I was one of the lucky Americans who traveled all the way from Nebraska to Amsterdam to see this show!! It didn’t just have fire, it had sparklers shooting out, other pyro stuff, and even confetti shooting forwards and falling down from the sky!!! Best concert I’ve ever seen and nothing even comes close!!
@ I can say with 100% certainty that concert ranks among End of an Era, Black Symphony, and Wacken 2013 in terms of legendary symphonic metal performances. The person I went to this show with was someone who had literally never heard this band before, they got one hell of an introduction to Epica!
It’s almost not fair to do that to someone, it will ruin them for anything else. Similarly, a friend took me to see Iron Maiden on the legacy of the beast tour (pretty much a greatest hits show) and prior I had never really listened to them. Now I am in the fan club, getting yelled at by the wife for buying a ton of merch. The catalyst for this channel was that show. Good luck to your friend 🤘
I’m Dutch and I couldn’t go, even though I really wanted to. And I’m talking about THIS show (they did two as you know). The last time I went to see a concert was when I went to see something completely different from Epica. American band ‘Larkin’ Poe’, small venue, but completely sold out and I loved every second of it. But coming from the USA to see a show in the Netherlands, that’s a totally different level of commitment. ❤
@ I’ve been wanting to see a full orchestra show from one of my fav symphonic metal bands since 2013, so as soon as Epica announced the symphonic synergy I got right onto planning my trip! It was also my first time leaving America and I couldn’t have picked a better first country to visit!! I still miss the Netherlands, lovely country with lovely people!
A little info about the song, the music was written by Rob (bass player) and the lyrics by Simone. The lyrics are inspired by the major arcana from tarot cards. The shows were frankly amazing. My partner and I traveled from Denmark to Amsterdam to attend both nights. The band members have said they didn't expect to sell all the tickets for the Friday concert (roughly 6000 audience capacity) but did so in less than 2 weeks. The Thursday show was added and almost sold out. Same was the case with the upcomming shows in Mexico City, the roughly 10000 capacity venue sold out in a few weeks and a second show was added, that is also almost sold out. They have a huge Latin American fan base, so if they do more shows like this in the future, its worth keeping an eye on places like Mexico and Brasil
Thank you for the insight. I’ll keep an eye out. Honestly I would just be happy seeing them in a small club near me. I am glad that you were able to see the shows in all of their glory. 🤘
Marcela Bovio spotted! And I'm pretty sure that one violinist was Ben Mathot. Easter eggs for Ayreon fans :D I loved how many of the orchestra musicians looked like absolute metal people, including the conductor.
Yes, Marcela has often performed as a backing singer for Epica. The lady next to her, you don’t get a close up unfortunately, is Linda Janssen, wife of keyboard player Coen. The third singer is Marjan Welman, another Dutch singer.
I had the info that Marcela and Marjan were involved, just hadn't seen any video material at all. It feels like watching a film or a TV series and recognising an actor from somewhere else, I can only imagine how cool it was to be there!
@@mikedown3219 Yes, Marcela is their go to singer for recording Simone's backing vocals and Linda also records backing vocals frequently. Marcela has recorded vocals for every Epica album since 2014's The Quantum Enigma. I have heard that Simone does not like to layer her voice for recordings so since they were not using a backing track here they had Marcela, Linda, and Marjan on stage. Marjan has also done a bunch of work on Ayreon projects, both recorded and live. I think they even had Marcela fill in for Simone once on tour when she was too sick to tour. I absolutely love this live recording of Marceal and Coen perfroming Tides of Time in the Sandlane Recording studio after Marcela was recording backing tracks for an Epica song. th-cam.com/video/iL_P6VBJJH4/w-d-xo.htmlsi=LF_1I0I26BAWrPoq.
One of the best shows I attended. Well, Epica never disappoints live, but this was another level. And the live mix was so good in the venue. Even right at the front.
I saw them with Sabaton in Oct 2022. They played the Fillmore in Philly. As much as I like Sabaton, Epica should be the headliner. It was great to see them in such an intimate setting. I stood just off the rail. That being said, it is nothing compared to this concert. I watched this concert in the live feed, but it's not the same as being there. This concert was truly amazing.
