Artist : Epica

Album : Live at Paradiso + We Will Take You With Us

Release Date : 02-09-2022

Added : 13-09-2022






20 years, let's celebrate!! and when you're called 'Epica', as we've been used to for a few years now, you don't skimp on the means and everything is done to make it grand. This anniversary was therefore marked by a spectacular show in 'Tilburg' on September 3 with many guests, which was filmed, and which is being streamed for two days while certainly awaiting the release of a DVD/ Blu ray. And for those who couldn't make it to the Netherlands or who haven't watched the last concert yet, 'Epica' is releasing the 2006 'Live in Paradiso' concert at the same time which had never made it object of a DVD/Blu-ray and which already shows, at that time, four years after the creation of the group, that they had already taken an essential place on the symphonic metal scene. We find with great pleasure the titles of their first two albums which were part of the concerts of that time and which have since disappeared from the setlists, such as 'Dance Of Fate', 'The Last Crusade', 'Solitary Ground', 'Force Of The Shore' or even 'Seif al Din' and so on (see also videos of 'The Last Crusade' above, 'Blank Infinity' here and 'Sensorium' here). Icing on the cake, they also bring out their first three CDs as well as the concert 'We Will Take You With Us' given in 2004 for Dutch television in the program 'Twee Meter Sessies' and, on this occasion, the videos of this concert are available in full on youtube (see below the list containing the moving cover of 'Memory', taken from the musical 'Cats'). Also present in this album, the cover in German of 'Run for a Fall' and the two compositions 'Cry for the Moon' and 'Illusive Consensus' of the only EP of the first group 'Sahara Dust' of 'Mark Jansen' from the end of 2002 which will be taken over later by 'Epica'. The spotify link above is a playlist of these two concerts. In short, as we suspected, 'Epica' celebrates its 20-year career as it should for this formation which has become, in the same way as 'Nightwish' or 'Within Temptation', the spearhead of symphonic metal and which has had a lot of emulators since with multiple international projects, the latest that I reviewed being the 'Uruguayans of 'Crystal Gates', this style has no borders...

List of 'We Will Take You With Us' videos:
1 = 'Facade of Reality'
2 = 'Sensorium'
3 = 'Illusive Consensus'
4 = 'Cry for the Moon'
5 = 'The Phantom Agony'
6 = 'Seif Al Din'
7 = 'Feint'
8 = 'Run for a Fall'
9 = 'Memory'

Line Up / Musicians

Live At Paradiso
Simone Simons (Vocal), Mark Jansen (Vocal, Guitar), Coen Jansen (Keybords), Ad Sluijter (Guitar), Yves Huts (Bass), Jeroen Simons (Drums)

We Will Take You With Us
Simone Simons (Vocal), Mark Jansen (Vocal, Guitar), Coen Jansen (Keybords), Ad Sluijter (Guitar), Yves Huts (Bass), Jeroen Simons (Drums) + Guests : Annie Göbel (Choirs), Bridget Fogle (Choirs), Amanda Somerville (Choirs), Linda van Summeren (Choirs), Georgina Chakos (Choirs), Leigh Adoff (Choirs), Melvin Edmondsen (Choirs), Previn Moore (Choirs), Jonas Pap (Cello), Lois van Driel (Cello), Pieter Althuis (Bass), Marleen Veldstra (Allto), Karen Dekker (Violin), Lenneke Dijkens (Violin)