30-second transitions between parts of the set. It doesn't matter much to me whether these things are performed live, especially if they're not going to interact with the viewers anyway, but it was interesting that they did not even put up much of a pretense.

The actual show itself was quite good. They clearly wanted to make a high-quality stage-show, and they definitely achieved that. The band was able to give the performance a lot of energy even in absence of a crowd. The performance was tight (of course, they may have had multiple takes!) and Simone was on point. Mark's vocals were a little low in the mix, but not too bad.

They also did a lot of extra stuff that they probably couldn't do for a touring show. There were acrobats performing behind and above the band throughout a lot of the songs, which was generally pretty cool. They had backup dancers for a few numbers, which to me was a little weird. The dancing wasn't bad, but Epica is just not really music that's easy to dance to, and I really don't know quite what to make of a troupe of dancers thrusting aggressively to a symphonic metal song. They also had a children's choir for a couple of songs, which was a nice touch but didn't really elevate anything to the next level. They also had a choir perform on one other song. The rest of the choir parts and the symphonic parts were backing track.

Overall, I really enjoyed the show! On their social media I think they've hyped it up as the be-all, end-all of performances, and if you're expecting that it might be a bit of a letdown, especially since it's a bit on the short side, but for what it is, it's quite good and very well-produced.

My sense is that the setlist had a good mix of expected stuff and deep cuts, and a mixture of old and new material. They played several of my favorite songs from Omega, although they missed a couple I had hoped to hear.

*Spoilers below* Here's the setlist, keeping in mind that I had to sort of Google and Shazam the ones that came from albums I haven't heard yet.






I. Overtura
1. Alpha - Antiludium
2. Abyss of Time - Countdown to Singularity
3. The Skeleton Key
4. Unchain Utopia

II. Magnituda
1. The Obsessive Devotion
2. In All Conscience
3. Victims of Contingency

III. Elysia
1. Kingdom of Heaven
2. Kingdom of Heaven, Part III - The Antediluvian Universe

IV. Gravita
1. Rivers - A Capella (with choir)
2. Allegro from Mozart's Concerto No. 13 in C Major (really relying on Shazam here)
3. Once Upon a Nightmare

V. Alpha | Omega
1. Freedom - The Wolves Within (this is the one with the weirdest dancing IMO)
2. Cry for the Moon
3. Beyond the Matrix
4. Omega - Sovereign of the Sun Spheres
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Offline cramx3

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #416 on: June 14, 2021, 05:44:43 PM »
Nice review, finally getting around to watching this now  :metal :metal

Offline cramx3

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #417 on: June 14, 2021, 07:18:47 PM »
I wonder how much of this is live, as in, it sounds perfect and album quality.  Which honestly, I'm not crazy about. I love the live sound of music and a lot of bands have captured it in their live streams.  I'm not saying it's not live, there were some vocal spots that weren't perfect, but it sounds like it's highly processed. This is basically my only negative and sounding good is hard to really be a negative, it's nitpicking.

Picture quality was excellent and the changing stage designs and outfits gave the show a nice flow.  I didn't care at all from the dancers, I feel like they were unnecessary.  I do like how they had pyro, I'm such a sucker for fire.

Setlist was good, but kind of surprised there weren't more new songs.  I hope those come out once on tour.

Rivers was surprisingly a huge highlight.  Came off very powerful and the directing and look of it all really helped convey that power.

Offline 425

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #418 on: June 14, 2021, 07:52:16 PM »
I'm gonna just discuss the setlist in this post since I don't think anyone else here is still yet to watch this, but if anyone cares, spoilers below.

I wonder how much of this is live, as in, it sounds perfect and album quality.  Which honestly, I'm not crazy about. I love the live sound of music and a lot of bands have captured it in their live streams.  I'm not saying it's not live, there were some vocal spots that weren't perfect, but it sounds like it's highly processed. This is basically my only negative and sounding good is hard to really be a negative, it's nitpicking.

I hear you on this. Sometimes I can't tell the difference between a studio recording, and a live performance where the band is really tight and playing to a click. My preference is to have more of the live feel, but I also think that ultimately would mean not playing to a click, which is just impossible for a symphonic metal band.

But also, as you said, it's more of a nitpick.


Rivers was surprisingly a huge highlight.  Came off very powerful and the directing and look of it all really helped convey that power.

I was surprised they went with the a capella version, but I was really glad they did. I think that version is beautiful, and I agree that the visual production of it here enhanced the experience.

I also would have liked to have heard more new songs, but I think the ones they did were pretty well-chosen. I think the only change I would have made, given that number of Omega songs, is switching Freedom for Twilight Reverie. I also really love Seal of Solomon, but I get not playing it when so many of the key vocal parts would be a backing track. Hearing the two Kingdom of Heaven songs back to back was pretty awesome.
And if spirit's a sign,
Then it's only a matter of time

Offline cramx3

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Re: Epica appreciation thread
« Reply #419 on: June 14, 2021, 08:30:55 PM »
I think the only change I would have made, given that number of Omega songs, is switching Freedom for Twilight Reverie.

I actually might agree with that, but really just wished they played both. I'd love to see Gaia and Code of Life as well.