Nice reaction! I watched the Symphonic Synergy concert via the livestream here in the US back in September. The steram was fantastic and their audio and video quality was top notch, as usual. It was my third livestream of theirs I have seen. The other two, 20th anniversay concert from Tillburg, Netherlandsin in 2022 and the Exit Festival from Novi Sad, Serbia in 2023, were equally fantastic and high quality. Epica really goes out of there way to make sure all their fans can see their live shows, even if we can't travel. The entire Exit Festival show is on Epica's YT channel and there are a number of fan copies of the 20th anniversay livestream on YT as well. The 20th anniversary show was especially fun as Epica started the concert as their own opening act, Sahara Dust. Sahara Dust was the bands original name before becoming Epica and they played a small setlist of songs from their first album, including many that hadn't been played live in decades. I also saw Epica live in 2022 on their North American tour with Sabaton. They played the 5000 seat MGM Fenway venue in Boston and it was sold out. One advantage when many of these European metal bands come to the States is that you get a more intimate concert experience in the smaller venues. I got to see Nightwish in 2022 in Boston (Umass Lowell Tsongas Center, colleges Hockey Arena). About 4000 fans in a 7800 seat set up. No more then 20 rows from the stage. Downside is that we don't get the big stage production with the big video walls and Pyro like in Europe.
Great reaction Matt. Don't worry too much about not being able to see Epica in this kind of venue in the states, seeing them in a smaller club setting is still amazing and you're closer to them. I've seen them 17 (I think) times live and they just keep getting better and better. This concert was my wifes first time seeing them live - she's not generally a big fan of really heavy stuff, more into 80's hair metal/glam. That said she was completely blown away by the entire experience and can't wait to see them again.
I took my two oldest daughters (14 and 16) to see Epica in 2022 when they toured with Sabaton, and their portion of the show was awesome! we weren't familiar with Sabaton, and we didn't much like their first song, so we decided to leave, only to find when we got into the entrance area of the venue that at least some of the Epica band had been hanging around out their after their performance to meet people. We got to meet Coen, the keyboard player, and got a picture with him. Ariën, the drummer, was also still there, but he had a bunch of people waiting to talk to him, so we left without meeting him (we should have stayed to meet him too).
The whole show was amazing indeed. I was there both nights in Amsterdam. They are going to do two more in Mexico City early December. Edit: there was a live stream you could watch online. Given the amount of recording equipment they had, I wouldn't be surprised if they made a BluRay out of this at some point.
Awhile back you asked about going to Europe to catch a tour that you were really excited about (I assume it was Arch Enemy). I wrote back and said you should go and that I was going as well. This is why I went and it was worth it!!!! I hope you took your trip as well!!!
Missed the live stream so I hope an official DVD is coming out at some point. I love their live performance videos and luckily enough, they drop them quite often. Arcana is great, especially the end of the song, whet it goes even darker/heavier and Mark joins in on vocals. The choir is phenomenal. Looking forward to more new stuff or maybe even some more Symphonic Synergy videos.
@Matt. I've been in Amsterdam at this concert and yes, it was out of this world. So yes, it is a must to react to "Ghost in me" live. I also checked your Nightwish reaction and I was truly shocked that you didn't react to all the unbelievable live song they did. A lot of videos from Anette and Tarja, also Floor videos and a very few songs live. Hey MATT!!! NW and Epica ALWAYS live. So you really have to react to the trinity songs! "Greatest Show on Earth" Tampere live, "Poet and the Pendulum" Wembley live and of course "Ghost love Score" Wacken live.
