Customer Reviews

Epicon

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Epicon is a great album, and this release doesn't do it justice. The OTHER release is outstanding--definitely one of my favorite albums! (See product link below.)

FIRST FRUSTRATION: I love the OTHER release. For example, "Orchard" doesn't sound as good as the original on the other release.

SECOND FRUSTRATION: This release is missing a track! Actually, three tracks! "Crusaders of the Light" is gone (Missing! Aaaarrrgh! I LOVE that song)! "Illumination" and "Porque te Vas" are absent, too.

I can't live without "Crusaders of the Light."

BEFORE PURCHASING THIS: I much prefer the previous release. It is titled the same, but the cover consists of scrolling ancient text (no dude's face). I suggest you purchase that release in lieu of this one; get your three tracks that this release jips you out of. Globus: Epicon

Also, Trailerhead by The Immediate has some of the same songs (they're all licensed from Immediate Music in the first place), presented in the form of instrumentals only. Sample Trailerhead; you may like it if you enjoy this epic source material. Trailerhead

As you can tell, I love Globus's Epicon. I just don't like this release of it. Buy the other one!

I love movie music with its ability to manipulate emotions and stir us. And movie-trailer music, written specifically to accompany the previews shown in theaters, is even more stirring because it has such a short time to grab our attention.

Globus is a creation of Yoav Goren, a film composer who specializes in that most incredible of all musical genres, the movie trailer. On Epicon he's taken some of his most stirring compositions and turned them into play-length pieces that will knock your socks off! The styles are varied and feature soaring strings and choirs and world-music influence and I just can't get enough of this music!

I highly recommend it to movie-music buffs; it's incredible!

I think jgarth's review of Epicon is about as right on as you can get. I am also a huge fan of E.S. Posthumus and Craig Armstrong, and was pleased to hear that Immediate Music made a commercial release with Globus.

Personally, I'm more accustomed to E.S. Posthumus' Unearthed (also an invaluable purchase). Because of this, some of the tracks on Epicon caught me off guard; some of the lyrical lines seem too 'pop' for my taste, for lack of a better term. Nevertheless, you get lost in Globus' music very easily, and the range of emotion is strong throughout the album. I'd list Epicon's strongest tracks, but they all have their own merits.

It's a shame there isn't more music like this. Hopefully as the music industry evolves, more composers will develop and embrace this cinematic-crossover genre and take it to the next step.

Overall, excellent release from Globus, and I highly recommend it. I'd give it 4.5 stars if Amazon allowed it. Again, my only qualm is with a few of the lyrical lines, but they certainly don't take away from the beautiful music contained within Epicon.

If you enjoy E.S.Posthumous, Hans Zimmer, Craig Armstrong, or any of Immediate Music's trailer music cues, then I highly recommend this CD to you.

Globus have fashioned an album which is focused and accessable yet retains the distinctive orchestral might and propulsive, rousing chords of Immediate Music's signature trailer cues. The vocals add a unique and interesting lyrical dimension to the tracks, and are stirring in their own right, but it is the pure orchestral cues which are the highlights, delivering high quality variations on some very rare and exciting themes.

The recording quality is outstanding, as are the liner notes. All in all, this is a great buy; 'Epicon' holds its own alongside 'Unearthed' in terms of quality and originality, and is one of the finest examples of this genre available for commercial purchase.

This is the release to buy. It contains tracks that are omitted from the other release--most notably, "Crusaders of the Light!"

My favorites are "Take Me Away," "Crusaders of the Light," "Diem ex Dei," "Europa," and "Orchard of Mines."

I can't praise this enough.

After waiting and waiting for ES Posthumus to come out with a new album, I was lucky to find this album to hold me over. I would've preferred "epic" choir vocals to the single lead vocal in many of the tracks. I agree with Robert's assessment that some of the lyrics sound a bit pop-ish. They work fine in some songs though. When I listen to this on my computer, I select 8 tracks (a very good amount, for me) and ignore the other 6.

