Epica will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of “Design Your Universe” with some special North American shows. Here’s the dates:
01/03 Montreal, QC – Corona Theatre (with Blackguard)
01/05 Los Angeles, CA – Regent Theater
01/12 New York City, NY – Webster Hall
As previously reported, a 10th anniversary “gold edition” of “Design Your Universe” will be released on October 4.
Epica will be playing some special “Design Your Universe” 10th anniversary shows next year. Here’s the dates:
10/04 Oberhausen, GER – Turbinenhalle
10/05 Utrecht, NET – Tivoli Vredenburg
10/06 Paris, FRA – Elysée Montmartre
10/10 Tel Aviv, ISR – Barby Club
10/12 Moscow, RUS – Glavclub
Simone Simons commented:
“After all those years, ‘Design Your Universe’ remains one of my all-time favorite Epica albums. I know that the message behind the title song also resonates with a lot our fans because there are so many ‘Design Your Universe’-related tattoos. The title track and ‘Unleashed’ are songs that I hold very dear and the memories we made in that time of our career. I am looking forward to go back in time with you all while we play more songs from our ‘Design Your Universe’ album.”
Mark Jansen added:
“‘Design Your Universe’ is very dear to me. It’s an album that was written during a very inspiring time. The title track shows us that we can we all create our destiny and it’s still one of my favorite tracks to play live. Also, quite a few other songs of the album deserve to be played again, and we will! Our set is gonna be filled with ‘Design Your Universe’ songs, so don’t miss one of these opportunities.”
It looks like fans will have to wait awhile for a new Epica album. During a recent interview with Metal Wani, Mark Jansen revealed that the group are planning to “hit the studio at the end of 2019.” He said the following:
“At this moment, we are very busy with [“The Essence Of Epica”] book, so I’m also collecting old pictures that I find on my old computers. And I’m also collecting old things that I find, what can be interesting for the book. And besides that, I wrote one song already for a future EPICA release. But we will have a lot of time now, because we will probably hit the studio at the end of 2019, so there’s plenty of time to write new stuff. And that’s also intentionally like this, that we don’t rush it too much this time.”
[via Blabbermouth]
After previously winning a contest against over 650 other artists, Epica were given the honor to record a song with Metropole Orkest. The track, which is a “big band meets symphonic metal” rendition of “Beyond The Matrix” called “Beyond The Matrix – The Battle,” also features a solo from runner-up Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon) and it will be available digitally and as a limited edition vinyl on October 26. Keyboardist Coen Janssen commented:
“We came up with ‘the battle’ to fully display the strengths of both worlds — our heaviness and their jazziness, but how to combine it in one piece… In comes Tom Trapp, arranger extraordinaire. He fully understood the way we wanted to build up the piece and he translated it into this amazing arrangement for the Metropole Orkest. From ambient soundscapes to heavy symphonic to over-the-top big band parts… this song has it all!! Expect the unexpected!!! It was an absolute pleasure and honor to see such professionals work from up close and I learned a lot every step of the way. The way the conductor, arranger and orchestra communicate and play is something I’ve rarely seen before. A unique experience that resulted in a unique version of ‘Beyond The Matrix’.”
Epica have shared a lyric video for their cover of Powerwolf’s “Sacred & Wild.” This track is from the “Communio Lupatum” covers album, which was included with select editions of Powerwolf’s latest album “The Sacrament Of Sin.”
Epica have announced that they are working on a new book called “The Essence Of Epica.” The following description was posted on epicabook.com:
“This unique book tells the story of the remarkable musical journey of Epica in their own words, and is illustrated throughout with rare, candid and classic photographs. ‘The Essence of Epica’ contains first-person testimony from Simone, Mark, Coen, Ariën, Isaac and Rob along with that of former members, friends and colleagues of the band. The story of Epica’s rise from Dutch newcomers to international symphonic metal giants is described in majestic and mesmerising style in this official, exclusive book.”
More info can be found HERE.
Epica are streaming “Crimson Bow And Arrow” from their “Epica Vs. Attack On Titan” EP. That effort, which features metal versions of the theme songs from “Attack On Titan,” will officially be released outside Japan on July 20.
