The Divine Conspiracy

The Divine Conspiracy

by Epica
The Divine Conspiracy

The Divine Conspiracy

by Epica

CD

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Overview

After two albums of generally finely crafted symphonic metal, Dutch ensemble Epica decided to indulge their orchestral kinks to the fullest with 2005's metal-free The Score: An Epic Journey, but they are back to their usual, genre-meshing stomping grounds with 2007's The Divine Conspiracy, which many fans will likely consider their proper third opus. Whatever the case may be, the album gets under way with the entirely symphonic "Indigo" prologue, before slamming into the metallic portion of the program with "The Obsessive Devotion." This, in typical Epica fashion, showcases not only the angelic soprano of Simone Simons, but also a manly baritone choir and ever more demonic death grunts from bandleader Mark Jansen -- all of them juggling lyrics in English and Latin! As with all of The Divine Conspiracy's -- and indeed Epica's -- best tracks (here including "Fools of Damnation" and "Sonata Terra"), the attraction ultimately hinges on exploring the sonic contrasts of light and dark; the punishing intensity of those elephantine guitar riffs and hyperactive drumming cast against the soaring, layered sweetness of the orchestrated strings and keyboards. Remove these contrasts and the fireworks they ignite, and largely uniform offerings like the ballads "Safeguard to Paradise" and "Chasing the Dragon" (overlong, featuring a brief black metal freak-out, and not about a great big lizard, believe it or not) simply leave one wanting more. Similarly, Epica still struggle to compete with hit-penning machines like Nightwish or Within Temptation when it comes to commercial singles with overpowering hooks (see the merely serviceable "Never Enough"). And just when you think Epica had escaped the shadow of the band that spawned them, After Forever, along comes the ambitious but uneven four-song suite titled "The Embrace That Smothers," which, actually originated in Jansen's former group (even though its first five installments appeared on Epica's debut). All that being said, give Epica credit for staying the course (winding as it may be) long enough to deliver the crowning achievement of their career thus far in The Divine Conspiracy's colossal, multi-faceted, 14-minute title track, which closes this LP. Now, if they can only maintain that stellar form for the duration of their next album, things could get really interesting. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia

Product Details

Release Date: 08/28/2007
Label: Nuclear Blast
UPC: 0727361195625
Rank: 33949

Tracks

  1. Indigo: Prologue
  2. The Obsessive Devotion
  3. Menace of Vanity
  4. Chasing the Dragon
  5. Never Enough
  6. La'petach Chatat Rovetz: The Last Embrace
  7. Death of a Dream: The Embrace That Smothers, Pt. 7
  8. Living a Lie: The Embrace That Smothers, Pt. 8
  9. Fools of Damnation: The Embrace That Smothers, Pt. 9
  10. Beyond Belief
  11. Safeguard to Paradise
  12. Sancta Terra
  13. The Divine Conspiracy

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Epica   Primary Artist
Cinzia Rizzo   Alto,Choir/Chorus,Alto (Vocals)
Amanda Sommerville   Alto
Previn Moore   Tenor (Vocal)
Bridget Foggle   Soprano (Vocal)
Linda Van Summeren   Soprano (Vocal)
Yves Huts   Guitar (Bass)
Mark Jansen   Animal Sounds,Guitar (Rhythm)
Ad Sluijter   Guitar
Olaf Reitmeier   Vocals,Guest Artist,Baritone (Vocal),Guitar (Acoustic)
Amanda Somerville   Spoken Word,Choir/Chorus,Guest Artist,Alto (Vocals),Vocals (Background)
Simone Simons   Mezzo-Soprano (Vocal)
Jeff Wade   Spoken Word,Guest Artist
Gjalt Lucassen   Guest Artist
Sander Gommans   Guest Artist,Animal Sounds
Sascha Paeth   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Ad Sluijter   Audio Engineer,Editing,Composer,Engineer,Group Member
Olaf Reitmeier   Audio Engineer,Editing,Engineer
Simon Oberender   Audio Engineer
Hanz Martens   Audio Engineer
Epica   Audio Production
Amanda Somerville   Audio Engineer,Writer,Engineer,Lyricist,Lyric Editing,Vocal Producer,Vocal Arrangement
Sacha Paeth   Audio Engineer,Audio Production
Yves Huts   Group Member,Guitar Engineer,Orchestral Arrangements,Composer
Mark Jansen   Composer,Group Member,Orchestral Arrangements
Simone Simons   Composer,Group Member
Andrea Beckers   Cover Photo
Mattias Noren   Design,Art Direction
Markus Schmidt   Orchestral Arrangements
Rudy DeDoncker   Photography
Miro Rodenberg   Orchestral Arrangements
Sascha Paeth   Mixing,Writer,Engineer,Lyricist,Producer,Mastering,Vocal Arrangement
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