LadyObscure.com recently conducted an interview with Mark Jansen of Dutch symphonic metallers EPICA. You can now watch the chat below. EPICA's sixth studio album, "The Quantum Enigma", sold around 3,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 110 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, "Requiem For The Indifferent", opened with 4,800 units back in March 2012 to enter the chart at No. 104. EPICA's fourth album, "Design Your Universe", registered a first-week tally of 2,100 back in 2009 to land at position No. 12 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200. Where the 2013 "Retrospect" performance reflected on a decade as one of the leading bands in the symphonic metal scene, "The Quantum Enigma" marks the beginning of a new EPICA: modern, heavy, and without compromises. In a recent interview with Metal-Rules.com, singer Simone Simons stated about the making of "The Quantum Enigma": "Entering the studio two months after giving birth [to my son], being quite fatigued, it was a challenge being tired and being in this new state of mind. I put that to good use and kind of got strength out of the whole thing and I feel emotionally and physically a richer person than I did before and I put that in my vocals for the record." Speaking to ThisIsNotAScene.com, Simons stated about how being a first-time mother has changed her outlook on being in a touring band: "Being in a band like EPICA isn't so much a job as it is a way of life. "I always wanted to become a mother, so being away from my son is something that comes with being a touring musician. "My husband [KAMELOT keyboardist Oliver Palotai] is also a musician, so [my son is] basically being raised with the idea that both his parents are touring musicians. "Being a mother has really enriched my life as a human being and that's something you can also hear in the vocals on the new album. "I miss him terribly when I'm touring, but then again, touring is the only way for our band to make a living and raising a child costs money, so in a way, it's a classic Catch 22 situation. I do have the best of both worlds. I'm a mother and a singer in very successful metal band."
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