Epica

Seeing two of my favorite bands in the same venue... totally awesome!!! Plus bonus - Simone Simons was outside as I was coming from the parking garage and I got a picture with her!!!

I must say, I expected Epica to me amazing. What I didn't expect, was for them to be as amazing as they were. While most bands suffer during live performances, oftentimes failing to live up to their recordings, Epica absolutely killed it - arguably outperforming their recordings. They were, in every sense of the word, epic. It started with the EQ. A total of four bands performed, and the first three all had trouble with EQ, wether it be a wonky lack of mids causing vocals to be off, or straight up reverb. Epica didn't. It did take them longer to prepare than the other bands, but their attention to detail was noticed by everyone in the audience. I'll comment on the bands as the performed. To be honest, I only attended the show for Epica, having not heard of the other bands other than a few quick Tidal searches. I was pleasantly surprised with The Agonist, a Canadian metallic deathcore band. Alissa's vocals were impressive, and she got the crowd pumped for the rest of the show. SInce then, I've listened to quite a bit of them - I'd recommend checking them out. Next was Arkona. I'm pretty sure everyone in the crowd had the same reaction: "u wut..." Never before have I experienced anything quite like the Arkona performance. But then again I've never experienced a Slavic pagan folk metal band from Russia - yes, you read that correctly. And their performance was just as mind boggling as their bio. Impressive theatrics (they almost looked like Irish hobbits preparing to march to Mordor) and equally impressive sound. They somehow pulled off both a flute and bagpipe solo in the middle of a metal show. And it worked. Very well. I did not enjoy Fleshgod Apocalypse. I mean, congrats guys on looking pretty dope, but please do something more than double-kick a drum and spasm your hand over guitar strings. Maybe they just weren't for me, but they simply did compare, at all, to any of the other performers. And then there was Epica. It's been a couple weeks, and I'm still absolutely floored by how incredible they were. They did everything right. Just enough theatrics to make it interesting. They got the EQ figured out to a T. And my GOODNESS at how phenomenally skilled each individual member was. I was particularly impressed with bassist Yves Huts and vocalist Simone Simons. Mark Jansen (guitarist) interacted with the crowd a lot, and Simone was engaging and funny when she talked to the crowd. The insane musical range of Epica was one of the most impressive aspects of the show. Starting with very much metal tracks from their most recent album, The Holographic Principle, they were somehow able to segway into a vocal solo by Simone accompanied by keyboardist Coen Janssen. And then right back to face melting metal, with a couple primarily symphonic pieces here and there. I don t know how they do it. But they do. And it is good. To finish this review, I have one last comment about Epica shows in general. This show differed from your standard metal show in not just the music but also the fans. Of course, a good three quarters of the crowd is your typical metalhead, but the other quarter might be grandma and grandpa over in the corner bobbing their heads, or a twelve year old and her dad jumping along to the beat. The incredible range of fans is almost as impressive as the musical range of the band. I would wholeheartedly recommend attending an Epica show in the future, regardless of your age or musical background. I guarantee that you will find something you enjoy, and will be hooked from that moment out. Thank you, Epica, for an incredible night.

Been waiting 5 years for them to come back to Florida, and they did not disappoint one bit. Played a healthy mix of new songs and classics as well as an unexpected tune or two. The band was just lively, spontaneous and full of energy. Sensorium, Cry for the Moon as well as new songs like Unchained Utopia were amazing. Next time Epica comes to your city or nearby, please go see them. You won't regret it.

Best band of the night, obviously! Lead singer is gorgeous and so talented. They rocked!

The show was Awsome Siomone was Gorgeous and the band was tight just Amazing

drummer solid. tight instrumentation, especially with piped-in tracks (though the real thing would've made the show!) and a classically voiced babe... can't beat that.

