Simone Simons - Vermillion (LP) - Clear Vinyl

Released 23 August 2024 through Nuclear Blast, Vermillion is the moment Simone Simons finally steps out under her own name and it feels both inevitable and freshly lit. After two decades fronting Epica, she carries the symphonic heft and theatrical flair you’d expect, but the record plays with a different kind of intimacy. Credit that to the tight partnership with Arjen Lucassen, the Dutch prog wizard best known for Ayreon. He co-wrote and produced the album, and you can hear his fingerprints in the layered guitars, vintage synth colours and that widescreen sense of story. It is still very much Simone’s show. The record is built around her voice, which moves from satin to steel with the sort of control that only comes from years on big stages.

Aeterna was the first taste and it set the tone. The track opens like a small opera, Latin choral lines circling against strings and a driving rhythm before Simone lifts off. It is grand, but there is a lightness in the way the chorus lands, a reminder that she can do drama without bloat. If you know her discography you’ll hear a bridge between Epica’s symphonic charge and Lucassen’s space‑prog instincts, yet Vermillion narrows the focus to melody. The hook sits in your head for days. There is also a little thrill in hearing Simone deliver those Latin phrases with such clarity, something she has always done well but here takes centre stage.

In Love We Rust pulls the camera in closer. It rides a patient groove and a synth pulse, and Simone leans into a lyric about impermanence with a gentle ache that suits her lower range. The production leaves air around her phrasing so small harmonies can catch the light. It is one of those songs that would kill in a dark theatre, everyone holding their breath until the last note fades. This is where Vermillion finds its own lane. Instead of stacking every bar with orchestra and choir, the record often strips back to let the vocal do the heavy lifting, then surges when it needs to.

Lucassen knows how to stage a voice, and he gives Simone room to move. Guitars bite without crowding. Keys shimmer and then recede. The rhythm section keeps things honest, more rock than metal in places, which suits the material. You can tell these songs were written with performance in mind. They feel tactile, like they would translate to a club set just as easily as a festival stage. If you have followed Ayreon at all, you will recognise the love of classic prog textures, but there is no concept‑album sprawl here. Vermillion plays like a suite of self‑contained stories, sequenced with care.

What sells it is Simone’s sense of character. She can turn a single line into a scene, tilt a vowel and change the weather. Even when the arrangements swell, the storytelling stays front and centre. There are nods to cinematic scoring, little choir inflections that glance back at her symphonic metal roots, but she keeps finding the human pulse. That balance is why Vermillion feels like a proper debut rather than a side quest.

On vinyl it should be a treat. The mix breathes, the low end feels warm rather than hyped, and the choruses bloom in a way that rewards a full side uninterrupted. If you have been browsing for Simone Simons vinyl or eyeing off Vermillion vinyl specifically, this one sits nicely next to your Epica spine while declaring its own identity. And if you like to buy Simone Simons records online, keep an eye on the Nuclear Blast store, which has been handling the rollout. For anyone hunting Simone Simons albums on vinyl in the wild, I can already picture it in the new arrivals bin at a Melbourne record store, the sleeve that catches your eye and refuses to be put back.

Vermillion also works as a calling card for listeners who only know Simone from guest spots. It is concise, tuneful and confident, a record that trusts craft over flash. The singles Aeterna and In Love We Rust earned their early buzz because they frame exactly what she does best, but the deep cuts pull their weight too, rounding out a set that begs repeat plays. Not every veteran singer manages a first solo effort that sounds this clear about who they are. Simone does, and she makes it sound easy. If you are building a symphonic and prog corner in your shelf of vinyl records Australia can be proud to stock widely, this is an easy recommendation.