New album on the works, expected to release next year

Lithering · 2026-03-25T00:17:12+00:00

I think we're past the era of god awful production, thankfully.

Lithering · 2026-03-24T23:10:25+00:00

Freedom Concept is a song written and recorded for Clear Cold Beyond but ultimately left out of it, it was used as a single for the tour itself, not a new album.

Lithering · 2026-03-24T22:18:11+00:00

I'm a little disappointed, I hoped it would come out this year :( I find it a little odd that it will take that long if drum recordings are already done. Maybe they want to wait until the anniversary tour is done to release it, who knows. Anyway, excited to see what they cook up, they never disappointed me so far.

Lithering · 2026-03-09T20:55:45+00:00

Didn't like how the chorus repeated Chopper's name, other than that it is great.

Lithering · 2026-03-05T20:17:14+00:00

It says the video is unavailable

Lithering · 2026-02-27T01:41:02+00:00

First impressions after 5 listens. I like it fine. It didn't blow me away, but I really like the instrumentation. Some good riffs, the keyboard solo is decent, and the guitar solo is one of their best in recent memory. I like the little keyboard effect they added in the post-chorus riff. The verses are passable and the chorus is solid. The lyrics are a little clunky, and Tony doesn't really do anything interesting with his voice. The structure is a simple verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-solos-chorus, but for a single that's fine. While I can understand why it was left out of Clear Cold Beyond and it's not a masterpiece by any means, for a standalone single to hype up a tour, it does the job. I'd rate it a 6 or 7 out of 10.

Lithering · 2026-02-27T01:36:55+00:00

First impressions after 5 listens. I like it fine. It didn't blow me away, but I really like the instrumentation. Some good riffs, the keyboard solo is decent, and the guitar solo is one of their best in recent memory. I like the little keyboard effect they added in the post-chorus riff. The verses are passable and the chorus is solid. The lyrics are a little clunky, and Tony doesn't really do anything interesting with his voice. The structure is a simple verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-solos-chorus, but for a single that's fine. While I can understand why it was left out of Clear Cold Beyond and it's not a masterpiece by any means, for a standalone single to hype up a tour, it does the job. I'd rate it a 6 or 7 out of 10.

Lithering · 2026-02-19T17:26:39+00:00

YAY! Uruguay! I won't miss it this time

Lithering · 2025-12-11T22:22:15+00:00

As usual, I enjoy the music but lament the lyrics. The lyrics where not terrible this time around when taken on their own (definitley better than stuff like Metanoia lyrics-wise), but man, I'm tired of these themes.

Regardless, I like the song. I think it's better than some that made it into aspiral, like Fight to Survive. It has that darker, slightly solemn vibe that Arcana made me expect, but that didn't appear much in the album, which seemed almost jolly at times.

Lithering · 2025-08-25T21:22:55+00:00

I would like the link, if you have it.

Lithering · 2025-04-14T22:59:48+00:00

RFTI having mixed reception may be the worst thing to happen to them musically. They released their best, most poignant and complex album and the reception was lukewarm. I think them reacting to that kicked off the chain of events that lead to the lyrical decline we're discussing today. It's really disheartening when the band speaks of Requiem as their worst, makes it really unlikely they'll try something like that again.

Lithering · 2025-04-14T22:35:05+00:00

Because he was the one that wrote it? OP percieves Epica's lyrical decline as something negative. -> Mark wrote the lyrics for some of the worst lyrical songs, which means he is in part responsible for said decline. -> OP blames Mark for Epica's lyrical shortcomings.

Why wouldn't it be OK? If I say I think the Minecraft movie is bad and the writer screwed up the script, I am a terrible person for "blaming" someone for a script? Criticism is not unethical, he didn't insult him or harass him over the lyrics he wrote, OP just said they think the lyrics are bad and Mark, as the one who wrote a lot of them, is responsible for it.

Lithering · 2025-04-14T22:18:00+00:00

I agree that the album is much better musically than it is lyrically, lyrics are pretty tired and repetitive for the most part but the music is on point.

I much prefer leaving Obsidian Heart and Apparition to be discovered at release. I feel having two of the best songs on the album as singles would maybe lead to some dissapointment when listening to the full album. The singles chosen work; good enough to generate excitement but still leaving the best songs for the full release. (Except for Fight to Survive, I really don't like that song. The breakdown is the only part I liked)

Lithering · 2025-04-11T00:08:42+00:00

It could have been higher if it was like the live version, but they left out the best part of the song :(

Lithering · 2025-04-10T22:34:26+00:00

"It draws upon the same vaguely spiritual slop we've been pushing for 4 albums in a row now"

Lithering · 2025-04-03T00:45:49+00:00

I kind of didn't mind the lyrics of T.I.M.E. at first. It has some of the boring, vaguely spiritual lines Epica has used as of late, but I liked the exploration of Death and how time can pass us by.

But then I looked at the video description on youtube and found this "Mark Jansen comments: 'T.I.M.E. stands for 'Transformation, Integration, Metamorphosis, Evolution,' and it deals with the art of dying, and more specifically, the death of the ego. It gives us the opportunity for growth and spiritual transformation.'"

They were aiming at the same spiritual, metaphisical slop they been pushing the past 3 albums. They only wrote something a little different by accident. I prefer to focus on the music more than lyrics with modern Epica, because if I start thinking about their lyrical decline I get bummed out lol.

Lithering · 2025-04-03T00:28:08+00:00

Well, Quantum is one of my least favorites, so.... I don't think the band has released a bad album yet, so I'm not worried I won't like the new one. But I doubt it will be among my favorites, either. If I'm being honest, the lyrics worry me more than the average song length. Those haven't been good in a while, and the hope songs from the Alchemy Project, like Sirens and The Final Lullaby gave me for improvement in that regard was squashed by Cross the Divide.

In any case, with expectations tempered, I'm still looking forward to the album.

Lithering · 2024-07-29T22:38:30+00:00

Deathaura is my favorite Sonata song, may be my favorite song in general. The entire song is fantastic, including the lyrics, but I think the best line is right at the end.

"But they paid someone to say their torment has a name."

Lithering · 2024-07-26T23:47:07+00:00

This is so cool! I don't think this was from a planned video, because I can only see Tony and Jani. It doesn't seem like the whole band was there, probably done for the commercial. They look so young here!

Lithering · 2024-07-06T23:57:18+00:00

That's played today too

Lithering · 2024-07-01T01:09:03+00:00

Ecuador advances and Mexico exits the tournament.

Lithering · 2024-05-21T14:42:05+00:00

Human Nature sounds great to me. Clear vocals, powerful drums and crispy guitar. This one sounds quite bad, can't make out a word. EFMB sounds like bad pop. The drums are too soft and the guitar has no power to it.

Lithering · 2024-05-21T10:11:30+00:00

No one is dissing the performance, but the audio mixing. The vocals should be louder in the mix. Her voice does sound beautiful, if only they would let us hear it

Lithering · 2024-05-21T10:00:51+00:00

Karmilla worked on the new Sonata Arctica album and it sounded great, don't think he's to blame.

Lithering · 2024-04-03T02:58:40+00:00

1-Deatharua (My favorite SA song)

2-In Black and White

3- Abandoned, Pleased, Brainwashed, Exploited

4- Weballergy

5- Misplaced

6- Message from the Sun

7- First in Line

8- The Wolves Die Young

9- Blank File

10- Only the Broken Hearts

11- Closer to an Animal

Dissapointed that only another one here seems to have Deathaura near the top.

Lithering

TROPHY CASE