Simons, Simone: Vermillion

I've always been somewhat ambivalent towards the charms of Epica to be quite honest. I haven't bought anything by the band since 2005's Consign to Oblivion and 2007's The Divine Conspiracy and a Simone Simons solo album wasn't overly high on my list of things which I thought I might need in the second half of 2024. I may, just may have been a tad wrong.

What I didn't realize until I opened the stream (and by God I hate reviewing non-physical products) was the presence of Arjen Lucassen on the album or is it, ugh, a project? All the tropes one might expect from the involvement of Mr Lucassen are present and correct including bold, electronic instrumentation, mighty crashing orchestration and riffs which might just knock your house down. You may well have heard the three pre-release songs "Aeterna" , "In Love We Rust" and "R.E.D." And they give a clear example of the sheer bombastic, grandiose scale of what to expect.

Arch Enemy's Alyssa White-Gluz tuns up on "Cradle To The Grave" to add a no-shit taken feel alongside Simons usual operatics. "Dystopia" has a real sense of darkness and foreboding and I know that our proprietor doesn't like albums which end on a slow, down beat and what I would say to that is to listen to "Dark Night Of The Soul" which is absolutely beautiful and quite possibly the most human part of a very good album.

Track Listing:
1. Aeterna 6:02
2. In Love We Rust 4:46
3. Cradle To The Grave (feat. Alyssa White-Gluz) 3:59
4. Fight or Flight 5:24
5. The Weight of my World 4:20
6. Vermillion Dreams 4:36
7. The Core 3:55
8. Dystopia 4:44
9. R.E.D 4:03
10. Dark Night Of The Soul 4:13

Added: August 22nd 2024
Reviewer: Simon Bray
Score:
Related Link: Artist Website
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Language: english

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