I've been into the Dutch symphonic metal band Epica for a little over a year now. For whatever reason, though, I've only recently gotten around to looking into their little-known album The Score: An Epic Journey, Epica's third release. This album is also the soundtrack to the Dutch film Joyride. Epica's founder/guitarist Mark Jansen has always strongly emphasized how much of an influence composers like Danny Elfman have been on Epica's music, and some fans of Epica even refer to the band's trademark sound as "film score metal." So it's really not too big of a stretch to imagine Epica undertaking a project like this.

I think Jansen said it best when he slyly described The Score as "typically Epica... only without the singing, without the guitars, no bass and no drums." As confusing and nondescript as that comment may sound at first, giving one quick listen to The Score is pure confirmation that Jansen is correct. The suspense, the beauty and the bombast that personifies Epica's sound are still fully present on The Score, just in a slightly different form.

The Score is a completely instrumental album with the exception of only a few songs. The songs that do feature Epica frontwoman Simone Simons' vocals are different versions of songs from Consign To Oblivion, Epica's outstanding 2005 release that arrived only a few months before The Score. It may take an Epica fan a few listens to fully digest the absence of the heavy guitars and double-bass drums, but the orchestral elements that remain are sure to keep anyone captivated.

"Vengeance Is Mine" opens The Score on a peaceful note. Gentle synths fill the air as the listener initially embarks on the "epic journey," paving the way for "Unholy Trinity," which is considerably more dramatic, and much busier sounding. The violins here are especially effective in creating for the listener a sense of paranoia, an array of panic; as faint chants of the choir enter halfway through the song, Epica fans will undoubtedly smile and realize that even though this album lacks the metal that usually oozes through the band's sound, the music here is just as enrapturing and just as complex as ever.

Everything flows together so wonderfully on The Score, that it's often difficult for me to realize when one song ends and the next begins. By that, I'm not implying that all the pieces here sound too alike -- it's just that they are seem to connect and snap into one another so well, that it can be easy to lose track of time while listening. Brief in length but high in impact level, "The Valley" brings to mind images of war and chaos through usage of speedy, eerie keyboards and a plethora of grand, bombastic violins.

"Trois Vierges [Solo Version]" will be instantly familiar to those who own Consign To Oblivion. However, the version on Consign To Oblivion is a duet between Simons and Kamelot's Roy Khan, while the version on The Score is sung solely by Simons. Her stunning soprano voice carries the song tremendously well, with soft, gentle instrumentation assisting in creating a forlorn environment to support Simons.

It could be said that "Valley Of Sins" is The Score's centerpiece and one of its most important moments. Five minutes and forty-one seconds in length, "Valley Of Sins" is the longest song on The Score. Opening gently with the calming sounds of wind blowing, but soon escalating into a much more grandiose, progressive mishmash of flawlessly executed orchestral arrangements, this song has a very dark vibe to it that a huge variety of music fans are sure to be drawn to. The violins in "Supremacy" literally sound as if they're weeping, and they do a fantastic job of setting up the haunting keyboards that soon follow.

Epica guitarist Ad Sluijter blends his strikingly pretty acoustic guitar melodies with -- ahh -- those weeping, mournful violins again in the magnificent "Beyond The Depth." I find myself longing for much more of this song after its two-minute duration. It doesn't feel incomplete in any way, but it's just so gorgeous that any Epica fan will instantly want more.

Additionally, the 'single version' of Consign To Oblivion's "Solitary Ground" is a real treat. This is another one of the few songs that feature Simons' vocals. This song is simply a grand piano backing Simons, as she sings longingly and convincingly for happier days that are long gone. Simons has a way of making you feel her grief, and her voice is nothing short of fantastic: delightfully mature, strong but not show-offy, passionate but not overly sappy. There's this striking maturity in Simons' sound that makes it hard to believe she was only 19 at the time of recording this.

Strong, moving arrangements, heavy violin usage, dark keyboards, suspense, beauty... that's The Score: An Epic Journey in a nutshell. I believe that this album has the potential to please more than Epica fans, and more than fans of symphonic metal. The music here has unlimited appeal. Those who find themselves interested by "film score" music should love everything about The Score. It's really relaxing, even in its moments of bombast. As a huge fan of Epica, I can't recommend this enough. It's just another piece of proof that anything Mark Jansen arranges turns to gold.

Great Music to Play While: Fantasizing about being in a far, far away land, battling a dragon named Gylniavoth.




Recommended: Yes