EPICA - Unleashed (Retrospect Live) I Shower Singer Reacts I 

It's said that when Simone Simons was 15, she heard an early Nighwish album, and changed her studies from pop music singing to classical singing. She was still a teenager when Epica recorded their first song, 'Cry For The Moon'. Epica took their name from a Kamelot album name, and Simone would eventually marry Kamelot keyboardist Oliver Palotai. I've been a fan since about 2007, when their album 'The Divine Conspiracy' came out. I eventually got to see them live in about 2014, at a small venue here in St. Louis. Still the only time I've had a band call for a circle pit, and I happened to be standing in that spot.. I'm too old for that!

Yep, I was there, at this show. It was mindblowing. A 3 hour show. Also something worth mentioning, Simone was pregnant with her first child. But yeah, Epica is on a whole other level when it comes to composing music. Gonna see them again on 70.000 Tons of Metal next year.

FYI: Retrospect is the 3rd live album by Dutch symphonic metal band Epica in celebration of their tenth anniversary. The recorded live show took part in Eindhoven, Netherlands. Because of the great demand by international fans, Epica announced a live stream, called the Retrostream, on March 4, 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.

Epica - Rivers (FT Apocalyptica) Very beautiful version of the song Rivers by Epica. Love the band.

We saw EPICA live earlier this year in England, it was very different from other metal shows, there were just as many women and girls as the men and boys in the audience, from teenagers to older folks, it was a very fun and positive experience, and they sounded amazing 🙃

Gorgeous song as follow up reaction? Epica - Chasing the Dragon live at Retrospect 2013 HD

EPICA feat. APOCALYPTICA - Rivers (Live At The AFAS LIVE) EPICA - Consign To Oblivion - Live at the Zenith (OFFICIAL VIDEO) PARIS! Epica - Sancta Terra (feat Floor Jansen) Live Retrospect show

Epica is heavier than Nightwish. Just don`t get scared when you will hear Mark singing.

This band is everything.

Hi Jenna, now see them perform 'Unleashed' 10 years later, from a concert earlier this year in Amsterdam, even more epic 🙃 EPICA - Unleashed (Live At The AFAS Live)

That smile during the whole song says it all :)

Epica -- another very deep rabbithole to go down. As others have mentioned, Simone Simons and Floor Jansen of Nightwish are very good friends. One of the things I have noticed about symphonic metal is that a lot of them are very close and support each other.

Great reaction Jenna! I had no idea that symphonic metal was a music genre prior to watching youtube reactions. I really enjoy it now.

As they say, classical music is metal without electricity 😆

The variety in Epicas music is huge. If you want to expirience as much of it as possible in one song, I would recommend "Epica - Chasing The Dragon LIVE Retrospect 2013 HD", do be warned that it goes VERY heavy towards the middle of the song. Its easy to make the mistake of listening to songs like "Unleashed" or "Sancta Terra" and come to the conclusion that they are "just another Nightwish" but don't be fooled, while their music belongs to the same genre, it is very much its own thing. The lyrics Mark and Simone write are (almost) always deep and meaningful, and all 5 of the guys in the band are excellent composers.

EPICA is beautiful 😍 metal

this concert is about 10 years old and over these 10 years Simone has become even better at singing, she has done a great job on her breathing technique and now at her concerts you can hear that singing is very easy for her, because the side actively moves around the stage and her breathing and singing in general doesn't crash. If you are interested in evaluating her vocals in more recent concerts, then I highly recommend this song, Simone is here as a smooth vocalist and there will be no metal rumble, only cellos ❤️ it's very beautiful, aesthetics in every frame: Apocalyptica feat Simone Simons - rise again (live in London)

Love it.

Epica are an awesome band. Simone Simons is an incredible vocalist 🤘🏻🤘🏻 A great rabbit hole 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻 Mark Jansen was in a band before this one that was called After Forever. Floor Jansen (no relation) was the vocalist. Floor and Simone are BFF 🤘🏻🤘🏻 Try Epica doing SanctaTerra ft. Floor Jansen live 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻

Symphonic Metal is a very deep subgenre with lots of creativity. Nightwish, Epica, Therion, Luca Turilli: the Big Four! Epica may be the best Symphonic Metal around today, their compositions are just insane. My recommendation would be to check the band Therion, they are the band who created this subgenre in 1996. Their song "Schwarzalbenheim" during their incredible live called "Miskolc Experience" can give a taste of more Symphonic Metal from the masters :) Anyway, thank you for this channel!

Simone came with 17years to Epica and is now 39years and one of the best sopranos in Metall 🤘

I'm glad you checked out Epica, although that particular song isn't nearly a favorite of mine personally (I do really like it, though). Here are the recommendations I've been dropping (just to keep them fresh in your mind... also adding two more Epica suggestions): Epica: Sancta Terra (It features Floor, so it's an easy one to transition to) - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cx22Yuj2nzg.html Epica: Design Your Universe - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9nlPx-HEpCU.html Epica: Rivers (feat Apocolyptica): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7imPLmvLyQA.html Within Temptation: Sinead (they're the poppiest of the symphonic metal bands, so it's another good beginning point): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KuMB2pTsZP0.html Floor: Phantom of the Opera (Cover Song): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-plCScjvDOJM.html Shallow (Cover Song): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-M68pe4a_9zk.html

Awesome reaction, girl! Welcome to Epica's rabbit hole. You're following the right path: Nightwish, Epica and Sabaton...coming next. Yes, you should dig into their lyrics. Mark Jansen, the left guitarist (and growler...you"ll see) has a degree in psychology and all of them have a degree in music. Let me share with you an info and a secret: 1. Simone was 3months pregnant in this concert, after dealing successfully a serious health problem. 2. Their ballads are just astonishing, they're maybe better (if anyone could make such a comparison) than Nightwish. Look for RIVERS ft Apokalyptica, it's a great start. Greetings from Greece!

I hope you continue down the Epica rabbit hole, it's a band with a 20-year career and a lot of variation in their material. Mark does growls, contrasted against Simone's classically trained vocals. This song in particular is one of a handful where Mark only sticks to guitar. Maybe your next song by Epica could be "The Skeleton Key" from their Omega Alive project. When you find the video, it'll kinda look like a music video, but the whole Omega Alive was their pandemic project, where they recorded a bunch of songs live in studio, with a full stage show, but without an audience. So it's actually live. PS: I think since you're an actress and all-round creative person, you might enjoy learning that Simone Simons also has a side-hustle as a photographer and fashion blogger. You can find her blog "smoonstyle", she apparently has a brand deal with a makeup line and she can sometimes be found in the front row of fashion shows around Europe.

Mark (no relationship to Floor, though both band mates in the Dutch symphonic metal band After Forever) brings the "death" to the symphonic death metal genre, Simone Simmons is the featured vocalist for the band. In the song though her vocals get overwhelmed by the instruments. This is the first time I've ever heard them, even though I know that Floor has some relationship to the members. As I've said before, I'm a big Floor fan, so this ends up being compared to her vocal projects post 2013. (In fact, everything I've said in this comment was looked up right before I started writing it.) So thanks Jenna for featuring them and educating me.

Hi Jenna this is for me the best live performances of this song I just absolutely love the intro with the violins, which you won't find on any other video or studio recording. Great reaction video I hope that you will enjoy Epica as much as I do.

Epica is superb, though considering that it's one of my favourite bands I might not be completely unbiased 😁 Epica's lyrics tend to lean more to the philosophical and political/ideological than e.g. those of Nightwish. They actually included one of my favourite quotes in one of their songs (Goethe's _"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free"_ - as true today as back in the day)! Way back in 2004 or something along those lines, it was Epica that actually made me tolerate growling if used in moderation - and especially when used to create contrast, in which case I often outright appreciate it. The idea of having an "angelic" female voice along with "demonic" growling is something I first encountered in some gothic metal - the concept has been dubbed "the Beauty & the Beast". Thanks for another great reaction!

Hey Jenna, I love the honesty and innocence of your reactions and the want and will to take a journey through music you wouldn't normally listen to. Epica, Nightwish, Distrubed! If I may be so bold as to help you into another genre, how about acappella groups. And if I may, I'll ease you into Voiceplay and their version of "The Oogie Boogie Song" from the "The Nightmare Before Christmas." And witness the lowest note to come out of a human as the last note of the song. Enjoy, and thank you for your reactions!

You’ve now found one of my favourite bands, and aren’t they just amazing! Simone is a fantastic singer who happens to be besties with one of my other favourite vocalists Floor! Like your reaction and comments, I think maybe you were a bit 🤯 An amazing follow up would be Epica Sancta Terra, or Stabat mater dolorosa both have Floor and Simone singing duets, the later being a classical performance with full orchestra - both are 🔥🔥🔥

Epica is fun on stage, deep in lyricks, epicans are die hard fans They have real metal fun under stage. Epica is minde blowing. Another symphonic metal band can be KAMELOT with male vocalist named by some Maria Carey of METAL 😂 Tommy have realy good voice. METAL greatings 🤘

my second fav band love Epica

With so many strings immediately in the beginning I knew you'd like it! I have heard a lot of people talk about Epica, but this is actually my first listen. The musicianship and performance is really good and I liked the song. Although it perhaps didn't grab me as much as I thought it might with all the hype, it made me feel like I might love some of their other songs, so I'm excited to hear more on this journey with you.

Good reaction. Looking forward for more NF reactions. A big hug 🫂

Welcome to the world of Epica! IMO they are the best Symph Metal band in the world

Synphonic metal seem to be your cup of tea (with cake, lol) Metal music has a lot of subgenres, and you are now getting knowing one of these. it's not always men crying their lungs our...

It's great to see you enjoying Epica. So great 👍! Epica is a regular on my daily playlist. Simone Simons is great and so are the Epica musicians. For me, this is one of the best spots on your journey, so far. Also, I didn't know about this live performance with the orchestra (they don't have an orchestra included in the band on permanent contract, lol 😉 ) thanks Jenna. And keep up with the symphonic metal! It still has so much to offer! (In particular Blackbriar 😅). Happy to see you tomorrow!!

Mark Jansen is the leader/founder of the band, he has the rhythm guitar and despite the contribution of all the band members, he is considered the mastermind of Épica. Additionally, his vocal contribution is with gutturals or Death growls .. Mark is the nicest guy and good person you will ever meet :) Mark's mind is capable of taking our minds to magical and unknown places...

Epica is a phenomenal band. Now you have to react to Epica with Floor Jansen doing Sancta Tera

you have to watch Design Your Universe from the same live album

Hell yeah, check out Design your universe live retrospect next, it will give you chills ;) another amazing band for you to know is Ayreon, it is basicaly a metal broadway show, listen to Garden of emotions or star of syrrah, both live

Heavy Metal is just Classical music with electricity 😎

I have a feeling you’ll like Epica - Santa Terra ft. Floor Jansen live at Retrospect

I love Epica, been listening since The Phantom Agony and The Divine Conspiracy is probably one of my favorite albums BUT I was also a huge fan of Within Temptation and I beg you to check out their 1st song that blew me away, Mother Earth!!! One of my favorites from W. T. and once you check that one out, try Stand My Ground and What Have You Done. You won't be disappointed. Subbed up too. Came for Ren, NF, and I saw you dabbled into some Epica and had to check that out too. Metalhead here who also loves some good rap.

Great reaction. I think the other song you were recommended is Rivers.

Epica! Yes, they're a lot to take in and their songs have a lot of variety. Brace yourself for Mark's vocals, they are such a contrast to Simone! But the contrast itself is epic... Also Simone and Floor from Nightwish are BFF's. Check out Epica "Sancta Terra" for a duet between Simone and Floor (also with symphony and choir)

Do the whole 3 hours show and have a blast like you have never head before!

