I'm not an Epica fan

[Snowy Owl]

I may get strung up for saying this, but despite the fact that I own two of their albums and think Simone Simons is a fantastic singer, I am just not a huge Epica fan. I think they are too overblown (some of their songs are too long and monotonous...and this is from a prog rock/metal fan!), and songwriting wise, I think they are just a pale imitation of Mark Jansen's old band After Forever. I think the best albums AF did were after Mark Jansen left as they jettisoned the overdone orchestral elements and just concentrated on kick ass metal.

I also think its silly they got their name from a Kamelot album...and I am a big Kamelot fan, and Epica is actually my favorite Kamelot album.

Thoughts? Convince me to change my mind, as I want to give this band another chance.

 

[Melusina]

Humm I don't know if I have got anything to convince you because I feel like Mark Jansen's work is often just a recreation of his other work I remember showing my ex MaYan, who got me into, Nightwish, After Forever and Epica and his response was pretty much wow sounds like all his other bands. I do like that there is usually some sort of theme woven through out the music, but at the same time I think it kind of holds them back as well and isn't done to its fullest potential, I have listened to themed albums that are way better thought out and done. I don't know if it is just Simone's voice, but I keep coming back and even though I don't think it is the most imaginative music out there I love it.

Really though it might have something to do with the fact that my Husband and I met at an Epica concert LOL

 

[Tramz]

I actually wasn't too impressed with Requiem for the Indifferent (their 2012 album), but Design Your Universe (2009) was a stellar milestone of the genre. There are so many excellent songs on that album, but zoom in on the title track alone for one of the most amazing works you'll find.

Everything prior has been amazing, too. They can handle the slower songs with fantastic works such as Feint (have you ever heard the piano version?) or Chasing The Dragon. They can do the accessible song and make it good (such as Never Enough), and the fast rocker with songs like Martyr of the Free Word.

When Epica first hit the scene, I basically considered them to be in the shadow of Nightwish. Almost a wanna-be band. But they quickly rose up to find their own self-defined, very excellent place in metal.

 

[Taimi]

I agree. Some of the songs on RFTI were good, but most was weak. DYU is great, and TDC, OH MY GOD! EPIC! My favorite Epica song is Obsessive Devotion.

The band is so sweet in person, though Mark struck me as a bit of a dick.

 

[Melusina]

The band is so sweet in person, though Mark struck me as a bit of a dick.

I have to agree live they are fantastic, I like them much more live than just listening to them at home. Blackguard gave me a backstage pass at the show I met my husband at, I got to meet the bands and Mark was actually super nice on that occasion.

 

[Taimi]

Maybe he was having a bad day. He told me I needed to take my ADHD meds because I was making him nervous, which I took offense to. Who in the hell is he to tell me what pills I take? My nerves and excitement had me stumbling over my words, until I relaxed. I do that with EVERY band I meet, no matter how small.

 

[Snowy Owl]

I have Consign To Oblivion and The Divine Conspiracy. I never bought their first album because it was basically a redo of AF's Prison Of Desire. Consign To Oblivion I found very boring. The Divine Conspiracy was better, much better, but still pales in comparison to AF and Nightwish. Bear in mind that I think Simone is an amazing talent...I just think their songwriting is weak.

 

[C.]

I'm with you there, Snowy; the first time I heard them I thought to myself "elevator music for metalheads!"

 

[Snowy Owl]

C: ROFL!

 

[kathleenkat]

I like their newer stuff... To me, their first couple album seemed a little 'forced,' especially with Simone's vocals. The first albums especially, seems like she was forcing an operatic sound.

I saw Epica live circa 2006. At that time, I wasn't impressed with Simone's stage presence, however, her voice seemed to have developed it's own unique style to go along with the music.


On Mark Jansen and After Forever; I actually like After Forever's albums after he left more. Who knows why?

 

[C.]

Welcome to the board, Kathleen!

 

[kathleenkat]

Welcome to the board, Kathleen!

Thanks!

 

[orcslayr23]

I have to agree with you. Epica doesn't do anything for me; the only reason I can think of that they have such a rabid fanbase is how Simone looks. Generally female fronted symphonic metal bores me. If Simone sang like a normal person and didn't do the opera thing i'd probably like it more. I will say that her guest appearances on all the Kamelot songs i've heard are great, but it's more about how her and Khan's voices complimented each other.

Speaking of which, it also annoys the shit out of me that they took their name from a Kamelot album. I wonder why Simone didn't guest on Kamelot's latest album...maybe Epica is 'too big' to deal with them or something?

 

[Traxan]

Epica doesn't do anything because Mark Jansen is a fourth-rate Tuomas. Take away the gorgeous redhead and they are just a mediocre power metal band, nothing more. He has nothing even remotely close to Tuomas's compositional skills and he can't write a song that isn't insulting of religion. It's that simple.

 

[C.]

I will say that her guest appearances on all the Kamelot songs i've heard are great, but it's more about how her and Khan's voices complimented each other.

^This.

I don't know why she didn't guest on this last Kamelot album; as it mentions in the other related thread about Simone, she and Oliver from Kamelot are partners, so maybe it was just a matter of timing, or maybe they weren't sure how well she would sound with Tommy?

She has a great voice, but other than the Kamelot songs, I've never heard anything else she's done musically that's made me say, "wow! I'd like to hear more of this."

 

[orcslayr23]

She has a great voice, but other than the Kamelot songs, I've never heard anything else she's done musically that's made me say, "wow! I'd like to hear more of this."

Nicely put. If she were in a band where most songs were like the Kamelot duets I would definitely be interested. By herself though, Simone's voice is too boring. I know that Epica has 'screams' (if you want to call them that) but they are infrequent and kind of lame lol.

 

[C.]

Agreed, I personally have found what I have heard from Epica to be rather boring. But they have more than enough fans to make up for my lack of interest.

 

[Radithor]

I just wanted to drop in and point something out (about a month late... ) Poor old Mark only deserves half the blame for the "repetitive, anti-religious" lyrics. Simone writes them a great deal as well, including two songs about people who commit suicide in the name of their god. Just had to say that. xP

Also, I saw a few people mention that it seems a great deal of people are only into Epica because, well, Simone's attractive. Unfortunately, it really seems that way a lot of the time. A quick peek through the "Epica" tag on Tumblr and you'll notice at least 80% of the posts are just about her. My Tumblr's just a dumping ground for Epica stuff most of the time, and I've noticed that my Simone posts get a lot of notes (frequently above 50) where as my posts regarding the rest of the band struggle to get 10. It's kind of saddening, really. Both Simone and the band as a whole have far more to offer than good looks.

That's my ramble for the night. As you may have guessed, I'm quite the fan.

 

[orcslayr23]

Generally I think female-fronted bands get more attention than they deserve because they have a hot piece of ass fronting the band. There are exceptions of course but I can think of a few bands offhand that are extremely mediocre but a female presence makes them insanely popular. I'm not talking about Nightwish (although i'm only a casual fan) before C. or anyone else starts attacking me!

 

[C.]

I'm not that harsh; everyone is entitled to their opinions. Just because I write for Sonic Cathedral does not mean I think every female-fronted band is great. You must have never heard my anti-Evanescence rants, obviously.

And if I got on everyone's case who didn't like Nightwish, I pretty much would have no friends, because other than the folks here, I don't know anyone in "real life" who likes them. Everyone I know in person that does like them are people I've met online.