Epica record their own orchestral tracks with an actual orchestra and choir. The special edition releases of their albums usually includes an instrumental disc where all songs are arranged for just orchestra and performed by a live orchestra. So odds are that some of orchestral parts are prerecorded tracks. Edit: Their live mix is really good. Having seen them live several time, I can confirm they actually sound this good live (on their own gigs, that is. Festivals can be a bit hit or miss,)
More *EPICA* : Live (Retrospect show) - *_"Unleashed"_* : ruclips.net/video/rxd6sxLxdys/видео.html Live (Retrospect show) - *_"Sancta Terra"_* : ruclips.net/video/cx22Yuj2nzg/видео.html (duet with Floor) Perhaps again some *AYREON* (live) with ...... Arjen singing !! *_”Amazing Flight In Space”_* : ruclips.net/video/r6cGPsE168c/видео.html (Arjen singing/guitar & Jay van Feggelen)
Epica uses male growls, female melodic and choir vocals often to represent different characters / viewpoints in their songs, with lyrics that offer different arguments. It's often very intricate and interesting. Re: The drummer, Arien van Weesenbeek, comes from a black / deathmetal background, he played in God Dethroned. That might explain his speed and his choice in fills.
Glad you enjoyed it (and are on the mend). One thing I love about Nightwish and Epica, is both bands look like they are having the best time in their live performances. I'm expecting you to be scooting around playing the keyboard from now on. Coen Janssen, the keyboardist is always fun to watch. A bit like watching Emppu in Nightwish. The face he makes after screaming is hilarious.
If you're enjoying the content, folks, please consider... 🅿Supporting me on Patreon 👉www.patreon.com/JWSoundworks 🎸Buying my original music 👉🎹therupalface.bandcamp.com/ ☕Supporting me @BuyMeACoffee 👉www.buymeacoffee.com/JWsoundw... Thanks!🤘 JW
The strange mayor thingy at 26:16 that the keyboard did was a quote from the French national anthem (La Marseillaise), a little nod / joke to the French audience...
Did you spot the 7-string Les Paul that lead guitarist Isaac Delahaye was playing? Also drummer Arien van Weesenbeek has a music degree from Rotterdam Conservatory where he and Isaac were students.
that was the French National anthem that you heard towards the end - about 26:00, that he played on the piano for the French audience, it was a clever thing he put in there
I really enjoyed your new Unleash the Archers, Jinjer (and Epica reaction here) reactions, you are always making it very educational and I learn something new about songs I already know. Also you just seem like a genuine guy. And I'm glad that you are back, but health always has priority
Welcome back, glad you're all on the mend. It'd be well worth doing Santa Terra, by Epica, live with Floor Janssen, a full live choir and orchestra. Also very well arranged and engineered.
best video ! you know your shit, and finally some one that see the joy in the shot dark piano and mic from the lead singer... besides that the honk in the drum/toms :) etc (the odd cmbal that he managed to put in in some places) lots of details ! nice !
Glad to hear you're on the mend! Health and family always comes first. Ayreon and Epica are two of my favourite bands, and it is great to see you delve in to Epica this time. Neither of these bands have a singular structure or pattern to their music, as you've noticed. Instead of my observations, I'll share two videos of how Epica makes their orchestration. It is spoiler free from their latest album omega. It showcases Coen Janssen, the keyboardist from Epica, and Joost Van Den Broek (the keyboardist from Ayreon) as the producer. Some of the questions you asked during this video will definitely be answered here. Orchestration : ruclips.net/video/ccjqVvaMTD4/видео.html Backing vocals: ruclips.net/video/whLMYkwyM04/видео.html Children's Choir : ruclips.net/video/yX0tZD5YptQ/видео.html There's zero need to react to these. Just something that you might enjoy as a composer. Stay safe and healthy!
Awesome deep dive to Epica. Really enjoyed. Could you check out Ne'oblivisaris - and plague flowers the kaleidoscope (Live in Montreal). You might get to do 1.5h reaction :D On EOF my all time favourite bands that i just keep coming back time and time again. Really popular song in reaction scene, but for good reason. It's spetacual.
Epica - design your univers live retrospect. Would sugest that song, amazing preformenc and it's a 3h DVD live recording, so excellent quality. Love Epica, in my opinion the leading symfonic metal band. And if Epica Alive preformenc coming out again, Don't miss it!
Loved your comments on this. I'm not a person who has any background in music, so it's always interesting to see this sort of video. Anyway, I'd like to suggest the song Kingdom of Heaven by Epica. It's widely considered their best song (though of course opinions may diverge, a considerable part of the fans agree that the song is one of their best, at least). It's also one of their proggiest songs (though it doesn't come from their most progressive albums, which is Requiem for the Indifferent), so I thought you might like it because you said you like prog. It's also one of their heaviest songs. There isn't a good live recording of it available yet (there is one on youtube, but it's fan made with parts of studio recoding mixed with live video), so I'll just recommend the album version, and, at that, the one from the first edition of the album: ruclips.net/video/5JLTFjrBXD0/видео.html because the remaster, imo, sounds less intense.
I'm late to the party but I third the recommendation :) I would love to have a breakdown of KoH from a musician, it's also the best song for me. I prefer the remastered version but either one is fine
Check out some of their Retrospect Show. Try Design Your Universe Live Retrospect. They perform with full orchestra and choir. They use full orchestral backing like Nightwish. It is waaay cooler when they are all live tho. The Retrospect concert is sick af
Getting sick really sucks so I'm glad to hear you are getting back to full health. As a non musician I really enjoy your breakdowns as you always give me details that I couldn't figure out on my own for the music I love. I suspect you will really enjoy Epica so I hope you continue to dive deeper into their catalog. Pick a live song from their Retrospect set and you get a really nice surprise with the production. It's really difficult to choose with so many great songs but Cry for the Moon is one of my personal favorites from that performance. Great reaction and I hope you are back to full health very soon!
@@JWSoundworks2 The keyboard is on a fixed a bit of an U-shaped rail that runs along the back of the stage, so he can move between both sides of the platform. Coen also has a curved portable keyboard that he even uses to go into the crowd with sometimes.
Yeah and if you look closely in the background of this one you see him push the keyboard away, run across the stage and catch it on the other side. Dude gets a workout.
you need to watch their stuff they did with a full orchestra, its amazing, not sure if you have reacted to it yet or not but sancta terra is a good start, plus you get to see floor as well duet
They use backing tracks for the choir, backing vocals and the orchestral or other additional instruments. If you want eventually know more about their gear, then there is a video - RIGGED: Epica | GEAR GODS. There are a few things which were not included because it was done on a tour and they probably did not have everything with them. Specifically, Isaac (the guitarist with Les Paul also plays Ibanez Darkstone in some cases; Coen (the keybordist) has a portable wireless keyboard during some songs; Rob (the bassist) has another Dingwall bass guitar with Hellboy artwork. And they also newly use a different amplifier, the video about is: BIAS rack amplifier - Positive Grid (Isaac Delahaye + Mark Jansen)
In my experience of just watching a few EPICA videos, I have seen a complete orchestra with choir. Not here. Nightwish has said many times that they would love to have a full choir and orchestra but it would be a logistical nightmare for an entire tour. I am sure it is the same for EPICA. Take care. Glad you and your family are on the mend.
@@JWSoundworks2 Oh, definitely react to more Epica, please! You can easily listen to at least a dozen of their songs in just one go and not get bored. Epica is incedible. Possibly the best musical discovery of my life. I've never loved any other band this much. Not to mention gorgeous goddess Simone :)
@@cancelled_user Totally agree, Epica have written some of the most brilliant and unique music that I have ever heard, been my favourite band for the last 8 years
A bit of background info, Epica are Dutch, they have been around since 2002, they have 8 studio albums, the latest came out earlier this year named 'Omega'
Consign to Oblivion is one of their older songs, probably the most harsh vocals of any Epica song which is not typical of the rest of their catalogue, personally I prefer the more prog metal sound from the latest albums, but it's all good, I love this band
Im starting to listen to more Epica lately and liking it, for some reason new about them for many years and never got to listen. Would you please make a video for Pain of Salvation - Fandango or Rope Ends please
Just like Nightwish has pre-recorded sessions with London Philharmonic, Epica also uses choirs and prerecorded orchestra...just gives an additional taste to the performance... Have look at "Cry For The Moon" it is a studio session with orchestra and choir)
Choir plays a really big role in Epica's music. It has lyrics (often in latin) with their own meaning in song. They record choirs for every album and usually they sound quite diverse. I'd say that Epica's choir work is the best I've heard in metal in general, or at least high in top. This is one of many things I like and appreciate a lot about this band.
On your comments about the guitarists: this song is from their second album, back when they didn't really do lead guitar stuff per se. Their stuff from their 4th album onwards has a lot more solo work and guitar melody.
A few answers to / comments on what you said. Just like Nightwish, EPICA uses real orchestras and choirs for their albums. In live concerts, they use then use the orchestra and choir tracks as backing tracks. If you are interested in some background information on the amount of production they put into their music, you can check the series of videos called “Studio vlog album” on the EPICA channel where they show how they produced their latest album. As for this very song, the album version has kind of clear separation of 3 voices in the story telling. There is the choir, the female voice (Simone) and the growling part (Marc). In the live version, they scarified a bit of the story telling to give the song more punch. So, for instance Simone sings over the choir parts (in the album, these are choir only). With a song like this, to get the full scope of it, you should actually check both versions, the album and the live version.
If you want to know more about the Epica keyboard player moving around, see this video: RIGGED: Epica | GEAR GODS ruclips.net/video/A_Jt5fEnW9Y/видео.html
That keyboard player has a beautiful mic stand. I love when you can see a band has genuine fun on stage. The female singer, Simone Simons, is Floor Jansen's best friend. They even lived together long time ago. Floor is (or was) also a vocal coach and taught Simone as well. And yes, the keyboard is on wheels. lol
Another question.. Do you enjoy music without the counting and music stuff. Can you feel music without thinking about musical theory and so on? Or is it always counting and analyzing? I know nothing about music theory .. But I feel.. So I'm courious
@@nightgoblin29 I think it's a mixture. But I don't think it's possible for me to listen to any music without analysing it. I would imagine it's probably something similar to a cinematographer watching a film. Whilst the rest of us might be enjoying the shots, he or she are probably thinking about how they've been achieved and what equipment/expertise was involved in making it.
Epica is known for their long format Prog Metal masterpieces, there are many of them, this is one from their latest album 'Omega' Epica - Kingdom of Heaven Part 3 - The Antediluvian Universe (+ lyrics) ruclips.net/video/kdROvohB2ik/видео.html
I've only seen a few of your reviews and in one you had an Opeth shirt on and mentioned Petrucci so you're already speaking my language. I really like Epica, I don't think this was a great choice, I'd strongly suggest "Kingdom Of Heaven Pt.3" from "epica alive" (one of those well produced streaming concerts have that become popular lately) I'm sure you can appreciate a good 13 minute song and if that's not enough to get you to check it out there's a flaming piano solo.
Great reaction to Epica - don't mind the haters, if they don't like your chatting, they can move on ;o) I see most of what you need to know about Epica is already in the comments below!
Also, don't worry the little details you geek about! That's what most of us are here for. Oh, would you PLEASE react to Sons Of Apollo 'Signs of the Time' (official video)?? plz let me know if you already have listened to it so I won't ask for it again. In case you don't know them, they are a prog-supergroup!
The best version of this song is from Retrospect show, where they incorporate a full orchestra as well as a live chorus. You can choose to react to songs like ' Chasing the Dragon ' 'Unleashed' 'Design Your Universe', just to name a few.
Epica is amazing, but there are more great Dutch metalbands. You should definitly check out "Dear Mother" With their debut album "Bulletproof". They are a new dutch metalband formed by ex-Delain guitarist Merel Bechtold and ex-Delain drummer Joey de Boer. They teamed up with David "Pear" Hruska as their vocalist. Its realy worthwhile! I recently found them and bought the album right away, they're incredible!
The sound on live concerts are VERY important in my opinion. I went to the "goodbye show" for the Norwegian band Madrugada (they went on one last tour after their guitarist died) and actually left the show after three or four songs because the sound was terrible. It was way to loud for the room and, as you described, one couldn't really tell what they were playing. Very disappointing since it was my first and last chance to see them live... Besides that I can really recommend to check out Madrugada and/or Sivert Hoyem (the singer, now solo artist). Not metal, but very good rock music. Sivert also has a very good voice!
@@JWSoundworks2 awesome! And a visit of Arjen Lucassen as well! The Epica retrospect show, shows you where all choir and instrumentation comes from..... Some prog vibes as well.
if you like prog i recommend you the song Kingdom of Heaven by Epica, it is 13 minutes long and is probably their most prog song, also my favourite song by them, it reminds me of Opeth in some ways
@@JWSoundworks2 you're welcome, Epica likes to be creative with their music so i think you will definitely like it, there's some really good hidden gems in their discography
I think they play with a background track for the orchestral elements they cant play live on stage, just like Nightwish (Actually, Epica did do a concert with a full live orchestra + live choir... Look for their "retrospect" concert. But Actually I would say that playing live with a background tape going on is much harder than playing without, because the musicians do play live cant make a mistake, especially in timing, because that tape is unforgiving... If you get the timing wrong or mis a beat, everything will immediately become one big mess...
During the intro you have pretty aggressive gate to avoid background noise (some kind of hiss?). I think it would sound less jarring if you applied noise reduction with profiled background noise instead of having to use that aggressive gate (assuming you cannot improve your noise floor).
I think, at the time I recorded this, that I had only recently bought this new mic and I didn't have a mic booster so the gain had to be set very high (hence the aggressive gate). I've seen you've also commented on much more recent videos so hopefully you've noticed it's improved, somewhat. I do have incredibly bad electricity in my room, though. And there is constant noise no matter what I do. Bad wiring in the house, I guess.
@@JWSoundworks2 I didn't check the dates of different videos but this video had noticiable gate which is why I decided to comment about the issue. This video being older would explain the fact that I only noticed the issue here. If so, then more recent audio is good enough already to not cause problems. As for the mic noise floor, I'd start with trying to use as short mic cable as possible to see if that makes any difference. If you can hear any difference with a shorter cable, then it's time to get higher quality cabling. In some cases it's your mic amp - my understanding is that e.g. some Behringer mic amps are really really sensitive to any electrical interference whereas e.g. Focusrite mic amps can have near zero noise floor in the same electrical conditions. If you have no interference both can perform equally well which is why you'll sometimes get so mixed reviews for some units.
also pretty sure the keyboard part you picked up on has something to do with him giving a nod to the french people, something to do with their anthem i think
Epica always use real instruments, they have some good behind the scenes videos and things while recording their albums. Choir too, and then backing track live - not sure about the keyboard samples
Makes sense that there are real orchestrated backing tracks here. There have to be, as there's too much orchestra going on for one man to play lol. Although, if he's not using samples what sounds are we hearing coming out of his keyboard? :)
@@JWSoundworks2 I just meant I'm not sure if they are samples from the recordings or some sort of plugin! Don't know too much about keyboards. But I know for recording the album they insist on the real instruments and choirs, and experiment with a lot of different instruments. Highly recommend checking out something from their latest album (released in feb) - Code of Life, Abyss of Time, and The Skeleton Key are standout tracks for me.
@@lynnef1988 I think, for live, I'd expect he's triggering orchestral sounds from a vst library (as you can see his fingers playing the parts instead of holding down the keys to playback samples of audio recordings). But there's definitely so many layers of orchestra happening here that it must be blended with those actual orchestral and choral recordings they've made beforehand (in the studio, as you said). Now that they're on my radar I think I'll definitely be checking out more from them! Quite a few comments have been pointing at the Retrospect show as it features the orchestra and choir on stage with the band - have you seen that too?
@@JWSoundworks2 interesting! Yeah I have the dvd, highly recommend that show too for live videos. There's one called Sancta Terra from that show with a feature from Floor Jansen of Nightwish as well. The full orchestra and choir is lovely :)
They use live recorded instruments now. They didn't always. When they were younger and smaller, they weren't afforded the luxury of being able to use full live choirs and orchestras like they do now, so they had to mix live and sampled.
@@JWSoundworks2 you're very welcome. We're having the coldest winter in ages down here in Australia, well my part of Victoria anyhow. It's been rough but I guess cos everyone has to wear masks & use hand sanitiser while out & about the drs are saying that cold & flu stuff is hardly an issue. Go covid making everyone germ aware I guess? At any rate I'm asthmatic too & I've had a cold turn into pneumonia really fast before. I picked up swimming again & funnily enough singing to try to keep my lungs happy. I'm not good at it but it's been good. I love your reaction videos, I don't get music on that level. I'm a fan through & through but it's really cool to be able to go "ah so that's why I like what they did there" type thing & can have vaguely interesting contributions to my muso mates conversations ha. I've been learning heaps! So thanks! Stay well mate & I hope everyone's on the mend now. It's awful when the kids are sick & you can't really explain to them.
@@shirazzza 100 per cent on the kids being sick thing. My daughter only recently turned 2 and has been quite out of sorts with it but we're all coming through pretty well now. It's just lingering. I probably could have done with an antibiotic but I don't like the idea of having to rely on them unless I'm REALLY sick lol. Good to hear you're into the swimming. I've a good friend living in Scotland who is in the sea nearly every day. I've been into the "cold showers" thing too for about 8 months now. Supposed to be good for the immune system as well as a plethora of other benefits.
Yeah , seeing bands perform in an exhibition hall is usually abysmal. We have a large venue here in San Francisco called the Cow Palace where they hold rodeos and sometimes bands. I've given up trying to see a band there and instead will drive to the next venue they are playing at.
So if you want to give some love to a band that's get way to little of that sort of stuff in comparison to their talent ( here on YT). Checkout Versailles - Masquerade ( m.ruclips.net/video/niAl_paNrh0/видео.html ), I think this band would really speak to you as you did so many takes on classical composition.
New viewer here, and I just went through a couple of videos and I simply had to turn off some videos because ever since this video your mic has been peaking on the volume, which creates a very unpleasant sounds when you talk. I found this very disappointing since I enjoyed a lot of videos before this, but I simply cannot listen to your commentary beyond a minute or 2 before I have to turn it of because of audio quality. This might have to do with my misophonia, but any video before this one I simply had no isue whatsoever at all and enjoyed them very much!
Yes, I responded to another message explaining that I have had difficulties with my new microphone not picking up my voice unless it is at full volume. I tried to fix the recording as best as I could in editing so it is not clipping but I am aware of the issue and it will be fixed in the future, don't worry. The reason you are noticing it in this batch of recent reactions (and will be present in the next 3 or 4 to come) is that I recorded them all over a two day period and they all suffer the same fate. I can't delete the footage and start again as it would ruin the chance of reacting to these songs and would be a massive waste of time. Sorry you can't get past it. But so far you're only the 2nd comment that's mentioned it out of thousands of views, so thankfully it hasn't ruined the experience for most.👍
Both Epica and Nightwish use recorded tracks. Symphonic metal is the only sub genre where that is acceptable. Folk metal too. What Kiss does with tracks is crap
First time watching this channel and i can say it will also be my last. Do you EVER shut up and just listen? How can you react to a song if you pause every 2 seconds and go off for 23 years on a tangent about yourself? I pity anyone that has to be around you on a daily basis.
The love is strong in this one. I do have another version where I just sit silently listening to the song and move my facial features every now and then. And then at the very end I say "wow, that was great". I'll send you it.
🎵🎸Moody, atmospheric, instrumental, one-man-band prog? Right this way 👇
ruclips.net/video/1nWe3g_7pqA/видео.html
That major chord was "La Marseillaise" The French anthem. (since they are playing in Paris)
Ahhhh, that explains why it threw me off! 👍
@@JWSoundworks2 For that sort of things you've got your subscribers 😉🤘
Yeah that's definitely not on the album version, the keyboardist it just throwing it in as a nod to the audience there.
Came here to say this same thing and provide some clarification on why it clashed, but fit at the same time!
@@DaronMGL ive heard the live version so much more than the studio one, allways throws me off when they leave out the marseillaise :D
The retrospect show is with full Orchestra and choir on stage
React to something from Retrospect Show, they had a live orchestra and chorus. I’ll recommend Design Your Universe ❤️
Yes please!
also Sancta Terra featuring Floor Jansen
And from the same show Stabat mater - you will hear Simone and Floor do some serious singing...
Epica record their own orchestral tracks with an actual orchestra and choir. The special edition releases of their albums usually includes an instrumental disc where all songs are arranged for just orchestra and performed by a live orchestra. So odds are that some of orchestral parts are prerecorded tracks.
Edit: Their live mix is really good. Having seen them live several time, I can confirm they actually sound this good live (on their own gigs, that is. Festivals can be a bit hit or miss,)
More *EPICA* :
Live (Retrospect show) - *_"Unleashed"_* : ruclips.net/video/rxd6sxLxdys/видео.html
Live (Retrospect show) - *_"Sancta Terra"_* : ruclips.net/video/cx22Yuj2nzg/видео.html (duet with Floor)
Perhaps again some *AYREON* (live) with ...... Arjen singing !!
*_”Amazing Flight In Space”_* : ruclips.net/video/r6cGPsE168c/видео.html (Arjen singing/guitar & Jay van Feggelen)
Epica uses male growls, female melodic and choir vocals often to represent different characters / viewpoints in their songs, with lyrics that offer different arguments. It's often very intricate and interesting.
Re: The drummer, Arien van Weesenbeek, comes from a black / deathmetal background, he played in God Dethroned. That might explain his speed and his choice in fills.
Epica are incredible, their catologue of songs is so impressive. Even better when they perform live with an orchestra and choir! 🤘
Once again, your reactions are absolute class! Especially loved the psychological breakdown of the band :DDD
Glad you enjoyed it (and are on the mend). One thing I love about Nightwish and Epica, is both bands look like they are having the best time in their live performances. I'm expecting you to be scooting around playing the keyboard from now on. Coen Janssen, the keyboardist is always fun to watch. A bit like watching Emppu in Nightwish. The face he makes after screaming is hilarious.
Haha, yeah I've got some wheels on order now. Cheers Sam!
You need rather more than wheels. The instrument is mounted on wheels which are captive within a rail system
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
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The strange mayor thingy at 26:16 that the keyboard did was a quote from the French national anthem (La Marseillaise), a little nod / joke to the French audience...
For the love of all that is both brutal and beautiful... MORE EPICA!
Did you spot the 7-string Les Paul that lead guitarist Isaac Delahaye was playing? Also drummer Arien van Weesenbeek has a music degree from Rotterdam Conservatory where he and Isaac were students.
I love the OG Epica ... very nostalgic ... but boy did they jump up several notches when Isaac and Arien joined.
that was the French National anthem that you heard towards the end - about 26:00, that he played on the piano for the French audience, it was a clever thing he put in there
I really enjoyed your new Unleash the Archers, Jinjer (and Epica reaction here) reactions, you are always making it very educational and I learn something new about songs I already know. Also you just seem like a genuine guy. And I'm glad that you are back, but health always has priority
Very kind of you to say so, man. Appreciate that! Thanks. 😎🤘
Welcome back, glad you're all on the mend. It'd be well worth doing Santa Terra, by Epica, live with Floor Janssen, a full live choir and orchestra. Also very well arranged and engineered.
best video ! you know your shit, and finally some one that see the joy in the shot dark piano and mic from the lead singer... besides that the honk in the drum/toms :) etc (the odd cmbal that he managed to put in in some places) lots of details ! nice !
Good to have you back bro. Sorry to hear about the bad flu n glad you guys are ok now.
Glad to hear you're on the mend! Health and family always comes first.
Ayreon and Epica are two of my favourite bands, and it is great to see you delve in to Epica this time. Neither of these bands have a singular structure or pattern to their music, as you've noticed. Instead of my observations, I'll share two videos of how Epica makes their orchestration. It is spoiler free from their latest album omega. It showcases Coen Janssen, the keyboardist from Epica, and Joost Van Den Broek (the keyboardist from Ayreon) as the producer. Some of the questions you asked during this video will definitely be answered here.
Orchestration : ruclips.net/video/ccjqVvaMTD4/видео.html
Backing vocals: ruclips.net/video/whLMYkwyM04/видео.html
Children's Choir : ruclips.net/video/yX0tZD5YptQ/видео.html
There's zero need to react to these. Just something that you might enjoy as a composer. Stay safe and healthy!
Thank you, dude. Appreciate the kind words and thanks for the recommendations.
Awesome deep dive to Epica. Really enjoyed. Could you check out Ne'oblivisaris - and plague flowers the kaleidoscope (Live in Montreal). You might get to do 1.5h reaction :D On EOF my all time favourite bands that i just keep coming back time and time again. Really popular song in reaction scene, but for good reason. It's spetacual.
Epica - design your univers live retrospect. Would sugest that song, amazing preformenc and it's a 3h DVD live recording, so excellent quality. Love Epica, in my opinion the leading symfonic metal band. And if Epica Alive preformenc coming out again, Don't miss it!
Oh, that major piano point is a French melody candy to the audience.
The intro was sick bro 🤘🏾
Thanks, dude! Appreciate that! :)
Loved your comments on this. I'm not a person who has any background in music, so it's always interesting to see this sort of video.
Anyway, I'd like to suggest the song Kingdom of Heaven by Epica. It's widely considered their best song (though of course opinions may diverge, a considerable part of the fans agree that the song is one of their best, at least). It's also one of their proggiest songs (though it doesn't come from their most progressive albums, which is Requiem for the Indifferent), so I thought you might like it because you said you like prog. It's also one of their heaviest songs.
There isn't a good live recording of it available yet (there is one on youtube, but it's fan made with parts of studio recoding mixed with live video), so I'll just recommend the album version, and, at that, the one from the first edition of the album: ruclips.net/video/5JLTFjrBXD0/видео.html because the remaster, imo, sounds less intense.
Appreciate that! Cheers. Is your username from the Opeth song of the same name? 🤘
@@JWSoundworks2 Yeah, it is :)
I second the recommendation of Kingdom of heaven and the album version for this. An absolute monster of a song.
I'm late to the party but I third the recommendation :)
I would love to have a breakdown of KoH from a musician, it's also the best song for me. I prefer the remastered version but either one is fine
Check out some of their Retrospect Show. Try Design Your Universe Live Retrospect. They perform with full orchestra and choir. They use full orchestral backing like Nightwish. It is waaay cooler when they are all live tho. The Retrospect concert is sick af
Please more EPICA, for example from their 2021 album OMEGA😀
Thanks
Getting sick really sucks so I'm glad to hear you are getting back to full health. As a non musician I really enjoy your breakdowns as you always give me details that I couldn't figure out on my own for the music I love. I suspect you will really enjoy Epica so I hope you continue to dive deeper into their catalog. Pick a live song from their Retrospect set and you get a really nice surprise with the production. It's really difficult to choose with so many great songs but Cry for the Moon is one of my personal favorites from that performance. Great reaction and I hope you are back to full health very soon!
Appreciate the kind words, Will. I think I'll have to visit something from the Retrospect set - getting lots of comments about it! :)
This reaction was hilarious btw :D
And yes the keyboard is on some kind of rails 🤣🤣🤣
🤣😂 Brilliant!
@@JWSoundworks2 The keyboard is on a fixed a bit of an U-shaped rail that runs along the back of the stage, so he can move between both sides of the platform. Coen also has a curved portable keyboard that he even uses to go into the crowd with sometimes.
Yeah and if you look closely in the background of this one you see him push the keyboard away, run across the stage and catch it on the other side. Dude gets a workout.
