"Preliator" by Globus from Epicon

This belongs in a fantasy soundtrack! Or some kind of movie trailer, at least.

Actually, now that I think of it, I may have heard parts of this song as a movie trailer, before. It's a meld of action-packed epic fantasy with occasional parts that make me think "Middle Eastern" despite the Latin lyrics. (The classical influence, at least, is obvious.)

A bit of digging uncovered that there's a reason for the cinematic feel; "Globus" is a mix from Immidiate Music, a company that makes much of the music in movie trailers. The debut album Epicon came out in 2006 from popular demand. This particular song, "Prelator", comes from "Lacrimosa" which accented some Spider-Man 2 trailers.

The downside is that since it did start as trailer music, it has some odd shifts within the song. It would sound like an ending, then continue with a bit different style.

I don't speak Latin, so I don't understand the lyrics to really be able to rate them well, but they sound as if they go with the music, at least. And from what haphazard translations I've been able to find, it might be a prayer.

As of this writing, Globus offered this song as one of the samples on their MySpace Page.

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Lyrics: 4/5
Music: 4/5
Vocal(s): 5/5
Overall: 9/10

"The Valley" by Epica from The Score

Oops. I pick a song from Epica's MySpace page to review, and it happens to be one of their (few?) instrumental songs.

The Dutch metal band Epica doesn't seem to be heard of much, and usually it's only referenced in comparison to more popular foreign bands like Within Temptation and Nightwish. This particular song was more remeniscent of Within Temptation's earliest from Enter, though not as good.

That's not to say the music wasn't attractive. It was in the dark epic adventure kind of way. The orchestral elements meld in a way that people who like the style will find attractive. (Think the foreboding action songs from The Lord of the Rings' soundtracks, toss in a bit more cliché, and you'll have "The Valley.")

Though I know I've not heard "The Valley" before, in each part of it I feel like I'm in the middle of a musical number I've heard far too many times. I can't identify what precisely it reminds me of; perhaps bits and pieces of sci-fi TV shows' music combined. That's the closest that I can come up with.

It's not bad. I just don't find it "wow!"ing or even memorable.

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Lyrics: n/a
Music: 3/5
Vocal(s): n/a
Overall: 6/10