SIMONE SIMONS – Vermillion (Album Review)

To the metal-faring world at large, vocalist Simone Simons is largely synonymous with Epica. Likewise, the symphonic metal band Epica is inextricably intertwined with the persona of its frontwoman Simone Simons. Imagining them separately is like imagining AC/DC without Angus. In fairness, Angus is arguably more adorable, with the hat and shorts.

That being said, it is a marked departure from much of the last twenty years of the metal world when Ms. Simons announced she was working on a solo offering. Although she is obviously a key stakeholder in the symphony known as Epica, she still felt a yearning to do something outside the usual Epica paradigm, and something more purely a personal expression. While this already might have been worth tracking on the radar, what really elevated the DEFCON level was the announcement that prog/metal concept album juggernaut Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon, Star One, and much more) would be principal composer and songwriting partner to Simone. Now people were paying attention. So is it some kind of Epica Ayreon hybrid album? Let’s see.

The album opens with a synth montage and guitar riffage with the almost Indian phrasings found in Anneke and Arjen’s “Shores of India.” The song is entitled “Aeterna,” and after some initial verse structure from Simone, huge layered choral parts come in to already make it feel symphonic and huge. About two to three minutes in, Simone dials back the action a little for some more reserved delivery, while layers of Arjen synth do things like we were used to in his “Human Equation” album. Strangely, around 3:30, things shift to more of a funky clubbing EDM beat before getting right back into the arpeggiated delayed Arjen grooves, albeit with some huge symphonic chorus bits and percussive foundations. Simone spends the last minute delivering her signature vocals in show-ready form, expressing much of her range in a short time. As a track, it does not do anything, especially outside the box like guitar solos or expeditions into prog town, but it is a very strong track exhibiting groovy fun songwriting with some neat tricks. As album openers go, this is a strong one.

“In Love We Rust” is a low-tempo brewing storm that begins with a ponderous synth kick drum and bass guitar approximations while Simone presents slow expressive vocals with a tale of love lost. The titular chorus with its post-effect delay on “Rust” set to the song tempo, presents something akin to older Ayreon songs about tragedy and loss, and yet, it’s something a bit new unto itself. There’s sort of a Floyd-meets-Gabriel thing happening here too. Thankfully, around 3 minutes in, we are treated to an unmistakable Arjen guitar solo with his fingerprint vibrato and tremolo technique, which is a really nice trip back to some of our favorite “Electric Castle” and “Universal Migrator” moments. Simone emerges from the solo ready to match it in intensity, and she belts it out very well.

The third track, “Cradle to Grave,” is industrially heavy, ready to put attitude on display, but we knew it was Arch Enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz at the first growl. Wow, what a counter-balance. Of course, Alissa is more than able to complement Simone on the “pretty” parts, but when it’s time for the beast to come out, Alissa comes off the leash with fangs bared. The song is cool, if extremely straightforward. It is a vehicle for the contrasting Simone–Alissa duet, heavy as hell, and it does its job well.

This is followed by “Fight or Flight,” which aside from some signature Arjen guitar bits, is something of a departure from the rest of the album, without much of the DNA of either artist’s own bands. It opens with very low-gain guitar, plucking out a chord similar to the opening of Metallica’s “One,” albeit tweaked enough to not be overly derivative. As this drones on, with other synth elements swirling about, and occasional percussive elements, Simone leads with some non-lyrical vocalizing, before entering into verse about fear, confrontation, confession, and acceptance. Musically, this is a song very much crafted to showcase Simone’s talents without excessive distraction, although about 3 minutes in there is a nice instrumental bridging section that hearkens to Star One material. There are also a few nice violin pieces that somehow walk the line between folk fiddle and classical strings. The layers of stacking vocal harmonies at the end are almost like some of the character interactions in Arjen’s “Human Equation” album when breakthroughs of consciousness occur in the story.

“The Weight of My World” comes in feeling like an unused B-side from Rob Zombie Studios, until Simone comes out of nowhere sounding like Tarja. There’s a cool brief guitar solo in the middle, followed by some weird megaphone spoken word in… Deutsch? Netherlands? It would be interesting to know. Sounds like someone is being called Schweinhund, which is not generally complimentary. At this point, Tarja-mode is re-engaged before Standard-Simone returns to wrap up this somewhat genre-bending little rocker.

The title track, “Vermillion Dreams,” opens up with some very angry cello-chugging amidst some other cluttering noise to make it all feel a bit dystopian. Suddenly things ease back a little bit, and it’s time for Rhodes keyboards and some “No Quarter” vibes. After some nice vibey noodling, Simone takes a moment to fill the silence with some quasi-operatic delivery, paired with occasional ominous whispers. When drums and guitars return, it’s step one in merging Simone’s vocal themes with the emerging melody. When the snare becomes percussive, in time with the staccato distortion chords, it’s stage two in building the song up. After one more somewhat reserved verse section, the last 45 seconds are a roaring crescendo of drums, guitars, keys, and layers upon layers of vocals until a bombastic finish.

