FIRST REACTION to EPICA (The Essence Of Silence) 🔥🙏🎸

[@KelvinZomerVlog]

So happy that you did this one! Thank you so much :) And I'm glad you liked it so much. They are one of my favourite for years now. I hope this is going to be the same rabbit hole for you as Nightwish is.

[@ChaseCarneson]

Happy Birthday sir!

[@SaDiablo81]

Also one of my favorites. Thanks Kevin.

[@bosunbones.8815]

Happy birthday, Kelvin!

[@Immortall1408]

Happy birthday, Kelvin! And thanks for making the request. :-)

[@elwinvanrosmalen3627]

Gefeliciteerd en dank voor Epica!

[@forkless]

To quote one of your other subscribers; We are here for the pauses.

[@572Btriode]

Ah, Forkless, hello. A perfect quote. Nuff said.

[@rocioiribe5841]

that's the new slogan :D

[@ChaseCarneson]

And I am here to pause for you all ❤️

[@RyanofLordran]

Agreed! Or else we'd just watch the original video. This IS a reaction video after all!

[@darkiee69]

Don't worry about the haters. If the want a reaction video with few pauses for some "Wow, that's cool" "How did he do that" there's plenty of them around. Your pauses to break down what they're doing is why we're here.

[@Immortall1408]

And there are more than enough channels without any breaks

[@rocioiribe5841]

that's why i'm here. there's only so much "open face gasp omg that's awesome!" reactions i can look at

[@shawnski001]

@@rocioiribe5841 I won't click on anything that has a "Home Alone" style thumbnail.

[@rocioiribe5841]

@@shawnski001 "home alone" style thumbnail lol well said. i don't either, (i did the first few times but now I'm tired of it) fun fact, i actually clicked on one of Chase's videos exactly BECAUSE he didn't have that thumbnail

[@TheTrykstr]

A lot of folks will say to go to Sancta Terra with Floor, but to be honest, I'd say one of the best showcases of everything Epica is and has to offer would be Kingdom of Heaven. Just a pure rollercoaster and masterpiece. Great analysis on this video and really enjoyed your reactions!

[@patrickshelley09]

Yep people just want Sancta Terra because it has Floor in it. Despite the fact that Sancta Terra is mediocre in terms of their playlist. For me, KoH, DYU and CTO would be the best next listens. If he wants to see Floor and Simone, he should do Stabat Mater.

[@cranboogie]

I second this.

[@pedrohscarvalho]

Chasing the Dragon is one of my absolute favourites

[@wepprop]

For what little it is worth, 'Epica' is what got me into Symphonic Metal. I was Googling something and it brought up a picture of Epica onstage, outdoors, daytime. I look at the picture and I'm like "WTF, there's a super--model fronting a heavy metal band. What the hell is up with that?" So I went to KZbin and watched a couple of videos and liked them. So, I bought their latest CD, which, at that time, was "The Quantum Enigma" and loved that. Buying more of their albums got me the "Retrospect" video where I discovered Floor Jansen. Floor Jansen led me to Nightwish. Nightwish led me to Tarja Turunen. Tarja led me to Within Tempation {Paradise (What About Us?)}. Within Temptation led me to Delain ( Martijn Westerholt). Oh, and also throw in Amaranthe (Simone Simons -> Kamelot -> Elize Ryd -> Aramanthe). And now I'm happy that I've discovered great music again. :-)

[@KelvinZomerVlog]

Ooooooooh and there's so so so much more. Happy that you had this journey ;)

[@ronaldboers8061]

Although my route was slightly different it was quiet similar. I got hooked on Sharon by comment under a Ilse deLange clip (for none Dutch people she is a kind rock/country singer. :-) Yeah i know how did that happen? Well there was a ongoing discussion in the comments field who was the best Dutch vocalist. It was a ongoing discussion between Ilse and Anouk ( a rock vocalist). This discussion went back and forth until one single comment stood out saying something like "we are discussing the best Dutch vocalist and nobody even mentions Sharon den Adel of Within Temptation?". I was aware of the band but never payed attention to it because it had the metal label attached to it. Still the push to take a look at them was a bit later when i ran in to a list of 100 female vocalist that you should absolutely see live on stage. You would see the names likes like Barbra Streisand, Withney Houston, Adele and the like. I decided to take a look at it if any of our national vocalist was on that list and surprise Sharon was on that list. Now that piqued my intrest. So ik looked up the band and clicked the song highest on the list at the time called "Memories". I thought it was going to be the a cover of the Cats song but was surprised by a beautiful original song and was impressed by her vocals. The next clip on the list was the 2 hours live Black Symphony concert. I was intending just to take short peak on what she sounded like live. That short peak lasted the full 2 hours i was a fan by end of the show. Because comparisons between Sharon and Tarja Turunen kept popping is started listening to her as well. I got her backstory with Nightwish and how that turned out. At that time i was and i still am a fan of Tarja. I decided then not to even take a look at them. Then i ran in to raving reviews of their latest vocalist Floor Jansen (never heard of her before) but Dutch so i convinced myself to give her a look because she had nothing do with what had happened to Tarja. I put myself in the mindset that i would only take one look just to see what she sounded like. It was "Ghost love score" the Buenos Aires version of 2012. I now know i never stood a chance against the all mighty Floor. Shortly followed by Epica and Delain. ;-)

[@AkelasanAK]

..that's a nice journey .. mine started from Within Temptation 'Mother Earth' ... other most prominent bands i would add are Therion and Haggard ...

