Another pregnancy in the symphonic metal world

Traxan

Member
Mar 10, 2012
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This time it's Simone Simons.

http://loudwire.com/epica-simone-simons-pregnant-with-first-child/

Dutch symphonic metal act Epica have announced some big news! Simone Simons, Epica’s lead vocalist for 10 years, is expecting her first child with her longtime partner Oliver Palotai of the band Kamelot.

The 28-year-old metal siren has dedicated her life to music from a very early age. After picking up the flute at the age of 12, Simons begin developing her vocal skills at 14. Simons took pop singing lessons at first, but then Nightwish‘s second album, ‘Oceanborn,’ inspired her to delve into a classical style, which served as a precursor to her technique later showcased within the music of Epica.

As a result of Simons’ pregnancy, Epica will cease their touring obligations after July 1. Epica revealed the news of Simons’ pregnancy through their Facebook page:

We are happy to announce that Simone is pregnant!

Simone and longtime partner Oliver Palotai (Kamelot, Sons of Seasons) are expecting their first child around the end of summer. To ensure the best possible pregnancy and considering Simone’s and the babies health, we have decided to stop our live activities from the 1st of July. This means Epica will not play this years Masters of Rock festival in the Czech Republic.

However this does not mean Epica won’t do anything!
Our Retrospect live-DVD will be released upcoming fall. Furthermore, during the second half of 2013 Epica will start working on a brand new record which will be released in 2014.

We are looking forward to see you all at the remaining shows this year and will be back next year with a new CD, stronger than ever!

Congratulations to Simone Simons and Oliver Palotai on their first child! Epica are currently scheduled to perform a handful of shows in Europe, Indonesia, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates within the next few months. Keep your eyes out for Epica’s upcoming ‘Retrospect’ DVD and brace yourself for a new Epica record in 2014.
 
Yeah, Anette even spouted off her 2 cents on her blog. Shocker.

'' Message from Anette Olzon:

It's always good to read the ads and so happy reading that Simone Simons is pregnant is very good and I met Oliver on tour in the US I would like to wish a big happy birthday to both; =)

It is a blessing to have children: =) and even metal bands singers get them, so when you get a band, if you bring a woman, this is something that you need to accept and embrace.

All good for parents who expect and for the Epica, of course; =)''

(That was linked from the Higher Than Hope Brazil page, so sorry if the translation came out sh*tty.)

I don't mean to get another Anette debate started but one of my pet peeves is when people with kids start getting preachy. Different strokes for different folks. What you see as a blessing, I see as the worst possible punishment inflicted on anyone. :lol:
 
With Annette, I think her getting pregnant was the last straw in a long line of problems between her and Nightwish. I don't like Epica's music at all but if they were to kick her out over this the band would probably lose all their fans since I imagine a huge percentage only like the band because Simone is goregous :lol:
 
Expect Floor to say something, too, as she is particularly close to Simone. Sharon might have a thought on this as well, having 3 kids.
 
Like I was saying to one of the other OSAers in conversation, Floor better have her baby now before Nightwish permanently hires her! ;)

I don't think Nightwish threw Anette out over getting pregnant. I mean, people may not remember this, but Imaginaerum was delayed because Anette was pregnant with Nemo. I still think it was more that the touring was getting to her anyway, and being away from her kid, so this pregnancy was the best excuse to just bow out entirely.

Also, the difference (I think) between Nightwish and Epica is that most people know that Simone is the face/voice of Epica, while most Nightwish fans know that Tuomas is the heart and soul of Nightwish, so while the whole game of musical chairs with singers sucks, most of us put up with it because the main force behind the band is still there and that won't change, no matter who is the singer. I'm not sure how much Simone contributes musically to Epica, but whoever does obviously knows that she is a huge component in what makes them what they are. But I can't really say, since I'm not a fan and know virtually nothing about their music.
 
No we know Anette was already on her way out. I think they sent her home because they discovered the pregnancy in Denver and at Anette's age, pregnancy is risky. The Denver doctors likely advised her to get off the road ASAP because she was already at high risk of losing the baby due to age (and the fact she has to have them by c-section means she has delivery troubles).

So I think they sent her home for her own good.
 
Yeah, definitely. Yet people still accused them of "firing her for getting sick" and all that other bullsh*t. No matter what they did, they couldn't win with some folks. :(

But I still think she knew she was pregnant beforehand, because there is the whole issue of them having Floor on hand in advance. It's common knowledge now that Floor was always intended to replace Anette after the Imaginaerum premiere in Helsinki. This indicates to me that Anette must have known she was pregnant before Denver. I think what happened in Denver was that the doctor (as you said) informed her it was way riskier than she might have thought, and touring for the next month and a half (or however long in-between those two gigs) would not be a good decision.
 
