Coen Janssen

Epica is a Dutch symphonic metal band, founded by guitarist and vocalist Mark Jansen after his departure from After Forever.

Formed as a symphonic metal band with gothic tendencies, later Epica have incorporated into their sound strong death metal influences. Starting from the third album, progressive metal influences have also become evident. In addition, the band often uses thrash metal and groove metal riffs, black metal passages (mostly in the drum technique), power metal moments and references to Arabic music. Some songs also have electronic shades, djent transitions and folk metal melodies derived from Middle Eastern, Chinese and Celtic traditions. Epica is also known for the attention to the vocal lines that, in contrast to the heavy context, weave very catchy, easy to hold, sophisticated and emotional melodies. The use of mezzo-soprano vocals and growled vocals, performed by Simone Simons and Mark Jansen respectively, is fundamental to the band's sound. They primarily write their own lyrics, which often deal with philosophical, psychological, spiritual, moral, scientific, environmental, socio-political, global and topical and personal themes. Epica is also known for their wide use of orchestra and opera choirs.

In 2003, Epica's debut album '' The Phantom Agony'' was released through Transmission Records. '' Consign to Oblivion'' followed in 2005, and debuted at No. 12 in the Dutch charts. They moved labels to Nuclear Blast following Transmission's bankruptcy, and in 2007, released their third studio album '' The Divine Conspiracy'', which charted at No. 9 in the Netherlands. 2009's '' Design Your Universe'' was met with yet greater success, debuting at No. 8 in the Dutch Albums Chart, and charting across Europe, also garnering much critical acclaim. Epica's fifth studio album '' Requiem for the Indifferent'' was released in 2012. Well received by critics, it achieved international success, entering the US's ''Billboard'' 200 at No. 104, and Japan's Oricon Albums Chart at No. 172.

At the beginning of May 2014 the band released their sixth album, ''The Quantum Enigma'', which was a huge international success, debuting on No. 110 on US Billboard 200 and peaking at No. 4 in Epica's homeland Netherlands. In June 2015 Epica was awarded the Music Export Awards, which is given to the Dutch act with the most international success in the past year. Their seventh album, ''The Holographic Principle'', was released in September 2016 to continued international success, equalling the peak chart position set by its predecessor in the Netherlands. The band released their eighth album, '' Omega'', in February 2021.

History

''Cry for the Moon'' (2002)

In early 2002, at only 22 years old, Mark Jansen left After Forever over creative differences. He then began looking for musicians who would work towards a more classical/symphonic type of music project; this was initially named Sahara Dust. In late 2002, the band courted Helena Iren Michaelsen (from Trail of Tears) as its frontwoman, but shortly after she was replaced by the then unknown Simone Simons, who was Jansen's girlfriend at the time. The band's line-up was completed by guitarist Ad Sluijter, drummer Jeroen Simons, bassist Yves Huts, and keyboard player Coen Janssen. The name was later changed to Epica, inspired by Kamelot's album of the same name.

Epica then assembled a choir (made up of two men and four women) and a string orchestra (three violins, two violas, two cellos and an upright bass) to play along with them. Still under the name ''Sahara Dust'', they produced a two-song demo entitled ''Cry for the Moon'' in 2002. As a result, they were signed to Transmission Records.

''The Phantom Agony'' (2002–2004)

'' The Phantom Agony'' is the first full-length studio album by Epica. It is the first album recorded by guitarist Mark Jansen after his departure from the band After Forever. The album was produced by Sascha Paeth (known for having produced bands such as Angra, Rhapsody of Fire and Kamelot) and released in June 2003. This album, Mark Jansen continues with the collection of songs that make up "The Embrace That Smothers". The first three parts can be found on ''Prison of Desire'' (2000), After Forever's debut album, and the following three parts can be found on '' The Divine Conspiracy'' (2007), Epica's third album. These songs deal with the dangers of organized religion. The song "Façade of Reality" on the album was written about the September 11 attacks and includes fragments from speeches by Tony Blair.

The album was followed by three singles: “The Phantom Agony”, “Feint” and “Cry for the Moon”.

''Consign to Oblivion/The Score – An Epic Journey'' (2004–2006)

Their second release, entitled '' Consign to Oblivion'', was influenced by the culture of the Maya civilization, which can be noticed on songs in the "A New Age Dawns" series. "A New Age Dawns" refers to the time system of the Mayan people, which extends up to 2012, and makes no reference of what may happen past said year. ''Consign to Oblivion'' was composed with film scores as a basis, with Hans Zimmer and Danny Elfman cited as major inspirations. The album features guest singing by Roy Khan (from Kamelot) on the song "Trois Vierges". Epica also joined Kamelot as a support band on parts of their tour for promotion of '' The Black Halo'' album, to which Simons had contributed her vocals on the track "The Haunting (Somewhere in Time)".
Two singles were released from the album, "Solitary Ground" and " Quietus".

Epica's non-metal album ''The Score – An Epic Journey'' was released in September 2005 and is the soundtrack for a Dutch movie called '' Joyride'', though it could also be considered to be their third album. Mark Jansen describes the album as typical Epica, "only without the singing, without the guitars, no bass and no drums".

In 2005 and 2006 Epica went on their first tour throughout North America with Kamelot. After the tour, drummer Jeroen Simons left the band because of his wish to pursue other musical interests. In Fall 2006, Simone once again contributed vocals to an album of Kamelot, this time on the tracks "Blücher" and "Season's End" on the album ''Ghost Opera''. In December, Ariën van Weesenbeek from God Dethroned was announced via Epica's official website as the guest drummer for their new album, but not as a permanent band member.

