Epica performing at the 2015, one of several music festivals to promote The Quantum Enigma. Background information Also known as Sahara Dust (2002) Origin,, Netherlands Genres Years active 2002–present Labels Transmission, Associated acts,, Website Members Coen Janssen Rob van der Loo Past members Yves Huts Jeroen Simons Epica is a Dutch band, founded by guitarist and vocalist after his departure from. Born as a symphonic metal band with tendencies, later Epica have incorporated into their sound strong influences.

Aug 28, 2007. Originally calling themselves Sahara Dust, Holland's Epica formed in early 2003 when After Forever guitarist Mark Jansen decided to break away from the group he had helped found in order to start an operatic metal project all his own. After drafting teenaged mezzo-soprano Simone Simons, guitarist Ad.

Starting from the third album, even attitudes have become evident. In addition, the band often uses and riffs, passages (mostly in the drum technique), moments and references to Arabic music. Some songs also have shades, transitions and 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. In the band's sound the use of female vocals and male growls, performed by and Mark Jansen respectively, is fundamental.

They primarily write their own lyrics, which often deal with philosophical, psychological, spiritual, moral, scientifical, 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 was released through Transmission Records. Followed in 2005, and debuted at No. They moved labels to following Transmission's bankruptcy, and in 2007, released their third studio album, which charted at No.

9 in the Netherlands. 2009's was met with yet greater success, debuting at No. 8 in the, and charting across Europe, also garnering much critical acclaim.

Epica's fifth studio album was released in 2012. Well received by critics, it achieved international success, entering the US's at No. 104, and Japan's Albums Chart at No. At the beginning of May 2014 the band released their sixth album,, which was a huge international success, debuting on No. 110 on 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,, was released in September 2016. Lead vocalist Simone Simons and Grunt vocalist and guitarist Mark Jansen during The Divine Conspiracy World Tour. In September 2007, Epica headlined their first tour through North America and released their third album,, this time on a new label,.

That December, was announced to be Epica's permanent new drummer. The band toured North America again in April 2008 with and, this time with because Simone had contracted a staph infection (). It was released on September 7, 2007 through 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 's (Prologue and parts I-III) and continued in Epica's (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 of the album was released on August 10, 2007 entitled ', accompanied by a music video and the second single, ',' 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, who was a member of. Also in 2008, Epica recorded, their first.

The live show took place in, on June 14, 2008, in the framework of the (where 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,,,, and of of the movies, and.

It was released on May 8, 2009 through. Design Your Universe (2009–2010) [ ]. Epica performing in 2009 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. It continued the saga which started on.

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 vocalist on the song 'White Waters'. Reception has been positive from both critics and fans. The album debuted in No. 8 in the 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. On December 31, 2009, it was announced through their website that a new single will be released.

The song is called ' and all profit will go to. 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,,,, and.

They played also in many important rock and metal festivals in Europe, such as, and, in front of very large audiences. In September 2010, Simone once again contributed vocals to an album of Kamelot, this time on the tracks 'House on a Hill', 'Poetry for the Poisoned, Pt. II: So Long' and 'Poetry for the Poisoned, Pt.

III: All Is Over' on the album. 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, 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-, ). On April 24, the music video of Storm the Sorrow was officially released, earning 128,000 views on on the release day. General response to Requiem for the Indifferent was positive.

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 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 [is] too crazy'), where mentally disabled people (18 years or older) can get their wishes granted. In the episode, they recorded, together with the mildly autistic Ruurd Woltring, one of his own compositions, '. 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,. The concert which would be called Retrospect, would be held in Klokgebouw with a 70-piece,, international guests and many special effects.

The band invited the Hungarian Remenyi Ede Chamber Orchestra and the to this show as they were the same orchestra that accompanied Epica in the recording of the live album. The concert consisted of a 70-piece orchestra, special effects,, guest vocalist and former band members, Yves Huts and Jeroen Simons. Singer was also invited for the show, but had to decline due to scheduling problems. In the show the band introduced a new song titled 'Retrospect' and played 'Twin Flames' from Requiem for the Indifferent for the first time. They also played for the second time their longest song 'The Divine Conspiracy', however a shorter version of this song was played.

During the concert, Coen Janssen announced that Retrospect would be filmed for release as a. The Quantum Enigma and Epic Metal Fest (2014–2015) [ ]. Simons and Van der Loo during The Ultimate Enigma Tour. On February 5, 2014 Epica revealed on their official website first details about their sixth album.

It was revealed that the new album would be titled and would be released at the beginning of May 2014. Later that same month the band unveiled the album's cover art, which was created by longtime collaborator Stefan Heilemann to accompany the ideas behind the lyrics. Track listing and release dates were announced the same day as well and eventually was released by Nuclear Blast on the 2nd of May (Europe), 5 May (UK) and the 13th of May (USA). The album was produced by Joost van den Broek and recorded in the Sandlane Recording Facilities in The Netherlands. Debuted at 110 on, making it Epica's second entry on this chart, the previous being and charting there in February 2013. In Epica's home country Netherlands, the album peaked at No. 4 making it their highest ranking album on the chart.

