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About

Released : 2 May 2014 (Europe), 5 May 2014 (UK), 6 May 2014 (North America)
Labels : Nuclear Blast, Scarecrow Records (Mexico), Magnum Music (Taiwan), Avalon (Japan), Love Da Records (Hong Kong)
Producers : Joost van den Broek, Epica
Recorded : Between August 2013 and March 2014 at Sandlane Recording Facilities, Rijen, The Netherlands
Mixed : By Jacob Hansen at Hansen Studios, Ribe, Denmark in January 2014

Promo shoots

Promo Shoot by Stefan Schipper

Promo Shoot by Tim Tronckoe

Versions

Album

01. Originem
02. The Second Stone
03. The Essence of Silence
04. Victims of Contingency
05. Sense without Sanity (The Impervious Code)
06. Unchain Utopia
07. The Fifth Guardian (Interlude)
08. Chemical Insomnia
09. Reverence (Living in the Heart)
10. Omen (The Ghoulish Malady)
11. Canvas of Life
12. Natural Corruption
13. The Quantum Enigma (Kingdom of Heaven, Part II)

Digital edition

Japanese and South Korean editions

Mexican edition

Digipack 2CD

Also exist as a bundle including the digipack, TQE t-shirt, band magnet, Epica lanyard & laminate

Hong Kong edition digipack 2CD

Same tracklist, jewelcase with fold-out poster in the middle

Mexican edition digipack 2CD

Earbook 3CD

CD 1
01. Originem
02. The Second Stone
03. The Essence of Silence
04. Victims of Contingency
05. Sense without Sanity (The Impervious Code)
06. Unchain Utopia
07. The Fifth Guardian (Interlude)
08. Chemical Insomnia
09. Reverence (Living in the Heart)
10. Omen (The Ghoulish Malady)
11. Canvas of Life
12. Natural Corruption
13. The Quantum Enigma (Kingdom of Heaven, Part II)
14. Dreamscape
CD 2
01. Canvas of Life (Acoustic)
02. In All Conscience (Acoustic)
03. Dreamscape (Acoustic)
04. Natural Corruption (Acoustic)
CD 3
01. Originem (Instrumental)
02. The Second Stone (Instrumental)
03. The Essence of Silence (Instrumental)
04. Victims of Contingency (Instrumental)
05. Sense without Sanity (The Impervious Code) (Instrumental)
06. Unchain Utopia (Instrumental)
07. The Fifth Guardian (Interlude) (Instrumental)
08. Chemical Insomnia (Instrumental)
09. Reverence (Living in the Heart) (Instrumental)
10. Omen (The Ghoulish Malady) (Instrumental)
11. Canvas of Life (Instrumental)
12. Natural Corruption (Instrumental)
13. The Quantum Enigma (Kingdom of Heaven, Part II) (Instrumental)

Also exist as a bundle including the earbook, TQE t-shirt, Quantum Skull t-shirt, Quantum Baby t-shirt, TQE flag, band magnet, Epica lanyard & laminate, TQE guitar pick

Earbook 3CD limited edition

Same tracklist
Housed in a faux leather sleeve, limited to 750 copies, Nuclear Blast mailorder exclusive

2LP

Vinyl 1 Side A
01. Originem
02. The Second Stone
03. The Essence of Silence
04. Victims of Contingency
Vinyl 1 Side B
05. Sense without Sanity (The Impervious Code)
06. Unchain Utopia
07. The Fifth Guardian (Interlude)
08. Chemical Insomnia
Vinyl 2 Side A
01. Reverence (Living in the Heart)
02. Omen (The Ghoulish Malady)
03. Canvas of Life
Vinyl 2 Side B
04. Natural Corruption
05. The Quantum Enigma (Kingdom of Heaven, Part II)
06. Memento

Black
Gold : Limited to 100 copies, exclusively available through Napalm Records mailorder
White : Limited to 100 hand-numbered copies, exclusively available through Nuclear Blast mailorder for Bronze Status customers
Red : Limited to 200 copies, exclusively available through EMP mailorder
Dark Green : Limited to 275 hand-numbered copies, exclusively available through Nuclear Blast mailorder
Clear : Limited to 300 hand-numbered copies, exclusively available through Nuclear Blast mailorder
Silver : Limited to 300 copies, exclusively available through Epica webshop mailorder (exist as a bundle including the silver vinyl, TQE t-shirt, band magnet, logo tote bag, Epica lanyard & laminate)

Trivia

Vincent (Simone’s son) was on almost all the vocal recordings and in the studio with the band, because Simone was still breastfeeding.

Unchain Utopia is one of Simone’s favourite songs from this album.

“Quantum Enigma comes from quantum physics and the observation of particles that take completely different shapes when we’re looking at them and when we’re not – and this basically means that through our observations we are changing reality. The new album explores how everyone’s reality is different. This is something that Mark in particular has been writing about this since Design Your Universe… it’s a philosophical and spiritual idea and one of the lyrical inspirations and for this record we wanted to explore it a little as a mini-concept.” – Simone Simons

“[Stefan Heilemann, who did the cover for the album] is a true genius. We have worked with him on a couple of records and know that he understands us and if you give him total freedom he gives you amazing results. We described what we thought Quantum Enigma stands for and he basically came up with what you see. Normally, it takes a while before all band members like it but with this cover we were almost immediately like “wow…that’s amazing”. The Buddha is the symbol for spirituality. We have the mountain and the eye – the eye is the symbol for observation but it’s only on the top of the mountain but it doesn’t see everything like, what we see – isn’t everything. There is also wind, water and fire which stand for nature and existence. The DNA and the boats which are looking into the deep and stands for our search and how the sea is full of mysteries like life itself. The copper is actually the centre part of a bigger image that unfolds into a bigger picture in the booklet. Again, it’s the idea that not all that we see is everything… is reality.” – Simone Simons