Customer Reviews

We Will Take You With Us

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've listened to Nightwish, Lacuna Coil, Within Temptation but none of the vocals or music has quite grabbed me as Epica now has. IT'S FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!
Simone's vocals are peculiar in a sense but absolutely gorgeous at the same time. Even the grunts, which i'm generally not a fan of, have something to them that just makes me want to go get more.
My personal favourites on this album would have to be the heart-stopping 'Sensorium', the beautiful 'Illusive consensus' and the headbanging 'Sief Al Dien'.
I highly recommend this album (as well as "Consign to Oblivion", Epica's other fantastic album, yes, FANTASTIC!!!!) to fans of bands such as Nightwish, After Forever etc. You won't regret it, this is no waste of money!!!

I was amazed after listening to Epica on this cd! First I had never bought any of their music but since I have bought Nightwish and After Forever, one of the bands suggested was Epica! Simone sings like an angel and the band is very good!
The combination of metal with a choir, and string section were awesome!!!The second half is more on the classical side but still shows that Epica can play beyond metal! This is an excellent cd and the DVD is also great!! Epica will be around for some time to come!!

In a world of highly-marketed pop, rap and hip-hop, and repetitive dance electronica, it's good to see that somebody is still taking their music seriously. The prog rock tradition of the 1970s is alive and well, and it includes death grunts and mezzo sopranos. Epica has given us an excellent effort in this album. Its major strengths are its musical compositions, while it falls flat lyrically in various places.

The album consists of two parts, six metal tracks followed by three acoustic tracks. The final acoustic track is "Memory" from the musical "Cats"- a nice cover, but a bit out of place. Tracks 1, 4 and 6 are parts 5, 4 and 6 (in that order!) of "The Embrace that Smothers," a group of related pieces about the downsides of religion in the world today. This strikes me as a very odd way to present connected pieces, but each one stands on its own just fine.

The first track, "Facade of Reality," is a very carefully constructed piece built around four voices: Simone Simons singing (in a high mezzo-soprano) a lecture about why Islamic fundamentalists become suicide bombers, death grunts for suicide bombers, a chorus for the Latin lyrics, and two cameo appearances by Tony Blair talking about September 11. Most of the lyrics are unintelligible, which is just as well - - it's really hard to pull off something like this. However, the piece is very powerful musically, with the voices beautifully set off one another.

The other tracks follow in the same vein. Each is an impressive construction that explores a series of musical themes. Most of the pieces set Simone's operatic voice against a heavy metal instrumentation, with occasional death grunts and chorus. However, the lyrics tend not to work so well. For example, in "Seif al-Din," a brief spoken word passage falls completely flat, in contrast to the successful use of Blair's spoken words in "Facade of Reality." Aside from the fact that Tony Blair is a better rhetorician than Simone Simons, this simply highlights the lyrical overreach found throughout the album - - Epica is simply trying too hard.

In places, the band's lyrics seem pretentious, as when they combine Latin, Arabic and English in a single song. The band also has a bad case of taking itself too seriously; in both respects, they remind me of Kansas during its heyday. They want to sing about "big themes" such as religious extremism, but they are unable to reach the lyrical complexity of the masterpiece of that genre, Jethro Tull's "Aqualung" album. Simons writes most of the lyrics, and is very young - - so we can hope that matters will improve as she gets more songwriting and life experience under her belt.

The band makes much of the fact that Simone Simons has a classic operatic training, and she certainly has a beautiful voice. However, she still sings from low in her throat instead of her diaphragm, so that she loses both power and richness at times. Beautiful as her voice is, the result is that Simone Simons is not as charismatic as other female goth singers such as Tarja Turunen (Nightwish) or Sharon van Adel (Within Temptation). This makes for a less dynamic contribution to the group as a whole. On the other hand, she has a more powerful and charismatic presence than, say, Liv Kristine of Leaves' Eyes (formerly of Theatre of Tragedy).

In short, "We Will Take You With Us" is a very ambitious album - - but its lyrical reach exceeds its grasp. However, it's well worth your attention for the music.

Wow, this is what I call a great, beautiful, epic, gorgeus album :)

Everything here is nicely played and Simone has an amaizing voice!

The songs are a very best from "A Phantom Agony".

Memory is a very sweet cover :) A lullaby that want to put you sleep tight. Really beautiful.

Feint (Piano) and Run For A fall acoustic...amazing and sweet too!!

Façade Of reality, Sensorium and The Phantom Agony are my very best favourites, from the heavier ones.

No doubt a 5 STRONG STARS for this one!

I bought this album because I listen to Nightwish, Therion and the like and Epica was suggested. This has a good deal of growling but unlike say After Forever, or many other bands, I actually found myself banging my head to the growls, and they actually go well with the music. The classical instruments and everything is blended together perfectly. The end of the album is an acoustic/opera based material and is likewise excellent. If you like Nightwish, Within Temptation or Therion you will definately like this album. It is similiar to After Forever, but a lot better, with more devloped classical instrumentation.

