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Album Reviews : Copia – Epoch

By on February 28, 2017

Copia - EpochIt seems to be a common occurrence these days for bands to alter their sound, whether it be a different feel for each album, or even delving into new genres. More often than not when this occurs, bands will opt for the softer direction – in the case of Australian progressive metal band Copia; they’ve done the exact opposite.

After releasing their debut album ‘Eleven:Eleven’ in 2013, Copia have followed it up with a clearly heavier effort in ‘Epoch’, which is due to drop on the 31st of March. From the opening track ‘Broken Bones’, there are obvious signs of this new direction which begin with the growling vocals in the first verse.

Copia has previously shown that they are capable of mixing melody into their songs, and although it is still the case with this album, melody definitely takes a back seat in this instance. The riffs are full of energy, and really get your blood pumping, but the most impressive part would be the incorporations of different elements within each song – which was shown on their previous album also.

Now choosing to shy away from their ‘progressive metal’ tag, Copia have moved closer toward the hardcore/metalcore scene and most of their songs include a sound which can only be described with my most hated word in music – Djent.

Due to this new move, not only does Copia move into the metalcore realm which sees them sounding eerily similar to many other metalcore bands. It also takes away the individuality from each song, and after a while a lot of the riffs start to sound repetitive.

In saying that, Copia do still show their talents when it comes to song writing, especially within the lyricism. The title track ‘Epoch’, is a minute long spoken word track which is quite thought provoking and provides a background to overall meaning of this album.

The melody that fans will be craving for can still be found in tracks like ‘Karma’, and ‘Disconnected’, but the cleans vocals are overtaken by the growls in the verses which can seem a little out of place at times.

Eventually we hit the 8th track ‘Never Forget’, a real highlight of this album in my opinion with a chanty chorus that without a doubt will have its place in live shows. This song shows the best use of growls within the album, and is proof that Copia can blend the heavy style with melody perfectly well.

‘Watching’ is the 11th and final track on the album, and closes out in great fashion. Throughout this album although the djent riffs can become tiresome, Copia still manage to blend in softer melodies which is a great relief from intensity. It doesn’t always come off perfectly, and some songs could have worked a lot better with clean singing as the anchor, with growls guiding them along as opposed to other way around.

This album is by no means a winner for me, but I definitely see sparks of greatness here and there. Copia has already shown they are mature song writers, and have the talent to back it up. Regardless of what direction they choose to go in, the Melbourne based band will undeniably be a force to be reckoned with in the future. ‘Epoch’ still has some hidden gems, and if you’re a fan of any metalcore band ever, then you’re going to like this album anyway.

Band: Copia
Album: Epoch
Year: 2017
Genre: Metalcore
Label: Independent
Origin: Australia