D
utch symphonic metallers Epica
return to Chicago via Concord
Hall only nine months after
their rescheduled North American tour,
which was cut short due to a family illness. At the time, the band was already
in songwriting mode for its new album,
which ultimately became the fantastic
The Holographic Principle.
Epica's writing and recording schedule became time consuming, especially
whe n the band took a few touring
breaks in the middle of the recording
sessions. “The writing took a year and
the recording about five months
because it was stretched over periods
when we were away on tour,”vocalist
Simone Simons said. “Some songs had
been written years back. Sometimes you
put songs to the side because they’re not
mature yet, then you pick it up again.
All five guys had been writing songs so
we had this huge heap of songs to
choose from, like 26 songs. Then we
whittled them down to 18 and then
finally the 12 that appear on the album.”
Epica’s last album, 2014’s The
Quantum Enigma was met with massive
critical
acclaim.
However,
The
Holographic Principle blows it out of the
water. “We wanted to maintain the level
that we started with on The Quantum
Enigma,” Simons said. “We paid more
attention to detail and worked together.
Everybody’s noses were pointed in the
same direction and the process was a lot
of fun.”
The concept of the record and its title
track focuses on the evils of technology,
virtual reality and the belief and scientific ability that humans will just
become holograms one day. It’s a subject
36 illinoisentertainer.com november 2016
that scares Ms. Simons just a little bit.
“The title track is basically about the
physicists who are doing research on the
fact that we might be living in a hologram,” she said. “Mark Jansen [cofounder] read about it and thought it
was really fascinating. Virtual reality
development and glasses where reality
is simulated so perfectly that you cannot
be sure what is real anymore. So how
can you be sure what we see now is
real? Soon people will come to realize
that there is indeed a chance that we
might live in a hologram. Mark wrote
the lyrics and he’s more into physics
and I am more of a philosopher that
questions everything. And also if it’s
true what the scientists are saying, then
it kind of scares me a little bit.”
Simons is looking forward to getting
back out on the road for their current
North American tour, and Chicago is
tops on her list. While she loves playing
in the Windy City, she really loves our
deep dish pizza. “I love pizza and
Italian food in general,” Simons said
with glee. “I’m looking forward to
hanging out with Americans and
Canadians in general. It’s always fun to
talk with them because they’re openminded metalhead Americans, even
with the whole political disaster going
on in America right now. I’m looking
forward to spending time over there
and to present our new songs. And also
I’m curious to hear what the fans think
about the new CD. It’s always nice to
hang out with the fans and have a oneon-one chat with them in real life,
instead only on social media.”
Appearing 11/ 8 at Concord Music Hall,
Chicago.