εpsilon

I'm going to get torn apart for this review, I'm aware. This is easily Blood Stain Child's most popular album, and I get why. It's a weeby electronic album first and a melodeath album second, and thus it's quite accessible. There are many things it does well, this is by no means a hit piece on the album. But my god, does its flaws just bug the hell out of me, and I really don't get how anyone (Mainly other metal and/or BSC fans) is fine with them.

Normally, I start with the vocals. Not this time. The production and mixing, which was done by Ettore Rigotti of Disarmonia Mundi, is quite possibly his worst yet. Aside from solos, the guitars are just macerated. Seriously, they not only chug most of the time (Which is by fault of the playing, to be fair), but it's exacerbated by the completely muddy sound they have. The drums don't have any sort of punch to them, and the cymbals sound thinner than a goddamn tambourine. The bass is also nonexistent. I know bass has never really been too apparent in BSC's discography, but there are usually a few moments where I can hear it, where it sounds amazing. There's nothing like that here. While it seems like Ryu and co. tried to strike a nice balance between the melodeath and trance elements, Ettore leans way too far in the direction of the latter, absolutely ruining any chance of the metal side having any weight. There are some great riffs in there, but they're mixed like shit, and they end up sounding horrible because of it. If you've listened to any Disarmonia Mundi record (Save for the first one), you know exactly what I mean. I will say, while the trance/EDM elements sound nice, they just go way overboard. I personally feel that Ryu and Aki should've had a bit of restraint, but then again, if the synths weren't always at the front of the mix, it'd be fine. Also, anything aside from the vocals and keys are at the far back of the mix. If you came here with the hopes of them continuing their sound from any prior albums, you'll be incredibly disappointed. I'd probably deduct at least 30% from the production and mixing alone. It's that horrible.

The other problem that I have with this album is that half of the songs in the tracklist are weak, and they flow into each other in a way to where two songs sound like one long, drawn-out song, and it's draining. Examples include "S.O.P.H.I.A." and "Unlimited Alchemist", as well as "Electricity" (Which isn't a bad song and in fact pulls off the trance style well) and "Eternal". I can only recommend half of the album, and I'll only recommend those five songs. In fact, aside from "Moon Light Wave", the entire back half of this album falls flat on its face. They put the three weakest songs at the end, with "La+" being the sole diamond in the rough over there. The closing track, which is supposed to be one of the best tracks if not the best, is in contention for the album's weakest track next to "Dedicated to Violator" (Their old drummer). I guess they were quite happy to see him go. Seriously, these two shouldn't have even made the cut. If "La+" was the closer and if "Dedicated to Violator" never saw the light of day, I wouldn't be complaining, and I'd probably bump the score up by an easy 10%. Epsilon is even more front-loaded than Idolator's Western release, as well as just every album I've ever listened to. Even then, two of the songs in the front half suck as well. It's just that four of the six good songs are in the first half. "S.O.P.H.I.A.", meanwhile, is simply okay, though if not for Claudio lending his vocals to it, I'd probably never listen to it again, even if it's serviceable.

Now to (finally) move on to the vocals. I actually quite like them. Although I feel that Kiki is more suited to BSC's main sound, Sophia complements the trance sound so well that I'm all for her inclusion here. If anything, I don't think Sadew, Saika, or Kiki would've worked nearly as well as her for it. She also works with Ryo quite well here, who is not only included more, but sounds even better than ever. They both, without a doubt, carry the album for me. Claudio and Ettore are also here too, and Claudio sounds great. As for Ettore... I can't hear him. I don't even know when he sings, so I'm going to guess he does something else here.

When it comes to the songs that work (I'll put them in my recommendations below), they're absolutely fantastic. They not only, for the most part, have better mixing and a better mix of their electronic and melodeath sounds, but they're also just written much better in general. Epsilon is such an inconsistent experience that, when it works well, is quite refreshing. But when it doesn't, and believe me, there's a lot of time when it doesn't, is a fucking trainwreck.

Also, yay, the third version of "Final Sky" is a bonus track. And it's, for some reason, absolutely beloved by fans. I don't get why, it just doesn't flow well at all, and unlike "Peacemaker" from Mozaiq, which at least had the decency to have completely original lyrics, "Royal Sky" has some of Ryo's parts from the original version. Luckily, it's a bonus track, so it won't be affecting the score. I just have to bitch about it because they've redone "Final Sky" *three* times. There are *four* versions of it. Please just let it rest. I'm begging you, Ryu.

Songs To Recommend: "Sirius VI", "Forever Free", "Stargazer", "Electricity", "Moon Light Wave", "La+". I'm iffy about putting "Electricity" and "La+" on here, but the former actually makes the electronic-focused sound work, while the latter does just well enough with the balance of both sounds to justify its place here. The other four songs, meanwhile, are fantastic, and they showcase the best aspects of Epsilon. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that they're some of the best songs in BSC's discography.
Songs to Avoid: The rest of the album, including the bonus tracks (Which aren't affecting the score).

Recently, I've been running out of things to say for each of the albums I review. This time, it's a different story. I'm trying to stay concise here, especially with skirting the line of writing a track-by-track review. I'd love to talk more about the songs I've recommended, as I love them so damn much. Thing is, I can't just talk about all the songs I love from Epsilon and slap a 45% on it. The problem is, I had to talk about everything I hated in this album. Sure, it's no Clayman 2020. Sure, it's no Limp Bizkit. Hell, it's not even as bad as Amaranthe's most recent outputs. But that doesn't make it exempt from criticism, and I have a lot to critique about it. Simply putting my problems with it into words make it sound not as bad as it actually is. Sure, BSC's earlier works may have Bodom written all over that, but I'll take those over Epsilon any day. Hell, I'd rather take Tri-Odyssey over Epsilon. At least the mixing of that is good and it's a consistent experience. I know, I'm sure every other BSC fan wants my head now. I'm fine with that.

The hype surrounding Epsilon, I'm sorry, is bullshit. If you like it, that's fine, but it's BSC's worst work objectively (Save for The Legend, which is a disaster). Subjectively, at least for me, it doesn't fare much better. I haven't listened to Silence of Northern Hells yet, and it beats of The Legend, but is that really saying much? I've seen so many people say that the Saika-era material "lacks the BSC feel that Sophia had", but she was only here for one album out of seven albums + one major EP. The core BSC sound resides more with Ryo and Sadew, as well as, you know, their melodeath sound. I know I sound bitter here, and I am, I'll admit that, but I just hate seeing people who claim to be fans of the band who have not only listened to Epsilon and that's it, but also deem this their core sound. It's their most popular, sure, but it isn't what they've mainly done. And no, I'm not saying they aren't fans of the band. I'm not about to gatekeep. I'd just like for these fans to not make such inaccurate, and frankly, incorrect claims as if it's fact. It's opinion, and that's it. This is the most "KVLT" I'll get, so I guess I'll savor it.

All in all, while I respect everyone's opinions here, this album really isn't nearly as good as you say it is.