I mean, he's even go a portable keyboard so he can run around on stage, a Numotion keyboard: nu-motion.com/?lang=en
you need to watch their stuff they did with a full orchestra, its amazing, not sure if you have reacted to it yet or not but sancta terra is a good start, plus you get to see floor as well duet
28:18 = beginning of Frech national Anthem!
They use backing tracks for the choir, backing vocals and the orchestral or other additional instruments. If you want eventually know more about their gear, then there is a video - RIGGED: Epica | GEAR GODS. There are a few things which were not included because it was done on a tour and they probably did not have everything with them. Specifically, Isaac (the guitarist with Les Paul also plays Ibanez Darkstone in some cases; Coen (the keybordist) has a portable wireless keyboard during some songs; Rob (the bassist) has another Dingwall bass guitar with Hellboy artwork. And they also newly use a different amplifier, the video about is: BIAS rack amplifier - Positive Grid (Isaac Delahaye + Mark Jansen)
In my experience of just watching a few EPICA videos, I have seen a complete orchestra with choir. Not here. Nightwish has said many times that they would love to have a full choir and orchestra but it would be a logistical nightmare for an entire tour. I am sure it is the same for EPICA. Take care. Glad you and your family are on the mend.
Appreciate that, cheers !
@@JWSoundworks2 Oh, definitely react to more Epica, please!
You can easily listen to at least a dozen of their songs in just one go and not get bored. Epica is incedible. Possibly the best musical discovery of my life. I've never loved any other band this much. Not to mention gorgeous goddess Simone :)
@@cancelled_user
Totally agree, Epica have written some of the most brilliant and unique music that I have ever heard, been my favourite band for the last 8 years
In Retrospect show they have a full orchestra and choir, total amazing show
the keyboardist is playing the beginning of the french national anthem in the interlude, since they were playing in Paris and all..
A bit of background info, Epica are Dutch, they have been around since 2002, they have 8 studio albums, the latest came out earlier this year named 'Omega'
Awesome!
On the keyboard in the middle of the song it was the firsts notes of the French national hymn because they was in Paris. Not on the original song 😊
Consign to Oblivion is one of their older songs, probably the most harsh vocals of any Epica song which is not typical of the rest of their catalogue, personally I prefer the more prog metal sound from the latest albums, but it's all good, I love this band
Im starting to listen to more Epica lately and liking it, for some reason new about them for many years and never got to listen.
Would you please make a video for Pain of Salvation - Fandango or Rope Ends please
Just like Nightwish has pre-recorded sessions with London Philharmonic, Epica also uses choirs and prerecorded orchestra...just gives an additional taste to the performance... Have look at "Cry For The Moon" it is a studio session with orchestra and choir)
Choir plays a really big role in Epica's music. It has lyrics (often in latin) with their own meaning in song. They record choirs for every album and usually they sound quite diverse. I'd say that Epica's choir work is the best I've heard in metal in general, or at least high in top. This is one of many things I like and appreciate a lot about this band.
Mark (guitars and vocals) has his own band Mayan, check out the official video for Saints don't die
On your comments about the guitarists: this song is from their second album, back when they didn't really do lead guitar stuff per se. Their stuff from their 4th album onwards has a lot more solo work and guitar melody.
Epica - Universal Death Squad (Lyric Video).
A few answers to / comments on what you said.
Just like Nightwish, EPICA uses real orchestras and choirs for their albums. In live concerts, they use then use the orchestra and choir tracks as backing tracks. If you are interested in some background information on the amount of production they put into their music, you can check the series of videos called “Studio vlog album” on the EPICA channel where they show how they produced their latest album.
As for this very song, the album version has kind of clear separation of 3 voices in the story telling. There is the choir, the female voice (Simone) and the growling part (Marc). In the live version, they scarified a bit of the story telling to give the song more punch. So, for instance Simone sings over the choir parts (in the album, these are choir only).
With a song like this, to get the full scope of it, you should actually check both versions, the album and the live version.
Cheers Marcel ! 👍
If you want to know more about the Epica keyboard player moving around, see this video:
RIGGED: Epica | GEAR GODS
ruclips.net/video/A_Jt5fEnW9Y/видео.html
That keyboard player has a beautiful mic stand. I love when you can see a band has genuine fun on stage. The female singer, Simone Simons, is Floor Jansen's best friend. They even lived together long time ago. Floor is (or was) also a vocal coach and taught Simone as well. And yes, the keyboard is on wheels. lol
erm... where did you get all of that? floor was never simone´s vocal coach and they never lived together
@@MattEmperor There are a lot of people that will tell you the same.
@@black4pienus That doesn't mean they're correct. Amanda Somerville was Simone's vocal coach, never Floor.
@@patrickshelley09 But they did live together.
@@black4pienus That I don't know about. The vocal coach thing is made up by Floor fans, because apparently they think she needs more accolades.
Is that poster in the background "E tu vivrai nel terrore! L'aldilà"? The Beyond from the 80's? I love it
Another question.. Do you enjoy music without the counting and music stuff. Can you feel music without thinking about musical theory and so on? Or is it always counting and analyzing? I know nothing about music theory .. But I feel.. So I'm courious
It is, indeed. Well spotted! :)
@@nightgoblin29 I think it's a mixture. But I don't think it's possible for me to listen to any music without analysing it. I would imagine it's probably something similar to a cinematographer watching a film. Whilst the rest of us might be enjoying the shots, he or she are probably thinking about how they've been achieved and what equipment/expertise was involved in making it.
