The best part is they are such dear friends. Floor has a connection with Epica, as Mark Jansen (no relation) was the lead guitarist in her first band, After Forever. Also, when Nightwish was considering their third singer, which became Floor, Simone was also considered as a candidate. Both Simone and Floor work with Arjen Anthony Luccasson in Ayreon, so they are connected at the hip. You can see it easily in how much respect glies back and forth between them. So happy you enjoyed this brilliant masterpiece. The drumming is off the charts!!
I seem to remember reading somewhere else that they were roommates at one point? I don't know if that's accurate or not but would be awesome if it was!
*Rhythm guitarist. The lead guitarist (and band leader) was Sander Gommans. Floor and Simone were never roommates, never went to the same school etc. etc.. It's all rumours. I also doubt that they were great friends back when AF was still active, because the relations between Floor and Mark were NOT GOOD. They buried the hatchet after 2009.
They are more connected than that , when mark jansen was in after forever his girlfriend was simone simons , when he leave and started Epica he gave the role of lead singer to Simone ( later simone married with Oliver Palotai keyboardist of Kamelot , simone and floor met when she is dating mark, and floor was the first choice to Tuomas after Tarja leave , but floor was in A.F. at the time and Tuomas dont invited her to dont disband another great band like AF❤
A classic for the ages 🤘🏻🔥🤘🏻🔥🤘🏻🔥 Now you need to do Ayreon's The Day That The World Breaks Down. A collaboration of 11 singers orchistrated by Arjen Lucassen. You won't be disappointed with who you see in it 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
I concur. Jenna will absolutely love the music, the storytelling, the grand musical theatre character of the live shows and of course the familiar faces she'll meet on her intergalactic journey. Cheers! 🤘
You see Koality, this is Europe. It is that each singer/band respects border less the other. Many times they feature (the singers) in other bands like you see here in Retrospect from Epica. What floor concerns she sang apart from her former bands also in Norway and Sweden and Finland. In short; they want to make music. There is no jealousy but respect, no hate and the pursuit of being the best and the winner and down cast eye on the other. Greetings from The Netherlands.
for something more recent you might like EPICA feat. APOCALYPTICA - Rivers (Live At The AFAS LIVE). Both bands were on tour together, Apocalyptica has three chello players who joined Epica for this song.
One of the best Epica performances on YT even though it is one of their less heavy ballads. Should go on the must see list along with ‘Consign to oblivion ‘ live from Paris which shows the more metal side of the band in another stunning performance.
What have you done? My favourite two singers together, absolutely sublime performance, just mind blowing if you’ve only heard them sing the band’s usual songs! So I guess you liked it - Stabat Mater Dolorosa from the same concert is the next level! Definitely a must to see their ultimate potential for this style of music! Great reaction as always, very enjoyable! 🌹
Simone and Floor is old friends and know eachother very well . There is other collabs to see " Stabat mater dolorosa" for example from the very same consert, Greetings from nwAse Sweden¨
Cool. Looking forward to more Epica reactions and I hope more fans of NW/Floor will follow you on your Epica journey. It's about time for NW army to delve deeper into this phenomenal band. 😎
I mean, many different nicks comment on the 2 songs by Epica that feature Floor, but most of them don't comment on any other Epica reactions. I've never seen any of you commenting on "Unleashed" or "Universal Death Squad" or "The Essence of Silence" and about 20 other amazing Epica songs that are typically reacted to. Those 2 songs with Floor also have significantly more views, despite Sancta Terra not being among the best Epica songs and Stabat Mater is not an Epica song at all. The only good explanation for that is that they are Floor/NW fans but not really Epica fans. I would be glad if we had much more of you coming to Epica reactions. 🙂
floor and simons, they are very friends, long before floor joined the "nightwish" band, they have had several collaborations, and fun videos I recommend these videos: -EPICA feat. APOCALYPTICA - Rivers (Live At The AFAS LIVE) this concert is recent -EPICA - Consign To Oblivion - Live at the Zenith (OFFICIAL VIDEO) -EPICA - Sensorium (Live At Paradiso-OFFICIAL LIVE VIDEO) this concert is super old 2006 And their concerts at (OMEGA ALIVE) were spectacular, during the quarantine time There are many more recommendations but maybe with those 3 it is good to start.
