In an exclusive feature for North America, Gothic Beauty - the Portland-based quarterly magazine that covers fashion, beauty, lifestyle, and events for the Goth scene - recently spoke to lead vocalist Simone Simons of Dutch symphonic metal band EPICA about the band’s live 2-DVD/3-CD retrospective, Retrospect, which was released in the U.S. & Canada on November 26th.
GB: How did [the live stream of the Retrospect show] go? There have been a few bands that have tried it, but for a while the technology wasn’t really there in terms of not buffering well or similar issues.
Simone: As far as I know things went great. We had a separate camera crew that was responsible purely for the live stream rather than shooting for the DVD, so we really did prepare everything as carefully as we could. Obviously people who followed the live stream needed a good internet connection, but we had good responses. It was a success, and I think it’s a great way to make fans who can’t make it to the show be there right at that moment.
GB: You guys are known as a band that makes a lot of effort to connect with your fans. I’m curious about your overall approach to the issue of how best to connect with fans.
Simone: We started off having a fan club and a fanzine, and we also organized fan meetings and meet-ups. As the internet became more prominent we’ve made ourselves available online too. Now we mostly communicate with our fans via Facebook, and yesterday we had an online chat with fans. For me it’s impossible to go out and meet everyone after shows because there are a lot of people and I need to rest my voice, but we do love to stay in touch with fans via Twitter, and I also have a blog. I think it’s really important to keep in touch with fans, and I’ve met so many lovely people who love what we do, and I’m thankful for that. It’s part of our job to show appreciation.
Read the entire interview at GothicBeauty.com: http://www.gothicbeauty.com/arts-and-entertainment/3092-epica-marks-10th-anniversary-with-retrospect-dvd.html
EPICA celebrated their 10th Anniversary with five thousand fans this past March with a spectacular “One Night Only” sold-out concert in The Netherlands. Ten high definition cameras captured this very special show while EPICA played an unforgettable three hour, career-spanning set accompanied by the 70-piece Extended Reményi Ede Chamber Orchestra and the Miskolc National Theatre Choir. View the DVD trailer here.
Retrospect is strictly limited to 3,000 copies and includes a 48-page booklet, exclusive interviews with all EPICA band members, and behind-the-scenes footage from the show. The prima book & exclusive t-shirt bundle (below) makes for a great holiday gift for any fan of female-fronted European symphonic metal and can be ordered from the Retrospect Landing Page: http://bit.ly/epicaretrospect
The track listing for Retrospect is:
01 – Introspect
02 – Monopoly On Truth
03 – Sensorium
04 – Unleashed (watch live clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxd6sxLxdys)
05 – Martyr Of The Free Word
06 – Chasing The Dragon
07 – Presto
08 – Never Enough
09 – Stabat Mater Dolorosa
10 – Twin Flames
11 – Serenade Of Self-Destruction
12 – Orchestral Medley
13 – The Divine Conspiracy ~Anniversary Edition~
14 – Delirium
15 – Blank Infinity
16 – The Obsessive Devotion
17 – Retrospect
18 – Battle Of The Heroes & Imperial March
19 – Quietus
20 – The Phantom Agony (watch live clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpIEPdRXwYA)
21 – Cry For The Moon
22 – Sancta Terra
23 – Design Your Universe
24 – Storm The Sorrow
25 – Consign To Oblivion
26 – Outrospect
Visit EPICA online at www.EPICA.nl.
Like: www.facebook.com/EPICA
Follow: Twitter.com/_EPICA
Watch: www.YouTube.com/EPICA
Enjoy: www.Flickr.com/photos/EPICAOFFICIAL
