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"A collaborative album marking Epica's twentieth anniversary, "The Alchemy Project" offers a variety of styles that will appeal to many listeners beyond the band's traditional sphere."
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4/5
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Contrary to what its title could evoke, "The Alchemy Project", Epica's ninth album, is not a concept album, at least not in the narrative sense of the term. On the other hand, to mark its twentieth anniversary, the band offers us seven collaborative tracks as many invitations to numerous guests to participate in the party by bringing their more or less personal touch.
The EP opens with 'The Great Tribulation' which immediately sends its symphonic metal pompous reminiscent of Devin Townsend, with forceful dialogues between the opera voice of Simone Simons and the devastating growl of Mark Jansen. Keyboards filling the whole space and sharp rhythmic guitars complete the sound spectrum. Well in the style of Epica, this track finds its counterpart in the conclusive and splendid 'The Miner' whose almost seven minutes full of splendid melodies and multiple rhythmic breaks will make some shivers go up along the spine of the listeners.
Between these two bravura pieces, the Dutch band opens wide the doors to the influences of its guests, making the listener navigate between well robust death (the well named 'Death is not the End' and its very angry successor 'Human Devastation') to a relaxing symphonic ballad ('Of Blood and Water') on which the magnificent voices of Charlotte Wessels (ex Delain) and Myrkur intermingle with happiness.
Other mixes turn out to be really tasty like the presence of the avant-garde band Shining on 'The Final Lullaby', whose rough sounds come to mix with Epica's symphonism, with moreover a nice but unfortunately too short saxophone solo which comes to interfere between two repeats of the chorus.
Specialists will confirm that this album, a sort of interlude in Epica's discography, is not the most revealing of the Dutchmen's style. For the neophytes in the matter, the various collaborations will bring them a variety of styles more than interesting and likely to seduce more than one listener beyond the traditional sphere of the group. - Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. The Great Tribulation
02. Wake the World
03. The Final Lullaby
04. Sirens - Of Blood and Water
05. Death is not the End
06. Human Devastation
07. The Miner
LINEUP:
Ariën Van Weesenbeek: Batterie
Coen Janssen: Claviers
Isaac Delahaye: Guitares
Mark Jansen: Chant / Guitares
Rob Van Der Loo: Basse
Simone Simons: Chant
Asim Searah: Chant / Guitares / Invité
Björn ‘speed’ Strid: Chant / Invité
Charlotte Wessels: Chant / Invité
Fleshgod Apocalypse: Invité
Frank Schiphorst: Guitares / Invité
Henri Sattler: Chant / Guitares / Invité
Myrkur: Chant / Invité
Niilo Sevänen: Chant / Guitares / Invité
Phil Lanzon: Claviers / Invité
Roel Van Helden: Batterie / Invité
Sven de Caluwé: Chant / Invité
Tommy Karevik: Chant / Invité
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READERS
3.8/5 (5 view(s))
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STAFF:
4/5 (2 view(s))
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IN RELATION WITH EPICA
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