Nah I think she was on her way out, pregnancy or no. She was described by a lot of people as looking unhappy and uninvolved. And after 5 years of abuse, she must have had it.
 
Actually it was liver cysts. But who knows, that might have been a cover for the pregnancy.

It's quite a change. After Tarja was fired we heard EVERYTHING. Now Anette is canned and we don't hear a peep. Did they even offer congratulations to her on the baby's birth?
 
Actually it was liver cysts. But who knows, that might have been a cover for the pregnancy.

I could have sworn she said kidney problems at one point, and then switched to liver cysts. That was what I never understood; I mean, fine, if you want to keep your pregnancy a secret, you have every right to do so. But either keep track of your cover-ups or just be as open about it as you are on your blog about what color nail polish you're gonna wear today. :lol:

It does seem weird that we heard everything about the Tarja split and nothing about Anette, but maybe the guys have learned their lesson since then; that putting everything out in the open is probably not the best move? I remember reading an interview with Tuomas a couple months after Anette left and he says they still keep in touch. And nowhere in the press statement did they say their split was not amicable (well, come to think of it, all bands say that they're "splitting on amicable terms"!). I know Anette made a lot of comments about "bullying in the workplace" and stuff like that, but I just get the feeling that the bullying was not done solely by the other bandmembers (if at all), that there were problems with management too. The fact that she hired her own manager, and that Tarja has made public statements saying that she'd never get back with Nightwish unless there was a major change in management, leads me to think that this is a possibility. But it's all just speculation, of course. ;)
 
I could have sworn she said kidney problems at one point, and then switched to liver cysts. That was what I never understood; I mean, fine, if you want to keep your pregnancy a secret, you have every right to do so. But either keep track of your cover-ups or just be as open about it as you are on your blog about what color nail polish you're gonna wear today. :lol:

It does seem weird that we heard everything about the Tarja split and nothing about Anette, but maybe the guys have learned their lesson since then; that putting everything out in the open is probably not the best move? I remember reading an interview with Tuomas a couple months after Anette left and he says they still keep in touch. And nowhere in the press statement did they say their split was not amicable (well, come to think of it, all bands say that they're "splitting on amicable terms"!). I know Anette made a lot of comments about "bullying in the workplace" and stuff like that, but I just get the feeling that the bullying was not done solely by the other bandmembers (if at all), that there were problems with management too. The fact that she hired her own manager, and that Tarja has made public statements saying that she'd never get back with Nightwish unless there was a major change in management, leads me to think that this is a possibility. But it's all just speculation, of course. ;)

It didn't seem like an amicable split, is all. With Nightwish's statement, Annette's, and how Tuomas refused to comment on the split during interviews. If it was amicable, a reason would (probably) have been provided, like "creative differences". Bands probably use the word "amicable" when theres a split that doesn't involve throwing chairs at each other or something super negative lol. I remember Sonic Syndicate (one of my fave bands) said when Richard (founding member and screaming vocalist) left, the band made a statement that he was 'missing their upcoming tour for family reasons', but he published on his blog that he left the band. It's possible that NW wasn't being completely honest, but I don't feel like I need to know all the gory details about the split.
 
Nightwish's image was hurt with the Tarja split. More than a few people were pretty pissed at the way they handled it. Tarja was reportedly in an airplane over the ocean headed to South America and couldn't respond for hours, for instance. When the whole story came out, Nightwish didn't come off well at all because they let the problem fester for too long by letting an outsider run roughshod over the band. So Tuomas learned his lesson.

It could be musical differences. I don't think Anette was ever a metalhead. Floor is. And I bet Anette hated being away from her young son for so long. I think eventually we'll learn but at least NW learned to be more judicious with its comments.
 
I always figured the other guys refrained from commentary after the split with Anette mainly to keep quiet about her pregnancy, as it seemed clear at any rate she did not want the word to get out right away, or wanted to share the news when she felt the time was right. It's been known for a while now that Floor was all set to replace Anette *after* the premiere in Helsinki; that Anette was going to bow out anyway. This makes me think that at the very least, she must have known or suspected she was pregnant before the incident in Denver, because it sounded to me like they were all working to make sure that there were no hiccups in the touring and that Anette could leave on her own terms while having someone waiting in the wings to finish out the rest of the tour.

But then the incident in Denver happened, and I think that's why things look "spotty" on both ends, because whatever happened there put a spoke in whatever they were planning out, so they had to adapt quickly. In other words, it was clear that they could not finish out 'till Helsinki as originally planned, so Anette had to do the Salt Lake City show just long enough for Floor to get there, so no more shows had to be cancelled or delayed on her account. I mean, Anette could have done like Tarja and pretty much say "f*ck the American fans, I'm going home". But she doesn't seem that way to me.

I feel personally that because they had such a bad split with Tarja, that people were set to look at the break with Anette in much the same way, even if both parties claim there is no bad blood. I really think this time it was on mutual terms (even if not entirely amicable; it seems apparent that both "mutually" wanted to part ways!), but because the band has had such a bad history of breakups with singers before, that it's not unnatural for people to draw a similar conclusion when it happens again.

I also think that maybe in Denver, she came close to miscarrying or getting a serious wake-up call about the severity of the situation; because for all intents and purposes, Anette was set to fly her boyfriend and her kids out to be with her to finish out the rest of the U.S. tour. It's apparent that had no intent to walk out, and at least finish out the tour for as long as promised, but something happened in Denver that quickly changed all of that. It would also make sense as to why she kept the news private for so long; no point in announcing a pregnancy that may or may not carry to full-term anyway! :(

So it seems reasonable to me that the guys would not say anything out of respect to *her* wishes, as everything made sense once she announced her pregnancy. Of course, at the time when none of us knew, it looked like (on their end), "oh, here we go again!" But now knowing what we know, at least I never took it as they were on such horrible terms (maybe they were not the best of friends anymore by that point, but I don't necessarily think there was outright bitter hatred either). I think Anette had just had enough, and that was all. It really appeared as though they tried to have as many of their "ducks in a row" before she officially left so that the transition could be as smooth as possible for everyone involved.

I get the feeling that if all had gone as intended, and she had been able to play her final gig at the Imaginaerum premiere, it would have been her chance to "say goodbye" to the fans, there would be no question that she was doing it because she wanted to (i.e., because she was pregnant), and there would be no speculation now. It seems as though in the split with Anette, they tried to be as opposite from the Tarja break as possible and do whatever they could to make it easy for both parties involved. But of course as it is with Nightwish, no matter how they would have done it, there are gonna be those who read the worst into it.
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Let's face it, in the end Nightwish is still a business just like any other. "The show must go on", as the saying goes, and there is more than just the other 4 bandmembers whose living depends on this tour going on. Countless road crew, management, etc., whose jobs are jeopardized if the tour comes to a halt. I do not think their decision to hire another singer to finish out the tour was disrespectful to Anette or being heartless towards her; if she doesn't have it in her to go on, then that's her choice. I think they tried the best they could to respect that decision and "see her through to the end". Obviously for reasons we can never know, that didn't happen. :(

I pretty much agree with Traxan; that being away from Nemo was tough on her and probably the "beginning of the end". A lot of people can argue that she already had a kid and should have been used to it, but Anette's older son is a good 8 or 9 years older than Nemo. By the time she started touring with Nightwish, he was old enough to be in school for most of the day, and to be in the care of one parent at a time. He wasn't a toddler who would cry and make a fuss over Mom leaving, and making it hard for Mom to leave. No doubt she felt more distanced from the other guys as time went on because of this; it's hard to be the only female on the road with a bunch of guys, and probably even worse when you have a young child at home and all you can do is think of him. Suddenly the games of Drunken Uno and the "Nightwish boys' club" seem more like immature bullsh*t and less like "fun with the guys", the way it might have been in the beginning.

But also, the fact that Anette truly did not understand the magnitude of their popularity when she joined was probably a huge factor as well. Being thrust into "overnight superstardom" was probably not easy for her. On the one hand, it was probably best that she didn't know what a tough act she had to follow in Tarja; but on the other, Tarja *was* a tough act for anyone to follow, and I think it did wear her down. And people can say, "well, she was in the band for over 5 years, she had plenty of time to get used to it", etc. But on the same token, Tarja's been gone for nearly a decade, and how many people still wish she would come back to Nightwish? So obviously no matter which end of the fence you're sitting on in that situation, it's not something that people so easily "get over".
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To me, Anette is a prime example of "be careful what you wish for". It was always her dream to be a professional singer, but at what price? She got to play the sold-out arenas, go all over the world, and became a celebrity in her own right, but it seems that by the end she couldn't really enjoy it because the cons far outweighed the pros. Or ultimately, having seen the top of the mountain, she came to realize that "being a stay-at-home mom baking cookies" was the place she most wanted to be after all. ;)

That being said, I would hope that Tuomas (and the rest of the guys) take a lesson out of this too, and that is perhaps finding a singer via "open audition" the way they did with Anette was probably not the best way to go. Think of how many people sent in audition tapes, and how many of those people had stars in their eyes about being the next Nightwish singer and rising to fame? Very few of them probably barely comprehended, let alone understood, just what it was they were signing up for if they got the coveted job; Anette not least of all.

So I hope that this time around, that the guys will pick Floor because she is already an established name on the scene. She's not looking to join Nightwish to further boost her own career. Also, she has been doing this long enough to where she knows how to handle the crazy fans and the insanity of touring. I think at this point in the band's career, they need someone who can match their pace and be able to live up to what is expected of them. I don't think even a band of their popularity can handle many more breakdowns from singers who can't handle the rigors of fame.
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