Hi Jenna, I think you will like this one, I love the creative ways that they used the choir in this song 🙃 EPICA - The European Enigma Aftermovie - Natural Corruption
The Sancta Terra, Holy Ground, lyrics is about a suicide bomber who, after blowing himself up, discovers that he is not in heaven but in hell. The place where he is actually supposed to be.
Floor and Simone had the same vocal coach way back!... Such a small family with all the links between metal bands.... Arien van Weesenbeek on drums here has, according to his parents, been hitting things since he was 3yo - mostly furniture with cutlery but, luckily, he found his dad's drumkit before he did too much damage! All of Epica is... well... EPIC! Took their name from a Kamelot album and Simone is married to the keyboard player of Kamelot - Oliver Palotai.... and so many other links with the bands Amaranthe, Arch Enemy, Sabaton...... can you tell I love collabs? Great job!
You might be interested to know that Simone, Epica's lead singer and Floor's great friend, wrote this. Another duet from these two is 'Sabat Mater Dolorosa' from the same gig. It's amazing to see how much an audience of metal heads appreciates it.
Firstly I want to tell you I'm a highschool student and we don't usually listen to this sorta music....BUT I've been on this journey with you and everything your saying is what I'm feeling too! There's this whole world of symphonic metal that I'm in LOVE with!!! Nightwish Epica Sabaton ( Floors hubby is the drummer) I watched this and I'm crying with emotions!!😢 Thank you for doing all this I'm having so much fun! Erica from Scottsdale Az ❤️
Oh my gosh that’s so fun!!! I’m glad you’re on the same journey as me. 👯♀️ The symphonic metal has hooked me!!! It combines everything I loved about classical music and adds a twist.
Hey, plz keep going with Epica! Maybe you could do one of their more proggy tracks? I suggest "The Skeleton Key", from their Omega Alive session (performed live in studio, even though it looks like a music video).
Best Zygomatic Processes in the biz < my anatomy/physiology nerdism leaketh> Epica is an amazing band... none better imo. Leaves one a little speachless. Enjoy
Hi - your observation about the metal music now flowing over you and not getting messed up trying to pick out the parts…a great step 1. Step 2 is when you DO learn to pick out what the lead guitar is doing, or the kick drum on the kit, etc. It REALLY IS like classical. Just takes some getting used to, that’s all. Seriously, from 5th grade through college I was playing all the time. Brass. Symphonic, concert band, jazz band. For *many* a year I wouldn’t give any metal the time of day, so to speak. Obviously that all changed, and clearly it is for you as well. So welcome aboard!!!! (And it NEVER hurts when you’re listening to either of these goddesses, let alone together)
Xena and Gabrielle sing a duet about a failed suicide bomber. If you like live collaborations with an orchestra, check out Wagakki Band with Amy Lee playing “Bring Me To Life” live in Osaka. It’s a reimagining of that classic song.
With Epica you can never go wrong! This song is fantastic but with Floor and being live it got to new heights. I think Epica and nightwish should be a recurrent theme here in your channel. I won't suggest any Epica song bc anythg you choose will definitely be epic, but instead, I'd like to introduce you to some other great bands: Within Temptation - The Promise live Rock Werchter (2002) (The singer of this group is Sharon Den Adel, she's the third metal queen along with Floor and Simone.) Another suggestion will be something crazy but necessary to experience: Igorrr - ieuD [OFFICIAL VIDEO]
They performed live this song last year in Athens, it didn't sound as good as this one with Floor but still it was a good performance! They will revisit Athens again in 26th of October and I have booked my ticket already :D Last year they performed after 19:00 and the sun was still up and facing towards the stage, they couldn't perform as good due to the heat. They said they had planned some acrobatics(if I heard well) but due the heat they didn't do them :( I hope now they will compensate us! And I felt bad for Simone Simons, she's pale white ginger (my kind of gurl) and with the sun on her for as much time as they performed, I thought she would burst into flames like a vampire!