[@MilesDashing]

I love this story!!!

[@AnOldGreyDog]

Imagine now, if you will, Simone there sharing a stage with Floor. It's called Sancta Terra. You won't regret it.

[@serkansenturk6945]

Also Design Your Universe is also great! From the same concert and damn the orchestra and choir oh just omg

[@subidorload]

Or stabba matter dolorosa

[@KelvinZomerVlog]

Yes all the things!

[@hermenw.huiskamp8555]

Or the classical Stabat Mater Dolorosa from the same concert...

[@TheDoctorIWho]

@@serkansenturk6945 Yes! Yes! Yes! But Design your universe of "retrospect-concert" live. Important especially for that song. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nprFYXqimphoj6c

[@tillthestarsevaporate]

I second the request of Once Upon a Nightmare. It’s my favourite Epica song. I wish more people would react to it because it’s absolutely beautiful! For a heavier song, Consign to Oblivion (Live at Zenith) is a must, as well as The Phantom Agony (Retrospect Live), or really anything from the Retrospect concert. You certainly can’t go wrong with that three-hour, 10th anniversary concert! Anyway, I love your reaction! The look on your face when Mark started singing/growling was priceless 🙈 I also think one of the best things about Epica are the lyrics, so they’re worth looking into if you want your mind blown 😂

[@jongu71]

When your name is Simone Simons you’ve got to have an S shaped microphone stand.

[@ARetiredPirate]

Indeed, it would make some very interested stands for other singers! Poor Marko can never have a nice one..

[@ari-etta]

Yes, finally. Been waiting for you to get around to Epica. Thank you Kelvin for speeding it up a bit. We knew Chase would like this.

[@TauriReacts]

The open-mouth said it all 😂😂 I adore this band so much and I cannot wait to see your analysis of more songs from them, keep rocking on Chase! 🤘🤘

[@Immortall1408]

And there is the new album as something to look forward to in following months. The children´s choir seems like an interesting addition.

[@ChaseCarneson]

Tauri is here!!!!! Thank you so much for this.

[@music2seeconcertphotograph457]

Sancta Terra by Epica will flash you: Full orchestra and choir and Floor together with Simone is just heart melting

[@GallyMove]

What a good idea ... kzbin.info/www/bejne/fXzNpKqQbtSobrc

[@DankoDable]

@@GallyMove dont use this version! its not live... floor sounds like simone because they used the album version! better use this one kzbin.info/www/bejne/mamVY4yrn5ehsMk

[@GallyMove]

DankoZee thank you for your advice 🤘

[@evacody1249]

Or how about song that don't have Floor because she is you know not a member of Epica.

[@music2seeconcertphotograph457]

Delain124 Why not a song with a guest singer?

[@Cormyre]

That expression, 100% the face of everyone I've introduced to Epica. Never gets old!

[@killahgrag1]

As a newbie to symphonic metal, I implore you to react to Kamelot. A bridge to them from here would be "Kamelot ft. Simone Simons - The Haunting live at Norway (2006)". It has their previous singer, Roy Kahn, on vocals. If you want to hear the new guy, Tommy Karevik, listen to "KAMELOT ft. Alissa White-Gluz and Elize Ryd - Sacrimony (Official Live Video)" or "KAMELOT - Phantom Divine (Shadow Empire) ft. Lauren Hart (Official Live Video)"

[@danychan9637]

not to mention that the name "Epica" is inspired by Kamelot's album of the same name

[@maximus_siberius]

Even though Nightwish is still my all-time favorite band, Epica is surely close second. There is one thing I love about them specifically. While Nightwish is doing concept albums, Within Temptation is going mainstream with modern pop & rock elements and Delain change their lineup and sound back and forth, Epica mostly stayed true to their symphonic metal roots and sound. I have been a fan since The Phantom Agony and love this band more and more with each new release. They do work on a new album right now and I can't wait for it.

[@Leishtek]

Two titans fight for the symphonic metal crown. Who wins? WE DO!

[@russelfermin9106]

Leish Tek love this!!! Just pure friendly competition. The real winner is the listerners!

[@MilesDashing]

The rivalry is just among the fans, you know. The guys and girls in the respective bands are just grateful to be able to make a decent living from the music. Not many people in metal get to do that.