Great show with four opening bands that were all very good

Because Epica was phenominal, they made the night for me. However, I am angered by the fact that I bought two VIP tickets, a total of $60 extra, and not only was there a complete lack of information regarding the meet-and-greet with the band-Epica-but there also seemed to be an implication that you would meet the band at 6:30 before the show started, when, in fact, the meet-and-greet process started an hour earlier...5:30. The website indicated nothing regarding this process and upon arrival we were rudely dismissed when questioning a staff member concerning it. I do plan on writing Jaxx concerning this. However, to end on a good note, I do find it hard to complain when Epica was outstanding.

Four hours after the time the show was supposed to start Epica finally came on stage. They were fantastic, but the preshow was long and out of context. Then add the people who thought it was cool to smash into unsuspecting observers while moshing. By the time Epica went on, I was sore from standing for five hours and not to mention getting beat up by people moshing. In conclusion Jaxx should have lined it up better, I wasn't impressed.

Epica was better live than on a CD. Great presence, great songs, great folks. Jaxx is the best nightclub with a lot of great bands rolling through.

love em , love her great quality, spectacular voice, small place so you can be close to them second time in this place with epica, i will do it again

It's rare that you find a band that is better on stage than recorded. If you like Epica CDs, you'll love them live.

As each band came on the crowd got more and more fired up. The Agonist and Blackguard were fantastic and pleasant surprises. I had never heard of them before and they blew me away. Scared Symetry was awesome of course. When Epica came out everyone was pulsing with so much energy and fire, I'm surprised the whole room didn't catch aflame. I would definitely see again and again and again

I am 50 years old and have had the pleasure of attending many concerts seeing some great acts. However, I was completely blown away with Epica! I don't think I have ever seen a band play any better, Musically, this is the best band I have ever heard in my life and will definitely be watching for future concerts from Epica in the Southeast.

Everything you'd expect from such an awesome metal band. This show had everything going for it... mosh pits, crowd surfing, and crazy girls flashing the bands. It was truly a metal night Dec. 17 at The Masquerade. YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE!

Second best show I've been to all year (best was Sleigh Bells, for a huge change in genre, for the record). Amazing show, great vibe at the masquerade.

Love Epica! Simone is so much prettier (if that's possible) in person, and her voice is magnificent! The openers were well chosen for the most part. I would go again in a heartbeat if they came back near ATL.

The very first band to open the show was a little weak, but everything afterwards was great. The Agonist put on a great set, followed by Blackguard really amping up the crowd. Scar Symmetry put on a great show as well. Epica not only played much longer than everybody else, they put on one of the best performances I've ever seen. Overall it was a great show, and not only would I reccomend it, I will definitely be seeing them again the next time they come to Atlanta.

As expected, this show was off the charts with energy. All 5 bands had amazing energy that built up till EPICA used to the fullest to make it a unforgettable show. The venue is so personal, everybody is part of the show. Can't wait till next time.

Epica and all the bands that played were fantastic. The venue was intimate but still very nice and accommodated a little mosh pit. The drinks were a little expensive but I was just there for the music. They did not disappoint!

This show was great! Epica is everything and more than what you could expect live. Their stage presence is one of a kind and Simone's voice "come on" it's like blaring the album live! Club Firestone in Orlando is great as usual. Sad that Mutiny Within had to cancel due to their drummer, but hope to see them in the future. Wonderful staff more than accommodating especially for bottle service! Safe and one to continuously keep an eye on upcoming shows.

I had wanted to see Mutiny Within, but they dropped out of the tour and were replaced by The Agonist who were better than expected, especially if you like female growlers. I was not very impressed by Blackguard overall, but the singer had so much energy it was infectious. Scar Symmetry were good, but unfortunately one of the guys in the band was injured and could not perform. The real reason for going to the show was of course Epica, which are one of the best Metal bands out there right now. Everyone in the band is amazing, but in particular I like Ariën van Weesenbeek on drums and Simone Simons on lead vocals. Besides the obligatory comment about how hot Simone is, I was impressed at her ability after so much near non-stop touring. For many vocalist, touring and performing so much would seriously degrade their voice quality over time, but I am happy to report Simone's voice is still fantastic. After a chance meeting, I was able to very briefly chat with Mark Jansen before the show, who seems like a very cool guy. I'm now wishing I had ponied up the extra cash to add the "meet and greet" with the whole band to the ticket. Bottom line...if you get the chance to see Epica live, do it! You will get hooked and want to catch them every tour. .

