EPICA - Arcana (Live at The Symphonic Synergy) - EPICA REACTION

[@chrishodgkinson322]

I've seen them 17 times, from a sweaty little club in London playing to about 100 people in the early days, to this concert. Seeing them live isn't just going to a gig, it's a total experience. I can highly recommend checking out Consign To Oblivion (Live at The Zenith), and Kingdom Of Heaven Part 3 (Omega Alive). Nothing can prepare you.

[@mikedown3219]

This is the third time they have used an orchestra. 2008 for their Classical Conspiracy CD. 2013 for their 3 hour 10th anniversary show, Retrospect. There are a lot of videos on KZbin from that show including several official videos. I would recommend starting there to continue your journey. Finally, what you see here, the Symphonic Synergy, from September just gone is the third time they have used the full orchestra. Too expensive to tour with an orchestra all the time. What they usually do live is use the recorded orchestral and choral parts from their albums as backing tracks. Arcana is a brand new song, it is a pre-release single from their forthcoming album but there is the official video you can watch which is stunning. Enjoy the journey 🤘

[@jaynecobb8356]

@@mikedown3219 They didn't used the live Orchestra just for their Conspiracy Album. They performed it also live around that time, somewhere in east Europe. But they didn't recorded a video on that show.

[@watchtheskies]

Hi Ross, EPICA are from The Netherlands, they have been making music for 23 years, and album number 9 is out soon!

[@andreaswennberg9542]

10 years earlier (about) they did the Retrospect show. Recommend design your univers song. Dont think Epica is a big problem for reactions. So looking forward for you exploring the evulotion of Epica. Epica - design your univers (Retrospect)

[@Janneman60]

One of their top videos to look to is 'Kingdom of Heaven part 3' from the Omega live stream (live performance during Corona). It shows perfectly what this band is capable of and has áll aspects of their music. To me it is one of the best symphonic metal compositions I know. An absolute múst-see, it will blow you away completely. Will give the word EPIC a new dimension.

[@jeroenvanos9653]

I was there at the concert, it was super cool to hear all these new songs from them with the full orchestra and choirs

[@frostfireee28]

I had a second ticket for someone who couldn’t go and last minute brought a twitch streamer who lives nearby. Symphonic synergy was their first time listening to Epica and they were absolutely blown away. I can’t think of a better introduction to the band!

[@LouisannaBall]

Epica is BIG on choirs! I think it's their specialty. Keep it up! My favorite band. This is just fantastic. Agree with Design your universe (retrospect) Consign to oblivion live at the zenith Unleashed (there's 2 versions, live at retrospect and live at the AFAS 10 years later) I suggest you do both.

[@jubbelidiot]

Last year, in January, I saw Epica live for the first time. My partner was a big fan before and I would listen to them on occasion. After that concert, they almost instantly became my favourite band. Late last year we traveled from Denmark to the Netherlands to see them again, and September this year we traveled to Amsterdam to see both Symphonic Synergy shows. They are releasing their 9th studio album next year, and Mark (founder, rythm guitar and growls) has said they will tour with that album. For their European tour last year they played 5 different places in the UK. Bristol, Nottingham, Glasgow, Manchester and London Epica are amazing live, with or without orchestra and choir, one of very few bands where I always choose the live versions of their songs when available. If you want to hear the REALLY heavy side of Epica, then the official live video of "The Essence of Silence" is a good place to start ^^ You mentioned Simone is beautiful, she does have (or at least had, as late as last year) a side gig as a model for L'Oréal Paris ;)

[@PittDaddy]

So many fantastic songs. I saw them live with Sabaton in 2022. One of the best shows I've ever seen. They did a special virtual show during the Pandemic called Omega Alive. Watch Once Upon a Nightmare to hear Simone's perfection. If you want to hear their dark side, listen to Kingdom of Heaven, Part 3 for the magnum opus. Simone does fashion shoots as well. She is stunning

[@scifimonkey3]

Hopefully they will release the whole concert as a Bluray as the excerpts so far are stunning. Unfortunately you would have had to travel to the Netherlands or Mexico to see this particular show. (To tour with a full orchestra would just be too expensive and a logistical nightmare but for a limited number of gigs in a couple of locations they make it work). To put your mind at rest though their ‘standard’ gigs are still amazing and I would recommend a listen/watch to something from their fairly recent AFAS live concerts to get the feel of what that is like. I’m with you though, any band playing with an orchestra is enhanced and so for 3hrs of orchestral rapture I suggest that you work your way through the Retrospect concert from their 10year celebration of the band. (Mind you it would be good to see some of the reactions on your channel!!! Trying to react to EPICA without using the word epic ought to be a drinking challenge.

[@apaysse]

Oh boi. Welcome to the best band out there, especially if you like epic music. Check out the following: • Design Your Universe (Retrospect) • Beyond the Matrix (live at the Zenith) • Unleashed (Retrospect) • Code of Life (AFAS live) • Unchain Utopia (Omega Alive) • Kingdom of Heaven part 1 (Omega Alive) • Kingdom of Heaven part 3 (Omega Alive) • Rivers (AFAS live) • Chasing the Dragon (Retrospect) • Consign to Oblivion (live at Zenith) Keep them coming! Cheers from Uruguay

[@Leishtek]

They usually do not play with an orchestra​. Only during special events. It and the choirs play on a track during their 6-piece band performance. Sadly, the band isn't popular enough to afford a full orchestra and choir on the reg. Still, a fantastic band. The problem is that they have so many damn great songs that a lot of them get overlooked. For your next Epica songs, I would look at the Omega Alive concert. That's the concert that you saw Once Upon a Nightmare from, and the whole thing is nothing but gold! That and anything from their KZbin page is my recommendation!