''The Divine Conspiracy''/''The Classical Conspiracy'' (2006-2009)

In September 2007, Epica headlined their first tour through North America and released their third album, '' The Divine Conspiracy'', this time on a new label, Nuclear Blast. That December, Ariën van Weesenbeek was announced to be Epica's permanent new drummer. The band toured North America again in April 2008 with Into Eternity and Symphony X, this time with Amanda Somerville because Simone had contracted a staph infection ( MRSA). It was released on September 7, 2007 through Nuclear Blast in Europe. The concept that guides the songs is that God created many different religions for humanity to figure out and overcome them so as to discover that, in nature and essence, they were all in fact the same one (hence the name, "The Divine Conspiracy"). Aside from the concept of such a conspiracy, ''The Divine Conspiracy'' finalizes The Embrace That Smothers, which began in After Forever's ''Prison of Desire'' (Prologue and parts I-III) and continued in Epica's '' The Phantom Agony'' (parts IV-VI). In short, The Embrace That Smothers is a collection of 10 songs (Prologue and parts I-IX), which talks about the dangers of organized religion.

The first single from the album was released on August 10, 2007 entitled " Never Enough", accompanied by a music video and the second single, "Chasing the Dragon," was released in 2008 without an accompanying video.

On December 16, 2008, Ad Sluijter left the band. He left a message on his Myspace page with his reasoning for leaving the band, which included frustration over being unable to enjoy composing music because of deadlines. Ad's successor on guitar was announced in January 2009 to be Isaac Delahaye, who was a member of God Dethroned.

Also in 2008, Epica recorded '' The Classical Conspiracy'', their first live album. The live show took place in Miskolc, Hungary on June 14, 2008, in the framework of the Miskolc Opera Festival (where Therion did a similar show a year before). It included a 40-piece orchestra and a 30-piece choir, and the setlist contained not only the band's songs but also covers of classical pieces of Antonio Vivaldi, Antonín Dvořák, Giuseppe Verdi, Edvard Grieg, and of soundtracks of the movies Star Wars, Spider-Man and Pirates of the Caribbean. It was released on May 8, 2009 through Nuclear Blast Records.

''Design Your Universe'' (2008-2010)

On March 4, 2009, Epica announced their return to the studio where they would begin the recording process for a new album. In April 2009, it was revealed that the new album's title would be '' Design Your Universe''. It continued the A New Age Dawns saga which started on Consign to Oblivion. The album was released on October 16, 2009. To promote this release, they performed in Amsterdam at Paradiso on October 10, 2009. This is the first Epica album to feature Isaac Delahaye. The record also contains a guest appearance from Sonata Arctica vocalist Tony Kakko on the song "White Waters". Reception has been positive from both critics and fans. The album debuted in No. 8 in the Dutch charts, being the highest position an Epica album has reached. The album remained on the chart for five weeks and re-entered in No. 94 for one week due to the band's performance at the 2010 Pinkpop Festival. On December 31, 2009, it was announced through their website that a new single will be released. The song is called "This Is the Time" and all profit will go to World Wide Fund for Nature. After the release of Design Your Universe, Epica set out on a World Tour to support the album. They did a CD release party at The Paradiso in Amsterdam. They performed at some summer festival concerts in the summer of 2010 and returned to the United States and Canada in late fall 2010. Several dates in Europe, especially in the Netherlands, were sold out. The band also did a South American Tour, performing in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Uruguay. They played also in many important rock and metal festivals in Europe, such as Wacken Open Air, Pinkpop and Masters of Rock, in front of very large audiences.

''Requiem for the Indifferent'' and ''Retrospect'' (2011–2013)

In an interview in November 2010, Simone stated that the band was going to start writing music around February 2011 after their Latin American tour is over. She also stated that they were hoping for a release in the first quarter of 2012. 14 tracks were written without lyrics by May 2011. The band entered the studio later that year, with Sascha Paeth once again as the producer.

On December 1, the band announced that the name of the album would be '' Requiem for the Indifferent'', and would be inspired by such factors as the enormous tension between different religions and cultures, wars, natural disasters and the financial crisis. The album was released on March 9, 2012 in Europe, and on March 13, 2012 in the United States. On March 25, 2012, Epica announced on their website that original bassist Yves Huts and Epica had parted ways, to be replaced by Rob van der Loo (ex- Delain, MaYaN). On April 24, the music video of ''Storm the Sorrow'' was officially released, earning 128,000 views on YouTube on the release day. General response to ''Requiem for the Indifferent'' was positive. AllMusic stated that the album "is a typically elaborate and ambitious affair, incorporating copious amounts of choral work and classical arrangements into the band's neatly established blend of goth, progressive, power, and symphonic metal." Natalie Zed of About.com staff considered ''Requiem for the Indifferent'' "a transitional album for the band", which tries to expand their musical range experimenting with "weird" riffing and new combination of vocals, while "losing none of the richness that has gained them fans."

On 16 September 2012, the band made a guest appearance on the Dutch TV show ''Niks te gek'' (translation: "Nothing stoo crazy"), where mentally disabled people (18 years or older) can get their wishes granted. In the episode, they recorded, together with the autistic Ruurd Woltring, one of his own compositions, "Forevermore". The single was released through Nuclear Blast on 25 September 2012.

The band announced on their official website that on March 23, 2013, they would celebrate the 10th anniversary of Epica in Eindhoven

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