Epicon by Globus (Yoav Goren)

Epicon Composed by Globus (Yoav Goren) Imperativa Records, Ltd. Rating: 6/10   Mighty Rivers Run (344 kb) Prelude (On Earth as in Heaven) (387 kb) La Coronacion (381 kb)

A Musicmorphosis
Review by Christopher Coleman

We live in a strange era of music - an era that continues to blend more and more genres of music together eventually resulting in entirely new ones.  A prime example of this ongoing "musicmorphosis" is the album EPICON by an eclectic group of composers and musicians called, GLOBUS.

For over 15 years, the group's founder, Yoav Goren, under the covering of the company he co-founded, Immediate Music, has written music for movie trailers.  Goren and company have added their evocative sounds to some of the most downloaded trailers on the internet such as: Spiderman 2, X-Men III, The Da Vinci Code, War of the Worlds, and The Lord of the Rings. 

To answer the ever-increasing public demand for their work, Globus was born and their first project EPICON is based on selections from their trailer-music portfolio.  Now, this is no simple copy and paste job.  Many of the selections offered on their premiere CD have been re-arranged and re-orchestrated - adding rock band elements and vocals.  The listener would be remiss to expect EPICON to simply be another UNEARTHED - the mega-popular album released by the duo, E.S. Posthumus, in 2001.  While there are a number of similarities between the two, EPICON, as proclaimed by Yorav Goren, takes film-like music to a new place - something he calls, "cinematic rock."  And indeed, by the conclusion of the CD, "cinematic rock" is proven to be an accurate description. 

EPICON is full of the punchy, powerful, and pleasurable music one might hope for in the best of movie trailers, yet in more tracks than not there are a number of contemporary rock band elements that make the listening experience something else.  And that "something else" may or may not be to the liking of the typical film music fan; however, there may indeed a growing audience for this new sort of music.  Diving into EPICON the listener is treated to a dramatic Orffian fanfare which certainly catch the attention of many film music aficionados.  After several tension building measures of percussion, strings and latin vocals, we are introduced to something unexpected:  drums, bass and guitar.  The track continues to build into an orchestral and rock-anthem crescendo before settling a soft, solo vocal by Lisbeth Scott of The Passion of the Christ, Munich, and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe fame.  Next up is the sometimes-worshipful-sometimes-cryptic, Mighty Rivers Run, featuring a soothing lead vocal performance by Anneke Van Giersbergen.  This quasi-religious mixture continues throughout the majority pieces here, but even in that there is diversity.

Prelude (track 3), was the initial single released from the album and features the vocal talents of British artist Dann P.   The subtitle itself is derived from a segment of "The Lord's Prayer."  Jumping immediately away from the line of being restricted to reliance upon latin chants and or Christian texts, track 4, Spiritus Khayyam, takes on a strong Middle Eastern flavor both vocally and instrumentally...yet the contemporary rhythms and guitars help to provide the track-to-track-consistency.  Other notable tracks in the dramatic, religious vein are Diem Ex Dei (6), Crusaders of Light (9)  Sarabande Suite (Aeternae).

Aside from the passionate, audio-assaulting cues, EPICON features a number of musical respites.  One of the more beautiful interludes comes at track 6, La Coronacion.  Beginning with a two lead acoustic guitars the piece adds strings and then chorus.  The music moves from a romantic serenade to the steadinees and regality of just what the title indicates, a very formal coronation.  All in all, La Coronacion might be the most satisfying track on EPICON, although a strong case could be made for Sarabande Suite.    Orchard of Mines (8) is a chillout cut which again features the sometimes-whiney vocals of Dann P.  Madre Terra (10) is a  Josh-Groban-like-ballad sung by Scott Ciscon.  Porque Te Vas (14), a light, latin piece, concludes the CD in, at best, an awkward manner.  The track simply doesn't fit on this release and begs the question, "Por que?"  For an album packed with such emotion, to end on this quirky note is a mistake which doesn't beg the listener to immediately have another listen.

Now, for those  trying to convince themselves to purchase this CD for "soundtrack-reasons,", here are a few:  vocalist Lisbeth Scott, the Northwest Sinfonia, conducting by Larry Groupe, and orchestrations by Lennie Moore.  That said, It has to be clear that this is not film music, but something else...something not entirely new, but now this "something" has a name, "cinematic rock."  Cleary this CD is not for those who are looking for a purely, orchestral romp through acoustic daffodils and dandilions; however, if E.S. Posthumus or Enigma are your bag, then EPICON will likely have something to offer you.  You might not be thrilled with every track or even tracks in their entirety, but it's likely with successive listens the overall listening experience will become welcomed.   While releasing a fully orchestral, or at least instrumental, album might be judged as more satisfactory for some, the effort to push forward and create something new should be applauded.  If groups like E.S. Posthumus and now GLOBUS are able to crossover, and the general public takes greater notice, then perhaps they will begin to take notice of the music from which efforts like EPICON are built.  Perhaps then they will demand for more of "this film music stuff" to be released.  Movie studios and record labels will have to listen and respond.

Track Listing and Ratings

Track	Track Title	Track Time	Rating
1	Preliator	4:28	****
2	Mighty Rivers Run	4:13	***
3	Prelude (On Earth As In Heaven)	5:25	***
4	Spiritus Khayyam	5:11	***
5	La Coronacion	4:17	*****
6	Europa	4:02	**
7	Diem Ex Dei	6:03	****
8	Orchard of Mines	5:08	***
9	Crusaders of the Light	5:42	****
10	Madre Terra	4:12	***
11	Illumination	5:43	***
12	Take Me Away	4:21	***
13	Sarabande Suite (Aeternae)	7:46	*****
14	Porque Te Vas (Globus Version)	4:06	**
	Total Running Time	70:37