Epica

MOJO Concerts / A Live Nation Company

Postbus 3121
2601 DC DELFT
T  015-2121980
E  info@mojo.nl
W  www.mojo.nl

PIAS (Play It Again Sam)

Van Diemenstraat 158
1013 CN AMSTERDAM
T  020-3031300
E  playit@pias.nl
W  www.pias.nl

Bookhooker Agency

Noordelijke Parallelweg 25
6814 DT ARNHEM
E  info@bookhooker.nl
W  www.bookhooker.nl

Pseudonyms

Sahara Dust

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Epica

Bombastic metal band formed by Mark Jansen (ex-After Forever) and featuring the classically educated vocals of mezzo soprano Simone Simons. With spectacular albums The Phantom Agony (2003) and Consign To Oblivion (2005) Epica becomes popular in Europe, South America and Asia.
Full biography

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Members

Mark Jansen   componist, gitaar, tekstdichter, zang
Coen Janssen   toetsinstrumenten
Simone Simons   zang
Ariën van Weesenbeek   drums
Isaac Delahaye   gitaar
Rob van der Loo   basgitaar
Full list... Summarized list

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Former members

Ad Sluijter   gitaar
Jeroen Simons   drums
Yves Huts   basgitaar
Koen Herfst   drums

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News archive

Nederlandse muziekexport weer gestegen (1/16/12) 
Nederlandse muziekexport stijgt weer (1/17/11) 
Nederlandse muziekexport stijgt weer (1/17/11) 
Export Nederlandse muziek stijgt met ruim vijftien procent (1/18/10) 
Een ijskoude Jägermeister voor Epica (2/9/09) 
More results Less results

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Concerts & Festivals

by Podiuminfo / Festivalinfo

5/23/12, Paard van Troje, Den Haag
6/7/12, Metalfest Open Air West, Loreley
8/16/12, Summer Breeze, Dinkelsbühl
10/19/12, Metal Female Voices Fest, Wieze
More results Less results

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Biography Epica

Bombastic metal band formed by Mark Jansen (ex-After Forever) and featuring the classically educated vocals of mezzo soprano Simone Simons. With spectacular albums The Phantom Agony (2003) and Consign To Oblivion (2005) Epica becomes popular in Europe, South America and Asia.

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2003 - 2004

The music of Epica features influences from film music, Arabian and South American music and is characterized by the vocals of classically trained mezzo soprano Simone Simons. Debut album The Phantom Agony from 2003 is recorded at the Gate Studio in Wolfsburg, Germany, under the supervision of producer and engineer Sacha Paeth. In 2004 the band plays the Noorderslag festival. Immediately after an extensive European tour Epica goes to Mexico for several shows. During this successful tour singer Simone gets appendicitis.

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2005

On April 21 the album Consign To Oblivion is released. The album is partly inspired by the Maya culture and features a bombastic mixture of metal and film music. Consign To Oblivion is produced by Sascha Paeth and Olaf Reitmeier and features the duet Trois Vierges with Roy Khan, singer of US band Kamelot. Epica kicks off an extensive European tour with Kamelot. Consign To Oblivion reaches number 12 of the Dutch Mega Album Top 100. On December 8, several months after the release of Consign To Oblivion, Epica's third album, the instrumental The Score - An Epic Journey, is released. Part of The Score can be heard on the soundtrack of the Dutch road movie Joyride. On September 20 Transmission Records and Mastertrax S.L sign a distribution deal in Madrid, Spain, wherein Mastertrax handles the distribution of Epica in both Spain and Portugal. Later in the year Epica tours Europe and also travels to South America for several shows. The band also prepares a tour of Asia in 2006.

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2006

On May 4 Epica performs its new live set at the Paradiso Amsterdam. Special guests are Asrai and Spain's Ebony Ark. The show is filmed for a live DVD, slated for a fall release. At the Paradiso Epica also launches its picture and audio book The Road To Paradiso, including interviews and previously unreleased live footage. Meanwhile a promo tour in Asia is being prepared. Drummer Jeroen Simons is also taking part in the Jean Pierre Project.

Jean Pierre Project

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2007

Drummer Koen Herfst (Bagga Bownz) plays with the band on a temporary basis. The band signs to Nuclear Blast and works on a new album with producer Sascha Paeth. In September and October Epica tours the US, Canada and Mexico and in November the band kicks off a European tour with Finnish group Sonata Arctica. During this tour the band presents the album The Divine Conspiracy. Ariën van Weesenbeek (ex-God Dethroned) is the band new drummer.

Xenobia

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2008

In January Epica has to cancel the last part of its Dutch tour because Simone Simons is suffering from an infection. The singer's health problems are also the cause for cancellation of a tour of Latin-American and England. During the American tour, Simons is temporarily replaced by German singer Amanda Somerville. Simons rejoins the band on 15 May during a show in the Netherlands.

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2009

Guitarist Ad Sluijter is replaced by Isaac Delahaye from God Dethroned. Epica is the first Dutch band that joins the Jägermusic project initiated by the alcoholic drink. Through this project, the group gets help in organizing a European tour which kicks off in the autumn. The Classical Conspiracy (May) is a double album featuring a registratio of a show in Miskolc, Hungary, during which the band is accompanied by an orchestra of fourty musicians and a thirty-piece choir. Besides adaptations of their own music, the CDs also feature adaptations from the canon of classical music and film music (including SpiderMan, Pirates Of The Caribbean and Chasing The Dragon). The band is headliner at the Metal Female Voices Fest VII in October in Belgium. In the same month the album Design Your Universe is released on the Nuclear Blast label. The album is recorded in Wolfsburg, Germany and produced by Sascha Paeth.

God Dethroned Hangover Hero

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Discography Epica

In the discography you will find all recordings that have been released listed chronologically. We restrict ourselves to the title, the type of audio, year of publication or recording, label, list of guest musicians, plus any comments on the issue.

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Photos Epica

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Video Epica

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