Classical Composer Reacts to Sancta Terra (Epica - featuring Floor Jansen) The Daily Doug (Ep. 112) 

Excellent!!! I think I'm was the one who recommended this masterpiece!!! And I also recommend some stuff from them... Like cry of the moon, the phantom agony, sensorium, storm the sorrow, consign to the oblivion ... They have a lot to enjoy!!

The man who shouts "Floor Jansen" at the end with a growling voice is Mark Jansen (no family relation). Both he and Floor were together in a band called After Forever in the 90s/early 2000s until Mark was dismissed from the band due to creative differences. He went on to found Epica (then called Sahara Dust) with his girlfriend at the time - Simone. Simone and Floor are close friends and have been for years - this is why they have such good chemistry on stage. Mark and Simone are no longer a couple, but they still work very well together. Simone is married with Oliver Polotai, the keyboards player of another metal band : Kamelot (in fact she was pregnant during this show which is why she didn't headbang as violently as Floor xD ) . Very early Epica (then named Sahara Dust) was in fact Kamelot's support band during their Epica tour (from their namesake album), and it is from Kamelot's Epica album title that the name of band comes from. Kamelot was the support band during Nightwish's 2012 Imaginaerum US tour, during which then-Nightwish-vocalist Anette Olzon fell ill minutes before their Denver show. Kamelot's session vocalists Elize Ryd and Alissa White-Gluz covered for Anette and the show went on while she was hospitalized. Nightwish's decision to go forward with the show upset Anette and she publicly criticized the band on her blog. This was the last straw in Anette's and Nightwish's already troubled relationship and days later, the band fired her, with Floor acting as her replacement for the remainder of the tour. We know the rest of the story. Elize Ryd was also considered by Nightwish as a vocalist - way back in 2005 when they fired their first vocalist, Tarja Turunen. They thought Elize was too young and inexperienced at the time and went with Anette instead. Elize went on to found her own band, Amaranthe. Unrelated to this, on their first album with Anette, Nightwish released a song titled Amaranth. Is your head spinning yet? XD

Floor & Simone are long time friends . FYI Simone was pregnant during this show

I fucking love this song 🤘& my neighbors seemed to like it as well. Their always banging on my walls when I play it 🤣🤣🤣

I'm Dutch (from the Netherlands) and we have lots and lots of water over here...that explains it. The metalscene over here is not that large but almost every metalhead that I know , like myself, likes classical music as well. That's maybe the reason I like your reactions that much...thumbs up!

The funny thing is that i started to follow Doug after a Maiden reaction. Then i saw the same Maiden reaction from Elizabeth Zaroff on the tube, and discovered casually the incredible Floor Jansen. I was searching videos about Floor and two days ago i discovered this song. I immediately ordered this dvd and half of Epica discography. Now i'm here watching the reaction from Doug. A perfect circle.

Simone Simons (Epica's female vocalist) has mentioned the song is about a suicide bomber; they 'die' and go to Hell, but the delusions that led to their death are so strong they believe they are in Heaven and cannot tell the difference. The lyrics show they are both calling for others to join them in 'Heaven' and asking to be left alone as they know they are 'where they want to be' If you enjoyed that you may especially enjoy either of the below, from the same concert: Unleashed Design Your Universe They released their new album 'Omega' in February, Abyss of Time, Skeleton Key, Rivers, Freedom, Code of Life, Omega, Seal of Solomon are all great tracks

Okay, now I’m wanting an acoustic, piano version of this. ♥️

Always loves when the Wonderful/Beautiful Simone and my Queen Floor harmonize, magic happens.

CHASING THE DRAGON! That's my fav from Epica❤️ love that you discovering them☺️ Oh and Simone and Floor sang Pergolesis Stabat Mater together at the same concert🖤🖤🖤😊❤️❤️🥳

We need an album with Epica & Nightwish Piano Covers by Doug !!!

Epica and Floor are pretty related, Simone is Floor long term friend, and the guitar player Mark Jansen was the founder of first Floor band After Forever, she sang also in his side project Mayan. Epica is a really good band, i suggest you to check more about them, I really like Consign of Oblivion.

this song is just a pebble on the tip of the iceberg that is epicas talent in composition, You need to hear design your universe from the same show next...it will blow your mind for sure

Going up," quiet easily/ falling down more difficult".❤

Welcome to another rabbit hole. Epica is another amazing band!

You're amazing. I never tire of your play-along reactions. And I always learn something. Thanks.

I absolutely adore how you're giving another layer to this song just by figuring out what key it's in and playing along. Honestly I'd love to see more of that even over just reactions

With the right words/ lyrics to pronounce its easy to flip around between the accords+ having 2 great singers.❤

Finally!! I've been asking for Epica for a while lol

I've been a musician all of my life and I've never heard of Epica, Nightwish and all of the other extremely talented bands of the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland et. until the pandemic hit. At that time, I started surfing the musical web (You Tube) and fell into one rabbit hole which led to another and another. I feel that I have been missing out on what I had thought and played to be symphonic rock music. Three fun facts, Simone Simons, the lead singer of Epica was 3 or 4 months pregnant during this performance. Second, there are more symphonic metal bands in Finland per capita than anywhere else in the world albeit Epica is from the Netherlands as is Floor Jansen. Lastly, Floor Jansen and Simone Simons were long-time friends and studied the same type of vocal training.

I love their duet! Thanks for reacting to this one!

Again a really really great reaction. Your way of reacting quite unique. Love it!! Subscribed!

Omg Doug, you’re the best! Epica are well known for incorporating Middle Eastern musical themes... would love to hear more about why, musicologically speaking, these things sound “Middle Eastern”. Anything from the retrospect concert is awesome. Highlights are: unleashed or consign to oblivion.

From the same concert. Floor and Simone sing Stabat mater Dolorosa. Only with the Orchestra. Awesome

Really loved that breakdown. Thanks. Beautiful piano by the way.

I adore your piano playing and how it contributes to the song! Many thanks.

Astonishing, I had never noticed this half step move between verse and chorus! It's so subtly and simply done. Thanks for pointing that out. It's really satisfying to realize that, when you really love a song, very often there's something a bit special about it in terms of composition or harmony.

For someone who is a layman, you have a great talent for picking up and listening to music in a great way as well as describing to us other humans.

Epic momment for Epica ... Floor Jansen and Simone Simmons both on the stage ... friends for the past the two of them ... They have a big chemistry on stage ... but a little detail here Simone here is a little pregnant and protects her belly , and she does not do crazy things on stage ... The voices of those women singer are blending epicly !! Thanks Doug for that reaction... Is a great song from Epica !! But not the least one ! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all the people of the world! Blessed 2022!!

Seen EPICA 5 times now an amazing band it’s beautiful ❤Metal

And I am awakening with you Doug. I am living a new Renaissance in music thanks to your reactions!

Yesss finally EPICA do more of them

Awesome stuff - the video and your analysis!

It's nice to see you brighten up :) I could feel you really liked the music - which is fantastic!

From the same concert, I think you’d love their rendition of Pertolesi’s “Stabat Mater Dolorosa”, another great duet by Simone and Floor.

I always admire people who are able to read the music like an open book

Very cool and interesting how you pretty much instantly played along for a bit to show the chord progression. Awesome!

Doug should put out a piano cover (instrumental) of some of the songs he reacts to. His play along sections sometimes sound really nice even if not sticking perfectly to the original.

One of those where the orchestral instruments can be heard when the band are playing.. the real genius here is the sound supervisor!

Had to watch this since I'm from the Netherlands (How chauvinistic 😁). But I also like their music and your reaction as a composer. Interesting how you are starting to notice "tricks" now. Thanks and keep up the good work.👍👍

The very next song in the concert is the last as well: Design your Universe. Give it a go. You get hear all the voices of Epica in it: Choir/solo/growl

Thanks for this!!! FYI Floor and Simone are BFFs. Simone was pregnant during this show and had also been over at Floor's place a lot during that time. Also, the guitarist who does the growls for Epica is Mark Jansen (no relation) and was in Floor's first band After Forever 😁 My recommendations for Epica would be Chasing the Dragon, Unleashed, Stabat Mater Dolorosa (again featuring Floor), and Design Your Universe from this Retrospect concert. I'd highly recommend Reverence (Living in the Heart) from the album (I can't find really good quality sound in a live video), but also especially Consign to Oblivion live at Zenith in Paris, France. While you're at it, check out the band Within Temptation (Sharon den Adel is another awesome vocalist) and their performance known as the Black Symphony live with the Metropole Orchestra 😎 I'd say start off with a song like Somewhere, Our Solemn Hour, or What Have You Done and I think you'll enjoy all of those 😎 Thanks again and have a fantastic day!!!

