Design Your Universe is the fourth full-length studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Epica, released on 16 October 2009. It was the first album to feature officially new band members Isaac Delahaye on guitar and Ariën van Weesenbeek on drums.
A Gold Edition re-release of the album was released on 4 October 2019.
The band entered Gate Studio in Wolfsburg, Germany on 2 March 2009 to start recording the album with usual collaborators Sascha Paeth, Amanda Somerville and Michael 'Miro' Rodenberg.
The band's previous album, The Divine Conspiracy, was dealing with the idea that God created many religions and that it was to man to understand that they are all the same, and this album will be dealing with the power of thoughts and imaginations, as Mark Jansen stated:
The album title, Design Your Universe, deals with new breakthroughs in quantum physics. It proves that we are all connected to each other on subatomic level. Also, it shows that we can create or at least influence matter with our thoughts… a very interesting fact. Because it changes everything for us, our whole worldview collapses once you accept these facts and integrate them in your lives. So this had to become the new album title.
Three songs of this album continue the A New Age Dawns saga, which started on the album Consign to Oblivion of 2005.
Sonata Arctica frontman Tony Kakko announced in an interview with La Grosse Radio.com that he would duet with Simone Simons on the album. His vocals for the song "White Waters" were recorded in Finland and later mixed with the other sound tracks.
The song "Resign to Surrender" was published on the MySpace website of the record label Nuclear Blast on 23 September 2009. and the video for "Unleashed" premiered on the band's MySpace site on 25 September 2009.
The bonus track "Incentive" is one of the very few Epica songs to not feature Simone Simons in any capacity.
After the release of Design Your Universe, Epica set out on a World Tour to support the album. They did a CD release party at The Paradiso in Amsterdam. They performed at some summer festival concerts in the summer of 2010 and returned to the United States and Canada in late fall 2010. Several dates in Europe, specially in the Netherlands, were sold out. The band also did a South American Tour, performing in Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Uruguay. They played also in many important rock and metal festivals in Europe, such as Wacken Open Air, Pinkpop and Masters of Rock, in front of very large audiences.
Track list:
- Samadhi (Prelude) 01:27
- Resign to Surrender (A New Age Dawns - Part IV) 06:19
- Unleashed 05:48
- Martyr of the Free Word 05:03
- Our Destiny 06:00
- Kingdom of Heaven (A New Age Dawns - Part V) 13:35
- The Price of Freedom (Interlude) 01:14
- Burn to a Cinder 05:41
- Tides of Time 05:34
- Deconstruct 04:14
- Semblance of Liberty 05:42
- White Waters 04:44
- Design Your Universe (A New Age Dawns - Part VI) 09:29
Total time: 01:14:50
Recording information:
Recorded at the Gate Studio in Wolfsburg, Germany between March 2009 and May 2009.
Mixed at the Gate Studio & the Pathway Studio in Wolfsburg, Germany, June-July 2009.
Mastered at the Gate Studio in Wolfsburg, Germany, July 2009.
Bass guitars recorded at the Huts Studio in Antwerp, Belgium.
Grand piano recorded at E-Sound Studio's in Weesp, the Netherlands.
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