[@everett880]

Here for Simone my darling 😍 Happy birthday to the kind gentleman who requested this. Seeing Simone just made my day haha. And PAUSE AS MANY AS YOU LIKE. So I can see Simone hahaha

[@KelvinZomerVlog]

Thank you for calling me kind ;)

[@everett880]

@@KelvinZomerVlog No prob my dude. Happy birthday 🍻 Great song choice. This is on my top 3 fav of Epica songs.

[@KelvinZomerVlog]

@@everett880 i never tought that so many would have it in their top 10. I'm so happy about that, especially for Epica ^^

[@Immortall1408]

@@KelvinZomerVlog Well, that breakdown is just so juicy :-)

[@ChaseCarneson]

FACTS!!!

[@adastra9494]

Design your Universe, Chasing the Dragon, Unchain Utopia, Unleashed, Consign to Oblivion and Sancta Terra next please =)

[@MountainMetal]

Live, whenever possible, of course.

[@ARetiredPirate]

Especially "design your universe"...live at the retrospect concert.

[@Stealth472]

Glad to hear you will be doing more Epica. They have a amazing back catalogue of songs.

[@valeriududau3218]

try for yourself - Epica - Once Upon a Nightmare and Tides of time - studio version

[@KelvinZomerVlog]

Once Upon a Nightmare is one of the best songs ever produced. Can't get enough of that song.

[@Immortall1408]

Tides of Time is great even in its acoustic version

[@rooster6]

Listened for the song, joined for the fantastic analysis. Chasing the Dragon, The Phantom Agony, Edge of The Blade and Once Upon a Nightmare are 4 off the bat but you will get countless other great Epica requests.

[@tjitsekoster9379]

If you're ever interrested in hearing Floor singing with a band like Epica, look for After Forever, Floors first band. The founder of Epica was part of After Forever before he left so it's very similar. I think Epica is even heavier and After Forever is a bit more melodic, but similar enough. Look for Dreamflight, Energize me and Monolith Of Doubt. They will blow you away for sure.

[@tjitsekoster9379]

It's just a suggestion.

[@v5d9k1]

Wow! Is this really the first Epica reaction on here? Another great band to explore. Not everything they do is a hit with me, but they have some great songs. 🤟🏽

[@godcaoss]

Just here waiting for Sancta Terra Live Retrospect next week.

[@ASHLOTR]

Just what I was thinking! Yes please ❤️!!

[@FozzyWozzy1203]

Yus pluz

[@Elviolli]

Yep! I was actually surprised that it hadn’t been done yet! I just assumed he’d done it by now. Thanks, Chase!

[@Leishtek]

I don't want to be negative, but I have no idea why people keep suggesting this. I mean of all the brilliant title tracks, Cry for the Moon, Obsessive Devotion, Chasing the Dragon, Fools of Damnation, Kingdom of Heaven and half of DYU, Monopoly on Truth, Half of tQE, half of tHP... Sancta Terra is what you want him to do? Sancta Terra is a fine song but that's something you'd recommend to someone who doesn't like metal or someone who thinks Evanescence is the greatest female fronted band ever. This is Chase we're talking about here. There's no reason not to go straight for the epics. ST might actually turn him off of Epica a little.

[@Leishtek]

​@Zestful Zeitgeist exactly. I mean I personally think there is a strong case for Floor being the greatest female vocalist in rock/metal history, but that's different. If we're talking about Epica, let's talk about EPICA. Besides, if someone wanted to do Simone and Floor together, their Stabat Mater Dolorosa performance from the same show is vastly superior.

[@stefanpervoost8984]

The Obsessive Devotion!!! you will LOVE IT

[@cyberdan42]

I started my symphonic journey with Epica, I adore this band, they are not only brilliant but were fundamental to introducing me to a wider genre of music. This band and the contrast of sounds they produce on every level is simply amazing, a testament not only to their talent as musicians but the composition, magnificent.

[@Neocoolzero]

This is my favorite by them, it has a bit of all the aspects they use in music and it's all fantastically mixed. I was lucky to see this tour live and go to a meet and greet, they're all amazing and nice people

[@tinkeralli766]

That was worth waiting for!!! As much as I absolutely love Nightwish and think they are all wonderful, my first love is Epica!!!!!!! So glad you enjoyed them and can’t wait to hear more!

[@dave-bk6vt]

I recently discovered Epica, due to your Nightwish reaction videos (youtube algorithms suggest Sancta Terra for Nightwish viewers - and they are right to do so) If I could give this video two thumbs up I would. Look forward to your next Epic(a) reaction (Design Your Universe - retrospect live - is my favourite so far)

[@richardtomlin8704]

If you don't like the pauses type in EPICA (The Essence Of Silence) and look for a version without a reactor. Problem solved.

[@ChaseCarneson]

😂😂🙏🙏

[@theseanie9958]

Consign to Oblivion and Sancta Terra next you say? Agreed.

[@ChaseCarneson]

Sounds fair

[@Friedensp4nzer]

Sancta Terra live with Floor you said? Nice.

[@evacody1249]

Just Cosign to Oblivion. I'm so sick of people checking out Sancta Terra just because of Floor.

