Album: Epic Soul Factory - Xpansion Edition

Epic Soul Factory is a band that I've been aware of for a while now, but who I was never terribly impressed by (though I certainly didn't think they were bad). Their section album, Xpansion Edition, which was uploaded to Jamendo in January of this year, changes all of that. This album is an ambient, orchestral, soundtrack for everything from quiet nights to the most epic of video-game battles. It's a real suite, and well worth listening to.


The first track, The Lost World, is very derivative, and immediately evokes every "cruising over the English or Irish countryside in a helicopter" travel scenes in a film. You could imagine a train chugging along, below the camera while flocks of birds rose from a lake in the distance. It may not be terribly original, but it's perfectly done, and definitely sets the mood for the album.

The fourth track, March to Glory, is the quiet before the storm that erupts into what could be a battle or the deployment of an armada. Again, a very evocative piece that one could imagine in a dozen movies.

Immediately next, Tokyo Lights really stuck my fancy. Given the title, I expected something that was stereotypically Japanese, but instead it's a bit of pop nestled inside a pleasant backdrop of upbeat ambient. I could listen to this while walking to work or reading and enjoy it thoroughly.

The eighth track, Night Hunter, brings in guest guitarist, PeerGynt Lobogris, another Jamendo regular whose work is definitely worth checking out on its own merits. The hard-rocking element to this piece that bears a very, very slight resemblance to Tubular Bells is definitely ideal backdrop for a video game clip perhaps while driving. A very nice piece of work, and a perfect blend of two of Free Music's best acts.

There are quite a few more tracks, all worth checking out. I recommend, however, that you skip the last track, and instead watch its YouTube video first, as it's a trailer for the album: