Epica - Aspiral (Album Review)

Here's the review of the album " Aspiral" by Epica . If you like it, don't forget to LIKE and subscribe!!! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU-9... Band: Epica Album: Aspiral Years: 2025 Label: Nuclear blast Genre: Symphonic Metal Country of origin: Netherlands Status: Active Tracklist: 1. Cross the Divide 04:18 2. Arcana 05:02 3. Darkness Dies in Light - A New Age Dawns Part VII 07:59 4. Obsidian Heart 05:04 5. Fight to Survive - The Overview Effect 06:10 6. Metanoia - A New Age Dawns Part VIII 07:17 7. T.I.M.E. 03:58 8. Apparition 04:12 9. Eye of the Storm 04:43 10. The Grand Saga of Existence - A New Age Dawns Part IX 06:50 11. Aspiral 05:39 Line up: Mark Jansen Guitars (rhythm), Orchestrations, Vocals Coen Janssen Keyboards, Piano, Orchestrations Simone Simons Vocals Ariën van Weesenbee Drums Isaac Delahaye Guitars (lead), Vocals (harsh) Rob van der Loo Bass Epica discography: 2003 : The Phantom Agony 2005 : Consign to Oblivion 2005 : The Score - An Epic Journey (OST Joyride) 2007 : The Divine Conspiracy 2009 : Design Your Universe 2012 : Requiem for the Indifferent 2014 : The Quantum Enigma 2016 : The Holographic Principle 2021 : Omega 2022 : The Alchemy Project 2025: Aspiral Ninth album from Dutch symphonic metal masters Epica. This album was released by Nuclear Blast and contains 11 tracks. You could almost say we're using the same musicians again and again, so successful is this album once again. Still carried away by the crystalline and sublime voice of Simone Simons, the album begins with the excellent and immediate "Cross the divide". It's worth noting that all the tracks are under 8 minutes long, which is rare for Epica, and shows a desire to get to the point. The songs follow one another with a symphonic, epic energy with effective riffs and with death metal passages as usual. “T.I.M.E.” has that same sentiment, but works the groovier side of things more, making it a playground for Simone Simons’ vocal performance to layer on top of. Also note that the riff of the song "Metanoia" is very similar to the hit "Cry for the moon" which will delight fans. Simone dazzles us once again with her charismatic and emotional voice. The songs are well-crafted, but the album as a whole makes me think that the band wanted to go for something more "immediate" to listen to. In summary, Epica continues its path of symphonic metal with a successful and pleasant album and after 20 years of career it is good news! In addition, the line-up of the group is always the same, which I think can be heard in the songs. Epica ticks all the boxes to take the throne from a certain Nightwish.... To be continued! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOD50EoFqdg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXeGXZqckF8&list=RDfXeGXZqckF8&start_radio=1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hccXTr_AJSc&list=RDhccXTr_AJSc&start_radio=1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ux1f_jGIkho&list=RDux1f_jGIkho&start_radio=1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7IIYIFljZM&list=RDi7IIYIFljZM&start_radio=1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNGzltK_tlc&list=RDeNGzltK_tlc&start_radio=1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNoTvg0t52c&list=RDdNoTvg0t52c&start_radio=1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_QLQHkj1XU&list=RDD_QLQHkj1XU&start_radio=1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpDTaXdqLEs&list=RDMpDTaXdqLEs&start_radio=1

Added 16 Sept 2026