[@theseanie9958]

@@evacody1249 sancta terra is a great song even without floor. simone and floor's chemistry together makes for a great live show worth watching

[@Bassta]

@@theseanie9958 Sancta Terra is great, but Consign to Oblivion is much more representative of what they have to offer

[@askariskillgannon]

So glad you've discovered Epica. Love watching you get that excited about music (especially when they're mu favourite bands).

[@Kekoapono]

I’m glad you picked up on something I’ve always loved about Epica: their use of contrast. They are very talented in combining the beautiful with, well, not the _ugly_ but at least something a bit harsher. Perhaps it’s an exploration of the hopeful vs reality. Even without getting into the philosophy of that approach, I love the musical contrast it offers. Another aspect of Epica that many people like about them is how intelligent their lyrical content is. They tend to explore philosophy and the human condition. In one of their latest albums, “The Holographic Principle,” they explore the theories and ideas behind the concept that we’re living in a simulation; a Matrix, if you will. But of course as they explore those ideas the music behind it is amazing as well. After you check out the music from “The Holographic Principle” in the future, you may be interested in a couple of videos of Epica’s bassist doing a bass play through of a couple of the songs from the album. It’s really neat to hear the bass highlighted in music that’s otherwise so dense with layers.

[@novaasher1185]

Simone is the Metal's Poison Ivy. Late to the party but happy belated birthday to the gentleman who requested this song. Excellent choice because this is better than that one song requested by so many people (you know the one featuring the frontwoman of NW lol) which to me, does not show what Epica is all about. Design Your Universe live should be next.

[@amandasuomi773]

First time I watched a video twice (despite being a massive Nightwish fan and always loving any of your videos), but it was really nice to see how surprised you were and how much fun you had with this. :) Epica has a lot to offer, they're amazing live and studio, you won't get bored. Welcome aboard! PS. Oh, you'll probably react to many songs from the Retrospect show - an AWESOME show, especially for the orchestra and choir... but be prepared for some particularly heavy light show and pyros, as you said you didn't like when it was "too much". Maybe consider putting sunglasses on, lol. :D

[@fnglert]

The 'breakdown' in this song is one of my favorite moments in metal.

[@oswaldojosesilvestrejunior10]

Epica is one of the greatest symphonic metal bands out there, Simone and Mark complement each other... can't wait for the "Martyr of the Free World" reaction!!! 🤘🏽🤘🏽🤘🏽

[@skullair52]

Epica have legit pits,black metal dudes think this is "chick metal"😆 saw them twice this year,one pit was top five of my life 🤘😎🤘 I'm talking 35 yrs of metal 🤘

[@jordanlindsey4299]

I highly suggest, when you get the time, to check out "The Day That The World Breaks Down" by Ayreon. Ayreon is not a band per se but a music project that resides in the prog metal/metal opera genre. The man behind it, Arjen Anthony Lucassen, writes concept albums and gets guest artists to play the characters in the stories. Simone Simons (the female singer in Epica) has appear on 2 Ayreon albums (3 including the one coming out soon) actually! Some of the albums take place in the same universe and some are standalone stories. I think with your ability to notice so much detail in every song you react to, you could really do them justice. Also "Blind and Frozen" by Beast in Black, more great power metal.

[@ronaldboers8061]

Cool you left the surprise at end of the song out of it.

[@transitambulance]

To make @Chase Carneson a little more curious here you can find a list of guest singers that appeared on the Ayreon albums en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ayreon_guest_musicians also includes a list of musicians

[@AnnekeOosterink]

Oh, he is always able to make me cry, valley of the queens and day 9 playground always do the trick somehow. The flutes! All his work is so good.

[@andriusbruzas9211]

Love their Universal Death Squad song (really cool and meaningful lyrics) and the whole EP of Epica vs. Attack on Titan that was written to them by the creator of the show. And cheers to the wrestling reference.

[@pedrohscarvalho]

Really nice reaction, as always, Chase! Loved it! Thank you for that. I'm a lucky man. I went on 4 of their concerts here in Brazil, and one of them was their own festival, called Epic Metal Fest (2016) which they were the headliners. They certainly know how to put on a show! They're great performers, and sound amazing live :) Don't know if you already did your research, but the "dude that's playing the guitar and screaming" is Mark Jansen - founder of both After Forever (first Floor's big band) and Epica. He's an awesome composer, guitarist and vocalist 🤘

[@Pamgiber]

Epic Metal Fest 🖤 I was there! 🤘

[@pedrohscarvalho]

@@Pamgiber really? It was magical, right? I'll never forget the excitement when they started to play "Mother of Light" I was 😱

[@Pamgiber]

I cried like a baby when they played Once Upon a Nightmare! 😂

[@corporategoth]

Yay, love to see someone giving epica some credit!!! As far as suggestions go, I hate that everyone always suggests the Sancta Terra performance 😭😩!! Simone was pregnant and really struggling with her breath support during that show, and she is overshadowed by Floor because of it. It's not a good representation of her talent at all. I recommend "Universal Death Squad" myself 😎

