Requiem for the Indifferent

Requiem for the Indifferent
Studio album by Epica
Released 9 March 2012
Recorded September–November 2011
Studio Gate Studio, Wolfsburg, Germany,
The Huts Studio Antwerp, Belgium,
CFJ Studio, Oss, The Netherlands
Genre Symphonic metal
Length
  • 1:12:52 (standard)
  • 2:29:09 (boxed set)
Label Nuclear Blast
Producer Sascha Paeth & Epica
Epica chronology
Design Your Universe
(2009)		 Requiem for the Indifferent
(2012)		 The Quantum Enigma
(2014)
Singles from Requiem for the Indifferent
  1. "Storm the Sorrow"
    Released: 3 February 2012
  2. "Forevermore"
    Released: 21 September 2012

Requiem for the Indifferent is the fifth studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Epica. It was released on April 2012.[1] It was the final album to feature original member Yves Huts on bass guitar.

Background

Title

"This title refers to the end of an era. Mankind can no longer stick their head in the sand for the things that are happening around us. We are facing many challenges. There is an enormous tension between different religions and cultures, wars, natural disasters and a huge financial crisis, which is getting out of control. More than ever we will need each other to overcome these problems. As we are all connected; the universe, earth, nature, animals and human beings, this period in time will be the prelude to the end for those who still don't want to, or simply won't see it. A Requiem for the Indifferent but also a possibility for a new beginning with great new chances!"[1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com[2]
AllMusic[3]
Sonic Seducerfavourable[4]

General response to Requiem for the Indifferent was positive. AllMusic stated that the album "is a typically elaborate and ambitious affair, incorporating copious amounts of choral work and classical arrangements into the band's neatly established blend of goth, progressive, power, and symphonic metal."[3] Natalie Zed of About.com staff considers Requiem for the Indifferent "a transitional album for the band", which tries to expand their musical range experimenting with "weird" riffing and new combination of vocals, while "losing none of the richness that has gained them fans."[2]

Track listings

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Karma (Prelude)"  Mark JansenMark Jansen, Coen Janssen, Simone Simons1:32
2."Monopoly on Truth"  Jansen, SimonsIsaac Delahaye, Jansen, Simons7:11
3."Storm the Sorrow"  SimonsJanssen, Simons5:12
4."Delirium"  SimonsJanssen, Delahaye, Simons6:07
5."Internal Warfare" (Dedicated to the victims of Anders Breivik)SimonsJansen, Delahaye, Janssen, Frank Schiphorst, Jack Driessen5:12
6."Requiem for the Indifferent"  JansenJansen, Delahaye8:34
7."Anima (Interlude)"   Jansen1:24
8."Guilty Demeanor"  JansenJansen3:22
9."Deep Water Horizon"  SimonsJansen, Delahaye, Janssen, Driessen6:32
10."Stay the Course"  JansenJansen, Delahaye, Simons4:25
11."Deter the Tyrant"  JansenDelahaye, Jansen6:37
12."Avalanche"  SimonsJansen, Delahaye, Simons6:52
13."Serenade of Self-Destruction"  SimonsJansen, Delahaye, Janssen9:52
Total length:1:12:51

Personnel

Band members
Additional musicians
Production

Editions

There was an error with all physical copies of the album's first edition, in which track 13, "Serenade of Self-Destruction", is an instrumental version without Simons and Jansen's vocal tracks. As compensation, Nuclear Blast Records decided to make the track (with the vocals) available as a free download. The glitch was corrected in the digipak versions.[5] Interestingly this instrumental version has a small part of vocals from Simone Simons at the very beginning,[6] which makes it different from the total instrumental song released separately, on which you only hear the piano at the beginning.

To date there are nine different editions of the album:[7]

Singles

Storm the Sorrow

On 3 February 2012, the band released on iTunes the single "Storm the Sorrow", characterized by melodic vocal lines and electronic influences.[13] The video, shot in the middle of the same month in Amsterdam, was released on 24 April.[14]

Forevermore

Epica appeared as guests on Niks te gek (Nothing too crazy), a Dutch television program in which mentally disabled people can get their wishes granted. In this specific case, the dream of Ruurd Woltring was to be able to record a song with Epica. The band rearranged "Forevermore", a song written by Woltring, into their style and recorded a duet with him. The video for the song, in which you can see Epica in the studio together with Woltring, was released on 24 August. The program's episode was broadcast on 16 September.[15] On 21 September, "Forevermore" was released as the official single for purchase at iTunes for charity.[16] It's also the first single featuring Rob van der Loo on bass guitar. Woltring about "Forevermore": "I wrote the song myself. At that time, it was still called "Stairway to Heaven", though. I once listened to a couple of Van Canto's songs ("Water, Fire, Heaven, Earth" and "Hearted") and "Our Farewell" by Within Temptation. Then, I came up with this great idea to combine the music of these songs and add my own lyrics to it. The lyrics actually tell the story of a boy, who meets an angel. She gives him the feeling that they belong together, even though their worlds lie far apart, and thus wants to take him to heaven. A devil however tries to pull the boy down into his world, in which he doesn't succeed, because of the angel's positive energy."[17]

