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The orchestra are from Hungary and yes, it is a whole orchestra. Epica first used the same orchestra and choir from a show in Hungary in 2008 for their Classical Conspiracy CD. This is their 10th anniversary Retrospect show from 2013. Keyboard player, Coen Janssen, is one of the three original members. He shaved his head some time after this show, donated his hair to a cancer charity.
I traveled from Norway last Thursday and went to AFAS ARENA for my first Epica concert. Waked up Friday in Amsterdam and found out Epica had put some more tickets out for sale and I was on the train again to the AFAS ARENA at Friday night. It was breathtaking from start to finish and I really recommend to see them with orchestra. It blew my mind and to get two concerts in two nights with this group was just an experience and the memories are forever.
This concert was played more than 10 years ago. And just yesterday there was their new concert with a full orchestra and choir on stage and it was even cooler, even more spectacular. In fact, the song "unleashed" will not show even a tenth of what these guys are capable of. They are often much heavier and more progressive. You can hear everything from jazz to black metal.
Hey Wildhoney, I am just recovering from two nights in a row of an unbelievable awesome concert, I was so lucky to be in the front row. I lost my voice and my whole body hurts,( I am 61) but it was well worth it. I really hope you will get to see it soon. Have a good weekend. 🫶🤘👋
Btw EPICA is playing tonight in Amsterdam, with a full orchestra and choirs, it's called the Symphonic Synergy concert, I'm in no doubt there will be video's coming out from the show in the near future 🙃
@@teckreactions No, I watched the livestream, when they have these grand shows they stream it as well. Then later release on Blueray and after 2 years free on TH-cam.
Matt, you know I've been pushing you to listen to them since you started your channel. Thank you so much for finally getting to them! Epica is definitely a darker sound than Nightwish. They are a mix of symphonic metal with death metal overtones. Their one guitarist, Mark Jansen (no relation to Floor but was in the band After Forever with her), also does harsh vocals. The synergy of Mark and Simone's soaring vocals is perfect for the sound. Their live streaming of tonight's concert with orchestra and choir begins at 2:00PM EDST today (9/20) Be sure to buy your ticket now!!!
Thanks for reacting to my favorite Band. They have been around for 22 years now they have 8 albums and just finished recording number 9 which has to be released yet. So you have a lot of catching up to do. Simone Simons , the singer, just released her first solo album last month. She changes her outfit regularly during a concert. I am just “recovering” from there latest concert with a full orchestra and choir, yesterday and the day before. I was in the front row both nights. 😅🤘
The different with Metallica and Epica is, all Epica Songs are composed with an full Orchestra and choir, Metallica songs were transformed into Classic.
This is a live triple cd and double DVD called Retrospect. This was a Special live show due to their 10th anniversary as a band , 23 March 2013, at the Klokgebouw in Eindhoven, Netherlands is the date this was recorded. This is the first offical live recording with the current lineup This show was recorded with the 70-piece Extended Hungarian Remenyi Ede Chamber Orchestra and the Choir of Miskolc National Theatre. Simone Simmons was several months pregnant while recording this show. It had several Guests including 3 former members and Floor jansen. This Retrospect show from 2013 and the Live at Paradiso show from 2006 wich was only released in 2022 after the band got the video and Audio recordings Back fromtheir old record label are some off their best shows ever recorded. I can hugely recommend to watch the 2006 paradiso show. It showed a very young simone simmons (21 years) on stage. A band in peak form and Simone shinning on stage.
I'm so glad you discovered Epica and this concert in particular. Fusion of metal and symphony is simply amazing. Which brings me to a suggestion. The band is called Therion, they are Swedish pioneers (one of) of symphonic metal. They did a concert with a symphony many years ago, 'The Miskolc Experience'. There are many good tunes. I would suggest you check out Via Nocturna or Lemuria. They are so good and highly neglected/underrated. You will love them. P. S. I reckon it is the same orchestra that played with Epica. Epic stuff!