I'm going to say this cd caught me off guard a bit by it's overwhelming operatic vibe. It remains me a lot of Rhapsody's style of writing/music as it has that story telling imagery behind it which is cool.

The singer has excellent pipes and the tunes flow together very well. The musicianship is in fine form and the mix/production is good to.

Overall a good listen, not as heavy as I thought it would be and it took a few listens to truly get into, however it's a worth while listening endeavour that wont waste your time. It sort of remains me of Leaves Eyes last effort Vinland Saga, which is a blessing as that cd is a very good effort indeed.

Overall if you like opera/strings/orchestral style metal, you'll love this!!!!!

I'll keep this review short and sweet:

It took me away and I got lost in the music.
Definately a fantastic album. Simones vocals are hauntingly angelic. Truely a beautiful symphonic metal.

The DVD was just an added bonus. It really brought me extra appreciation for the dedication to quality and detail this band provides.

This unconventional Dutch band are so intriguing. Their output is quite varied and includes a film soundtrack called the Score. They are another victim of Transmission records, but luckily have moved on and are still recording and plan to tour. WE WILL TAKE YOU WITH US is a sample of their work. If you can find the DVD then buy it as it reveals more of the complexity of these talented musicians. Their last album entitled DIVINE CONSPIRACY is fantastic. I would not categorise this band as tags belittle any musical style. Listen if you have the concentration span then listen again at the underscore to the tracks on any of their work. Vocally We Will Take You With Us is as competent as Opera and yet it offers a different slant. Not run of the mill!!!!!!

I was blown away by their talent and by the ease in which they play such full and progressive music. They play without all the pretention, hype and extraverted showmanship you often see in other bands. Keeping their focus on providing quality musical product. They are excellent musicians with tons of talent. I wish others bands would do this kind of "studio" recording session DVD.

In a world of highly-marketed pop, rap and hip-hop, and repetitive dance electronica, it's good to see that somebody is still taking their music seriously. The prog rock tradition of the 1970s is alive and well, and it includes death grunts and mezzo sopranos. Epica has given us an excellent effort in this album. Its major strengths are its musical compositions, while it falls flat lyrically in various places.

The album consists of two parts, six metal tracks followed by three acoustic tracks. The final acoustic track is "Memory" from the musical "Cats"- a nice cover, but a bit out of place. Tracks 1, 4 and 6 are parts 5, 4 and 6 (in that order!) of "The Embrace that Smothers," a group of related pieces about the downsides of religion in the world today. This strikes me as a very odd way to present connected pieces, but each one stands on its own just fine.

The first track, "Facade of Reality," is a very carefully constructed piece built around four voices: Simone Simons singing (in a high mezzo-soprano) a lecture about why Islamic fundamentalists become suicide bombers, death grunts for suicide bombers, a chorus for the Latin lyrics, and two cameo appearances by Tony Blair talking about September 11. Most of the lyrics are unintelligible, which is just as well - - it's really hard to pull off something like this. However, the piece is very powerful musically, with the voices beautifully set off one another.

The other tracks follow in the same vein. Each is an impressive construction that explores a series of musical themes. Most of the pieces set Simone's operatic voice against a heavy metal instrumentation, with occasional death grunts and chorus. However, the lyrics tend not to work so well. For example, in "Seif al-Din," a brief spoken word passage falls completely flat, in contrast to the successful use of Blair's spoken words in "Facade of Reality." Aside from the fact that Tony Blair is a better rhetorician than Simone Simons, this simply highlights the lyrical overreach found throughout the album - - Epica is simply trying too hard.

In places, the band's lyrics seem pretentious, as when they combine Latin, Arabic and English in a single song. The band also has a bad case of taking itself too seriously; in both respects, they remind me of Kansas during its heyday. They want to sing about "big themes" such as religious extremism, but they are unable to reach the lyrical complexity of the masterpiece of that genre, Jethro Tull's "Aqualung" album. Simons writes most of the lyrics, and is very young - - so we can hope that matters will improve as she gets more songwriting and life experience under her belt.

The band makes much of the fact that Simone Simons has a classic operatic training, and she certainly has a beautiful voice. However, she still sings from low in her throat instead of her diaphragm, so that she loses both power and richness at times. Beautiful as her voice is, the result is that Simone Simons is not as charismatic as other female goth singers such as Tarja Turunen (Nightwish) or Sharon van Adel (Within Temptation). This makes for a less dynamic contribution to the group as a whole. On the other hand, she has a more powerful and charismatic presence than, say, Liv Kristine of Leaves' Eyes (formerly of Theatre of Tragedy).

In short, "We Will Take You With Us" is a very ambitious album - - but its lyrical reach exceeds its grasp. However, it's well worth your attention for the music.

PS. I have been unable to get the bonus track, "Falsches Spiel," to play on any equipment available to me.