Epica – Requiem for the Indifferent
Release Date: March 9, 2012
Highlights: Karma, Monopoly On Truth, Storm The Sorrow, Delirium, Internal Warfare, Requiem for the Indifferent, Guilty Demeanor, Deep Water Horizon, Stay The Course, Deter The Tyrant, Serenade Of Self-Destruction
Epica has returned with their long awaited follow up to 2009’s Design Your Universe and has delivered a masterpiece that lives up their name. The album opens with the epic instrumental interlude “Karma” which builds up anticipation of the stellar opening track “Monopoly On Truth” which boasts a nice range of influences such as Iron Maiden and Helloween. Mark Jansen’s guttural growls along with the beautiful and operatic stylings of vocalist Simone Simons create a beauty and the beast type of dynamic that create an amazing and awe inspiring listening experience. Epica as a band once again shines and solidifies themselves as not just a metal but a full on musical force to be reckoned with.
“Storm The Sorrow”, the albums lead off single, shows Epica’s ability to dial things back just a tad to create some accessibility. Epica also manages to do this without compromising themselves or attempting to sound commercial. “Delirium” has the band dipping in to the more piano ballad style of things and doing it really well. I almost kind of felt like it was a nod to the great Doro Pesch while reminding me a bit of Avantasia as well. This song literally made the hair on my arms stand up and once again showed Epica’s ability to be a musical chameleon who can wear many different colors.
The album contains so many epic tunes but it’s the nearly 10 minute closing track “Serenade Of Self-Destruction.” Tempo changes and multiple musical changes create one hell of a picture as it closes the album out with a bang offering up a sense of resolve. The lyrical content of Requiem for the Indifferent once again touches on some really intense social and political issues that have been plaguing our world. As a band, Epica is using the power of their talents to the full of their ability to speak their minds and spread awareness of the issues that are standing in our world. Call it preaching, call it politics but I call Requiem for the Indifferent aggressively beautiful. Not only was it well worth the wait but it is another stellar piece of epic metal.
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