INTERVIEW WITH THE DUTCH BAND EPICA

The undisputed kings of the symphonic metal Epica , led by Simone Simons, return to
South America after three years this coming March with the tour "The Ultimate
Principle" that includes in its setlist songs from its last and praised plate 'The
Holographic Principle' and the Ep 'The Solace System' that they will play for the
first time for their South American fans.

His latest release "The Holographic Principle" (seventh studio album released in
the second half of 2016) has reached the top of the world sales charts and embarks
on an expected tour of this side of the world that will leave behind a trickle
biggest fans, after replenishing the venues in Europe.

Less than 2 months after their expected return, we spoke with the guitarist and
founder of Eica, Mark Jansen, who commented on some of the band's latest record
materials, his opinion on the current music industry, and gave some details of his
imminent return to South American lands ...

HL: Hi Mark, thanks for speaking with Headbangers Latinoamerica today. How is
everything?

MARK: "Well, thanks."

HL: How did you do with the promotion of the new EP, The Solace System, released
last year, considering that not long before they had published The Holographic
Principle (2016)? How have you handled this process?

MARK: "It's a lot of content but the fans were eager to hear new material. We had
written many songs for the THP sessions and we wanted to release the additional
tracks as an EP instead of bonus tracks. The reason was that we thought that these
additional tracks were too good to end up as bonus tracks. They deserved a better
place. "

HL:It is publicly known, and you have made it clear in other interviews, that The
Solace System was a compilation of topics that were not included in The Holographic
Principle, why make the decision of a new EP and not choose to include them as
bonus tracks of THP, or insert them directly into it?

MARK: "Bonus tracks are often considered leftovers and, sometimes, they also have a
lower quality than the tracks on the album. That was not the case with our songs,
so we thought they deserved to be together. "

HL: It happened in 2017 and together with that, he left us several things for the
genre, what positive aspects rescue from 2017 in music, albums, surprises that the
have they impacted, new bands that have listened? What is left of the year that has
just ended?

MARK: "I liked Vuur, the new band from Anneke van Giersbergen, she has a beautiful
voice and in combination with heavy music works very well, I also liked Ayreon's
new album."

CC2HL: During 2017 they also toured Latin America, visiting countries such as Costa
Rica, Mexico, Honduras and Colombia. How was the experience with the public in this
part of the world, how were they treated, in comparison with the environment that
exists in Europe or the United States? How do you see the scene in this region?

MARK: "First of all I think that Europe and the United States also differ a lot.
What I like about Latin America is that I feel very comfortable there. People are
warm and passionate about what they are doing. I always feel a little sad when I
have to leave again. The fans are very dedicated and support the band in an
excellent way. That's why I'm also looking forward to the new tour. "

HL:The case of Colombia with you is quite peculiar because it is known that in
terms of Metal, it is quite demanding and strong in its positions, so that genres
such as Symphonic Metal or Groove Metal do not have much reception at concerts, but
they are one of the few bands that manage to gather several cities and gather a
large number of attendees in each of the places they visit, how can you explain
this phenomenon taking into account that bands like Machine Head or Disturbed on
their way through Colombia (only one date, Bogot�), they did not reach a great
assistance

MARK: "I think Epica is not a typical symphonic metal band, we have quite a lot of
brutal death metal parts in a swell that Colombians really appreciate, I think.
Machine Head is a great band, I do not know why they just did a show. Many due to
lack of time. If you do a tour in Latin America and do not want to be away from
home for 2 months, you have to make decisions. Maybe that's one of the reasons.
It's not always a reason to not be able to do more shows. "

HL: On April 14, they plan to organize a great musical celebration in their native
Netherlands, concreting it in a concert that they have titled 1000TH SHOW
ANNIVERSARY, to celebrate the 1000 presentations of the band ... What groups will
be part of this great party?

MARK: "Our friends from Lacuna Coil will be there, and also MaYaN, my other band.
MaYaN recently also started to grow as well, so I'm glad we have more and more
opportunities to play shows. And many more great bands. "

HL: The cell phone, this device that is very useful for various situations, has
been the subject of much controversy, because it is being discussed whether its use
should be prohibited during concerts, and bands like A Perfect Circle they have
their recitals expelled a large number of attendees to take pictures of these
devices, on which side of the debate are?

MARK: "I think everyone is free to make their own decisions. Nobody needs to tell
me when to use my cell phone or not. But with that said, I think we are using our
cell phones so much that we are suffering. It is not healthy and deep down we all
know that it is better to use it less frequently. I love to see a concert and enjoy
it completely when totally absorbed by music. A cell phone is distracting me to do
it. "

CC3HL: Already for this new 2018 will visit our lands again ... Do you think any
band as a guest or Epica exclusively? What can we expect from these presentations
compared to the previous ones of the band? , some details that can advance us?

MARK: "We had the hope of taking Vuur to many cities, but it seemed that it was not
possible, but they will go to Chile with us."

HL: During the recitals of the band we have observed epic performances, and among
them, great collaborations with personalities such as Marcela Bovio, Laura Macri,
Cristina Scabbia, Floor Jansen and lately with Anneke Van Giersbergen, how did they
feel when making these collaborations, how was the reaction of the audience and if
it is possible to expect similar collaborations in upcoming releases?

MARK: "A Simone He likes to invite colleagues on stage with us, something I also
like, he always brings something new and unique to the show, so we will definitely
continue to do it. "Girls always have a lot of fun together."
HL:Latin America is a part of the world that has been fortunate to locate itself
geographically in an immensely rich area, which contrasts with some historical
situations that continue to perpetuate, an example is machismo, how they have
endured this, taking into account that within their ranks Is Simone, nothing more
and nothing less than the singer and visible figure of the band?

MARK: "Simone is more than just a singer for us. She is the leader. She writes
great lyrics and has elevated the band to a higher level. Without Simone, I would
not continue with the band with another singer. "

HL:There are different women in the Metal scene as vocalists, to give an example,
Brittney Slayes, singer of Unleash The Archers, with an impressive voice ... What
female vocalists admire or listen to today, some special that interests you, either
for his impressive grunts, his presence on stage or his great voice?

MARK: "I'm a little subjective with that since she's my girlfriend and singer from
MaYaN, but I'm very impressed by the growth of Laura Macri. She has an incredible
voice and technique. I've heard quite a few singers in the metal scene, but only a
few can touch my heart with the voice, Laura, Simone, Floor Jansen are among them
and I'm very happy to have the foresight to work with those talented singers. "

HL:We are in the era of the globalization of information and technology, with the
immersion of digital music platforms, including Deezer and Spotify, people no
longer consume the discs and it has been claimed, exaggeratedly by social networks,
that the industry the music died, because people force to buy the full albums, what
is your opinion about this statement? Do you currently listen to music through
these platforms and how do you see the music scene now and in the future?

MARK: "I also listen to new music on these platforms, so who am I to judge. But I
do pay my spotify account every month, I do not use the free version because even
though artists receive little money it is still better than nothing. I have not
seen the music scene die, surely some record companies have disappeared and some
bands have stopped because they do not earn enough money, but there are still
millions of bands and many record companies, so you just need to find new ways as a
band. to survive."

HL: What do you think about the illegal downloading of music and the decrease in
sales of physical discs? How do you visualize the future?

MARK: "I would have been a millionaire if the download did not exist but, do you
think I'm sad about that?" Not at all, I earn enough to live on music, enough to
buy food and have a roof over my head. That's all I need, that people download
music and take it for granted is what it is, it's easy to get in. If people could
go to a store and get all the groceries for free, so would I. I can not blame them.
"

HL:Last year we could hear new bands with an impressive projection, as is the case
of Vuur with Anneke in the lead, have you heard any novel proposal within the Metal
that is worth it or definitely has not yet emerged as an interesting group?

MARK: "I like 3rd Machine , a band from Holland that almost nobody knows, their
last album is very good."

HL: And finally to finish, something that you want to transmit to the audience of
HEADBANGERS LATINOAMERICA, some interesting information that you want to publicize
or some relevant detail for the fans that are going to attend some of their
concerts?
MARK: "At the moment I'm working on a new MaYaN album, I'm very excited because we
worked a lot last year, we all know that our third album will be very important for
the future of the band, we have great plans in mind for the recordings. we will
rotate until September and then we will also slowly start working on a new album. "