Thank you for your suggestions. I definitely like to see the live versions over the official version, but for so many there are a ton of low quality live versions, it’s hard to find the right one. I will definitely add your suggestions. Thank you again🤘
Yes, I know the problem. You flip a coin several times and it always stays on the edge ;-). Both versions are good and watching both is a good idea. The concerts with orchestra are also announced as such. You have to look closely at the tour schedule, they won't tour every concert with orchestra. On December 6th, 2024 they are in Mexico City with orchestra and choir, but the prices are currently absurdly high. I suspect that ticketmaser has a hand in it. Basically, such concerts are expensive because they are extremely complex and a lot of people have to be paid. Marcela Bovio, who is a well-known guest singer, is also hiding among the background singers. She is not so successful with her own projects: STREAM OF PASSION - The Hunter (official music video)
Yeah, coin flips by yourself is never wise when trying to keep it honest, or at least in my case 🤣. I will definitely check out the singer you mentioned. Thank you as always my friend🤘
I was one of the lucky Americans who traveled all the way from Nebraska to Amsterdam to see this show!! It didn’t just have fire, it had sparklers shooting out, other pyro stuff, and even confetti shooting forwards and falling down from the sky!!!
Best concert I’ve ever seen and nothing even comes close!!
That sounds Amazing!!! Definitely a show to remember forever. Thank you for sharing 🤘
@ I can say with 100% certainty that concert ranks among End of an Era, Black Symphony, and Wacken 2013 in terms of legendary symphonic metal performances.
The person I went to this show with was someone who had literally never heard this band before, they got one hell of an introduction to Epica!
It’s almost not fair to do that to someone, it will ruin them for anything else. Similarly, a friend took me to see Iron Maiden on the legacy of the beast tour (pretty much a greatest hits show) and prior I had never really listened to them. Now I am in the fan club, getting yelled at by the wife for buying a ton of merch. The catalyst for this channel was that show. Good luck to your friend 🤘
I’m Dutch and I couldn’t go, even though I really wanted to. And I’m talking about THIS show (they did two as you know).
The last time I went to see a concert was when I went to see something completely different from Epica. American band ‘Larkin’ Poe’, small venue, but completely sold out and I loved every second of it. But coming from the USA to see a show in the Netherlands, that’s a totally different level of commitment. ❤
@ I’ve been wanting to see a full orchestra show from one of my fav symphonic metal bands since 2013, so as soon as Epica announced the symphonic synergy I got right onto planning my trip! It was also my first time leaving America and I couldn’t have picked a better first country to visit!! I still miss the Netherlands, lovely country with lovely people!
A little info about the song, the music was written by Rob (bass player) and the lyrics by Simone. The lyrics are inspired by the major arcana from tarot cards.
The shows were frankly amazing. My partner and I traveled from Denmark to Amsterdam to attend both nights. The band members have said they didn't expect to sell all the tickets for the Friday concert (roughly 6000 audience capacity) but did so in less than 2 weeks. The Thursday show was added and almost sold out. Same was the case with the upcomming shows in Mexico City, the roughly 10000 capacity venue sold out in a few weeks and a second show was added, that is also almost sold out. They have a huge Latin American fan base, so if they do more shows like this in the future, its worth keeping an eye on places like Mexico and Brasil
Thank you for the insight. I’ll keep an eye out. Honestly I would just be happy seeing them in a small club near me. I am glad that you were able to see the shows in all of their glory. 🤘
Marcela Bovio spotted! And I'm pretty sure that one violinist was Ben Mathot. Easter eggs for Ayreon fans :D I loved how many of the orchestra musicians looked like absolute metal people, including the conductor.
Yes, Marcela has often performed as a backing singer for Epica. The lady next to her, you don’t get a close up unfortunately, is Linda Janssen, wife of keyboard player Coen. The third singer is Marjan Welman, another Dutch singer.
I had the info that Marcela and Marjan were involved, just hadn't seen any video material at all. It feels like watching a film or a TV series and recognising an actor from somewhere else, I can only imagine how cool it was to be there!
The conductor is Dante Diaz, he's a metal vocalist ^^
I swear I never see Easter eggs 🤣. Thank you for pointing them out 🤘
@@mikedown3219 Yes, Marcela is their go to singer for recording Simone's backing vocals and Linda also records backing vocals frequently. Marcela has recorded vocals for every Epica album since 2014's The Quantum Enigma. I have heard that Simone does not like to layer her voice for recordings so since they were not using a backing track here they had Marcela, Linda, and Marjan on stage. Marjan has also done a bunch of work on Ayreon projects, both recorded and live. I think they even had Marcela fill in for Simone once on tour when she was too sick to tour. I absolutely love this live recording of Marceal and Coen perfroming Tides of Time in the Sandlane Recording studio after Marcela was recording backing tracks for an Epica song. th-cam.com/video/iL_P6VBJJH4/w-d-xo.htmlsi=LF_1I0I26BAWrPoq.
