Review EPICA ‘Omega Alive’

The pandemic also causes another bad thing, the no-conceritis. In a time when live shows are rather limited/restricted or even need to be cancelled/postponed, the digital possibilities became an option, although they never can be a replacer. A band that also decided to use the opportunities and present the new material in a digital context is Epica.

The band released a few months ago with ‘Omega’ their newest studio album and a tour has been planned but needed to be postponed more than once. To not lose the momentum with the new album unleashed, Epica decided to go for a streaming show, that took place on June 12^th this year at AED Studios in Belgium. Now, the event is available as live album / DVD, entitled ‘Omega Alive’.

No doubt, the focus was on the new album and the new songs of which five of them have been performed for the first time on stage. It all starts with ‘Abyss of Time – Countdown to Singularity’, which is the opener on the ‘Omega’ album too. The song is the first one out of a 14 songs (plus intro) featuring setlist that is divided into five acts. Having chosen for such a setup underlines the cinematic approach of the band that was strengthened by even more extras.

Instead of just performing in front of an empty room, the band decided to go for a more sophisticated approach. With a ‘second’ stage, behind the band, there was space for dancers, artists, video projections, fire-eaters and more, all aligned with the songs performed by Epica. With such an effort ‘Omega Alive’ is more than solely a streaming show. It is an entertaining and wholistic artistic concept.

Musically, the songs are well-known and next to the new ones, Epica also brings with ‘Cry for the Moon’ a song from the debut to stage. And that the band was very enthusiastic about performing together on stage is something one can observe by every note played. Together with a well-executed sound the release is a good way to dive into the musical and artistic world of Epica.