I came to see Epica was surprised to see The Agonist instead of mutiny within. and Black Guard. They are more amazing in real life. Simone Simons was flawless. They put on a fantastic show. This was at the Firestone live in Orlando. Easy to get to no problem with parking. I was up close and personal. isaac shook my hand. He was playing right above me. Overall If you have a band that is going to play at the Firestone do not miss it.

Disappointing crowd, only about 300-400 in attendance, and of those only about 25% seemed to know the music. With one exception (Evanescence), female fronted metal bands are largely unknown in the U.S., so it's no wonder one of Europe's top acts can only pull 400 here. I had the opportunity to see another of the great European metal acts, Nightwish, (with current singer Annette) live twice during their recent tour (New York and St. Petersburg FL), and I can say without a doubt Epica blows them away live! I noticed the ventilation in Club Firestone was poor, as the room was thick with cigarette smoke, but that didn't seem to bother Simone Simmons, as she hit every note more or less from what I could tell, especially for the extremely difficult "Tides of Time", during which the marginal house PA system gave out for 20 seconds. I was disappointed they didn't play one of their most well known songs, "Never Enough", I notice they've not played this song at all on their current U.S. tour, instead they included several other lesser songs from deep in their catalog, hard to understand the justification as Never Enough does not seem particularly difficult vocally. Club Firestone is great from a viewing standpoint, not a bad spot in the entire place! However the PA system is smallish and seemed to be pushed somewhat past it's limit.

Attended the show at I originally went to see the show because Scar Symmetry is one of my favorite bands, and before the show I didn't know much about Epica. They ended being one of the best bands I've ever seen live. Scar Symmetry was outstanding also, however they only played 7 songs.

i went to see them at the key club on 12/7/2010 and it was the best show ever!!! the agonist, black guard, and scar symmetry were also playing and kicked of the show to an awsome start. they all got the mosh pit started and got everyone pumped up for epica!! epica were even so humbel and nice to meet there fans before the show.

I came specifically to see The Agonist, who were savage, passionate, and beautiful. I had only heard a couple Epica songs, so knew very little about them before going to the show. But I was blown away by their heaviness and virtuosity...and stamina! They were unrelenting, and really only played one slow song, but otherwise, they kept their energy and intensity through their whole awesome set. Definitely an eximious band!

Epica put on a show to be remembered for the rest of one's life. Amazing band, amazing music, amazing performance. I will never miss another Epica concert that comes to Denver!!

the whole show was amazing. One of the best I have ever been to.

This is my first time seeing Epica. They were beyond my expectations. I would see them again.

The concert was for a lack of better words awesome! If you didn't go you don't know what you missed. To see all the bands playing with smiles on their faces and enjoying everything that they were doing, always makes a good concert. Epica rocked Blondie's and we couldn't get enough!

Blondies is a smaller venue, which makes seeing any band a lot more fun. Epic is always amazing, and this event was no exception. I look forward to seeing them again.

they were simply awesome, i have terrible neck pain from head banging so much. I brang some friends who have never heard of them and they also loved it.

The Epica concert at Blondies was so much fun! I really only went to hear Simone Simons sing, but I was pleased about everything that happened. There were four openers of similar genre, which were decent--Blackguard, though, was the best. They had so much energy and really knew how to entertain a crowd. I would go see them again! Finally when Epica came out we all squished toward the front and were singing and chanting along. Simone's voice was impeccable, as always, and all of the bandmates were playing with the crowd and just generally being goofy together. So much fun. I was within five feet of the stage so the view was great; the sound, on the other hand, was not as good because I think I was too far forward, and the guitars and microphones weren't amplified properly to the stage in front of the speakers. Luckily I was close enough that I still could hear them, but the amplifiers did practically nothing that close to the stage. But the whole night was fun, standing on my feet rocking out with a bunch of strangers, and I had forgotten just how much I love concerts. Definitely recommended!

