Epica is more like a show than a standard concert with all the members head banging on stage at multiple points in the evening, even the one that didn’t any hair to swish but he did have a cool looking wrap around keyboard and a fixed one that swivels to make up for it. From the first moment you hear Simone’s vocals the word that sprung to mind was a simple, wow.
‘Sensorium’ from their debut album made an early appearance to the limited, about two thirds of the venue was full, but knowledgeable crowd. Musical it could all be seen as a historical mis mash, 1980’s metallers, with opera singing which could be from the 1800’s yet we all come together in 2015 for a glorious feast of music.
They have received a lot of interest on Youtube and they played the higest streamed one “from the start of Epica” ‘Cry for the moon’, which understandable got the biggest reaction of the night. I am sure the pure metal fans would totally disagree but at times I did not think the growling metal voacals actually added anything and the female vocals did the job perfectly. There followed a drum solo that would have made Animal proud before they launched into the last song of the main set ‘Design Your Universe’
The encore included a number that included a disco ball and lights, though I think in disco terms the Bee Gees legacy could be safe for a while, yet it may have been interesting to hear their take on Symphonic Metal. All too soon it was the last tracks ‘Unchain Utopia’ and ‘Consign to Oblivion’ with again a view of the tops of heads shaking, I did note the singer rocked her neck from side to side rather than forward and back, good conservation of the neck for singing I guess. Whatever they did on stage tonight it looked and more importantly sounded great. So despite what you may think opera and metal can be perfectly good bedfellows. I may try a skiffle/ hard house combo next, though it could be a while before I make it.
Read our review of the show here