I love Simone, and i love Floor, well actually o love all on that stage.. Isaac, Mark,. you name it.. This might shock you, but this song is actually about a suicide bomber, and hes thoughts..
A few suggestions for you... Epica - Unleashed live at AFAS Live Epica - Unchain Utopia at Omega Alive Epica - Serenade of Self-Destruction at Retrospect
now that you'd reacted to this, you also have to do stabat mater dolorosa from this same concert... also featuring Floor. as you venture deeper into this genre, I would also highly recommend checking out The Day That The World Breaks Down which features both ladies again, then also Misplaced Among The Angels by Tobias Sammet... also featuring Floor.
Correct me if I am wrong. But I think I read or heard somewhere that they either went to the same music academy/ School or lived together during studies or both... 2 wonderful Lady's in any case. And we are so proud in Sweden that Floor is now living with her kids dogs cats and horses and husband from Sabaton in our country.
Add " smart and beautiful woman" to the intro ❤ Talking about Floor and Simone, love it's what you see, they were roommates in the same vocal academy long time ago so the camaraderie it's on the roof, same whit Mark Jansen he use to be the guitar on REVAMP ( Floor's band before NIGHTWISH C U SOON lovely ❤cheers
Check out Kamelot from 1998 to 2011 Roy Khan was the lead singer. He is awesome after that Tommy Karevic took over. He also is a great singer. Epica was inspired by their album called Epica.
Jenna, did you ever mention who the singer for Epica is (I'm not familiar with the band, though I know that the guy who started it was in a band with Floor, Forever After, at one point in history). They sounded very much alike when they first started singing.
you're referring to Mark Jansen (no relation to Floor); the band was after Forever, the band that Floor joined while still a teenager......he's the guitarist who did the solo in this......her name is Simone Simons
Hey Bert! It's Simone Simons, a classically trained soprano. For me the most beautiful female voice of all time. She used to sound quite differently, especially on the first 2-3 albums (2003-2007). Her head voice (operatic) was still somewhat undeveloped but it sounded very unique, very warm and ethereal. I've never heard any other singer who sounds like Simone did back then. Stunningly beautiful. There are many Epica fans who actually miss that young immature soprano, although she sounds amazing today. Simone is also a gorgeous woman, as you will see. If you are not familiar with Epica, you definitely should check them out! They are currently the peak of symphonic metal. You won't find anything better in this subgenre. If you don't mind a bit heavier music than Nightwish, it's definitely worth it! Here's something for you. Listen to that beautiful soprano! Make sure you copy-paste these exact video titles into the search field: These are recordings from 2014 to 2023 Epica - Unleashed (Live at the AFAS Live) Apocalyptica & Epica - Rise Again (Official Video) Epica - The Second Stone - Pukkelpop 2014 Aftermovie And this is how she sounded earlier... Epica - Run For a fall 🎼 Solitary Ground live (2004) Epica - Trois Vierges with ROY KHAN (Live 2006) Epica - The Last Crusade (Live At Paradiso-OFFICIAL LIVE VIDEO)
For the meaning of the song - Simone has said that it is about someone who has died and believes they are in heaven, but come to realise it is hell and that is where they really belong. Symphonic metal is just such a big, cinematic, layered and complex sound and it tends towards storytelling and sometimes feats of imagination. I find it one of the most interesting genres, though "metal" is a very broad concept.
Can I tell you a secret? I knew this one 😂 But I didn't tell 🤫 just to leave you with the surprise 😁 Such a koality reaction! I loved your reactionS! Keep on with symphonic metal 👍🙏 If you want to broaden your female fronted symphonic metal repertoire, I suggest "the gates of time" by The Dark Side Of The Moon (teaser: there's a harp and no harsh vocals).
I have heard this may be about a suicide bomber who thinks he is going to heaven but ends up in a much darker place. Thus Sancta Terra ( Holy Land). Maybe?
