1. Crimson Bow And Arrow
2. Wings Of Freedom
3. If Inside These Walls Was A House
4. Dedicate Your Heart!
5. Crimson Bow And Arrow (Instrumental)
6. Wings Of Freedom (Instrumental)
7. If Inside These Walls Was A House (Instrumental)
8. Dedicate Your Heart! (Instrumental)
Dutch metallers Epica are revelling in a prolific creative streak at the moment, having recently delivered some of the best music of their career with 2016’s The Holographic Principle and 2017 EP The Solace System. Now these four covers of songs from anime series Attack On Titan, which have until now only been available in Japan, are getting a widespread release.
Symphonic metal has always encouraged metallers to indulge their geekier inclinations, so unsurprisingly, on Crimson Bow And Arrow, Wings Of Freedom and Dedicate Your Heart!, tales of human-devouring, gargantuan manga titans, bombastic choirs and frenzied keyboard solos prove perfect bedfellows.
Drama-laden ballad If Inside These Walls Was A House is a tad Disney-esque but elsewhere, crunchy riffery and Mark Jansen’s malevolent growls add weight and edge.
You don’t need to appreciate the fantastical subject matter to appreciate this – sonically it’s business as usual for Epica.