To become full circle it is: "NIGHTWISH"- with Floor-Here with her ex-flat mate Simone - vocalist of "EPICA" a band named after an album of "KAMELOT" where the husband of Simone is classical trained pianist/keyboarder with the vocalist Tommy Karevik, also the lead of "SEVENTH WONDER" with the "AYREON" style song The Great Escape btw. also guest vocalist at Ayreon together with Floor. Five great bands/musical projects to discover

I started piano lessons in January this year. It's really cool to see how you pick up during the song and play along. BTW, I'm Dutch and a terrible singer XD

I’m just going to sit here and hold my breath for when you do a reaction to Therion....

Thank you for doing this piece. I really like the singing of both Simone and Floor; together they are...well, epic. This was a great treat for Friday. Definitely check out some other stuff by Epica. I don't think I've ever heard a song of theirs that I didn't like, though I like some better than others. It would be hard to go wrong with The Phantom Agony.

Doug "wise one" Helvering we have just had a team call 8 metalheads reacting to your reaction videos from Maiden ,Nightwish now Epica we have all learned more about our music than we ever thought top man loving you content , your passion for music is intoxicating keep it up , once we are allowed to be together we will have a Daily Doug Night and get drunk Bonnie Scotland loves you

I really enjoy your videos, very, very much.

Great analysis…they are a very unique band….

Doug Helvering you have to admit that you have discovered excellent metal bands

The water I think in the Netherlands another Dutch group is OG3ne 3 Dutch sisters that have perfect harmonies check out OG3NE Magic Studio version

Thank you Doug for te reaction!!! Next Stabat Mater Dolorosa, Epica feat Floor, again! Same concert!

You are now only a step away from the full Dutch experience :) "Somewhere" - Within Temptation feat. Anneke Van Giersbergen ;)

Thanks for your video! Epica has really great stuff!! I love all the songs that people are recommending and I like too Once upon a nightmare and Code of life...

Glad to see that you found the awesome band, Epica, and you can't go wrong following the suggestions that have already been given, I look forward to those reactions! Sometime do yourself a favor and check out a band called Ancient Bards (symphonic power metal, from Italy) with their ballad called In My Arms (official video). Really great stuff, and another powerhouse female vocalist! Cheers for the vids!

I’m literally moving to the Netherlands to pursue symphonic metal. There is something magic going on there

Thanks for this reaction 🙂👍 Sancta Terra ( Terre Sainte in french) means Holy Land. That's how Jerusalem and territories around it were called in the middle ages.

Great reaction. Subscribed. Epica, one of the greatest heavy metal bands at this moment. Proud to be dutch. Two amazing dutch singers together, also best friends. Epica writes lots of amazing songs or should i say compositions. This is shown by their new album “Omega”. Hope to see them next year if the pandemic allows it. Thank you for this reaction.

Floor explained in her Friday video last week: It's all in the "VLA" ... The fact that she's as tall as she is and the fact that she sings like she sings ... It's all in the "VLA" ...

I came across Epica in 2016, and was shocked to find that they had been around since 2003. I loved your piano playing; you should do a piano cover of Sancta Terra. Another symphonic metal band you might like is Diabulus in Musica. The song, Invisible, is a great example of why metal and classical music are great together, (IMHO).

Best videos on YT :) thanks for those :) :) You're a great guy :)

We put heavy metals in our water. It mostly affects our women as you can hear...😁

There's a choral version of Ghost Love Score on youtube you might like. You could let your choir sing Sancta Terra. :-) I think you would like to hear Ayeron Univers - Valley of the Queens. with Floor and some other goddesses. I think you also would like to hear Within Temptation (feat Anneke van Giersbergen) - Somewhere which is another great duet by some of the best.

Epica is in a tied first place with Nightwish for me. They are a bit harder edge, and their sound is very unique. Their epics like Kingdom of Heaven part 1-3 are just amazing!

The eye of Ra by Star one, live version. At the end there are literally seven people on stage singing a capella. It's magical

When singing together Floor is more in the Alto register to protect Simone. I recommend "Stabat Mater Dolorosa" is fabulous. 🤘🤘🤘

I have never clicked a video so fast in my life. Was just jamming this tune on the way home from work, now I find this video.

I think you would find "Wintersun - Sons of winter and stars" really interesting. Id watch the live rehearsal at sonic pump studios. The band is the Lead singer and guitarist project and he has done most if not all of the writing for Wintersun including the extensive backing tracks they use.

Sancta terra, could be a reference to (the) holy land, as in the lands referred to in the old testament and the target of more crusades than I care to count.

Amish country. :D It's so hard to keep up that I gave up keeping up long ago although I had grown up in the subculture of prog, folk, symphonic and all other kinds of fusions of metal/rock. Nice to join back the stream for these moments with a guide.

Dude, I love your appreciation for Symphonic Metal! You rock THAT! This song though..... Mind blowing! NW Army Namibia checking in 🌌⛲⚔️🇳🇦🤘🏻

Yes!! Epica at last!!

Please look up Floor Jansen and Henk Poort...Phantom of the Opera!!! EPIC duet!!!!

I don’t know, I’m just so jealous of your perfect pitch... thumbs up as usual!

For more dutch awesomeness check out Within Temptation and The Gathering. Both bands feature another pair of great dutch female singers!

Now that you mention an awakening, you should check Haggard. Their album, Awaking The Centuries is a conceptual album about the life of Galileo. They sing in many languages like english, latin, german, italian and spanish. They have three singers, the lead singer who is also one of the guitars, a soprano and a mezzo soprano, you'll find the usual guitar, bass and drums and also oboe, percusion, three violins, a viola, cellos and a lot of instruments that aren't just guest musicians but are part of the band. They are a neoclassical metal band. Eppur Si Muove is one of my favorite songs of that band and is awesome, I'm sure you'll like it. Edit: I was mistaken. Eppur Si Muove is the album that tells the story of Galileo. Awaking The Centuries is still a great album and it tells the story of Michel de Notredame a.k.a. Nostradamus.

I have gone through your videos and I see you love Floor Jansen just as much as the rest of us.... but I have not seen you do a reaction to any of the songs she did when she was on a singing show. The show is called Beste Zangers. And they take singers from different genres of music and have them perform differant styles. The reaction of everyone on the show the first time they hear Floor (the metal singer) sing is awsome. She blew everyone away. Then the opera singer that was there was actually the person who inspired Floor to become a singer when she was a child when she saw him play the Phantom of the opera. So she ends up doing that song with him. It is amazing... you really should check it out.

There is more to discover, Delain, Within Temptation, The Gathering, all Dutch Top Metal Bands!

Epica are amazing. Consign to oblivion is one of my faves along with sancta terra.

Awesome reaction Doug! I really enjoy you picking up the 'specials' in the composition and illustrating it with you playing along.EPICA is quite a treasure trove you'll find if you dig some more ;)

What a great reaction, thank you for all the time and effort you put into your videos! As someone with little background in music theory, it is really interesting to hear your thoughts on the compositions. I also wanted to suggest you check out "Wintersun". Their music is (in the best way possible) quite complicated and has lots of layers, it would be really awesome to hear your opinion on it! You might even already have stumbled across them in your comment sections, their drummer started playing for Nightwish in 2019.

Thanks. The nicest song with both Simone Simons (Epica) as Floor Jansen (Nightwish) and James LaBrie (Dream Theater) and Michael Eriksen (Circus Maximus) is the song All That Was (from the Ayreon album the Source). Gorgeous vocals and harmonies of those 4 singers on that beautiful track/song.

Love you reactions Doug? Although I don't understand any of it!?!

I loved seeing you play along as a way to dissect the modulations. It's such a common way to study music, but it's still so cool to watch in realtime. Epica has composition comparably brilliant to Nightwish's within their ranks. Please consider some of the recommendations in the comments. They have a number of excellent live performances through the years, including a live-filmed studio session from their first years, when Simone was just a teenager and still very much in her pure classical vocal era.

"That's a Nightwish trick!" yep, they sort of defined this sub genre

From this same concert DESIGN YOUR UNIVERSE U MUST WATCH

If you like this, you might want to check out the Classical Conspiracy By Epica. It also features a full Orchestra. I am glad you discovered Epica.

Fan friday recommedation for Therion. They are a great symphonic metal band with amazing composition. They like to delve into a lot of mythology, religion, and history. Some of my favorite songs: Black sun, Arrow from the sun, Ginnungagap, Muspelheim, Secret of the Sphinx.

Please do more Epica. They have many good songs, awesome compositions and arrangements and of course great performances. I’d really love to see you do that. Next, Monopoly On Truth from same show. Thanks and great reviews 🤘🏿

If you want more of Epica alone react to Design Your Universe from the same live show, if you want more with Floor react to Stabat Mater Dolorosa (from the same show too) ❤️

The piano is a great addition Doug.

This song. Near impossible to stop pause mid listening! xD

There is an Evergrey song called " Disconnect" which is a masterpiece as well and where Floor Jansen is doing excellent backing vocals that make the song a wanderful experience. Do it and you will be amazed.

I found Epica via Kamelot - The Haunting. Great track live. Roy and Simone killed it together.

Very nice that you discovered Epica! In my opinion, they really make music with a lot of different influences, from things that remind me of Bach to Death Metal. As you said, the contrasts between soft and beautiful on the one side and hard and brutal on the other make their music great. They have a lot of interesting stuff, I would recommend "The Holographic Principle" from their 2016 record and also their new one "Omega", in particular "Rivers". And by the way, have you heard of Dimmu Borgir? They do some great Symphonic Black Metal, maybe something for you to explore!

Sancta Terra is about a (-) suicide commander who believes he will go to heaven (= promise land) after his dead, but he ends up in hell. The recorded live show took part in Eindhoven, Netherlands on March 23rd, 2013 at the Klokgebouw and was sold out. Because of the great demand by international fans, Epica announced a live stream, called the Retrostream, on March, 4th 2013. Epica performed on stage with the same orchestra that accompanied Epica in the recording of the live album The Classical Conspiracy: the 70-piece Extended Hungarian Remenyi Ede Chamber Orchestra and the Choir of Miskolc National Theatre. The expanded ensemble mostly played Epica songs, including a whole new song called Retrospect, especially written for this live show with the same name. Like on The Classical Conspiracy, Epica played some classical music, excerpts from operas and movie soundtracks, however not as many as on the aforementioned show. BTW: Simone could not windmilling due she was pregnant at that concert, but was performing perfectly still. Also watch those two at ‘Stabat Mater Dolorosa’ (same concert)

Great song, and an enjoyable breakdown. Nice to hear an expert appreciate the technical stuff that makes Epica so awesome. You might also like The Phantom Agony by the same band, which (as a non-expert) also is a very textured and complex song.

Some suggestions that came to my mind for different reasons while watching this: Epica - The Phantom Agony (from We Will Take You With Us) Therion - Via Nocturna Orphaned Land - Halo Dies

«If you think you're too old to rock'n'roll, then you are.». Lemmy Kilmister

EPICA is yet another kind of Symphonic metal in that they pull out all stops experimenting with the sound (often within the same song), and they can be that much harsher than NIGHTWISH et al., due to intense rhythm sections and intrusions of growls from band founder and one of the principal songwriters, Mark Jansen. However all that mayhem is balanced with so much taste between symphonic soundscapes (and lately more often live strings / brass) and harmonic musical language it is frankly easy to digest. :) If you would like to hear EPICA's harder side combined with expansive songwriting, you could opt for the big epic compositions, like "Design Your Universe" or "Consign to Oblivion". However, the "angelic" side of the band is served with cuts of sheer beauty like "Once Upon a Nightmare" (based on the 19th century legend of the Erlkonig, which also served for Franz Schubert's famous Lied), or "Feint" (the early acoustic Live recording is a tear-jerker...). Or just go all fun and jump to the awesomeness of "Beyond the Matrix"! But I think it is always good to check the current state of a band - and that is the hot new album called "Omega". The lead single, "Abyss of Time", is a good introduction (and an awe-inspiring video to boot), while there are even better songs on there. EPICA is truly at the height of their powers now; prime time to get into them!