Welcome to EPICA. Dutch symphonic metal band formed in 2002 by guitarist ,and harsh vocalist, Mark Jansen, after parting ways with his former band After Forever. Lead singer is Simone Simons, she was 17 in 2002, and switched to this style of singing in training, from pop, after hearing Nightwish with their original lead singer Tarja Turunen. The contrasting vocal style, between Mark and Simone, is sometimes referred to as Beauty and the Beast. Mark had co-founded After Forever, whish was the first band Floor Jansen (current Nightwish) joined at age 16. Mark and Floor are not related. Coen Janssen on keyboards is the other original member. Current lineup also includes Isaac Delahaye on guitar, Arien van Weesenbeek on drums, and bassist Rob van der Loo. The band was originally called Sahara Dust, and renamed the band after the 2003 Kamelot album. This is one of their heavier songs in a catalog that includes 8 studio albums and several EP's. Title track to the 2nd album from 2005. As you see, they are great live. For more from them, try The Skelton Key and Kingdom of Heaven part 3 from the 2021 Omega Alive Virtual show, Design Your Universe (Retrospect 10th anniversary), or Code of Life and the ballad Rivers featuring Apocalyptica at AFAS The Netherlands 2023.
Hi Kev, here is a song from a concert earlier this year in Amsterdam, one of their older songs but a fantastic new performance 🙃 EPICA - Unleashed (Live At The AFAS Live)
Hi Kev, you just discovered one of the greatest bands in the world, EPICA are a Symphonic Metal band from the Netherlands (Dutch), they have been around for 20 years, 8 studio albums, many EPs and other projects, their music spans a very wide range of metal and non-metal styles, from breathtakingly beautiful to extremely heavy and every style in between, I hope you dig deeper into their music, you won't be disappointed 🙃
Welcome to the world of Epica! This song is impressive. Heavy, melodic, good transitions… a great introduction to what the band offers. Try kingdom of heaven or victims of contingency from omega alive next. 🔥 More transitions and influences of melodic death and black metal… This show is a masterpiece of metal.
Weirdly, Epica took their name from the Sixth Album of the band Kamelot, a USA symphonic metal band from Tampa Florida. Their keyboard player, Oliver Palotai, is the lead singer of Epica, Simone Simons' husband.
So you had never heard Nightwish, Ayreon and now Epica? How about Avantasia, Blind Guardian, Poets of the Fall, ? Your in for an amazing Journey down the European rabbit hole.
This group has a lot of varied material, from quite heavy to soft and lyrical. I would recommend watching one of their best ballads, which starts with acoustics and goes into full swing. Concert with full orchestra on stage: Epica - chasing the dragon (live retrospect)
Hey man, Welcome to EPICA. Best symhonic metal band you will find. I suggest the following, especially if you enjoy a full orchestra: • “Unleashed” from Retrospect live Keep them coming!! Cheers,
Great to get started with Epica! I recommend one of their proggier tracks next, "The Skeleton Key", preferably from their "Omega Alive" concert. "Omega Alive" was their pandemic project, a concert without an audience, performed in studio with a full stage show. Therefore, although the video might look like a music video, it actually a live performance, the audio is from the performance that you see.
After just watching your recent introduction to Nightwish, I have to send you a big welcome to the world of Symphonic Metal! I am also from America and got really tired of catching all of that fake Autotuned nonsense that we have to endure in this country - there is such amazing music elsewhere in the world - enjoy!!
Great that you loved it! Funfact: Floor Jansen (leadsinger Nightwish) used to be in band called After Forever with Mark Jansen (grunter from Epica, not related) and Joost van den Broek (who plays keyboard in Ayreon and is manager for Ayreon). Floor Jansen and Simone Simons have been in Ayreon album since they started their carreers. For a next reaction you could do Epica ft. Floor Jansen - Sancta Terra (Live Retrospect show). To combine both worlds. Or Ayreon - Isis and Osiris . Otherwise other regular artists on Ayreon albums could be recommended: Blind Guardian - The Bard's Song (live) , Nightwish - Poet and the Pendelum (live), Avantasia - The Scarecrow (live).
Hi Kev, singer Simone of Epica and Floor Jansen are friends. They had two performances together. Watch Floor and Simone in Stabat Mater and Sancta Terra. You will like it. And of course you still have to continue your nightwish journey of discovery. Start with Dark Chest of Wonder (Wacken 2013). My favorite about Floor is the song Disdain from her previous band Revamp (Graspop 2010). And if you come to the Netherlands, just let me know and I will take you to my favorite football club Sparta Rotterdam😀
Welcome to EPICA. Dutch symphonic metal band formed in 2002 by guitarist ,and harsh vocalist, Mark Jansen, after parting ways with his former band After Forever. Lead singer is Simone Simons, she was 17 in 2002, and switched to this style of singing in training, from pop, after hearing Nightwish with their original lead singer Tarja Turunen. The contrasting vocal style, between Mark and Simone, is sometimes referred to as Beauty and the Beast. Mark had co-founded After Forever, whish was the first band Floor Jansen (current Nightwish) joined at age 16. Mark and Floor are not related. Coen Janssen on keyboards is the other original member. Current lineup also includes Isaac Delahaye on guitar, Arien van Weesenbeek on drums, and bassist Rob van der Loo. The band was originally called Sahara Dust, and renamed the band after the 2003 Kamelot album.
