While many bands that are often mentioned in the same breath as them tend to settle into a routine of simple songs of heavy-light contrasts that allow their singers – often female, but the likes of Kamelot are in the same category – to shine, Epica keeps reinventing itself and pushing itself forward. Sure, they have a signature sound: bombastic symphonic elements, heavy riffs and the contrasting voices of Simone Simons and Mark Jansen, but it does not take a profound sense of musical knowledge to notice that Epica’s music is far more complex and ambitious now than in their early days.

‘Omega’, their eighth full-length album and the first in nearly five years, is the next step in that musical progression. Compared to 2016’s ‘The Holographic Principle’, ‘Omega’ sounds a bit more open and organic as a whole and slightly more geared towards Simons, who easily delivers her best recorded vocal performance to date here. For many similar bands, this would mean that they simplified their sound to accommodate the lead singer, but somehow, ‘Omega’ manages to be more adventurous and more accessible at the same time. Epica does this by letting melodicism and complexity work in unison, often within the same song.

The change is subtle enough to not alienate anyone who enjoyed Epica’s music before. After all, ‘Abyss Of Time -Countdown To Singularity-‘ is immediately recognizable as an opener for an Epica album in how it breaks the heaviness – though not too heavy yet – with a hypermelodic chorus. In addition, ‘Freedom -The Wolves Within-‘ is one of those powerful upper mid-tempo tracks the band attempted before, though rarely quite as impactful as here. ‘Kingdom Of Heaven ~ Part III -The Antediluvian Universe-‘ is another excellent massive epic with loads of cool dynamic shifts. As a fan of the combination of metal and Arabic melodies, ‘Seal Of Solomon’ and especially ‘Code Of Life’ were very pleasant listening experiences as well.

However, Epica’s best albums always contain a few surprises and ‘Omega’ is no different. ‘Rivers’ is by far my favorite Epica ballad thus far. It’s a dark, sparse track that brings to mind Nick Cave’s more subdued tracks, but Simons’ vocals lend the song a completely different atmosphere. Miraculously – keep in mind that I absolutely hate childrens’ voices – the childrens’ choir adds an interesting layer to the finale. ‘The Skeleton Key’ is another song that took me by surprise in how extreme the dynamic contrasts are, which does wonders for my attention span. The pre-chorus to ‘Synergize -Manic Manifest-‘ is another nifty sudden shift I can appreciate, while it also contains Isaac Delahaye’s coolest guitar solo on the record.

Given the fact that I really liked the darker, heavier sound of ‘The Holographic Principle’, I will admit that album has the slight edge over ‘Omega’ for me. That sound is still there – ‘Gaia’ and the fantastic closer ‘Omega – Sovereign Of The Sun Spheres-‘ most prominently – but ‘Omega’ is certainly a bit lighter, owing much of that to its greater dynamic range. However, that is also one of the album’s greatest strengths, along with Simons’ stronger than usual performance and the far better sonic choices than its predecessor. Any fan of symphonic metal will find something to enjoy here, but there are enough interesting riffs to have potential appeal to “regular” metal fans as well.

Recommended tracks: ‘Omega -Sovereign Of The Sun Spheres-‘, ‘Kingdom Of Heaven ~ Part III -The Antediluvian Universe-‘, ‘Code Of Life’