To get things back to a more typical metal format, “The Core” is chunky on the riffs from beginning to end, starting immediately with Mark Jansen’s signature growls from the Epica side of things. In fact, it’s this pairing that makes the chorus “We’ve gotta get back to the Core,” a layering of Mark’s growls with Simone’s operatic highs, a centerpiece of this little romp. While “Dystopia” is a fine track on its own, it may be one of the less eventful pieces of the album. Perhaps appropriately, the song is a bit like Arjen’s “2084,” also an alright song on its own, but on the “Universal Migrator” album it was just meant to be a stepping stone in telling the story of humanity and the protagonist on Mars. That being said, the last minute of the song does boil to an apocalyptic finish, so it remains a worthwhile component of the album.

The penultimate track, “R.E.D.” is an industrial grind, deriving its power from synth percussion and other groovy keyboard elements, but the real juice comes from Mark’s returning growls and the massive chorus pieces from numerous singers. Of course, it does not hurt that Simone likes to push her vocal cords on this one and really go for the rafters. Red Equals Danger indeed.

Clearly, Ms. Simons wanted to get all the heaviness out of her system on the previous track, because “Dark Night of the Soul” is a bittersweet little slice, and if it was her intention to end this album with something timeless that can forever be taken seriously, this was a formidable composition to that end. The ear is treated to a string quartet and grand piano from beginning to end, and Simone uses her voice to create a truly haunting presentation.

While there was obvious evidence of Ayreon throughout this album, and to a lesser extent some Epica influence, it is clear that the answer is “no.” This album is not an Epica–Ayreon hybrid. It is something new and unique, and one might reasonably assume that was Simone’s goal all along. Comparing this to Epica is like comparing Floor Jansen’s ReVamp to Nightwish. Same singer, absolutely a different animal altogether. From the Arjen side of things, compositionally there are moments it could be argued this might be more like his 2005’s Stream of Passion than actual Ayreon, and considering his formerly teal HM-Strat wielding gal-pal Lori Linstruth (former HM Strat, still gal-pal) from Stream of Passion was involved in this new Simone Simons album, it sort of checks out.

This leaves us with a bit of a quandary. Like the age-old metaphor of the fish riding a bicycle, yes, it’s nifty and all, but now what? If this was really an Epica–Ayreon hybrid, the metrics would be simple enough. Did the album capture the best of both worlds to resounding success, or did it fail to do so and end up less than the sum of its parts? Well, in this case, it is not quite so simple. Arjen and one of his favorite old Ayreon collaborators Simone Simons have done something unique. It would be easy to say “It’s up to your personal tastes whether you like it,” but you would say “no shit” and be 100% right.

If you like Simone at all, this is some of her better work, and it is recommended you check it out. If you are die-hard into progressive music, it might not quite satisfy your particular itch. The writing is a bit more grounded. The songs are typically 4 minutes long and do not go overboard with Michael Romeo or John Petrucci arrangement. While there is a good variety of styles to be found here, what the songs generally have in common is that they get in, they showcase Simone doing some nice singing, and they get out.

That being said, this makes the album very accessible. Fans of the genre, especially the female-fronted scene in particular, should check it out because even if it doesn’t usually have the Tuomas Holopainen stylings of Nightwish, the songs are highly listenable. Production and mix are great without being overdone, and the singing and overall musicianship are commendable. While it is a bit of a platypus, there’s something here most people would appreciate, and should give this one an appropriate listen.

Released By: Nuclear Blast Records
Release Date: August 23rd, 2024
Genre: Progressive Metal

Musicians:

• Simone Simons / Vocals
• Arjen Lucassen / Guitars, Keys
• Koen Herfst / Drums
• Rob van der Loo / Bass
• Mark Jansen / Growls on “The Core” and “R.E.D.”
• Alissa White-Gluz / Vocals on “Cradle to the Grave”
• Joost van den Broek / Piano on “Dark Night of the Soul”
• Perttu Kivilaakso / Cello on “Dark Night of the Soul”
• John Jaycee Cuijpers / Backing vocals on “Aeterna”
• Ben Mathot / Violin on “Aeterna” and “Fight or Flight”
• Jurriaan Westerveld / Cello on “In Love We Rust”, “Cradle to the Grave”, and “Vermillion Dreams”

“Vermillion” Track List:

1. Aeterna
2. In Love We Rust
3. Cradle To The Grave (feat. Alissa White-Gluz)
4. Fight or Flight
5. Weight of My World
6. Vermillion Dreams
7. The Core
8. Dystopia
9. R.E.D.
10. Dark Night Of The Soul

Order “Vermillion” HERE