I just got back home to Denmark, after visiting Amsterdam. While there I attended both of their "Symphonic Synergy" concerts, which were the main reason for me going to Amsterdam. It was absolutely amazing
This was indeed 10 years ago. I attended quite some Epica concerts. Including this years 20 year anniversary in AFAS and the one you were looking at just now. This retrospect concert still makes my top 3 of concert experiences. And yes, the whole concert was with choir and orchestra. In fact, a lot of Epica reaction videos will point to songs of this concert. You will find some great gems in that concert catalogue. As for the keyboard player, I guess at this time he was not at peace yet on growing bald. (Sorry Coen, I will join you soon)
in the first song of this show "monopoly on truth" the orchestra and the choir got introduced as the extendet remenyl chamber orchestra and the choir of miscolc national theater , so my guess is they are seperate professional entetys
Hi, to answer your question, the orchestra and choirs are integral to all of their songs, they have composed some incredible scores for orchestra, each album starts with an orchestral piece
Simone Simons is a beautiful woman with an exquisite voice and impeccable dress sense. I belief she even was the face of a (minor) cosmetics house. Epica is the tough little sister of Nightwish. Simone Simons and her former roommate Floor Jansen perform a full-blown baroque rendition - without Metal - of Pergolesi's "Stabat Mater" showing off their vocal chops. Another duet is "Sancta Terra" which is Metal.
You're absolutely right, pal. Welcome to EPICA UNIVERSE. Soon you'll get an invitation...if you want to listen to metal...differently! Cheers from Greece!
Yes, it was kinda like S&M except these are not special orchestral arrangements of their songs, since they are already a symphonic metal band. They are doing another concert like this today for their 20th anniversary and they will be streaming it. It starts in two hours, but I think you can still get a ticket. As for the keyboardist Coen (pronounced Coon), first he had hair and then he shaved it, so this video is more recent than the other one you saw 😉 As for your comparison to Nightwish, you are absolutely right. Even if they didn't feature growls, their sound is overall a lot heavier. Specially, in recent years, because Nightwish have leaned more towards folk. I have been listening to both bands for over 20 years and I like them both, but I much prefer Epica.
Good morning Teck, just for your information; do all the songs from this concert (almost3 hours) and be blowen away all the time. Moreover you will see Floor twice featuring in duet with her long time friend Simone. (Btw; here Simone was already 3 months pregnant. What a woman). Carry on Teck. In The Netherlands we have a hell of a lot Metal Bands. So you can carry on for a long long time. Nice weekend!
The songs with Simone Simons (Sea-mons) and Floor you are looking for are: 1. *_"Sancta Terra"_* : th-cam.com/video/cx22Yuj2nzg/w-d-xo.html 2. *_"Stabat Mater Dolorosa"_* : th-cam.com/video/nhtOORYTGx8/w-d-xo.html
Epica is such a fantastic band. Sooooo many brilliant songs. If you want some ' hard' metal go for Consgn to Oblivion (live in Paris is probably the best version) Simone and Floor are lifelong friends. They sing a beautiful duet together in this show; Pergolesi's Stabat mater. Worth checking out. Anyways, cheers from the Low Countries !
Epica is not even close to being my favourite band, but this is the greatest concert DVD I own. The song "Design Your Universe" might be my favourite from this concert
"Epica is not even close to being my favourite band" Wow that is a nice way to comment on an Epica video... I hope you are not one of those desperate Nightwish fans who somehow see music as some sort of popularity competition. Epica makes music for metal and symphonic lovers on a pure metal, composing and technical level that goes beyond most teenage girls.... :)
@@hansolo2121 That was taken a different way than I meant :) I meant that I enjoy Epica, but they are generally not one of my go-to bands. So, when a band I merely "like" puts out a performance that beats out all the bands I "love", then it is high praise for the performance. indeed. I love Epica's gothic symphonic style, but I have a hard time with grunting vocals, so I don't play then a lot. It is okay to like different things. I am not sure where Nightwish enters the picture...
@@hansolo2121 "composing and technical level that goes beyond most teenage girls".... HAHAHA..lol no. Epica's fnabase mostly consists of teenage girls and 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗿 people. Their music is very girly. Baasically symphonic pop metal. If you want composing on a high level and proper metal techincal level, listen to Fleshgod Apocalypse and Septicflesh.
