What the band really wants is giving goose flesh to the audience, the more the better. It is the ambition of Epica to pack up emotions in lyrics and sounds and subsequently pass this on to the listener. While making The Phantom Agony the band was particularly inspired by scores.
The combination of classic and extreme has seldom sounded so convincingly. One of the songs in which all these aspects constitute a fascinating unity is 'Sensorium'. The sublime singing of Simone Simons versus the excruciating grunts of Mark Jansen. Solid guitars versus flawless choral singing and strings. Epica is a band that is fond of contrasts. The red thread is mezzo-soprano Simone Simons, who with the style of a classically trained opera singer stays on top of the material. The band works with a classically trained choir, whereas extra color is added to the music thanks to eight strings: 3 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos and a double bass. Ádyta' is a classically tinted intro, sung in Latin. The variation in the material appears from the very first track on the CD. The debut album was recorded in the Gate Studio in Wolfsburg, Germany under the expert guidance of the renowned producer and technician Sacha Paeth (a.o. The line-up was further stabilized with Coen Jansen (keyboards), Ad Sluijter (guitar), Jeroen Simons (drums) - both from Cassiopeia, and Yves Huts (bass) from Axamenta. However, a definitive choice was made for the young Dutch singing talent Simone Simons. In the embryonic stage the band worked with the Norwegian singer Helena Michaelsen of Trail of Tears. Initially Sahara Dust was picked as the name of the band, but in the first weeks of 2003 this name was definitely changed into Epica. Contacts were made, auditions were carried out and a name for the band was thought up.
On the day it dawned on him he no longer had a future in his old band, the plan matured for new challenge. The band also intends to do a lot of touring in order to add as much as possible to the gamut of experiences and impressions.Īfter a brief and stormy period as one of the creative king pins of the successful Dutch band After Forever, Mark Jansen felt compelled to start all over again recently.
Also influences from other parts of the world, including South-America found their way to the songs that figure on the debut alum. The varied sound of Epica reflects all that. The warmth with which people treat one another there, but also the music from that part of the world. Mark Jansen and his fellow musicians harbor a great interest in other cultures, especially Arab ones. The latest proof of his unlimited interest in the world around him is the album The Phantom Agony, the colorful debut album of the recently founded Dutch band Epica. Traveling around the world and meeting other cultures those are in short the major sources of inspiration for singer, songwriter, composer and guitarist Mark Jansen, both as a person and a musician.
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