Design Your Universe - "more than a postponed disappointment"
Written: Nov 03 '09
Product Rating:
Pros: New experiments and a heavier sound. "Kingdom of Heaven" is outstanding.
Cons: Less standout songs than previous albums; some weak moments, some weak lyrics.
The Bottom Line: Design Your Universe is interesting and is among my favorite metal releases of 2009. I recommend it to longtime Epica fans and to newcomers alike.
blindsider's Full Review: Design Your Universe * by Epica
It's almost unheard of for a rock or metal band to gradually become heavier as time goes by. More commonly, a band will soften up and become more 'listener-friendly' with each album.
But the Dutch symphonic metal band Epica has never done things in a typical, traditional way. Their latest release, Design Your Universe, is certainly louder and more aggressive in all aspects than previous releases. That is in no small part due to the permanent addition of Ariën van Weesenbeek on drums and Isaac Delahaye as the lead guitarist (Delahaye replaced Ad Sluijter, who had been with Epica since its conception in 2002). Both van Weesenbeek and Delahaye had been members of melodic death metal band God Dethroned, so it's only natural that their contributions -- in terms of playing and songwriting -- would bring forth an increased harshness and metallic sound to Epica. The guitars, which were previously used as tools of simple rhythms, taking a backseat to the bombastic choirs and keyboards, are now a defining component of Epica.
Design Your Universe opens with a classical intro in the usual Epica fashion. "Samadhi (Prelude)" is bombastic in the vein of Consign to Oblivion's opener, then seems to foreshadow the suspenseful nature of the following songs in the escalating chants of the choir. It transitions wonderfully into the opening song, "Resign to Surrender (A New Age Dawns, Part IV)." This one has crackly drumming and elegant keyboards in the vein of Dimmu Borgir, with growled verses and a powerfully sung chorus courtesy of lead vocalist Simone Simons. "Now that all hands are tied, we're panic-stricken, wealth out of sight..."
The first single from Design Your Universe, the catchy "Unleashed," shows that Simons has really come full-circle as a singer. She experiments with different styles and has such a resonating, warm, expressive vocal tone. Personally, I really wish that Simons would 'unleash' her soaring, classical voice more frequently on this album (she rarely does), because it's way better than ever before, as evidenced in the hair-raising last minute of "Unleashed." Wow!!
Fiery, frantic, and brutally honest, "Martyr of the Free Word" is perhaps the most punishingly heavy offering from Design Your Universe, with wild guitar riffs, an intoxicating Gregorian chant passage, and Arabic-flavored vocal lines from Simons. Main songwriter/guitarist/growler Mark Jansen interjects with harsh vocals and the contrast is brilliant. Epica always pulls that off really well. Delahaye's guitar solo adds the perfect touch. The lyrics to this fast-paced number are also extremely striking, as Jansen's words almost always are:
Those who denounce a way of life Will stand alone left to atone their social blunders If you gun down the messenger You guarantee that he will be made into a saint A martyr of the free word
Design Your Universe's most impressive moment comes in the masterpiece "Kingdom of Heaven (A New Age Dawns, Part V)," which is over thirteen minutes long. It is dedicated to the memory of Jansen's grandmother, as it's a song of deep significance to him -- a song he'd worked on for over three years. Highly progressive, complex, and varied, "Kingdom of Heaven" opens somberly, fading into chanting Tibetan monks (sounds like 'throat singing'), then a soft keyboard line which explodes into heavy guitars. The growled vocals here are interestingly done mainly by drummer Ariën van Weesenbeek. Casual fans of the band probably won't be able to differentiate his harsh vocals from Jansen's, but to longtime fans, there are subtle differences. "Kingdom of Heaven" contains swirling guitars, soft acoustic passages, an ominous bass line and multiple choruses. The song feels complete and the transitions may seem jarring written down, but they're extremely effective.
The second half of Design Your Universe is definitely not as strong as the first. However, that isn't to say it's all weak. "Burn to a Cinder" is a really good, straightforward song with short choir gasps (a bit like Once-era Nightwish) and a simple guitar rhythm. It has a dark, exotic feel as Simons wrote it about a vampire movie, but it interestingly doesn't keep all of the typical bombast and elaborate symphonic sounds of trademark Epica. "Tides of Time" is an emotional ballad arranged by keyboardist Coen Janssen. This song is a little too saccharine for me initially with the 'sweet' Disney verses, but the chorus is sweeping and absolutely gorgeous as Simons uses her classical soprano voice at full power. "Seeds of eulogy to sow along with dreams...."
"White Waters" is a tranquil, atmospheric ballad, much more subtle and ethereal than "Tides of Time." It features guest vocals from Tony Kakko of Sonata Arctica, and he sounds excellent as usual. Simons' voice is subdued, low and haunting, and the accompaniment is minimal but beautiful. "Deconstruct" is fast-paced and unfortunately repetitive until the ending choir chants come in -- one of the best showcases of choir brilliance in Epica's music to date. "Semblance of Liberty" contains guitar attacks which are nice and heavy, but overall, I will say it's the weakest song in Epica's entire discography. The growls in the verses are really boring and the lyrics are uncharacteristically trite: "Don't hide your personality, that's who you are, your identity." ...What? "Design Your Universe" closes the album, also falling a bit flat, and I can't specifically describe why. The choirs are here, the dueling vocals are here, but the striking melodies typically present in Epica's music simply aren't here, and the redundant song comes and goes in nine minutes and forty-five seconds without leaving much of an impact at all.
Design Your Universe is impressive. However, it doesn't hit me quite like previous Epica releases. By all means, the songs are much heavier than before and more diverse. Yes, Epica has grown remarkably as a band in terms of expanding their sound. But the general songwriting isn't as consistently powerful, as the latter half of the album has more boring moments than incredible ones. None of the songs on Design Your Universe (with the exception of the amazing "Kingdom of Heaven") have the same 'WOW' factor as "Cry For The Moon," "Consign to Oblivion" or "Fools of Damnation," for example. That said, I still fully recommend Design Your Universe as it's generally a very good metal album. Epica is certainly leagues above most bands in the female-fronted metal scene, and I'm always curious as to what they will do next.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.