There is no recruiting process for getting orchestra musicians for these type of shows. Once you decide to do such a thing it is usually a case of finding arrangers / orchestrators if there aren’t arrangements (Epica has them as they always use orchestra extensively on their recordings) followed by seeking out an orchestra + conductor. Lots of orchestras do these type of things next to their normal concerts as a side gig. In the early days it was sometimes even so that they adopted a different stage name as in not to dilute their well cared for high brow classical reputation. Other orchestras solely exist as this type of commercial ventures and besides this do lots of work for tv and movies. Basically these operate as a company with the management and leadership and the musicians are employees either on a fixed contract or on a project / freelance basis. As such musicians come and go in between projects but usually senior section leaders seem to be recurring members.
Yes, Simone dresses like this a lot! She loves fashion and makeup and enjoys expressing herself on stage with it-her outfits are always killer! She also has her own blog where she sometimes posts about stage looks she’s done as well as photography, another of her big interests, and behind-the-scenes stuff from the band and tours.
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"Way more metal".
I totally agree.
And an orchestra is the best musical metal-backdrop, ever.
The orchestra are from Hungary and yes, it is a whole orchestra. Epica first used the same orchestra and choir from a show in Hungary in 2008 for their Classical Conspiracy CD. This is their 10th anniversary Retrospect show from 2013.
Keyboard player, Coen Janssen, is one of the three original members. He shaved his head some time after this show, donated his hair to a cancer charity.
Very cool
I traveled from Norway last Thursday and went to AFAS ARENA for my first Epica concert.
Waked up Friday in Amsterdam and found out Epica had put some more tickets out for sale and I was on the train again to the AFAS ARENA at Friday night.
It was breathtaking from start to finish and I really recommend to see them with orchestra.
It blew my mind and to get two concerts in two nights with this group was just an experience and the memories are forever.
I'm so jealous.
i took a peak as well :) i thought after retrospect i could not miss this one
Too bad they only do that on 10 year anniversaries :P
This concert was played more than 10 years ago. And just yesterday there was their new concert with a full orchestra and choir on stage and it was even cooler, even more spectacular.
In fact, the song "unleashed" will not show even a tenth of what these guys are capable of. They are often much heavier and more progressive. You can hear everything from jazz to black metal.
It feels so relevant
Hey Wildhoney,
I am just recovering from two nights in a row of an unbelievable awesome concert, I was so lucky to be in the front row.
I lost my voice and my whole body hurts,( I am 61) but it was well worth it. I really hope you will get to see it soon.
Have a good weekend. 🫶🤘👋
Btw EPICA is playing tonight in Amsterdam, with a full orchestra and choirs, it's called the Symphonic Synergy concert, I'm in no doubt there will be video's coming out from the show in the near future 🙃
It was awsome, wow Simone was in top shape tonight!
oh wow
you were there?!
@@teckreactions No, I watched the livestream, when they have these grand shows they stream it as well. Then later release on Blueray and after 2 years free on TH-cam.
and this song was the opener
Matt, you know I've been pushing you to listen to them since you started your channel. Thank you so much for finally getting to them!
Epica is definitely a darker sound than Nightwish. They are a mix of symphonic metal with death metal overtones. Their one guitarist, Mark Jansen (no relation to Floor but was in the band After Forever with her), also does harsh vocals. The synergy of Mark and Simone's soaring vocals is perfect for the sound.
Their live streaming of tonight's concert with orchestra and choir begins at 2:00PM EDST today (9/20) Be sure to buy your ticket now!!!
Thanks for the consistent push!
Thanks for reacting to my favorite Band.
They have been around for 22 years now they have 8 albums and just finished recording number 9 which has to be released yet. So you have a lot of catching up to do.
Simone Simons , the singer, just released her first solo album last month. She changes her outfit regularly during a concert.
I am just “recovering” from there latest concert with a full orchestra and choir, yesterday and the day before. I was in the front row both nights. 😅🤘
The different with Metallica and Epica is, all Epica Songs are composed with an full Orchestra and choir, Metallica songs were transformed into Classic.
