Epica Tickets

Epica tour dates

Blending heavy guitar riffs, soaring vocals and plenty of head-banging angst, symphonic metal specialists Epica steer away from common fantasy elements, instead favoring scientific, philosophical and spiritual undertakings when it comes to their songwriting.

Epica's background

The Dutch band came into fruition in 2002, when former After Forever vocalist/guitarist Mark Jansen decided to pursue his own projects. He recruited original members Helena Michaelson (vocals), Coen Janssen (keyboards), Jeroen Simons (drums), Ad Sluijter (guitar) and Yves Huts (bass), and he employed a choir and orchestra as well. Operating as Sahara Dust, the band didn't become Epica until the release of their first full-length album, The Phantom Agony.

Singer Simone Simons, guitarist Isaac Delahaye, bassist Rob van der Loo and drummer Ari��n van Weesenbeek later joined the changing lineup. Numerous albums followed, including 2005's Consign to Oblivion, which peaked at No. 12 on the Dutch charts. Epica also released a live album, 2008's The Classical Conspiracy, recorded at Hungary's Miskolc Opera Festival.

Requiem for the Indifferent (2012) was the first album to reach the U.S. and U.K. charts, peaking at No. 7 on the U.S. Top Hard Rock Albums Chart. Design Your Universe (2009) reached No. 1 on the Dutch Top 30 Alternative Chart and No. 12 on the U.S. Heatseekers Chart.

The Quantum Enigma (2014) reached No. 110 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and No. 4 on the Dutch Mega Albums Chart, while The Holographic Principle (2016) reached No. 4 on the Dutch Mega Albums Chart and No. 46 on the UK Albums Chart.

Epica's biggest hits

Among Epica's biggest hits are: "Kingdom of Heaven," "Cry for the Moon," "Delirium," "Chasing the Dragon" and "Never Enough." Their song "This Is the Time" was an independent single released after 2009's Design Your Universe, with all proceeds going to the World Wide Fund for Nature.

Epica's career milestones

Epica released an instrumental album, 2005's The Score - An Epic Journey, which doubled as the soundtrack to the Dutch film Joyride.

In 2015, Epica realized a long-held dream when they launched their own annual music festival, Epic Metal Fest, in the Netherlands. They performed original material and fan favorites, and they invited such bands as Katatonia, The Agonist, Moonspell and Dragonforce to take part. In response to overwhelming appeal, they launched a second annual festival, Epic Metal Fest Brazil, the following year.

Epica's noteworthy awards

Epica earned the 2004 Essent Award for young talent and the 2015 Music Export Award.

Bands similar to Epica

Fans with Epica tickets might also enjoy Evanescence or Nightwish.