✦✦✧✧ Exactly what you’d expect: Gothenberg-ish metal with an operatic female vocalist that hits all the checkboxes, yet still fails to effectively inspire.

★★☆☆ I’ll be the first to admit that symphonic metal isn’t exactly my cup of tea. But this album fuses the typical orchestral bombast with a speed and heaviness that is as effective as the former is saccharine. Epica get props for doing something a bit more compelling than your usual fare… but good lord, is “The Quantum Enigma” overlong.