Some of the songs take a "long" time to develop. When I'm listening in my car, I can hardly hear the first (and sometimes last) minutes of Diem Ex Dei, Crusaders Of The Light, Take Me Away, and Sarabande Suite, to name a few. Considering the songs average around 5 minutes, 20% of the song is basically a few decibels above silence. I do like these songs after they get break into full orchestra/choir. Perhaps you think build-up is a vital part of the song, so maybe I'm just impatient ;)

No one will mistake this music for Mozart or Bach, but it is catchy and entertaining. I recommend it if you can find it for a good price.

Song samples are available at Globus Music's website, so if you're deciding whether or not you want this CD, check them out.

This is really superb music - the given genre name "cinematic rock" is one it deserves. Make sure you buy this one (with these antique inscriptions) and not the one with the man on the front - because the second one is missing 3 songs (Crusaders Of The Light, Illumination, Porque Te Vas) and two songs are different edits.

It's just "okay". I recommend the IMMEDIATE music for epic scores and tunes. The vocals in this album, I think, actually detract from the music - with all due respect. If they were going to match vocals to this type of music, I feel an orchestral or operatic accompaniment would have fit much better. On the plus side...if you are looking for something a bit "different"....you may be pleased.

PLEASE NOTE that my review here given is for the original release of this CD ( Epicon ) and NOT this re-release; I present the review here so that it can reach a wider audience.

I'm not quite sure how to categorize this CD. It's not quite soundtrack; not quite world; and despite what Windows Media Player says when I put it in the computer, not quite rock. It falls somewhere in between all three, but the big selling point is that it's by Imperativa Records and Immediate Music, and seeing as Immediate is behind the dramatic "trailer music" you often hear in ads for the latest blockbuster movies, that kind of gives you an idea what this is like. Expect big orchestras and big choirs and an overall big sound. This is the kind of stuff you could expect to hear in an epic soundtrack, but it's by no means mere "soundtrack music" or auditory wallpaper, as too much soundtrack music seems to be nowadays--you'll never find me buying anything that makes "nice background music," which this is definitely not. In other words, don't expect to be able to put this CD in and then chill out or read a book or do dishes, because that's not what this music is for. This is ROUSING music, music that makes you actually want to listen, music that piques the emotions, the way soundtracks should be.

That being said, there are plenty of vocals--probably the reason why this could be categorized under "Rock," whereas soundtracks/scores generally don't feature many vocals. (Imperativa has put out a companion CD entitled "Trailerhead" by Immediate, which features some of the same tunes as this CD, only sans vocals.) The songs feature various singers, male and female, most notably Lisbeth Scott ("Preliator"), Anneke Van Giersbergen ("Mighty Rivers Run," "Diem Ex Dei," and "Orchard Of Mines"), and Dann P. ("Prelude," "Europa," "Orchard Of Mines," "Take Me Away," and "Sarabande Suite"). (The vocals of the latter two singers are so good I'd enjoy hearing solo efforts on their part, but, although I learned that Dann P. is part of a band, I could find no albums by them on Amazon, last time I checked.) The languages are a mixture of mostly English with some Latin, Spanish, and French, from the sound of it; a few, such as "La Coronacion" and "Crusaders Of The Light," eschew lead vocals in favor of a choir and thus have more of a soundtrack sound. There doesn't seem to be any unifying theme regarding the songs' meanings, and the styles are a bit eclectic but for the most part enjoyable. Only the tracks "Madre Terra" and "Porque Te Vas" are skippable; especially the latter, which really does not seem to belong on this CD with the rest of the songs as the style and instrumentation do not resemble the others in the least. The rest of the tracks are utterly gorgeous to listen to.

"Preliator," "Spiritus Khayyam," and "Diem Ex Dei" make use of Latin vocals, though there's also what seems to be an Arabic slant to "Spiritus Khayyam." (Seeing as the companion CD "Trailerhead" omits lead vocals and retains only the choir, its version of "Spiritus Khayyam," retitled "Spiritus Omnia," lacks this element.) "La Coronacion" and "Crusaders Of The Light" are mainly instrumental with a backing choir; no lyrics for these, or for "Spiritus Khayyam," are included in the CD jacket. The rest of the songs (aside from the aforementioned "Madre Terra" and "Porque Te Vas") feature primarily English lyrics.