The singer of Epica Simone and the Singer from Nihtwish floor Jansen are super best Frends and came both from the Netherland s Simone is singer bye Epica and floor is singer bye Nihtwish

Kamelot - the haunting live has Simone in a duet it's good.

in the same live, you can find a duet Epica/Floor Jansen: "Sancta Terra" ;).

...also another recommendation you ABSOLUTELY MUST check out is TRISTAINA!!! Absolutely one of the best IMO in the symptom metal genre. Please check out any of these tracks...Evenfall, Pale Enchantress, My Lost Lenore, Tender Trip On Earth, Beyond The Veil, Angina or ...Of Ruins And A Red Nightfall. Really anything off of the Widows Weed album, Beyond the Veil or World of Glass are all spectacular!!

So cute ❤❤

Epic

Hey, nice reaction - you now react to the 3 bands in my top 3: Nightwish, The Warning and Epica. Here are some fun facts fo you: 1. Floor Jansen and Mark Jansen (no family relation) were co-members in their first band “After Forever” 2. Mark Jansen left “After Forever” and founded “Sahara Dust” and asked, then 17 years old girlfriend, Simone Simons to be the front woman and lead singer of the band 3. Simone Simons became interested in Symphonic Metal and Classical style singing after listening to Nightwish’s Oceanborn. 4. Mark Jansen changed the name of his band “Sahara Dust” to “Epica” that is the name of one of “Kamelot”’s album, a band they were touring with. 5. Simone Simons has been featured on more “Kamelot” songs - recommendation for a good live version of “The Haunting”: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RsMXxxDMFYY.html 6. Simone Simons is the long-time partner of the Kamelot’s keyboard player: Oliver Palotal - they have a son together 7. During their US tour in 2012, Nightwish asked Floor Jansen to join the band as a replacement vocalist after Anette Olzon’s exit. This was the result of the so-called Denver Debacle where Nightwish had the difficult task of choosing between cancelling the gig and going ahead with support band Kamelot’s backing vocalists Elize Ryd (now Amaranthe) and Alissa White-Gluz (The Agonist, now Arch Enemy) in Olzon’s place. With the audience’s blessing they chose the latter, resulting an unforgettable and historic show. Elize, Alissa and Nightwish were applauded for their efforts by seemingly everyone except Olzon, who made her rather ungrateful opinions known the next day via an online post. A few days later - October 1st, 2012 - Olzon was officially given the boot and the tour continued with ReVamp / ex-After Forever singer Floor Jansen fronting the band. 8. Elisa Ryd and Alissa White-Gluz are still appearing now and then in Kamelot live performance or albums. Here is a recommendation: Sacrimony ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1WvWbUgCcJw.html 9. Kamelot’s current lead singer: Tommy Karevik and Simone Simons both have prominent parts in Arjen Anthony Lucassen project, Ayreon. Many great musicians and vocalist participate to this project. As an introduction to Ayreon, check “The Day That The World Breaks Down” ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-oFuMKdrzPqU.html 10. ARjen Anthony Lucassen - helped young Floor improve her vocal abilities by constantly challenging her, especially with regards to lower tones and harmonies. 11. Gjalt Lucassen, Arjen Anthony Lucassen's brother, is a latin teacher and write the latin lyrics you hear in Epica's song. 12. Floor Jansen is married to Sabaton drummer, Hannes Van Dahl. As an introduction to Sabaton, check Ghost Division (the drummer in this video is NOT Hannes van Dahl - but it’s a great intro anyway): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9FkYxnm70vg.html 13. Sabaton has been touring with Amaranthe (Eliza Ryd) last year. Amaranthe has made it a cover in homage for their touring partner, 82nd all the way ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-56MaYg-LNXM.html - they perform it together live here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-56MaYg-LNXM.html 14. Intro to Arch Enemy and Alissa White-Gluz - Nemesis live @Wacken: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UNPKGyYzPCo.html

The singer is Simone Simmons, I believe you've met Floor, now you need the other 3 Goddesses, Anneke van Giersbergen, Marcela Bovio and Tarya Turunen.

another must then is Visions of Atlantis pirates will return live official video

Nice reaction Jenna, if you’re looking for a third band to review after Nightwish and EPICA, might I recommend Within Temptation, I think you’ll enjoy the experience! 😎 As far as EPICA is concerned I like the song Beyond the Matrix, one of my favs!

