How epic can you be before you become too epic? Up until now, the most epic album I had heard was probably “Tales From Topographic Oceans” by Yes. Four songs approximately 20 minutes each. On vinyl, that means a song per side on a double album. “Shards of Silver Fade” by Midnight Odyssey is basically twice that. So it’s a double “Topographic Oceans.”

It would be a fair statement to say that if you have a short attention span or just don’t have 143 minutes to dedicate to one album, this is probably NOT the album for you. While this album sounds nothing like the aforementioned Yes album, it does have that adventurous spirit required for something as massive as this. Musically if you took the orchestral elements of Wintersun and merged them with the depth of While Heaven Wept, you would have the basic backdrop and core of what makes up Midnight Odyssey.

“Shards of Silver Fade” is a cold and desolate album yet it has a beauty to it thanks to the immense detail that Dis Pater (the lone member of the band) injects into each composition. Songs can go from the very bleak like “From a Frozen Wasteland,” where you realize there is no more humanity left on Earth, to the quite tuneful “Darker Skies Once Radiant,” which is my favorite track on the album and, at 15 plus minutes, is one of the shorter tracks.

Stylistically, Midnight Odyssey merge black metal, doom, symphonic metal, and even ambient music into a style that is very unique. I started by asking how epic is too epic and while “Shards of Silver Fade” is incredibly epic, it never goes too far. Why? Regardless of the length of the song or even the album itself, each of the tracks feel perfect at the length they are. Everything on this album has a purpose. If you can sit still for 2 hours and 20 plus minutes, you will go on an amazing journey with Midnight Odyssey.

Rating: 9/10

Tracklist:
1. From a Frozen Wasteland 21:54
2. Hunter of the Celestial Sea 14:20
3. Son of Phoebus 18:03
4. A Ghost in Gleaming Stars 13:59
5. Asleep Is the Fire 20:26
6. Starlight Oblivion 18:06
7. Darker Skies Once Radiant 15:21
8. Shards of Silver Fade 20:29

Label: I, Voidhanger Records
Bandcamp: i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/shards-of-silver-fade
Band website: www.midnight-odyssey.com