[@watchtheskies]

Hi, K-Ross, here is something a bit heavier from EPICA, a Sci-Fi theme, and a very cool video EPICA - Universal Death Squad (OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO)

[@bobsuisse2]

I have been there live at AFAS 😂. And no there have been only two concerts with an orchestra in Europe and there will be two on Mexico City - that's it. But like Nightwish they work with prerecorded orchestral parts live. And you still haven't heard the dark and heavy site of Epica at all 😂.

[@rnowak85]

Great reaction! Next you need to checkout the Ghost in Me (Danse Macabre). There is live version from this same concert. It is a collaboration with the Etflieng amusement park in the Netherlands and their new ride The Danse Macabre. It utilizes melodies from the 19th century symphonic poem of the same name. Normally they don't have a live orchestra and choir, just backing tracks. This Symphonic Synergy concert, with live orchestra and choir, is a once in a decade performance. Two live shows in Amsterdam in September and two more shows in December in Mexico City. I watched the livestream of the concert in Amsterdam. They frequently livestream some of their concerts and the audio/video quality is top notch. I have seen 3 of their concerts on livestream. Arcana and Ghost in Me are all songs from their new album which has an expected release date of Spring 2025. I would expect they will be touring that summer and hitting all the European festivals. They have typically toured extensively, often doing the big festivals even when they aren't necessarily touring in support of an album. For more live orchestra recommend Unleashed, Design Your Universe, and Chasing the Dragon from their 10th anniversary Retrospect concert.

[@jonathanratliff4780]

Epica sets the bar for symphonic metal done proper and they work their butts off for their fans for 21 years straight now and it’s so appreciated I respect and love them. I will also say as a music snob of many years… I am 64 years old, I am grateful to many other good symphonic metal bands like Therion, Xandria, Leaves’ Eyes, Delain, within temptation, Nightwish, etc that were my gateway up to the summit of Epica. And yes Simone has pristine qualities and for me the most beautiful the best symphonic front woman on the planet. There are other greats along with her but she is just an outlier once you hear a lot of Epica‘s music. Great reaction!

[@rolsen1304]

Epica don't block reactions so don't worry about that. I would mirror the above suggestion for Epica - Design Your Universe live at Retrospect 2013, if you like epic that will be epic;) Epica on tour usually has prerecorded orchestra and choir+the guy on keys doing his thing. But they have played 3 concerts with full orchestra and choir.

[@watchtheskies]

Hi Ross, are you wondering how in the world you haven't heard of this band before? I felt the same way when I discovered them 11 years ago when they were already 10 years into their amazing career

[@paisa20]

Thanks ❤❤❤

[@aesbj9228]

Awesome, please check their Arcana official music video as well. It is stinking amazing with a super cool visual story. By the way they still have two more concerts to play of the Symphonic Synergy, with orchestra. The first on December 7 I believe, in Mexico.

[@SirStangelot]

I think Epica is a band which invest an survier amount of theire budget for theire shows. I mean, hiring an orchestra and choir is everything but cheap and they did it multiple times afaik. Theire Omega Alive DVD has been expensive af. (excuse my language) as Simone said (they can not affort to make mistakes while shooting the video). And all of that for beeing an band in an sub genre of an niche genre metal. Its mindeblowing if you compare that to all that pop-shows...

[@wildhoney126]

Unfortunately, touring with a full orchestra is quite difficult, especially since Epica is not such a famous band as, for example, Metallica (although Epica performed as their opening act last year), but still, they do not fill huge halls and especially stadiums everywhere and they do not have such a big budget to take a big orchestra with them on tour 😁 but by the way, this is not the largest orchestra they have performed with, at the Retrospect concert in 2013 the orchestra was larger and at the upcoming concert in Mexico in December there will be more than 120 people of the orchestra and choir. “Symphonic synergy” is not one concert, it is a series of concerts with an orchestra that they are giving this year. There are 4 of them in total. Two concerts were played in September and two more concerts will be held in Mexico in December, as I mentioned above, they will be even larger in scope (a larger concert hall and a larger orchestra). But on a normal tour, when they come to London or Manchester, they won't have an orchestra on stage, but there will be crazy energy of the band members on stage, as a rule, they are more active than in this video 😁 so in any case, I highly recommend visiting their concert even without an orchestra. They put on a great show. I would like to say a little about Simone. She joined the band when she was 17 and had little vocal training and no experience. Now we clearly see her evolution both as a singer and as an artist on stage. She is absolutely gorgeous. This is the case when you get not only auditory but also aesthetic pleasure. I also love looking at beautiful people hahaha, regardless of their gender. And by the way, one more thing. Epica's music often features extreme vocals (by guitarist and creator of the band Mark Jansen) and sometimes their songs are quite heavy and complex, keep that in mind and be prepared for it 😁

[@jaynecobb8356]

Next songs, you should check out: Kingdom of Heaven Part 1 (Live Version: Omega Alive) Kingdom of Heaven Part 3 (Live Version: Omega Alive) Design your Universe (Live Version: Retrospect) Consign to Oblivion (Live Version: Live at the Zenith) Code of Life (Live Version: ASAF Live)

[@abejota88]

Great reaction, you should check Sancta Terra where they feat Floor Jansen, they are unbelievable together.

[@DerHerr-ni2wr]

🤘🤘

[@sleafar7786]

Epica has many live videos on their official channel. You can even watch the whole "Omega Alive" concert there: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6PToXiNfNGSqdU If you want a recommendation from this concert, it would be of course "Kingdom of Heaven, Pt.3" which is also available as separate video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJWldImDeZ2Hn68