[@ShadowhispersBand]

Great reaction! Epica are basically more metal when Nightwish are more symphony. Basically. There's a great amount of prog and death metal in Epica. The vocals have 3 levels: Simone's, Mark's growls and the choir. They use it in a way the lyrics or the song needs it. As you pointed it out: it's not a gimmick. Feel free to check their catalogue, it's awesome and very diverse. Plus, live, they have great fun. Check out Consign to Oblivion live at the Zenith. And a bunch of years ago they had a great Retrospect show with orchestra and choir (and 2 songs with Floor as guest). And Mark (the growler) and Ariën (the drummer) have a second band callen MaYaN with 5 singers. It's symphonic death metal, more complex, more diverse, more epic. For most people (including myself) the first listen is relatively tough, as they don't make any compromises writitng the songs. But I would be really interested in getting your take on Saints don't die by MaYaN, as you are one of the few guys that actually know a big deal about music and point out things that go uinnoticed by 99% of the other reaction videos.

[@MilesDashing]

Three levels of vocals? I must disagree. Mark does both death metal growls and black metal screams, and Simone does both opera vocals and contemporary pop/musical theatre vocals. I think that makes five.

[@Jakob-tf6kj]

Love your breakdown of the music, learning so much from you!!!

[@paravarium]

Wow first? Happy Birthday! I saw Epica with Symphony X back in 2008 and been a solid fan since, even though we didn't get Simmone, she had a staph infection.

[@simonockwell3485]

I love symphony x, wish I’d seen them live! Not really heard much from epica, a lot heavier than I remember from couple songs I’ve heard before!

[@ChantalLalonde]

Yessss. Thank you for doing Epica. Nightwish and Epica are my two favourite bands❤️❤️❤️

[@richardtomlin8704]

There was your reaction using words and your reaction in your eyes. Watch yourself back. Those eyes said so much.

[@boringturtle]

Glad you finally got around to it. Definitely have to check some of the stuff from their Retrospect live show. It's a 3 hour live show with orchestra and choir on stage. Would love to see reacts to some of the less standard stuff of theirs as well though. Monopoly on Truth from Retrospect is great as well as the stuff they've put out from the most recent album. Definitely check out Ascension (Dream State Armageddon). It's of the same species as Essence of Silence and also a truly excellent song.

[@boringturtle]

Also they have a new album coming out in a few months so you should check out the singles as they come out.

[@KelvinZomerVlog]

Can't wait for the new album!!

[@thisismyvanced3738]

Yesss Ascension

[@damienmaynard8892]

Happy Birthday Calvin!!! Epic choice! :P Epica is Nightwish gone brutal. This is a truly a beast and beauty number! As you said - dark and light... She's a redhead, Chase! Fire in motion!!! Of course a certain demographic look at Simone!...... Lucky Oliver!!!

[@lazaruslong697]

Hooray for regular Epica on Chases channel! Can't wait for more from them. Basically any song will make me happy!

[@FlixPat]

One of my favorite Epica songs, and you delivered such a proper reaction! Love it, keep it up. Cheers from Brazil 🤘

[@ChaseCarneson]

Glad you enjoyed it 🇧🇷

[@Pamgiber]

I'm so happy you finally did Epica! Great reaction as always. Your faces were priceless. 😂

[@ChaseCarneson]

🤔😬🥺😱

[@zzaradina]

Yeess more Epica! Sancta Terra (live at Retrospect) will for sure blow your mind! Also, I think you might enjoy Kamelot - Sacrimony, live from their new DVD. It has an awesome melody and fantastic singers!

[@Brombit]

Not enough people said CONSIGN TO OBLIVION :D

[@ChaseCarneson]

Was a special birthday request. That one is coming I promsie

[@dimoraes0902]

@@ChaseCarneson You need to do some after forever as well man! =D The birth of Epica and Floor

[@sainakarimi846]

There’s just something about these Dutch ladies that just makes u fall in love( Floor, Simone and Sharon)

[@Populiervogel]

You forgot Anneke, Charlotte and Diane, we got 6 of them.

[@sainakarimi846]

Populier Vogel well yeah obviously. I just named the ones he knows

[@katarzynapawowska9601]

Chase slaying ✨beautiful✨ is my new favourite after Chase going back to the beginig of a song

[@PlugInKali]

I didn't guess the song, but this is one of my favourites and you seem to love it, so nothing to complain :) Thank you Calvin and happy birthday! Also, as one of the people you requested this band, I'm really happy that you liked so much that it became part of the regulars ;)

[@KelvinZomerVlog]

Thank you ^^

[@whirledpeaz5758]

Simone and Floor are BFF's and Classmates of the same vocal teacher. When they come together in Sancta Terra, My heart Melts. Chasing the Dragon is another fav of mine. Hoping it will be one of yours.

[@joannavanschaik7561]

I don't always jive with Epica personally, but this particular song... wow.