Charts

Chart (2012) Peak
position
Austrian Albums Chart[18] 33
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[19] 30
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[20] 27
Czech Albums Chart[21] 49
Dutch Albums Chart[22] 12
Finnish Albums Chart[23] 37
French Albums Chart[24] 35
German Albums Chart[25] 26
Japanese Albums Chart[26] 172
Norwegian Albums Chart[27] 37
Portuguese Albums Chart[28] 36
Swedish Albums Chart[29] 53
Swiss Albums Chart[30] 14
UK Albums Chart[28] 112
US Billboard 200[31] 105
US Top Rock Albums[31] 29
US Independent Albums[31] 15
US Top Hard Rock Albums[31] 7

References

  1. 1 2 "EPICA: New Album Title Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  2. 1 2 Zed, Natalie. "Epica - Requiem for the Indifferent review". Heavy Metal. About.com. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  3. 1 2 Monger, James Christopher. "Epica Requiem for the Indifferent review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  4. ↑ Eck, Markus (2012). "Epica: Herzensangelegenheiten". Sonic Seducer (in German). No. 3. p. 126.
  5. ↑ "Free Download". Nuclear Blast. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  6. ↑ Video on YouTube
  7. ↑ http://www.nuclearblast.de/en/products/tontraeger/cd/cd/epica-requiem-for-the-indifferent.html
  8. ↑ http://store.nuclearblastusa.com/Item/Epica_-_Requiem_For_The_Indifferent_-PRE-ORDER-/40702
  9. ↑ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Requiem-for-the-Indifferent/dp/B0075G6IFI/ref=sr_shvl_album_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328663564&sr=301-1
  10. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120223000457/http://www.nuclearblast.de/en/products/tontraeger/cd/cd/epica-requiem-for-the-indifferent.html. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120113041849/http://www.nuclearblast.de/en/products/sonstiges/epica-requiem-for-the-indifferent-coloured-vinyl.html. Archived from the original on 13 January 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120129232820/http://www.nuclearblast.de/en/products/tontraeger/cd/cd-boxset/epica-requiem-for-the-indifferent-mailorder-edition.html. Archived from the original on 29 January 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ↑ "Storm the Sorrow - Digital single release". Epica Official Website. 2 February 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  14. ↑ "Epica News: April 2012". Epica Official Website. 24 April 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  15. ↑ Belafatti, Marco (25 August 2012). "Epica: la band partecipa ad un programma televisivo per realizzare il sogno di un ragazzo affetto da disabilità mentale" [Epica: the band takes part in a television program to achieve the dream of a boy with mental disabilities] (in Italian). Spaziorock.it. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  16. ↑ ""Forevermore" ora acquistabile." (in Italian). Epica Italy.it. 22 September 2012. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  17. ↑ "An interview with Ruud Woltring". La Voce di Galileo. WordPress.com. 27 March 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  18. ↑ "Epica - Requiem for the Indifferent (album)". Austriancharts.at (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  19. ↑ "Epica - Requiem for the Indifferent". Ultratop (in Dutch). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  20. ↑ "Epica - Requiem for the Indifferent". Ultratop (in French). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  21. ↑ "Hitparáda - TOP50 Prodejní Týden - 201212" (in Czech). IFPI Czech Republic. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  22. ↑ "Epica - Requiem for the Indifferent (album)". GfK Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  23. ↑ "Epica - Requiem for the Indifferent (album)". Finnishcharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  24. ↑ "Epica - Requiem for the Indifferent (album)". Lescharts.com (in French). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  25. ↑ "Album - Epica, Requiem for the Indifferent". Charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  26. ↑ "エピカのCDアルバムランキング、エピカのプロフィールならオリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE" (in Japanese). Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  27. ↑ "Epica - Requiem for the Indifferent (album)". Norwegiancharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  28. 1 2 "EPICA: 'Requiem For The Indifferent' First-Week Sales Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  29. ↑ "Epica - Requiem for the Indifferent (album)". Swedishcharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  30. ↑ "Epica - Requiem for the Indifferent". Hitparade.ch (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  31. 1 2 3 4 "Requiem for the Indifferent - Epica". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
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