In a new interiview with "The Metal Hammer Podcast", EPICA singer Simone Simons was asked what she misses the most about touring. She responded (hear audio below): "What I miss is definitely being on stage, singing, traveling. Ever since I was 17, I've been traveling a lot, and that was my lifestyle, not just my job, and it was normal to me. Being home a lot is not normal for me. [Laughs] And I miss the variation — the traveling, meeting the fans. There's nothing compared to being on a stage, singing live, creating the music at that moment — nothing compares to that; nothing can replace that. So that's definitely missing, and I feel a little bit as if I'm on standby. And besides that, what I miss as well is that other people are cooking for me [laughs], and cleaning. I mean, I feel like I'm a kitchen slave nowadays. In the morning, making breakfast, [then] lunch, dinner… I feel a little bit [like] a hamster stuck in a loop — the mess never ends; I always keep on cleaning, cooking, buying food, sleeping and then repeat." Simone and her husband, KAMELOT keyboardist Oliver Palotai, share a seven-year-old son, Vincent G. Palotai. They live in Germany. EPICA's new album, "Omega", was released on February 26 via Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to 2016's "The Holographic Principle" was once again produced by Joost Van Den Broek (POWERWOLF, AYREON) in part at Sandlane Recording Facilities in Rijen, Netherlands. In a recent interview with Australia's AMNplify, Simons stated about her inspirations and influences for "Omega": "Life in general. I mean, the years going up to 'Omega', I was struggling with a lot of burnout but also having a very hectic lifestyle. Combining touring life with family life was not always easy. So my battery, I would say that I was extremely exhausted from touring and also the emotional stress of being away from my son. That drained me big time. But I guess you go through phases in your life as well. "Whatever is happening in society, we, as musicians, as artists, are a little bit of a mirror of what is happening, of course, within ourselves, people close to us and what's happening around in the world," she continued. "Global warming is a big topic in one of my lyrics. Genome editing. What's happening worldwide is a topic. But most of all, this album is a very spiritual album. It's the most profound, mature album in EPICA's history. "The name 'Omega' is actually referring to the Omega Point, where you have the Big Bang, the creation of universe. Omega is the end, where basically everything comes together, spiritually and science. Everything in the universe is fated towards a final point of unification. It's the end of our 'Kingdom Of Heaven' series. So this is the third and final 'Kingdom Of Heaven' song. It's our eighth studio album. The number eight is also very spiritual because if you put it on the side, it's the infinity symbol. 'Kingdom Of Heaven' is about life after death, and it's also number eight on the album. So there is a lot of hidden symbolism on the album and in the artwork. The big life question, 'What is the true meaning of life?' How do we navigate through life within ourselves? We are all 'yin and yang.' We are all made out of light and dark. We all have this labyrinth within ourselves in which we have to navigate ourselves. We hopefully find our way out of the labyrinth and don't get lost within the labyrinth of ourselves."
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