One of the best shows I attended. Well, Epica never disappoints live, but this was another level. And the live mix was so good in the venue. Even right at the front.
I definitely need to see them live. Thank you for sharing 🤘
Ansolutely right to choose the live version, awesome 🤘🤘
Thank you, I always like live better. I also specifically like Epica live because they always look like they are having so much fun 🤘
I saw them with Sabaton in Oct 2022. They played the Fillmore in Philly. As much as I like Sabaton, Epica should be the headliner. It was great to see them in such an intimate setting. I stood just off the rail.
That being said, it is nothing compared to this concert. I watched this concert in the live feed, but it's not the same as being there. This concert was truly amazing.
That is Awesome, I would have loved to have seen them with Sabaton. I hope to get to see them live someday 🤘
Nice reaction! I watched the Symphonic Synergy concert via the livestream here in the US back in September. The steram was fantastic and their audio and video quality was top notch, as usual. It was my third livestream of theirs I have seen. The other two, 20th anniversay concert from Tillburg, Netherlandsin in 2022 and the Exit Festival from Novi Sad, Serbia in 2023, were equally fantastic and high quality. Epica really goes out of there way to make sure all their fans can see their live shows, even if we can't travel. The entire Exit Festival show is on Epica's YT channel and there are a number of fan copies of the 20th anniversay livestream on YT as well. The 20th anniversary show was especially fun as Epica started the concert as their own opening act, Sahara Dust. Sahara Dust was the bands original name before becoming Epica and they played a small setlist of songs from their first album, including many that hadn't been played live in decades.
I also saw Epica live in 2022 on their North American tour with Sabaton. They played the 5000 seat MGM Fenway venue in Boston and it was sold out. One advantage when many of these European metal bands come to the States is that you get a more intimate concert experience in the smaller venues. I got to see Nightwish in 2022 in Boston (Umass Lowell Tsongas Center, colleges Hockey Arena). About 4000 fans in a 7800 seat set up. No more then 20 rows from the stage. Downside is that we don't get the big stage production with the big video walls and Pyro like in Europe.
I agree, I love seeing these bands in small clubs, but would also like the pyro and theatrics that the European audiences get. Thank you for sharing 🤘
I was there. It was phenomenal! 🤘🏻
That is Awesome! Thank you for watching 🤘
Great reaction Matt. Don't worry too much about not being able to see Epica in this kind of venue in the states, seeing them in a smaller club setting is still amazing and you're closer to them. I've seen them 17 (I think) times live and they just keep getting better and better. This concert was my wifes first time seeing them live - she's not generally a big fan of really heavy stuff, more into 80's hair metal/glam. That said she was completely blown away by the entire experience and can't wait to see them again.
Wow 17 times! That is Awesome. I hope to see them someday and maybe get my wife into them 🤘
I took my two oldest daughters (14 and 16) to see Epica in 2022 when they toured with Sabaton, and their portion of the show was awesome!
we weren't familiar with Sabaton, and we didn't much like their first song, so we decided to leave, only to find when we got into the entrance area of the venue that at least some of the Epica band had been hanging around out their after their performance to meet people.
We got to meet Coen, the keyboard player, and got a picture with him. Ariën, the drummer, was also still there, but he had a bunch of people waiting to talk to him, so we left without meeting him (we should have stayed to meet him too).
That sounds like an Awesome experience. I would have stayed for Sabaton. They are great live. Anyway, thank you for sharing 🤘
The whole show was amazing indeed. I was there both nights in Amsterdam. They are going to do two more in Mexico City early December. Edit: there was a live stream you could watch online. Given the amount of recording equipment they had, I wouldn't be surprised if they made a BluRay out of this at some point.