The band commented: 'Where reflected on the first decade of our career, we'd like to think marks the beginning of a new era, where Epica sounds heavy, modern and without compromises! More than ever, the creation of this album was a group effort and we are extremely proud of the results! Every detail finds its way into a perfectly balanced mix, and makes Epica sound raw and overwhelming.' On March 17, 2014 the first single, 'The Essence of Silence' was made available as a digital download from iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Deezer and other platforms. Three days later a lyric video was released.

'Unchain Utopia' was chosen as the second single and released on April 8, 2014. In an interview with the Sonic Cathedral Webzine, lead vocalist confirmed that a music video for 'Unchain Utopia' was set to be released soon. However, a lyric video was released instead, which features footage originally filmed for the music video. Later on the band decided to film a music video for the track 'Victims of Contingency', which was released on October 30, 2014. The band returned to the stage after almost a year on 30 April 2013, in Tilburg in their home country, The Netherlands, which marked the album release show.

Throughout 2014 and 2015 the band toured Europe, Asia, Africa and both South and North America in support of. Their last venue before going back to studio took place on 22 November 2015 at 'Klokgebouw' in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, where Epica had held their venue. The show was part of the first edition of 'Epic Metal Fest', which is a festival organised and curated by the members of the band. Epica announced Epic Metal Fest on June 3, 2015 on their official website and revealed that they would be joined at the festival by bands,,,, and. The frontwoman further commented: 'It was a long-cherished dream of Epica to host our own festival and we are very proud to be able to present an absolute awesome array of international metal acts.

This day will surely be the next highlight in our career and we hope to be able to share it with all of you!' On June 5, 2015 Epica was awarded the Music Export Award at Buma Rocks, which is given to the Dutch act with the most international success in the past year. The band's guitarist/vocalist thanked band's fans through their official website: 'We are honoured with this prestigious award, it’s a big achievement after all those years of investing countless hours and much energy into Epica. It shows that everything you do by following your heart will eventually pay off and will get acknowledged.

Thanks to all our fans from all over the world!' The Holographic Principle and The Solace System EP (2016–present) [ ] On May 31, 2016 Epica confirmed the title of the band's new album:, that was released on September 30, 2016. In an interview with Spark TV the band's singer discussed the complex nature of the album, explaining that the band used more 'real, live instruments' than in previous albums and that this albums is 'one of [the band's] most ambitious offerings to date'. The band announced previously that the album would be released as part of their performance at the second edition of Epic Metal Fest, but later revised this, stating it would be released a day earlier. On September 1, 2017, the band released their first EP during the second North American leg of the tour. The EP features tracks that were planned and recorded but never included in The Holographic Principle.

The contrast between ' operatic vocals and 's is a feature of Epica's music. Epica performs a blend of,,,,, and, more rarely, and.

Their former guitarist Ad Sluijter having described the band as 'a bridge between power metal and gothic metal.' Vocalist Simone Simons has expressed a preference for the group to be described as symphonic metal though the founder of the group Mark Jansen notes that they do not mind being called gothic metal. Mark Jansen having described the band also as 'symphonic death metal' and a bridge between and. The music of Epica is aggressive, bombastic and excessive with some songs being 'epic, grand and majestic' and others 'more subdued and introspective.' The band is also known to have progressive tendencies while a gothic atmosphere and sentimentality is also present in their music. Epica uses a 'trademark of many symphonic and gothic metal bands' in contrasting 'two extremes, death grunts and brutality on one side, airy female melodiousness on the other.'

Eduardo Rivadavia of notes that the band's 'attraction ultimately hinges on exploring the sonic contrasts of light and dark; the punishing intensity of those elephantine guitar riffs and hyperactive drumming cast against the soaring, layered sweetness of the orchestrated strings and keyboards.' Simone Simons delivers operatic vocals in a mezzo-soprano range though she has also been known to sometimes sing 'with a clear alto voice that has a flawless tone and a lot of emotion.' But, subsequently, Simone admitted that she was wrong and that she's not a mezzo-soprano, but a. Mark Jansen delivers 'that are secondary to Simons' singing, but very important in terms of balance and variety.' The group is also known to employ human choirs and orchestras with additional embellishments such as spoken word recitals and lyrics in Latin and Arabic. Members [ ] Current members • –, (2002–present) • Coen Janssen –,, (2002–present) • – (2002–present) • –, spoken vocals (2007–present; session member: 2006-2007) • –, (2009–present) • Rob van der Loo – (2012–present) Former members • Yves Huts – bass (2002–2012; guested in 2013) • – guitars (2002–2008; guested in 2013) • Jeroen Simons – drums (2002–2006; guested in 2013) • – lead vocals (2002) Timeline.

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