This performance is always a joy to watch. The personal connection between these 2 ladies is wonderful. I agree about music shouldn't be competitive. Here in the US, at least, it's manufactured by media and labels to help drive interest. Most musicians are fans of other musicians music, and enjoy it as much as the rest of us. I'd like to recommend the band Larkin Poe for you to check out. Decidedly not metal, they specialize in roots blues and rock. They are made up of multi-instrumentalist sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell, and usually tour with the addition of a bassist and drummer. They're in their early 30's, but have been touring the world since 2005. When they started, they were playing bluegrass with older sister Jessica, then transitioned to electric when Jessica went on to other things. They have done pretty much everything on their own, they own there own label, handle production of their albums, write their own material, etc... Even without a major label, they have toured with Bob Seger, Keith Urban, Elvis Costello, recorded with Steven Tyler, opened for Guns & Roses and ZZ Top. Long introduction, But I recommend checking out a performance of their song "Mad as a Hatter" live with the Nu Deco Orchestra. (You said you enjoyed orchestra). They also have a cover channel on RU-vid that is bare bones just the 2 of them covering tunes recorded just on their phones, though lately it's a much better set up since Rebecca's husband has a studio at the house. Still no production, just raw skill on display. Pick any of the over 200 tunes, they're all good, many surpassing the original artists.
Hi! Just came across your channel and had to say I am also a relatively new Nightwish fan and that led me to Epica. Both amazing bands and amazing singers. The word is Simone and Floor were roommates at University. And they sound so close to each other, vocally. You note that you enjoy bands collaborating and whatnot. In my journey into the symphonic metal universe I have found so many more bands to get my vibe on. So in the vein of collaboration, I have a suggestion, which is currently in my top 5 of incredible music: Within Temptation - Paradise (What About Us?) featuring Tarja Turunen (original Nightwish vocalist). YOU NEED TO CHECK THIS OUT!!!
They were never roommates, never went to the same school etc. etc.. It's all rumours. Check out After Forever (prog metal, Floor's first band), The Gathering (doom metal/trip-rock, fantastic singer) and, perhaps, Blackbriar (gothic/symph metal).
Great reaction. I have seen a number of comments relating to stopping the song before the end of the video. This is a habit you shouldn't fall into with metal songs as there may be something relevant you miss. It will slightly upset metal fans. Never stop a video before the end of a Sabaton song for example as there is often further information about the subject of the song. Otherwise I do enjoy your reactions!
Yup, that's the stuff... hrm, badazz ladies singing their lungs out... there's another badazz lady you should react to if you haven't yet: Lizzy Hale of Halestorm Halestorm - "Love Bites" (the song, not the band) or "I MIss The Misery" are good starter... an amazing collab is "Song of Women" with The Hu band
Glad you're getting swept away by the world of symphonic metal. It's a wondrous universe unto itself. Loosely related, you need to discover a bloke by the name of Devin Townsend, if you haven't already. Seek him out, react to him, thank me later...
@@akrijgsman It was in the video I linked? I’ve watched the performance to the end and it was just them saying Floor’s name, and then her thanking Epica. No more music or singing. 🤷🏻♀️
@@KoalityReactions Yes and you cut it after them saying Floor's name. Floor thanking Epica was not in it. In my opinion (and I am fairly certain I am not alone in that) better to include a part like that. Just constructive criticism here. If you care about likes, leave it in next time.
@@akrijgsman I realize that now, but at the time I didn't see how much longer was left in the video... and I've watched other performances on my channel that carried on with applause/chatting for a while so it was a reflex to pause it. Hard to know which videos to watch until the end, and which to cut off, since I don't watch anything before I react to it. Wasn't trying to annoy anyone or disrespect anyone, I was just doing my thing.
Haha no nooo, I do still think it affects me! I just struggled more a few weeks ago, with being able to enjoy it as a whole because I felt overloaded trying to listen to every little part. 😂 But I’ll put that on the list!!