Simone Simones and floor.jansen from Nightwish are best frends and sing together also have fun

The rabbit hole runs very deep. Like Nightwish, they don't do a less than great song or performance. Now you should check out Epica's Sancta Terra. It is from this same Retrospect concert and Floor Jansen joins her for a duet of the whole song. I'm sure you will love it.

I believe its time for you to hear Sancta Terra, when Floor and Simone sing together in a live performance.

Please react to: Guns N' Roses - Don't Cry - 1992 Tokyo Guns N' Roses - Civil War - 1992 Tokyo Guns N' Roses - Estranged - 1992 Tokyo Guns N' Roses - Welcome to the Jungle - 2001 Rock In Rio We need prime Axl Rose here! :)

Mark Jansen isn't related to Floor, but Simone and Floor are close friends. Floor does guest appearances at their concerts, like 'Epica - Sancta Terra (feat Floor Jansen) Live Retrospect show' ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cx22Yuj2nzg.html

Simone!!! 🤘

I commented a suggestion on the 2Cellos Thunderstruck video but I saw that video got blocked so I'll suggest it again here: Since you said you love covers in the 2Cellos video, I HIGHLY recommend you check out a man here on youtube by the name of Tommy Johansson. He is the lead guitarist of Sabaton, (drummer of Sabaton is married to Floor Jansen of Nightwish, and Tommy has also done some of the backing tracks to some of the covers on Floor's channel which you should also check out), as well as the lead vocalist for his own band Majestica. During covid, Tommy started doing covers and went pretty hard on it and only took his first few week break recently but is already back at it. Every single Friday, he releases a new cover, and during last December, he even released a song a day from the 1st to the 24th as his own little Christmas Advent Calendar. Easily over 70-ish covers so far, and since he's so consistent, you'll never run out of content with him. Since I left this suggestion on a Thunderstruck cover, I suggest you start with Tommy's cover of Thunderstruck as well. He is a multi-instrumentalist but mainly is master-class guitarist, and has a voice similar to Floor's in that he can sing whatever the hell he wants to and crush it (His first video back after his little vacation was freaking Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, and he actually did it complete justice, if that clues you in on his skills at all). I'd leave a link to it but that generally triggers spam filters. "Tommy Johansson Thunderstruck" should pull it right up. I should also mention, Tommy is VERY friendly to and appreciative of reactors so you should have no problems with copyright claims from him. He has even been known to comment under reaction videos from time to time, and has also become friends with reactor OldSkuleNerd, and has even sat in on a reaction to a Sabaton video with reactor GivenToe.

NEW!!! OMV from Spin Twice!!!

Next : Isyana Sarasvati - IL SOGNO Live at The Sounds Project 2022 ❤🤟🇮🇩

Please react to Epica Featuring Apocalyptica: Live From The AFAS Song: Rivers

Next must be symphonic death metal ;-) Fleshgod Apocalypse for instance

I can advice you to listen to "Simone Simons (Epica) feat Floor Jansen (Nightwish) Sancta Terra Live HD" It's awesome. While we're focussing on Dutch Music, you also ought to check out Arjen Anthony Lucassen (Ayreon)... just saying..

Dont skipover other dutch Symph metal, DELAIN, and my fav., WITHIN TEMPTATION....suggest Black Symphony concert

i rather studio versions for Simone

Simone. And her best frend floor Jansen are best frends and when tey sing togeether this is Osame

Not to demean Simone in the least, what Epica lacks in comparison in contrast to Nightwish is soul. Toumas writes and composes from his heart and soul and is evident in the music, Epica, to me is simply trying to replicate a winning formula but lacks the soul that makes Nightwish head and shoulders more than Epic tries to be. The band itself shows just that in and of itself...."showboaters" whereas with Nigjtwish "music contributors" doing their part simply doing their part to just make great music.