Absolute amazing show, guaranteed to blow you away!!!

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I have seen a solid thousand bands live. and this is the second time seeing epica. the first pass they were excellent. but this last show was untouchable. There may not be a better singer around, i think even Sarah Brightman would have a lot of trouble. the only thing that made this show less than a 11 star was the opening band was WEAK!

Phenomenal. All of the bands provided a great performance, especially Epica.

Good event, there was a lot of energy, and the bands were great with their performances. However, I wish the ATM's worked and that the stage was a bit higher. Great sound.

I mostly came for Scar Symmetry. Blackguard was amazing. They totally dominated. Scar Symmetry rocked as well, but I was disappointed they only played 6 songs. I left during Epica's second song.

What an opportunity to have the quintessence of Symohonic Metal, straight from the Netherlands, live in Orlando!! Simone's mermaid-like, mezzo soprano vocals, blended with Mark's fierce growls, melodic-electric riffs, deep bass, enchanting keys & powerful double bass drumming made House of Blues a magical place. Synchronized hair spinning, latin passsges, beauty and power all in one place. Epica was unforgettable!!!

I would go again every time and if I can to another city, it is necessary to see them more than once because they are stunning. Simone s voice, she is an angel. I met the band, they were so nice, I understand all the effort they put after being on tour for so long and the travelling and all that and always have good humor. I love every minute of the concert, though they went out past 10.30, the opening bands were good, it was worth to wait.

Great venue. Amazing show. The opening acts were awesome, but Epica blew my mind. They are so talented. They sound incredible live! Simone's voice is so powerful. At the VIP meet and greet, they were all so nice. You could tell they are caring, genuine people. All around awesome time. Thank you, Epica, for sharing your time and your music with us.

Seeing Epica for the 3rd time was well worth it. Their performance was phenomenal. Simone Simons' vocals were commanding, melodic, precise. Her devoting "Storm the Sorrow" against bullying and for equality was very moving. Marc Jansen's growl vocals were wild, and the guitars were mean as hell. Coen Janssen's keyboard playing was phenomenal, giving the gothic feel to the music, along with Simone's opratic vocals. The whole band was amazing!

For reasons unknown to me, The Female Fronted Symphonic Power Metal Scene is pretty popular everywhere around the globe except for here in the USA. Epica along with Nightwish and Within Temptation are the most popular and the biggest bands of this genre. It combines elements of rock, metal, symphony and opera. Having personally seeing all of these bands, Epica and their fabulous lead Singer Simone Simons could be the greatest, hottest entertainer with the best voice on the planet. If you are not aware of this style of music, if you go see Epica, They will blow you away. You will hear and see something you have never seen before & I promise it will forever change the way you feel about music.

Well, we didn't go to see Epica. We saw Epica live before, but Simone wasn't there. She was sick and her vocal coach sang in place of her. The music is a little redundant but there are some nice ones. We only stayed two songs in on the Epica set list. We did, however, go to see The Agonist. We've been trying to see them for awhile now but they were only playing 21+ shows, which I was not old enough to go and see at the time. The Agonist was AWESOME and I would enjoy seeing them again at The Troc. The Troc is one of our favorite venues in Philly. We go there all the time, mainly because we're local, but the shows are usually great and the staff is great as well.

Look, I'm a 52 year old guy and a p/t classical musician. And I gotta admit, I love this band. I'm a veteran of the 70s prog scene and later in life discovered this kind of prog/metal fusion and while I only like a few such groups, Epica manages to pull off their art in a very cool way that I really connect with. You may disagree about the whole prog angle but that is simply my history and the way I think about it. Their stage presence is real and engaging; their four encores and two hour show above and beyond. I will see them every single time they come to Denver; the warmup bands, not so much, though they were entertaining.

