EPICA’s second album, “Consign to Oblivion,” may seem like a simple and safe affair when compared either to their debut album, “The Phantom Agony” (2003), or to many of the Dutch symphonic metal band’s subsequent releases, most notably “Design Your Universe” (2009) and “The Quantum Enigma” (2014). However, every step in a band’s journey is essential as it guides them toward future success through trial and error. Released twenty years ago, on April 21st, 2005, via Transmission Records, “Consign to Oblivion” offers an interesting and even nostalgic look-back at EPICA’s baby steps into what would be a very successful and praised career.
Longtime fans of the band know (and love) the epic title track as a staple of EPICA’s live shows and major mosh pit generator with its slow build and epic climax that is perfect for a massive wall of death. But besides this epic number, “Consign to Oblivion” showcases – to a much greater extent than “The Phantom Agony” – many of the band’s trademark elements that they would go on to develop into their signature sound in the decades that followed this release. The only things that are missing from this album are the extreme metal influences and the more impactful guitars that they gradually incorporated on later releases. Even so, the aforementioned title track opened the door for longer, more complex pieces like “The Obsessive Devotion,” “Fools of Damnation,” the “Kingdom of Heaven” suit, or, in recent times, “Omega – Sovereign of the Sun Spheres.” They never shied away from epic, bombastic tracks. and more often than not they delivered spectacularly on their promise of musically engaging and energetic tracks with a longer runtime.
They also have a fantastic built-up dynamic in their songs not just when it comes to the interplay between Simone Simons and Mark Jansen’s vocals but also between the instrumentals and backing orchestral arrangements. Album tracks like “Dance of Fate,” “Quietus,” or “Another Me (In Lack’ech)” that have only Simone on vocals (either operatic or not) are simple but effective songs with groovy rhythms, layered choruses, and catchy vocals melodies that could be seen as early drafts for such later fan favorites like “Unleashed,” “Storm the Sorrow,” or even “The Second Stone.” This album also beautifully displays their penchant for engrossing soundscapes that only got bigger and bolder with time going, for instance, from the operatic beauty of “The Last Crusade” to the crushing heaviness of something like “Victims of Contingency” with the ease that comes from confidence in their personal and collective skill set combined with a desire to always one-up on the last album. At the same time the vocal chemistry between Simone Simons and Mark Jansen that is displayed by such album tracks like “Force of the Shore” and “Mother of Light” only deepened as the two now seamlessly trade lines, melodies, and countermelodies that make songs like “Abyss of Time” or “The Essence of Silence” incredible live numbers that always get the crowds moving.
Conversely, they know when to quiet down and minimize the instrumentals so as to let the atmosphere develop unencumbered, and ballads like “Solitary Ground” or “Trois Vierges” (which features Roy Khan) are really great precursors to such goosebumps-inducing delights like “Tides of Time,” “Rivers,” or “Once Upon a Nightmare.” Granted, Simone Simons has one of the most beautiful, soulful, and soothing yet powerful voices in metal that it is easy to see how and why EPICA has become such a force to be reckoned with on the scene. Alongside the music, they have also developed intriguing lyrics about the Mayan civilization or the new discoveries from quantum physics, thus making their songs not just entertaining to listen to but also backed by some thought-provoking lyrics one can ruminate on, as is the case with many songs from “The Quantum Enigma” (2014) or “The Holographic Principle” (2016).
To conclude, “Consign to Oblivion” can be seen as a microcosm of EPICA’s larger-than-life yet delicate cinematic soundscape that has the dual vocals of Simone Simons and Mark Jansen at its core, wonderfully enhanced by choirs, symphonic arrangements, and the heaviness of the band’s instrumental side. It showcases their formula splendidly (for that time) albeit with moderate success as not all the songs on this album are memorable or on par with what they would subsequently release. Nonetheless, it was a great launching pad for them as over the years they refined and redefined this soundscape while also expanding it to fit their musical vision. In other words, the main merit of “Consign to Oblivion” is that it saw EPICA fully embrace the charms and trappings of symphonic metal, a genre that unwaveringly carried them to international acclaim.
Written by Andrea Crow
Tracklist
1. Hunab Ku
2. Dance of Fate
3. The Last Crusade
4. Solitary Ground
5. Blank Infinity
6. Force of the Shore
7. Quietus
8. Mother of Light
9. Trois Vierges
10. Another Me
11. Consign to Oblivion
Lineup
Simone Simons – vocals
Mark Jansen – guitar, vocals, orchestral arrangements
Ad Sluijter – guitar
Coen Janssen – synths, orchestral & choir arrangements
Yves Huts – bass, orchestral arrangements
Jeroen Simons – drums, percussion
Label
Transmission Records
