Getting Lost in Epica's "Aspiral" While A New Age Dawns

“…blends the familiar with the unexpected…”

Okay, how the hell did I miss this? I was sitting down, planning out the week of getting back into making stuff for Metal Robot socials and stuff, and looking at the list of albums coming out this year, EPICA came up for this weekend! SINCE WHEN!? Yeah, I need to get better at following up with bands.

Aspiral, the 9th studio album from the dutch symphonic metal titans and follow-up to the awesomely amazing Omega (2021), got announced earlier this year while I was apparently in a social media coma and started to make its way through the promotional campaign to bring forth the release of the album, who’s title apparently comes from the eponymous bronze sculpture made by Polish sculptor and painter Stanisław Szukalski back in 1965 and stands for renewal and inspiration (according to Blabbermouth).

For me, I’ll be honest, I’m both excited and concerned. I’m excited, because it’s a new Epica record! Concerned, becuase Omega was such a masterpiece of later-day Epica, I’m worried I’ll be underwhelmed, let down or worse… dissapointed.

Is Aspiral an epic addition to the titan’s collection? Or does it fall flat?

For the first time in their discography, Epica ditches the sweeping orchestral overture that’s been their trademark intro formula since The Phantom Agony. Instead, Aspiral throws us right into the fire with a jolt of guitars and rhythm on “Cross The Divide”, catching longtime fans off guard in the best way. The opening track feels different — not just structurally, but sonically. There’s an unexpected softness, almost like a pop punk and symphonic metal hybrid, and I’m not mad about it, because it’s almost like Epica is trying their hand at pop punk rather than Simple Plan or Paramore trying to write the next Design Your Universe. Despite the next song and first single “Arcana” going back to the sound started on Omega, I’m still getting the feeling this album is going to feel slightly different than before…

… is what I was going to say, until “Darkness Dies In Light” came up. I took a look at the title, and saw it… “A New Age Dawns, Pt. VII”. My brain went “crap, I forgot about the A New Age Dawns Saga completely.” So to recap for new listeners, back in 2005, Epica started off the “A New Age Dawns” saga, a collection of songs centred around spirituality, quantum physics, unity of the human essence or something like that. To be honest, finding a definitive answer to what the saga is about is hard to pin down, but the gist of the theme is basically that. There have been 6 parts released before this, with “The Last Crusade”, “Mother of Light” and “Consign to Oblivion” off of Consign to Oblivion (2005), and then continued on Design Your Universe (2009) with “Resign to Surrender”, “Kingdom of Heaven”, and “Design Your Universe”. Got it? Nope, cause Part 5 “Kingdom of Heaven” branched off itself into it’s own trilogy with “The Quantum Enigma” off the album of the same name, and then “The Antediluvian Universe” on Omega.

6 songs, plus 2 more, and now 3 more off Aspiral, and that’s 11 songs total, which fun fact is almost 100 minutes long… take that Dream Theater!

Sorry, completely side-tracked. “Darkness Dies In Light” is Part 7 of the saga, and based on my (admittedly limited) knowledge of the entire saga this feels like it to. It holds onto continuity while also feeling fresh and cohesive with the album it’s on. Tracks like “Obsidian Heart” and “Fight to Survive” keep the energy flowing, with Simone Simons’ vocals soaring above some of the album’s most driven instrumentals. Though, I need to jump in here… I didn’t think I’d have to tell Epica that rhyming “Fire” and “Desire” is so overplayed, but after listening to “Obsidian Heart”, I can already here every scene-core emo band filing for plagiarism. The album marches on past the halfway point and into “Metanoia - A New Age Dawns, Pt. VIII -”, which stood out for reasons I can’t fully explain — maybe it’s the atmosphere, the pacing, or just how emotionally charged it feels. One of my favourites on the album, for sure.

By the time “T.I.M.E.” (the third single) hit, I was fully settled into the album’s groove. Epica’s always been known for grandiosity, but Aspiral somehow manages to feel fast-moving while still being a long-ass album. I was still hooked as “Apparition” brings some of the album’s heaviest grooves, thick and absolutely made for headbanging. The song did feel like a bit of filler to me, but still enjoyable. Same goes for “Eye of the Storm”, though this one is saved by my inner child imagining Captain Jack Sparrow as a headbanger the entire song. Then we reach “The Grand Saga of Existence - A New Age Dawns, Pt. IX -”. The title alone hints at finality — and yeah, it feels like closure. Whether or not it’s ACTUALLY the definitive end of the saga is unknown, but it wraps up with weight, beauty, and a sense of resolution that fans who’ve followed the arc will appreciate. As much as I felt like this was a really good closing track to Aspiral, the title track washes in with its piano driven melodies and Simone Simon’s beautiful singing range and carrying the emotional weight on her back like an emotional heavy-weight champion. There is a heavier section closer to the end of the song, but the majority is held up by just the piano and vocals with a hint of orchestra in the background. I’m not gonna cry, I swear… someone’s just cutting onions around me, which is just rude.

So, what are my overall thoughts of the album? Well, Epica has reminded me NOT to lose track of my favourite bands and their album cycles. But also, Aspiral was a solid release from the band! It blends the familiar with the unexpected — cinematic sagas, crushing riffs, catchy choruses, and experimental flourishes that hint at new directions. It’s an album that I enjoyed, though not as much as Omega, but it’s an album that has fans so far ecstatic for the continuation of “A New Age Dawns”, and excited to hear what comes next.