Epica is known for their long format Prog Metal masterpieces, there are many of them, this is one from their latest album 'Omega'
Epica - Kingdom of Heaven Part 3 - The Antediluvian Universe (+ lyrics)
ruclips.net/video/kdROvohB2ik/видео.html
Strongly recommended, a mind-blowing masterpiece 🤘🏻
Good reaction, this music is very beautiful! Please react to: DESIGN YOUR UNIVERSE Live / ESSENCE OF SILENCE Live / UNLEASHED Live
Good to have you back making vids. I'm looking forward to more Jinjer.
More Jinjer coming very soon 😜🤘
@@JWSoundworks2 YAYAYYAY! I got tix for their concert here, hope you'll be able to catch them live too.
I've only seen a few of your reviews and in one you had an Opeth shirt on and mentioned Petrucci so you're already speaking my language.
I really like Epica, I don't think this was a great choice, I'd strongly suggest "Kingdom Of Heaven Pt.3" from "epica alive" (one of those well produced streaming concerts have that become popular lately)
I'm sure you can appreciate a good 13 minute song and if that's not enough to get you to check it out there's a flaming piano solo.
Drum fills are all played live by Ariel (the Beast) Weesenbeek!
Great reaction to Epica - don't mind the haters, if they don't like your chatting, they can move on ;o) I see most of what you need to know about Epica is already in the comments below!
"it's hard to be like a rock guy" Coen: "Challenge accepted!"
Also, don't worry the little details you geek about! That's what most of us are here for. Oh, would you PLEASE react to Sons Of Apollo 'Signs of the Time' (official video)?? plz let me know if you already have listened to it so I won't ask for it again. In case you don't know them, they are a prog-supergroup!
That one has slipped me by, dude! I just added it to the spreadsheet, though, so I will make sure to get to it at some point! :)
i believe the piano piece (between the horns) that whas happy sounding was more of a joke. something related to the french anthem
The best version of this song is from Retrospect show, where they incorporate a full orchestra as well as a live chorus. You can choose to react to songs like ' Chasing the Dragon ' 'Unleashed' 'Design Your Universe', just to name a few.
wintersun " Sons of winter and stars"
Epica is amazing, but there are more great Dutch metalbands. You should definitly check out "Dear Mother" With their debut album "Bulletproof". They are a new dutch metalband formed by ex-Delain guitarist Merel Bechtold and ex-Delain drummer Joey de Boer. They teamed up with David "Pear" Hruska as their vocalist. Its realy worthwhile!
I recently found them and bought the album right away, they're incredible!
Sancta Terra with Floor, live orchestra and chorus! Too cliche? Too obvious? Don't care.
The sound on live concerts are VERY important in my opinion. I went to the "goodbye show" for the Norwegian band Madrugada (they went on one last tour after their guitarist died) and actually left the show after three or four songs because the sound was terrible. It was way to loud for the room and, as you described, one couldn't really tell what they were playing. Very disappointing since it was my first and last chance to see them live...
Besides that I can really recommend to check out Madrugada and/or Sivert Hoyem (the singer, now solo artist). Not metal, but very good rock music. Sivert also has a very good voice!
Maybe we are the first Spiritist band of PopMetal Rock....
Check out our sound and lyrics.
But don't pay much attention to the rustic English, hahaha
You Will like "Ayreon" as well.....
ruclips.net/video/dX8K_v6SR2c/видео.html
@@JWSoundworks2 awesome! And a visit of Arjen Lucassen as well!
The Epica retrospect show, shows you where all choir and instrumentation comes from.....
Some prog vibes as well.
@@Roller4x4 sounds good, will put it on the list! 😎🤘
Good, nice done.
Try Nightwish "The greatest show on Earth" or "Poet and the Pendulum". Thx
if you like prog i recommend you the song Kingdom of Heaven by Epica, it is 13 minutes long and is probably their most prog song, also my favourite song by them, it reminds me of Opeth in some ways
Big Opeth fan here. Thanks for the suggestion!
@@JWSoundworks2 you're welcome, Epica likes to be creative with their music so i think you will definitely like it, there's some really good hidden gems in their discography
The guitarist is the founding member and writes most of the music... Mark Jansen.
I think they play with a background track for the orchestral elements they cant play live on stage, just like Nightwish (Actually, Epica did do a concert with a full live orchestra + live choir... Look for their "retrospect" concert. But Actually I would say that playing live with a background tape going on is much harder than playing without, because the musicians do play live cant make a mistake, especially in timing, because that tape is unforgiving... If you get the timing wrong or mis a beat, everything will immediately become one big mess...
During the intro you have pretty aggressive gate to avoid background noise (some kind of hiss?). I think it would sound less jarring if you applied noise reduction with profiled background noise instead of having to use that aggressive gate (assuming you cannot improve your noise floor).
I think, at the time I recorded this, that I had only recently bought this new mic and I didn't have a mic booster so the gain had to be set very high (hence the aggressive gate). I've seen you've also commented on much more recent videos so hopefully you've noticed it's improved, somewhat. I do have incredibly bad electricity in my room, though. And there is constant noise no matter what I do. Bad wiring in the house, I guess.
@@JWSoundworks2 I didn't check the dates of different videos but this video had noticiable gate which is why I decided to comment about the issue. This video being older would explain the fact that I only noticed the issue here. If so, then more recent audio is good enough already to not cause problems.