That is Awesome!!! I am glad you got to see this live. I am sure it is a memory you will have forever. I definitely have to look for it on TH-cam. 🤘
super hit. Awesome concert. Two more such concerts will take place in Mexico in December 👏
They need to do one in America, Ideally near me 😉
Two? I thought only one was scheduled. Did they add a second, or was I just wrong all along? 😊
@@MattsMoshPit1 Isn't Mexico in America?
Technically yes, but I meant the United States 🇺🇸
Friend, there is their secon show with orchestra in Mexico 12.06-07. There won't be a second chance soon. BTW. I was there!!! Fantastic show.
That is awesome that you were there. Unfortunately, I will be on travel at that time. I’ll have to wait for the dvd. Thank you for sharing 🤘
Good call, Epica always better live.
Thank you, I prefer live for everyone. It gives a better idea of the true band. Epica always looks like they are having the best time live 🤘
Exactly! Looking forward to more Epica.
🤘
Awhile back you asked about going to Europe to catch a tour that you were really excited about (I assume it was Arch Enemy). I wrote back and said you should go and that I was going as well. This is why I went and it was worth it!!!! I hope you took your trip as well!!!
Yes, it was the Arch Enemy show. There is a vlog from the show on my channel. I loved the show. Thank you for sharing 🤘
Really make it easier when there is live stream tickets too. Im soo glad thats it an option for Epicas larger performances.
It really is pretty great that they do that. Thank you for watching. 🤘
Missed the live stream so I hope an official DVD is coming out at some point. I love their live performance videos and luckily enough, they drop them quite often. Arcana is great, especially the end of the song, whet it goes even darker/heavier and Mark joins in on vocals. The choir is phenomenal. Looking forward to more new stuff or maybe even some more Symphonic Synergy videos.
The heavier part towards the end is definitely my fav part. I am hoping for a DVD. 🤘
@Matt. I've been in Amsterdam at this concert and yes, it was out of this world. So yes, it is a must to react to "Ghost in me" live. I also checked your Nightwish reaction and I was truly shocked that you didn't react to all the unbelievable live song they did. A lot of videos from Anette and Tarja, also Floor videos and a very few songs live. Hey MATT!!! NW and Epica ALWAYS live. So you really have to react to the trinity songs! "Greatest Show on Earth" Tampere live, "Poet and the Pendulum" Wembley live and of course "Ghost love Score" Wacken live.
Thank you for your suggestions. I definitely like to see the live versions over the official version, but for so many there are a ton of low quality live versions, it’s hard to find the right one. I will definitely add your suggestions. Thank you again🤘
I like Epica 🙂 hope to see them live one day 🤘
Me to! Thank you for watching my friend 🤘
Yes, I know the problem. You flip a coin several times and it always stays on the edge ;-). Both versions are good and watching both is a good idea.
The concerts with orchestra are also announced as such. You have to look closely at the tour schedule, they won't tour every concert with orchestra. On December 6th, 2024 they are in Mexico City with orchestra and choir, but the prices are currently absurdly high. I suspect that ticketmaser has a hand in it. Basically, such concerts are expensive because they are extremely complex and a lot of people have to be paid.
Marcela Bovio, who is a well-known guest singer, is also hiding among the background singers. She is not so successful with her own projects:
STREAM OF PASSION - The Hunter (official music video)
Yeah, coin flips by yourself is never wise when trying to keep it honest, or at least in my case 🤣. I will definitely check out the singer you mentioned. Thank you as always my friend🤘
I think mexico is the nearest of countries that does have the venues with the ochestra :(
Unfortunately, I won’t be in my country when they are doing the Mexican shows. I’ll have to see the next time 🤘 thank you for watching
Mexico was a bit closer?
Unfortunately, I will be on vacation at that time and nowhere near Mexico. I’ll have to with for the DVD. Thank you my friend 🤘
Its not a big venue. 6000 people max.
And you could have seen them.
Just buy a ticket and take a plane 😂
lol, easier said than done. Thank you my friend🤘
I'm one of the lucky few ;-) when i heart this song for the first time..goosebumps all over.
That is Awesome! Thank you for watching my friend 🤘