[@dandyprime5338]

Epica. My favorite band of all time. They've been around since 2002. They are a Dutch female-fronted symphonic metal band. They have seven studio albums, a few EPs, and some other works. So glad you are finally reacting to them. They are similar to Nightwish, but I think they are more powerful since they use harsh vocals more frequently and the guitar tones tend to be on the heavier side. That being said, they have a huge catalogue of songs for you to check out. They are working on their 8th studio album right now and it should come out by January next year. I highly recommend "Consign to Oblivion - Live at the Zenith Paris Official Video" for the next reaction. Other songs to check out are: "Edge of the Blade" "Universal Death Squad" "Storm the Sorrow" "Victims of Contingency" The current band members are as follows: - Simone Simons, lead vocals, good friends with Floor Jansen of Nightwish. They even used to be roommates! -Mark Jansen, harsh vocalist and rhythm guitarist. No familial relation to Floor, however, Mark and Floor formed the band After Forever together way back before Epica existed and before Floor was in Nightwish. -Coen Janssen, keyboards and synth. His last name does have a double "s", so no relation to Mark or Floor here either, haha. -Rob van der Loo, bassist. - Isaac Delahaye, lead guitarist. - Arien van Weesenbeek, drums and percussion, spoken words for some songs. Simone, Coen, and Mark have been in the band since its inception, however, Isaac and Arien were added to the band around 2007-2009 and Rob came into it in 2013 or so. A side note, Mark was dating Simone before the band formed and she was largely unknown to the music world at that point until she became the frontwoman for the band when she was 18 or 19. As it stands now, Simone is married to the keyboardist for the band Kamelot, Oliver Palotai. They have a son named Vincent (he shares my birthday, haha). Also, Mark has a masters degree in psychology and tends to write most of the lyrics with Simone, although other members, particularly Coen, will contribute lyrically to the songs as well. A lot of their songs deal with metaphysics, the afterlife, and social issues. Epica also has their own orchestra and choir, although they don't use them often for live shows because it's quite expensive. They are the most successful Dutch metal band in the world today. Thanks for checking these guys out man. Can't wait for you to hear more from them!

[@Immortall1408]

A nice summary. Although, Epica was known as Sahara Dust in 2002, I believe.

[@dandyprime5338]

@@Immortall1408 That is true, but I felt it a bit unnecessary to mention.

[@Immortall1408]

@@dandyprime5338 I know, I know...that is what I am here for :-D

[@KelvinZomerVlog]

=D

[@tifosinh]

Always a Thumbs Up for Epica! I've seen them three times live, the first time quite by accident, completely unknown to me at the time. They blew me away. I will never miss one of their shows from now on when they are in my area. Truly awesome live!

[@nancylee2601]

I'm almost drooling at the mere thought of picturing your reaction to Epica - Sancta Terra ft. Floor Jansen

[@ChaseCarneson]

Coming soon

[@evacody1249]

Can people stop with that song. There are far better Epica song to react to from that show. That is not one of them.

[@bhg70]

I love Epica. Mark Janssen (growls) was previously in After Forever with Floor Jansen. They were one of the first (if not the first) to employ the "Beauty & the Beast" vocal style. He left (or was kicked out of, depending on which account you read) After Forever in 2002, and immediately formed Epica. With Epica, he continued with -- and perfected -- the B&B vocal style while making the music much, much heavier. Since then, there have been many imitators, but they maintain the standard, in my opinion. As others have stated, though, Floor has joined Epica in concert on multiple occasions, so if there was ever any bad blood over his leaving After Forever, it's not there anymore.

[@Immortall1408]

Epica was using B&B alongside After Forever and Leaves´ Eyes back then, but it was always much more present in Epica´s songs

[@Leishtek]

Also, Epica is just old enough to date back to the 'gothic metal' or 'B&B' metal age, before we really had the symphonic metal tag. B&B meaning beauty and the beast, in reference to the clean and harsh vocals. At around the turn of the century, there was an absolute FLOOD of these type of metal bands with female singers (ushered in by Anneke van Giersbergen and Tarja Turunen). Very few of those types of bands survive to this day (Therion is the only other one I can think off the top of my head), and that entire gothic/B&B genre seems to have branched into either symph metal (Nightwish, Xandria, Delain, Within Temptation) or something more death/thrash/black/prog (The Agonist, Arch Enemy, Jinjer, To-Mera). Epica has gotten heavier and heavier throughout their discography, and have obvious ties to black, death, and prog, but they have held on tight to that symphonic element.

[@vitezslavhron3879]

Epica- Chasing the Dragon live Retrospect will blow your mind!!!!

[@KreshDraven6]

No one has a better mix of growls and clean female vocals than Epica, absolutely love this "Beauty and the Best" dynamic. Awesome song and great reaction man

[@Lumerlotre]

Oh good, you got to Epica. :D In addition to Sancta Terra, please do Consign to Oblivion as well!