As for the mic noise floor, I'd start with trying to use as short mic cable as possible to see if that makes any difference. If you can hear any difference with a shorter cable, then it's time to get higher quality cabling. In some cases it's your mic amp - my understanding is that e.g. some Behringer mic amps are really really sensitive to any electrical interference whereas e.g. Focusrite mic amps can have near zero noise floor in the same electrical conditions. If you have no interference both can perform equally well which is why you'll sometimes get so mixed reviews for some units.
also pretty sure the keyboard part you picked up on has something to do with him giving a nod to the french people, something to do with their anthem i think
Epica always use real instruments, they have some good behind the scenes videos and things while recording their albums. Choir too, and then backing track live - not sure about the keyboard samples
Makes sense that there are real orchestrated backing tracks here. There have to be, as there's too much orchestra going on for one man to play lol. Although, if he's not using samples what sounds are we hearing coming out of his keyboard? :)
@@JWSoundworks2 I just meant I'm not sure if they are samples from the recordings or some sort of plugin! Don't know too much about keyboards. But I know for recording the album they insist on the real instruments and choirs, and experiment with a lot of different instruments. Highly recommend checking out something from their latest album (released in feb) - Code of Life, Abyss of Time, and The Skeleton Key are standout tracks for me.
@@lynnef1988 I think, for live, I'd expect he's triggering orchestral sounds from a vst library (as you can see his fingers playing the parts instead of holding down the keys to playback samples of audio recordings). But there's definitely so many layers of orchestra happening here that it must be blended with those actual orchestral and choral recordings they've made beforehand (in the studio, as you said).
Now that they're on my radar I think I'll definitely be checking out more from them! Quite a few comments have been pointing at the Retrospect show as it features the orchestra and choir on stage with the band - have you seen that too?
@@JWSoundworks2 interesting! Yeah I have the dvd, highly recommend that show too for live videos. There's one called Sancta Terra from that show with a feature from Floor Jansen of Nightwish as well. The full orchestra and choir is lovely :)
They use live recorded instruments now. They didn't always. When they were younger and smaller, they weren't afforded the luxury of being able to use full live choirs and orchestras like they do now, so they had to mix live and sampled.
Hope everyone is feeling better now, a whole household crook is miserable. Post viral malaise is real. Glad you're upright now though!
Thanks Shannon!
@@JWSoundworks2 you're very welcome. We're having the coldest winter in ages down here in Australia, well my part of Victoria anyhow. It's been rough but I guess cos everyone has to wear masks & use hand sanitiser while out & about the drs are saying that cold & flu stuff is hardly an issue. Go covid making everyone germ aware I guess?
At any rate I'm asthmatic too & I've had a cold turn into pneumonia really fast before. I picked up swimming again & funnily enough singing to try to keep my lungs happy. I'm not good at it but it's been good.
I love your reaction videos, I don't get music on that level. I'm a fan through & through but it's really cool to be able to go "ah so that's why I like what they did there" type thing & can have vaguely interesting contributions to my muso mates conversations ha. I've been learning heaps! So thanks!
Stay well mate & I hope everyone's on the mend now. It's awful when the kids are sick & you can't really explain to them.
@@shirazzza 100 per cent on the kids being sick thing. My daughter only recently turned 2 and has been quite out of sorts with it but we're all coming through pretty well now. It's just lingering. I probably could have done with an antibiotic but I don't like the idea of having to rely on them unless I'm REALLY sick lol.
Good to hear you're into the swimming. I've a good friend living in Scotland who is in the sea nearly every day. I've been into the "cold showers" thing too for about 8 months now. Supposed to be good for the immune system as well as a plethora of other benefits.
Yeah , seeing bands perform in an exhibition hall is usually abysmal. We have a large venue here in San Francisco called the Cow Palace where they hold rodeos and sometimes bands. I've given up trying to see a band there and instead will drive to the next venue they are playing at.
Sacramony Kamalot
wow, you are really "talky" person :D
I'm a teacher. Surprise.
@@JWSoundworks2 ok, i understand 😂
So if you want to give some love to a band that's get way to little of that sort of stuff in comparison to their talent ( here on YT).
Checkout Versailles - Masquerade ( m.ruclips.net/video/niAl_paNrh0/видео.html ), I think this band would really speak to you as you did so many takes on classical composition.
Next one epica with floor in sancta terra from the retrospect show
New viewer here, and I just went through a couple of videos and I simply had to turn off some videos because ever since this video your mic has been peaking on the volume, which creates a very unpleasant sounds when you talk. I found this very disappointing since I enjoyed a lot of videos before this, but I simply cannot listen to your commentary beyond a minute or 2 before I have to turn it of because of audio quality. This might have to do with my misophonia, but any video before this one I simply had no isue whatsoever at all and enjoyed them very much!
Yes, I responded to another message explaining that I have had difficulties with my new microphone not picking up my voice unless it is at full volume. I tried to fix the recording as best as I could in editing so it is not clipping but I am aware of the issue and it will be fixed in the future, don't worry. The reason you are noticing it in this batch of recent reactions (and will be present in the next 3 or 4 to come) is that I recorded them all over a two day period and they all suffer the same fate. I can't delete the footage and start again as it would ruin the chance of reacting to these songs and would be a massive waste of time. Sorry you can't get past it. But so far you're only the 2nd comment that's mentioned it out of thousands of views, so thankfully it hasn't ruined the experience for most.👍
The singing is a classical style, which is not necessarilly operatical
Good reaction! You should check Epica feat Floor Jansen - Sancta Terra too. It's a killer.
Both Epica and Nightwish use recorded tracks. Symphonic metal is the only sub genre where that is acceptable. Folk metal too. What Kiss does with tracks is crap
First time watching this channel and i can say it will also be my last. Do you EVER shut up and just listen? How can you react to a song if you pause every 2 seconds and go off for 23 years on a tangent about yourself? I pity anyone that has to be around you on a daily basis.
The love is strong in this one. I do have another version where I just sit silently listening to the song and move my facial features every now and then. And then at the very end I say "wow, that was great". I'll send you it.
Lol, you ok mate?
Dedicated to the big man at the top. For you, sweetheart.
ruclips.net/video/7jh5GMAauTM/видео.html
This guy doesn't have brain hahahah