Dutch singer Simone Simons has been a part of Epica for more than two decades, and her voice is a cornerstone of the epic metal outfit. With a busy schedule and focus on the musical mothership, it wasn't easy for Simons to find some time to work on a solo album, an undertaking that has... Continue Reading →
Review BLACKBRIAR ‘A Dark Euphony’
The market for symphonic bands is not an easy one. Nightwish and Epica have been mentioned. Should it be more pop-oriented, then there are bands like Within Temptation and Delain. For the latter, Blackbriar opened in Utrecht in early 2020, which certainly helped the band to establish itself. At that time there was no debut... Continue Reading →
EPICA to support METALLICA on stadium shows in May
Symphonic metal titans Epica have been announced as direct support for Metallica at Paris’ Stade de France and Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion during Metallica’s M72 world tour. Vocalist Simone Simons comments: “We are beyond excited to share the stage with the legendary Metallica that has had a great influence on the whole music scene, including Epica.” Epica... Continue Reading →
DELAIN will embark on a tour in spring 2023
Dutch metal outfit Delain will return to Germany for five shows during spring 2023. With Diana Leah the band has a new singer on board and the new album is in the pipeline.
MARKO HIETALA – new live video and more
It was almost one year ago when Marko Hietala announced his departure from Nightwish. Although the bassist and singer wasn’t that much present anymore compared to the Nighwish-days, Hietala continued to perform some shows and now he launched a live video for ‘Dead God’s Son’ which was filmed during the festival season. Marko Hietala stated... Continue Reading →
Live report APOCALYPTICA, EPICA & WHEEL, Grosse Freiheit 36, Hamburg – January 28th, 2023
Hamburg faces tonight a kind of ‘-ca’ night with Apocalyptica and Epica being in town. The third band, being part of the ‘The Epic Apocalypse Tour’ are Wheel from Finland. The first thing one notices is a 200m queue of fans, waiting for the opening of doors of the Grosse Freiheit 36. Such a line... Continue Reading →
Review TARJA ‘Best Of: Living the Dream’
Tarja needs no introduction, as the soprano is one of the icons of symphonic metal. Tarja became well-known, among other things, because of her successful years with Nightwish. After leaving the Finnish chart-stormers, the singer started a solo career, which impresses until today. With 'Henkäys ikuisuudesta' and 'My Winter Storm', Tarja set first standards. The... Continue Reading →
Live report BEYOND THE BLACK, AMARANTHE, BUTCHER BABIES & AD INFINITUM, Zeltphilharmonie, Hamburg – November 5th, 2022
Once you get through the Elbtunnel in Hamburg without a traffic jam and then you wait in line in front of the parking lot of the Zeltphilharmonie. The latter is a new location in Hamburg, located in the middle of the harbor area. It is the Cruise Center Steinwerder, on whose large site a tent... Continue Reading →
Review EPICA ‘The Alchemy Project’
Epica turned 20 this year, which the band celebrated with a brilliant live show at the legendary 013, Tilburg. Since only a limited number of fans could participate in such an event, the Dutchmen came up with something special. Epica has recorded a very exciting album called 'The Alchemy Project'. A total of seven songs... Continue Reading →
Review THERION ‘Leviathan II’
Therion have undoubtedly delivered some great albums, if you think of longplayers like 'Vovin' and the outstanding 'Theli'. However, these times are long gone and what the band wants to show with their new album 'Leviathan II' remains their secret. In any case, it is noticeable that the latest output cannot keep up with the... Continue Reading →
TARJA announce her first ‘Best Of…’-album
Tarja is undoubtedly one of the greats in her genre, which she demonstrated with a superb performance at this year's Wacken Festival. Now the singer announces with 'Best Of: Living the Dream' her first Best Of - album, which will be released on December 2, 2022 via earMUSIC. Photo: Tim Tronckoe/earMUSIC Here are the different... Continue Reading →
Review BLIND GUARDIAN ‘The God Machine’
The futuristic artwork of the new record makes it quite clear; Blind Guardian are heralding a new chapter. But one thing after the other. The band from Krefeld released one of the best debut albums of German heavy metal in 1998. Battalions of Fear' is the title of this masterpiece, which found a decent successor... Continue Reading →
Live report W:O:A 2022 – August 3rd, 2022
Wacken is a small village in northern Germany with a population of 1,800. Wacken would not be very well known if a few guys had not decided in 1990 to follow their passion for heavy metal and set up a festival themselves. We all know that what started small has become one of the most... Continue Reading →
Review SEVENTH SEA ‘Maledictus’
'Maledictus' is the debut album of Seventh Storm, a band that has a distinct captain in Mike Gaspar. Gaspar started Seventh Storm after providing the rhythm for Moonspell for more than two decades. His new band, however, has little to do with his former employer. Perhaps it's the dark aura that may still be a... Continue Reading →
AVANTASIA announce ‘A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society’
Tobias Sammet is back with a new Avantasia album. The ninth Avantasia longplayer will be released on October 21st and will come via Nuclear Blast. The title - 'A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society'. Sammet about the new album: “From the first song ideas back in 2018 / 2019 to the production, orchestration, keyboards, arrangements,... Continue Reading →