That's a great point
This is a live triple cd and double DVD called Retrospect. This was a Special live show due to their 10th anniversary as a band , 23 March 2013, at the Klokgebouw in Eindhoven, Netherlands is the date this was recorded. This is the first offical live recording with the current lineup This show was recorded with the 70-piece Extended Hungarian Remenyi Ede Chamber Orchestra and the Choir of Miskolc National Theatre. Simone Simmons was several months pregnant while recording this show. It had several Guests including 3 former members and Floor jansen. This Retrospect show from 2013 and the Live at Paradiso show from 2006 wich was only released in 2022 after the band got the video and Audio recordings Back fromtheir old record label are some off their best shows ever recorded. I can hugely recommend to watch the 2006 paradiso show. It showed a very young simone simmons (21 years) on stage. A band in peak form and Simone shinning on stage.
The whole show is available on you tube but not all of the songs individually This concert probably the best ever.
Phenomenal performance, when Simone goes hypersonic at the final key change……………🤯
Great reaction!!! More Epica
I'm so glad you discovered Epica and this concert in particular. Fusion of metal and symphony is simply amazing. Which brings me to a suggestion. The band is called Therion, they are Swedish pioneers (one of) of symphonic metal. They did a concert with a symphony many years ago, 'The Miskolc Experience'. There are many good tunes. I would suggest you check out Via Nocturna or Lemuria. They are so good and highly neglected/underrated. You will love them. P. S. I reckon it is the same orchestra that played with Epica. Epic stuff!
you need to listen to design your universe live retrospect next if you liked this one 😉
I'll check it out!
Yess .. Épica Is Epic.. special thanks to Mark Jansen (rythim guitar and Growling) because he is the máster mind behind Épica's world ...
I just got back home to Denmark, after visiting Amsterdam. While there I attended both of their "Symphonic Synergy" concerts, which were the main reason for me going to Amsterdam. It was absolutely amazing
Awesome!
Its a 3h concert by Epica 😁. And really soon they will do it again. Have my stream tickets 😀.
I think I missed it. i don't understand the time zones.
@@teckreactions september 20th. Probably sending for three days like last time
Next Epica song - Kingdom of Heaven part 1&3 (Omega Alive show 2021 🔥🤘)
Will do
Yeah, these are two of Epicas heaviest songs.
This was indeed 10 years ago. I attended quite some Epica concerts. Including this years 20 year anniversary in AFAS and the one you were looking at just now.
This retrospect concert still makes my top 3 of concert experiences. And yes, the whole concert was with choir and orchestra. In fact, a lot of Epica reaction videos will point to songs of this concert. You will find some great gems in that concert catalogue.
As for the keyboard player, I guess at this time he was not at peace yet on growing bald. (Sorry Coen, I will join you soon)
in the first song of this show "monopoly on truth" the orchestra and the choir got introduced as the extendet remenyl chamber orchestra and the choir of miscolc national theater , so my guess is they are seperate professional entetys
Hi, to answer your question, the orchestra and choirs are integral to all of their songs, they have composed some incredible scores for orchestra, each album starts with an orchestral piece
Awesome
Simone Simons is a beautiful woman with an exquisite voice and impeccable dress sense. I belief she even was the face of a (minor) cosmetics house.
Epica is the tough little sister of Nightwish.
Simone Simons and her former roommate Floor Jansen perform a full-blown baroque rendition - without Metal - of Pergolesi's "Stabat Mater" showing off their vocal chops.
Another duet is "Sancta Terra" which is Metal.
Well said!
It's the same keyboard player. This is back when he had hair. He's rocking the cue ball look now.
You're absolutely right, pal. Welcome to EPICA UNIVERSE. Soon you'll get an invitation...if you want to listen to metal...differently! Cheers from Greece!
Yes, it was kinda like S&M except these are not special orchestral arrangements of their songs, since they are already a symphonic metal band.
They are doing another concert like this today for their 20th anniversary and they will be streaming it. It starts in two hours, but I think you can still get a ticket.