This is one of their heavier songs in a catalog that includes 8 studio albums and several EP's. Title track to the 2nd album from 2005. As you see, they are great live. For more from them, try The Skelton Key and Kingdom of Heaven part 3 from the 2021 Omega Alive Virtual show, Design Your Universe (Retrospect 10th anniversary), or Code of Life and the ballad Rivers featuring Apocalyptica at AFAS The Netherlands 2023.
Thanks for the suggestions 😀
Hi Kev, here is a song from a concert earlier this year in Amsterdam,
one of their older songs but a fantastic new performance 🙃
EPICA - Unleashed (Live At The AFAS Live)
Thanks for the suggestion!
Hi Kev, you just discovered one of the greatest bands in the world, EPICA are a Symphonic Metal band from the Netherlands (Dutch), they have been around for 20 years, 8 studio albums, many EPs and other projects, their music spans a very wide range of metal and non-metal styles, from breathtakingly beautiful to extremely heavy and every style in between, I hope you dig deeper into their music, you won't be disappointed 🙃
The singer Simone came with 17years to Epica and is now 43years old and is one of the best sopranos in Metall 🤘
Welcome to the world of Epica! This song is impressive. Heavy, melodic, good transitions… a great introduction to what the band offers.
Try kingdom of heaven or victims of contingency from omega alive next. 🔥 More transitions and influences of melodic death and black metal… This show is a masterpiece of metal.
Weirdly, Epica took their name from the Sixth Album of the band Kamelot, a USA symphonic metal band from Tampa Florida. Their keyboard player, Oliver Palotai, is the lead singer of Epica, Simone Simons' husband.
So you had never heard Nightwish, Ayreon and now Epica? How about Avantasia, Blind Guardian, Poets of the Fall, ?
Your in for an amazing Journey down the European rabbit hole.
This group has a lot of varied material, from quite heavy to soft and lyrical. I would recommend watching one of their best ballads, which starts with acoustics and goes into full swing. Concert with full orchestra on stage:
Epica - chasing the dragon (live retrospect)
Thanks for the suggestion 😀
Hey man, Welcome to EPICA. Best symhonic metal band you will find. I suggest the following, especially if you enjoy a full orchestra:
• “Unleashed” from Retrospect live
Keep them coming!!
Cheers,
I'll check it out!
Thanks
Great to get started with Epica! I recommend one of their proggier tracks next, "The Skeleton Key", preferably from their "Omega Alive" concert. "Omega Alive" was their pandemic project, a concert without an audience, performed in studio with a full stage show. Therefore, although the video might look like a music video, it actually a live performance, the audio is from the performance that you see.
Thanks for the suggestions 😀
After just watching your recent introduction to Nightwish, I have to send you a big welcome to the world of Symphonic Metal! I am also from America and got really tired of catching all of that fake Autotuned nonsense that we have to endure in this country - there is such amazing music elsewhere in the world - enjoy!!
Great that you loved it! Funfact: Floor Jansen (leadsinger Nightwish) used to be in band called After Forever with Mark Jansen (grunter from Epica, not related) and Joost van den Broek (who plays keyboard in Ayreon and is manager for Ayreon). Floor Jansen and Simone Simons have been in Ayreon album since they started their carreers. For a next reaction you could do Epica ft. Floor Jansen - Sancta Terra (Live Retrospect show). To combine both worlds. Or Ayreon - Isis and Osiris . Otherwise other regular artists on Ayreon albums could be recommended: Blind Guardian - The Bard's Song (live) , Nightwish - Poet and the Pendelum (live), Avantasia - The Scarecrow (live).
Thanks for the suggestions 😀
Hi Kev, singer Simone of Epica and Floor Jansen are friends. They had two performances together. Watch Floor and Simone in Stabat Mater and Sancta Terra. You will like it. And of course you still have to continue your nightwish journey of discovery. Start with Dark Chest of Wonder (Wacken 2013). My favorite about Floor is the song Disdain from her previous band Revamp (Graspop 2010). And if you come to the Netherlands, just let me know and I will take you to my favorite football club Sparta Rotterdam😀
Hey Piet, i concur 🤘🔥🇳🇱🤘
sancta terra ..epica ft Floor next please..fire
I concur! 🤘🔥🤘