Peabody's Downunder is my new favorite venue! What a cool, chill environment. The show opened with a local band, The Last Alliance, who were pretty good. Their singer was excellent but I hope that their music increases in complexity as they progress as a band. Presentation in this band was also lacking, but the music is the most important thing of course. The next band was The Agonist, and I was thrilled by their performance. So high energy and well done! I was still about a row back when they played but its still so close, I really enjoyed their show. Blackguard followed them, and they were amazing! Folk metal at its finest. I had been let into the front row by some friends I met while waiting in line and couldn't have been happier. This band had awesome crowd interaction, they pretty much shoved their guitars in my face and things of that nature. It was great fun!! :) Scar Symmetry was the band right before Epica, and they did excellent as well! They had some technical difficulties but they weathered them very well. Performance quality never faltered. And Epica, the headliner, was of course incredible! Everything I hoped for and more. I got my hair rustled by Mark and got to touch hands with Simone, and had plenty of guitars in my face here as well. The band was having so much fun, and their feeling was quite contagious. Much love to all the bands, and to Peabody's Downunder!

The Epica show at Jaxx was kick ass! I went to an Ep;ica show at the same venue probably 2 years ago, and it was amazing too, but this time was even better! one hell of a show!! it was worth every penny spent on the ticket and every mile that i drove to the venue!!!! Epica rocks!!

it was the best moment. not of my life cuz i have to saw them again, but they bring back my soul. tnx for the amazing concert.

We purchased VIP tickets to meet the band before the show and it was so worth it. Everyone in the band was very cool, especially Mark. They also were all patient so everyone got a good picture with the band and I really appreciated that they all dressed nice, so the pictures looked good, no offensive shirts with these guys. Station 4 is a smaller bar type venue and the ability to see Epica in this type setting was incredible!! Simone's voice live was so strong and beautiful, as good as the cd's. The base and guitar players not only were tight they put on a good show and interacted with the audience. The song Design Your Universe was awesome, the big low explosion part even sounded better than in my car! I loved seeing Martyr of the Free Word live, I did not realize that Mark and Isaac alternated when singing the heavy part of that song. It seems that Epica played songs from every album, even a classical song from The Classical Conspiracy, that was also really cool to see. I had such a great spot to view the concert from, 20 feet from the stage at stage level with no one in front of me. However, I could not see the keyboardist from where I was standing because of the speakers, and I know it was a quest playing but he sounded really good. There was a drum solo and it was good, but I would have preferred to have had the band play one more song instead. In fact, Epica has so many great songs that a 90 minute show just does not seem like enough. After the concert I saw Mark out on the floor talking to people, I thought that was cool. I drove 250 miles to see Epica and on my way back home I was having my friend google where and when the next closest show was going to be. I enjoyed ever part of this concert and Station 4 was a cool place to see it, I loved the pizza and cheep drinks.

The bands were incredible. I missed the opener due to dinner in the area running longer than expected. Insomnium was good. Lacuna Coil was a headline act themselves. Erica was SPECTACULAR. They were all over the place, walking the bar rail around the sunken floor, back by the sound board, etc. The lighting was really good for the house only. The sound was outdated and only fair. The house sound REALLY needs to be updated a lot for the audience. I personally own more and of better quality. I saw this same show in Orlando the next night and it was FAR better there.

I have been to at least three other concerts for Epica but I'd have to say that this one was the best! The sound and the energy was amazing! They also did an encore that lasted for three more songs! Absolutely fantastic performance!

This was my 4th time seeing Lacuna coil and first seeing Epica. As ALWAYS Lacuna coil blew the roof off and Epica come on stage and brought the walls crashing down. I loved this show and can't wait for them to come back.

The entire room was filled with high energy! Lacuna Coil, Elantris, Insommium, and Epica were great!

Show was amazing!! All the band's where great and the sound quality was awesome. My only complaint is the super expensive drinks. 12 dollars for a super small mixed drink.....come on guys. I will definitely pregame some drinks before I go next time.

I enjoy Epica because of their interesting harmonies and quality vocals. This experience did not showcase either. The drums (and guitar) were too loud compared to Simone's vocals. The first three bands were ok, but they weren't my style with the exception of the awesome instrumentation from Arkona. The Masquerade is located in Atlanta's Latrine... AKA Underground Atlanta. The place is falling apart, and getting there is an exercise in watching out for muggers.