"Mighty Rivers Run," which seems to be a mother singing to her children (either literally or figuratively--this could be an archetypal mother figure), is so gorgeous it must be heard to be believed; the mixed feelings of love and concern expressed in the lyrics ("Precious life, now I bring you into my world/Fear, love, and pain are your guides/Can I provide a sanctuary/To shield you from a world that preys?") are easily understood by anyone with children or without, and the choir, strings, and piano are unbelievable.

"Prelude (On Earth As In Heaven)," apparently a testament to undying love ("No martyr can ever/Divide our beating hearts"), has a great and unusual dance beat coupled with its Latin choir and Dann P.'s singing; unfortunately, the lyrics to the Latin section are not included in the CD jacket for some reason even though Dann P. sings them at the end of the song. This is probably the most accessible and radio-friendly song on the CD.

"Europa," also with lead vocals by Dann P., seems to decry mankind's tendency toward war ("Empires built and nations burned/Mass graves remain unturned/Descendants of the dispossessed/Return with bombs strapped to their chests"), though I could be misunderstanding just which side the song is criticizing; the lyrical rundown of various conflicts through the ages ("From Agincourt to Waterloo/Poitiers and then Anjou/The Roses War, the Hundred Years...") is chilling to hear, like a wartime version of "We Didn't Start The Fire."

"Orchard Of Mines," again with Dann P., is up there with "Mighty Rivers Run" as the standout songs on the CD; the strange and cryptic lyrics, to me, speak to one who's so emotionally fragile ("'Cause you seem like an orchard of mines/Just take one step at a time/And you seem to break like time/So fragile on the inside...") that dealing with them is literally like walking through an "orchard of mines," though again, I could be misunderstanding. The Latin choir on this, as well, is breathtaking. (Don't miss the instrumental version, "Serenata Immortale," on "Trailerhead.")

The remaining English-lyrics songs, "Illumination," "Take Me Away," and "Sarabande Suite (Aeternae)," are somewhat weaker than the rest, but still enjoyable; the soaring lyrics of the last, again with Dann P. ("Amen/Ah, men are free/Faith found/Amen!"), are especially memorable. As has probably been noticed, there's a slight religious bent to some of the songs, but, as someone who prefers my music to be secular or at least more general in its spiritual message, I didn't find it preachy in the least; I believe the songs could be enjoyed by anyone no matter what their spiritual background (or lack thereof). The huge orchestras and choirs might be seen as a bit bombastic, but that's what I like in my music, to get an emotional charge rather than to "chill out," so if that's what you want too then I can't recommend this CD highly enough. I look forward to Globus/Immediate/Imperativa Records putting out yet more music in the future!

Please note there's another version of this CD, sold direct through Amazon, but from what I can tell the track listing is slightly different and omits "Crusaders Of The Light" and "Illumination"; the version with the Latin/Roman lettering on the front is the one you're looking for. If you can't find it on Amazon, perhaps Imperativa offers it through their site though I can't be sure. I obtained my copy on eBay.

I've already mentioned, several times, Immediate's other CD, "Trailerhead" ("Globus" is merely the name of a group of musicians working for Immediate, from what little I can tell), which goes quite well with this one, including shortened/instrumental versions of some songs (though, regrettably, none for "Mighty Rivers Run") as well as extra songs not on this CD; I highly recommend that in addition to this. Please see my review of "Trailerhead" for recommendations of other, similar music that might also be enjoyed.

Very emotive and keeps you drawn in. Perfect for those who love an epic feel to their rock or orchestral music. You can feel the emotion from the melodies but really not so much from the music.

Yes, sadly, this album is victim to the "Loudness War" so hearing and feeling the punch of drums and vocals are compressed with the rest of the instruments. You're left with a compressed sound that can fatigue your ears where it would annoy you because you want to hear more of the great music. Had they paid attention to this, the album would've been perfect.