As for the keyboardist Coen (pronounced Coon), first he had hair and then he shaved it, so this video is more recent than the other one you saw 😉
As for your comparison to Nightwish, you are absolutely right. Even if they didn't feature growls, their sound is overall a lot heavier. Specially, in recent years, because Nightwish have leaned more towards folk. I have been listening to both bands for over 20 years and I like them both, but I much prefer Epica.
🤘🤘
Good morning Teck, just for your information; do all the songs from this concert (almost3 hours) and be blowen away all the time. Moreover you will see Floor twice featuring in duet with her long time friend Simone. (Btw; here Simone was already 3 months pregnant. What a woman). Carry on Teck. In The Netherlands we have a hell of a lot Metal Bands. So you can carry on for a long long time. Nice weekend!
The whole Retrospect Show is available on YT in a single Video.
Lots of symphonic metal bands have done a DVD with an orchestra.
Epic x3
Within Temptation x2
Visions of Atlantis
Therion
Kamelot
I've only heard of Epica
The songs with Simone Simons (Sea-mons) and Floor you are looking for are:
1. *_"Sancta Terra"_* : th-cam.com/video/cx22Yuj2nzg/w-d-xo.html
2. *_"Stabat Mater Dolorosa"_* : th-cam.com/video/nhtOORYTGx8/w-d-xo.html
Thanks!
Epica is such a fantastic band. Sooooo many brilliant songs. If you want some ' hard' metal go for Consgn to Oblivion (live in Paris is probably the best version)
Simone and Floor are lifelong friends. They sing a beautiful duet together in this show; Pergolesi's Stabat mater. Worth checking out.
Anyways, cheers from the Low Countries !
Epica is not even close to being my favourite band, but this is the greatest concert DVD I own. The song "Design Your Universe" might be my favourite from this concert
"Epica is not even close to being my favourite band" Wow that is a nice way to comment on an Epica video... I hope you are not one of those desperate Nightwish fans who somehow see music as some sort of popularity competition. Epica makes music for metal and symphonic lovers on a pure metal, composing and technical level that goes beyond most teenage girls.... :)
@@hansolo2121 That was taken a different way than I meant :) I meant that I enjoy Epica, but they are generally not one of my go-to bands. So, when a band I merely "like" puts out a performance that beats out all the bands I "love", then it is high praise for the performance. indeed. I love Epica's gothic symphonic style, but I have a hard time with grunting vocals, so I don't play then a lot. It is okay to like different things. I am not sure where Nightwish enters the picture...
@@hansolo2121 "composing and technical level that goes beyond most teenage girls".... HAHAHA..lol no. Epica's fnabase mostly consists of teenage girls and 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗿 people. Their music is very girly. Baasically symphonic pop metal. If you want composing on a high level and proper metal techincal level, listen to Fleshgod Apocalypse and Septicflesh.
There is no recruiting process for getting orchestra musicians for these type of shows. Once you decide to do such a thing it is usually a case of finding arrangers / orchestrators if there aren’t arrangements (Epica has them as they always use orchestra extensively on their recordings) followed by seeking out an orchestra + conductor. Lots of orchestras do these type of things next to their normal concerts as a side gig. In the early days it was sometimes even so that they adopted a different stage name as in not to dilute their well cared for high brow classical reputation. Other orchestras solely exist as this type of commercial ventures and besides this do lots of work for tv and movies. Basically these operate as a company with the management and leadership and the musicians are employees either on a fixed contract or on a project / freelance basis. As such musicians come and go in between projects but usually senior section leaders seem to be recurring members.
Yep this is an whole orchestra an choir. And mind you as this was mentioned. This is their 10 year show wich included Floor Jansen to. Dig in buddy.
floors sings a couple songs with simone
Yes, Simone dresses like this a lot! She loves fashion and makeup and enjoys expressing herself on stage with it-her outfits are always killer! She also has her own blog where she sometimes posts about stage looks she’s done as well as photography, another of her big interests, and behind-the-scenes stuff from the band and tours.
Nice
Thus look on youtube in this consert she sing 2 classic songs whit her BFF Floor Jansen
🤘💥