What a night! Just attended the Epica concert in St. Petersburg, FL. We purchased the VIP package for the meet and greet. The band members were very nice, personable, and polite during the meet and greet - we were very impressed. It was obvious they care about their fans! Onto the show.... Excellent! The band gave 100%. The energy was sky high and Simone sounded fantastic! Let me make a point, we're old school metal fans having seen the likes of Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, etc. live several times. Epica could hang with the Priest and Sabbath and would blow the majority of current US metal bands off of the stage. That is how good they are. Can't wait to see Epica in the U.S. again!

I have ben listening to Epica recently and I quickly wanted to come see them. In Atlanta the live was amazing at the Masquerade. I recommend it at one hundred percent!

Phenomenal show, amazing talent and show men's ship!!

I was overjoyed to finally have the chance to see this band perform live. They put on a great show; I wouldn't hesitate to see them again. The only problem I had with the concert was that the sound quality at Irving Plaza is poor up in the front near the stage, which is where I like to be so I can get a good view of the performance. Despite this, I had a great evening. The opening acts, Starkill and Moonspell were also very good.

The best concert I've seen. Felt bad for Simone had all those dopes body surfing. But happy birthday. And can't wait for the cruise

my first show and it was amazing! there was a nice mosh going and it was constant but once epica came on i was lost in a trance....absolutely breathtaking i would love for them to come back to philly...or nyc (i will travel!)

It was an amazing concert. Each and every song was performed admirably by the band and in particular by Simone who was surprisingly good live. I was quite surprised to realize that she is singing better than some of the greatest symphonic metal divas - yes, her voice is not that strong, but she knows how to use it. Thoroughly enjoyed the performance. On a negative side (this is probably not the band's fault) is pretty average sound quality. At times guitars were too loud, a couple of songs had some annoying resonating feedback... It was OK overall, but just OK, you know what I mean... I'm starting to get used to this in Sydney as it seems like at most venues they have no idea how to set up the sound properly. Also the opening act (band called Metal) was as bad as you can possibly get. I came in at the start of their set and couldn't wait for it to finish. More than half of their songs featured a word "metal" as a main theme or in a chorus. Music basically consisted of 2-3 alternating chords and all the choruses followed exactly the same scheme of endlessly repeating some supposedly catchy chant ("heavy metal!!! heavy metal!!! heavy metal!!! yeeeaaahhh!!!!" or "Fighting for metal!!! Fighting with steel! Yeeeaaaa!!!" - real lyrics as I heard it, no joke). The vocalist can't sing at all - he was literally just shouting into the mic.

I came for Epica, which is female fronted symphonic metal. Why the heck did I have to listen to two hours worth of bands I never even heard of who made my ears bleed?? Alestorm was the worst thing I've ever heard in my life, IMHO. Insomnium was okay, but after an hour I was frankly quite tired of them too. After all the supporting bands I was so exhausted I barely got any enjoyment from listening to the beautiful music of Epica. Huge disappointment.

This was an amazing show, these artists are some talented folks. You will not be disappointed!

This remains the best show I've seen to date at Firestone, probably in Orlando. The lighting effects were impressive, the openers rocked, and the venue was small and intimate without being divey. I can't say anything about Epica that hasn't already been said. Everyone in the band is incredibly talented and classically trained. It was the last stop on their tour, so you could tell they were tired, but the performance wasn't lacking any energy. I also really enjoyed openers The Agonist, much more than I was expecting to. The only bad part was when the sound cut out in the middle of Simone's ballad, "Tides of Time." That was frustrating and amateur on the venue's part... But she carried on until the sound came back a few seconds later, a true professional. Don't miss Epica the next time they come into town. They're one of the most influential voices in gothic metal.

Not bad. It was a fun night out. Scar Symmetry was better than I thought they'd be.

Wonderful performance!!!! Would definitely see again!!!

I love this band epica. simone she's so amagazing.great smal place you can be close to them second time in this place with epica I will do it again .sorry bad english.