[@The-WorldExplained]

So happy you finally reacted to Epica! Nightwish and them have been my favourite bands for a long time now! And you sir, are going to absolutely love Consign to Oblivion (live at Zenith)!

[@Dragonfly1Scorpion]

First off, love your enthusiasm! And second, I'm really looking forward for you doing more Epica songs!

[@timhutchinson8485]

In her lower range, Simone sounds a lot like Anneke Van Giersbergen. (incidentally, another fantastic Dutch metal singer)

[@Immortall1408]

and a bit like Marcela Bovio who was/is a backing vocalist for both

[@najrenchelf2751]

The Dutch singers are SHREDDING this genre - it’s not even funny! 😂😂😂

[@blindmikeguard]

Great choice! I love these guys, one of my favourites. Excellent analysis, as always.

[@Boerke]

Hahah, "... She's unique" followed by essentially silence :D EPICAL reaction Chase!

[@elbu2968]

Chase, great reaction, you always seem to able to go straight to the essence of the songs. It reflects the experience of being in their live concerts very well. you can see this in the audience; Young and rough living the experience, older and wiser (me), absorbing the experience. both having a great time. Please more Epica.

[@ChaseCarneson]

I do my best. I'm sure I miss a bunch but in a first listen, I try to give my best to it.

[@cancelled_user]

@@ChaseCarneson If you liked Simone's high notes so much, can you just have a look at this? kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4fLk4eCbrGpqKc Not as a reaction, just watch it off camera. It's just 38 seconds 🙂

[@dac2007]

I've recently watched the full Retrospect 2013 show, and it's been growing on me. They are amazing, a fantastic more "classical" compliment to Nightwish "cinematic" style.

[@AnOldGreyDog]

And then, after you've been turned to mush by Floor and Simone, you need to complete the quartet of Dutch goddesses with Sharon and Anneke - Somewhere from the Black Symphony concert.

[@lonelywind3511]

I would also add Charlotte from Delain. Especially with Marko from Nightwish.

[@fstad]

@@lonelywind3511 Indeed!

[@fstad]

Absolutely!

[@Jilhoa1]

May I also suggest baby goddess Zora from Blackbriar? She'd amazing too! And Dutch of course ;)

[@najrenchelf2751]

Jilhoa1, yes yeS, yES, YES - I have fallen in love with Blackbriar! 😍😍

[@JulietaDiBattista]

Happy birthday Calvin!!!!! You've chosen one of my Epica's favorite song! I hope you had a wonderful bday 🙃🙃🙃🙃

[@KelvinZomerVlog]

Yes and this is the cherry on top

[@matthewarms3786]

What Mark started with After Forever and Floor he perfected with Simone and Epica. Can't wait to see more as your journey continues Chase.

[@seanmurphy637]

Great to see you got around to Epica and glad you enjoyed it. This is another band with so many great songs. My recommendations are: Consign to Oblivion, live at Zenith Design your Universe, live at Retrospect Santa Terra , live at Retrospect. Hope to see more Epica soon

[@elwinvanrosmalen3627]

Or If you like choir en orchestra, the opening off the Retrospect show, monopoly on truth live is great and almost nobody reacted on that one!

[@tillthestarsevaporate]

I second that!

[@timhutchinson8485]

loved your face when the sort of 'tech death' riff came in. XD

[@AprellaDguild]

I was at this concert and it takes me right back. How I miss going to concerts. Glad you finally tackles Epica :D

[@achromicwhite2309]

So glad you finally got to Epica. There's SO much for you to explore now :)

[@sineadd9186]

You made my evening, thank you :) been listening to Epica pretty much every day since beginning of COVID-19

[@slash-1971]

So glad you finally got to the masters of symphonic metal. Looking forward to you dissecting some of their complex songs! 🤘

[@jackstorm5649]

Want more how about "Kingdom of Heaven", "Design Your Universe", "Storm the Sorrow" or "Consign to Oblivion". Mark also started another band MaYaN and both he and Epica's drummer are in both. MaYaN is a little heavier than Epica. I would say Epica is Symphonic Power Metal with Death Metal flavorings Where MaYaN is Death Metal with Symphonic flavoring.

[@Leishtek]

