Symphonic metal band Epica released their latest studio album titled The Holographic Principle yesterday, September 30. The album was released via heavy metal label Nuclear Blast.

The album had been heavily advertised on the band’s official Facebook, where they announced the early release of several tracks from the album as well as posting a 3-part documentary about the making of the CD. Epica had mentioned in their documentaries that this album was going to be their best one yet, and it may not have been an exaggeration. The album itself starts out with the expected prelude track to start off as it leads into the rest of the album. The songs feature fast paced vocalizations backing up singer Simone Simons’ own operatic style, with intense guitar, drums, and orchestra to fill any empty space. While most of the album feels tightly wound and constantly moving forward, it makes sure to slow down around the middle with “Once Upon a Nightmare,” a track that has over two minutes of quiet instrumental before Simons softly comes in.

The band had advertised that this album would be an evolved form of their last album, The Quantum Enigma, and it is easy to tell that this indeed is a progression from that CD. It is still remarkably different, and also isn’t afraid to have fun. There are several acoustic-style tracks at the end, most all of them with connected to but with different names than their original counterparts from the album. Some of them are traditionally acoustic, while some of them take a different style to the song, occasionally changing the lyrics to fit the new style. “Beyond the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” counterpart to “Beyond the Matrix,” is played to a jazzy tune, while “The Funky Algorithm,” original song being “The Cosmic Algorithm,” sounds like it belongs at a disco party.

The Holographic Principle is available through the Nuclear Blast website, Amazon, and iTunes.

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The song was released by the band’s official Facebook today as a lyric video shot together with director Jens De Vos and his team at Panda Productions. The single had been shared on July 28 on the singer Simone Simons Facebook page though it had later been announced to be a leak and was taken down. Clips of the song were heard in the first two parts of the album documentary that the band has been filming, announcing the releases on their Facebook and through their official website where they can also be watched. In these studio documentaries, the band shares their song writing and recording process, and talks about their new album and what it means to them as a band and how they have grown. All members of Epica agree that this is going to be their greatest album yet, and that it is going to be even more “in your face” than their most recent album, The Quantum Enigma.

Today is also the day that pre-orders became available for the album The Holographic Principle and related merchandise bundles. The pre-orders can be found on Epica’s page at Indiemerch.com.

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Epica has officially confirmed the release date for their new album, The Holographic Principle.

The album will be the Dutch symphonic metal band’s 7^th studio album. It will be released on September 30, 2016 through Nuclear Blast Records. The date was confirmed as early as May through the band’s official Facebook, where they have stated that they think it is their “best album to date”. Their last album, The Quantum Enigma, was released back in 2014 to huge international success, so fans are eager to hear new music. All six principle members of the band contribute to the song writing process, with subjects such as philosophy, religion, and progressive political themes.

Since the confirmation of the release date, there has since been released the album art and the song list, posted below. Epica has also announced that they will return for a North American tour with support from The Agonist, Fleshgod Apocalypse, and either Xandria or Arkona depending on location. The tour will have locations in Canada and the United States, running shows through November and December. More information on the tour can be found on Epica’s official website here.

The names of the songs for The Holographic Principle are as follows:

1. “Eidola”
2. “Edge Of The Blade”
3. “A Phantasmic Parade”
4. “Universal Death Squad”
5. “Divide And Conquer”
6. “Beyond The Matrix”
7. “Once Upon A Nightmare”
8. “The Cosmic Algorithm”
9. “Ascension – Dream State Armageddon”
10. “Dancing In A Hurricane”
11. “Tear Down Your Walls”
12. “The Holographic Principle – A Profound Understanding Of Reality”

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