Design Your Universe: Think For & Be Yourself [Lyrical]

Epica’s opus about manifestation and the relationship between individuality & responsibility

Death Growl Philosophy & Melodic Hope

We're finally here! I've been a fan of Dutch symphonic metal band Epica for almost fifteen years now, at first drawn in by their unique sound and later also loving the moral and intellectual substance of their lyrics.

Epica's songs aren't 3-minute ditties about break-ups, but dazzling vistas about topics ranging from the Deep Water Horizon oil spill ('Deep Water Horizon'), to the deadly beauty of drug addiction ('Chasing the Dragon'), to the Holographic Principle ('The Holographic Principle - A Profound Understanding of Reality') and far beyond.

Epica Album Covers & Singer Simone Simons, art by aUra-Traum

Today, though, I'm focusing on 'Design Your Universe ~ A New Age Dawns, Pt. 6'. (Because if a 9 minute and 29 second song isn't enough for you, it also serves as the closing track to a 76 minute series of nine songs spanning four albums over sixteen years.)

I'll admit that I haven't interrogated the meaning of every single song, but I'll still put forward that 'Design Your Universe' is perhaps the most meaningful and useful for growing both as a human being and as a society. It also bears a sharp contrast to another Epica song, 'Stay the Course', which I'll discuss below.

If you're curious about my previous 'Lyrical' articles, I've covered Mono Inc's "The Book of Fire" and Ghost's "Twenties".

Album art for Design Your Universe: Gold Edition (2019)

Manifest It (Be Yourself)

In name and at first glance, this song is about the idea of turning your hopes and dreams into reality through work, positive thinking and perseverance – designing your own universe. It's an idea (often minus the work and perseverance) mirrored by the pseudoscientific 'Law of Attraction' and related to both the Left Hand Path in magical circles and in 'manifesting' as seen on TikTok.

But don't worry, that's far from the whole story:

We're blind and eager Avarice will set us back to blank Those who wager all will have to name a reason If you can't let go, you will end up empty handed If you can't control, you'll live your life in vain

The opening lines establish that we (again, as both individuals and a society) are not in control of our lives; not only are we at the mercy of our animal instincts, but governments and corporations alike are doing everything in their power to control and take advantage of us. Between attacks on education, the ubiquity of TV/social media, celebrity culture and parasocial relationships, how many people in our world actually remember how to think for themselves?

Who decides about my time to come? Who is able to break through the circle of life and doom? Don't look back Keep on track to break the curse Take the chance Design your universe

Be yourself. Think for yourself. Don't get held back from living your life to the fullest. Create the life you want and live it. Stay the Course?

Emphasis By Contrast

(Best Lyric Video I could find! Song starts at 0:25)

What initially sound like identical messages – to forge ahead regardless of what critics say –are actually opposites. 'Stay the Course' refers to George W. Bush's commitment to the War on Terror in Iraq, and heavily implies that he was "bow[ing] and tow[ing] the line" to other interests.

But it's so much broader than that too, applicable anywhere we see zealotry and fanaticism. (I'm now realizing it's probably worth its own article, partially because I don't want to start quoting lyrics from two different songs.) I highly recommend you give it a listen – above or on Spotify etc. – or at least look through the lyrics.

Where 'Stay the Course' demands we follow orders and erase anomalies from our mind, 'Design Your Universe' asks us to heed the critics and learn from the mistakes of the past:

We can't undo what we have done So show us now what we've become Confront us with our viciousness And our weakness We can't evade our destiny So show responsibility For we all surely have a sense Of our consciousness To take for taking's sake Will leave a path of loss and strain And endless breaking of faith can warrant acts of treason ... Who decides about what's true or false? Who is able to sift through the treasures from the flukes?

Simply breaking free of control isn't enough; it's an essential trope of speculative fiction that the hopeful revolutionaries of today so often become the despots and tyrants of tomorrow – as I discussed in my article on K.J. Parker's The Siege trilogy. How can we hope to design our own universe and grow as people if we're not willing to take responsibility for our past?

Epica at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto, 2016. Photo by me!

Words to Live By

The time has come, we have to see That total wisdom is in reach The time has come to color in the lines We must identify the signs So many people are full of hate While love and light are in their reach So many people will harm themselves But life can be so beautiful So many people will idolize While their own success is in their reach Don't forget you're able to Design your own universe

Chills, every single time. Because that's it, you know? That's everything my blog is about, maybe everything media (should be) about. Love, light, beauty, thinking and acting for yourself.

Find your balance, sink into rumination Ipsum te reperies [You will find yourself] Potire mundorum [Become a master of worlds] Potire omnis mundi [Become the master of the whole world]

Epica loves to throw in some Latin verses; I think this is pretty clearly saying that you'll master your own world rather than the one we all live in, but you do you. (Interesting parallels to the endings of The Magician's Land and The Library at Mount Char though – I wonder if those authors meant to evoke themes of enlightenment.)

A New Age Dawns

I love media I can think about and try to learn from, and for my money Epica's music is among the best. I'll probably return to them at some point, whether for a closer look at 'Stay the Course' or something else, but my next Lyrical post will likely go in a slightly different direction.

Thanks for reading, until next time <3