HAHAHA Chase I have never seen your face so animated! Yes, PLEASE make Epica a regular thing on your channel. Back in 2003/04 when I started getting into underground music, Epica was one of the first bands I'd found. I was looking for things similar to Lacuna Coil, who's single Heaven's a Lie was on playing on the radio here in America. I actually didn't like Epica at first because I hated the growls, but they grew on me and Epica became one of my favorites and remain so to this day. I'm more into prog now but I always find myself coming back and listening to Epica. I've honestly tried, but I can't get away from them. They are awesome. I probably wouldn't put this song in their top 15 or 20, so if you're anything like me you're going to be having a great time soon. Nightwish and Epica have the symph metal genre on lockdown and nobody else is close but while NW is more about composition and emotion, Epica is more about dramatic contrasts and really putting the METAL in symphonic metal. You could be listening to a beautiful accoustic ballad piece and then out of nowhere get run over by a death/black metal train. Just don't expect Simone to be Floor, because Floor is peerless. Also, obviously they compose 'epic' music, but that's not where they got their name. I always thought that would be super cheesy if they were just sitting around an amp going, "yeah man, we're gonna do epic music so we'll just put an A at the end!" Just don't listen to all these people saying do Sancta Terra; go straight for Dream State Armageddon or Consign to Oblivion live at the Zenith, or their latest title track The Holographic Principle. Sancta Terra is more for trying to ease nonmetal fans or people who think Evanescence is the greatest female fronted band ever into Epica. CONTINUE TO DO THE PAUSES AND MUSICAL ANALYSIS. Now if we could get you to do Opeth, Symphony X, Ayreon, and Haken regularly this would be the best channel on KZbin.

[@ChaseCarneson]

Promise I will

[@Leishtek]

@@ChaseCarneson YESSSSSS

[@mikevankeulen2579]

You really should do Consign to Oblivion!

[@3WWizard]

This was cool. Always nice to get exposure to new bands here. Had seen the name a lot, but never checked them out. Also we had an official Band-Maid release of the song Play from their Feb 14 2020 show. I imagine there's been a lot of messages about it, just wanted to add my support.

[@ChaseCarneson]

Out tomorrow my friend

[@marianneskaf5417]

Your face at 3:29 is everything !!! Welcome to the Epica world 🤘🏻

[@rodneypayne4827]

That's Simone's custom mic stand, It's a large S.

[@Immortall1408]

And Coen´s portable keybord is shaped into C

[@Hydrangea1971]

I have loved them from the beginning. I think you won't be dissapointed by their body of work. AND there is a new album in the making! Great drummer too, right? That's Ariën "The Beast" van Weesenbeek. And yes..he earned that nickname ;)

[@boringturtle]

Epica are masters of the "Beauty and the Beast" technique. You juxtapose the brutal metal screams and the angelic operatic vocals. Nightwish were really the pioneers of this and still use it frequently but Epica leaned into it really hard.

[@keesstalman4687]

Thank you!!! For doing Epica, also one of my alltime favorits next to Nightwish and Within Temptation. For all the haters, you can also Look at the Videos without commentary on you Tube, we are here for the pauses!! Maybe we should do an Epica Friday, now we have a Nightwish Saturday.😉

[@solecorpus1268]

Well this was a new discovery thanks for the reaction man!

[@falem01]

Chase please give to us a reaction on epica consign to oblivion live at the zenith one of the best live performance i've ever seen

[@slash-1971]

Absolutely! 🤘

[@christinaalgate4899]

Its really hard growls.

[@luisnunes2010]

Yes. Real heavy symphonic metal.

[@jennanoelle2656]

Yes please! Consign to oblivion live is the best

[@aperson9847]

your expression through the first vocal section was priceless 😂 i'd love to hear your reaction to "dancing in a hurricane" at some point

[@juliettemcgee9055]

Eh, Mark's growl sounds like you're talking through a running pedestal fan to distort your voice haha. Dang the birthday guy has great taste. This is actually my favourite song from Epica. Simone is an incredible presence and I take that momentary braindead at 13:31 you were mesmerized yeah? Actually your reaction today is kinda hilarious it made my day 😆

[@KelvinZomerVlog]

Thank you :) I love this song for the contrast it provides.

[@juliettemcgee9055]

@@KelvinZomerVlog Happy birthday dear Kelvin 🍰

[@ChaseCarneson]

Glad you enjoyed my face leaving the planet haha. I see you 👀

[@thanorodd5663]

Really glad you did this song. Probably my favorite of Epica.

[@hernan3284]

It's nice to see you reacting and analyzing another great Symphonic Metal band. I think Epica, alongside Nightwish and other bands of course, represent this genre very well, combining more "classical music" with the metal sounds/growls. The presence that Simone has it's, I don't how to describe it really, and no many artist have that quality. I saw this band twice, and it's like you said, they came and crush you with power, but never overplaying it. If you are going to start a playlist, I recommend: EPICA - Consign To Oblivion - Live at the Zenith (OFFICIAL VIDEO) (This is a MUST) & Epica - Unchain Utopia (OFFICIAL LIVE VIDEO)

[@davidduran5697]

Welcome to Epica, please please please please Tear Down Your Walls, might not be the most requested but is so awesome and epic, you'll enjoy it a lot!

[@ik3rian]

To see Design Your Universe covered here one day is my wish...

[@Wriwnas1]

Welcome to Epica! Nightwish, Epica, Within Temptation, are the Wholy Trinity of Symphonic Metal. Epica are the "Beauty & the Beast" (Light & Dark), hard hitting, heavier one of the three. \m/ We want more Nightwish, more Epica, more Within Temptation (the lighter of the three, though the song you reacted to, is not one best example of their symphotic metal songs)

[@Roller4x4]

Delain?