Photo: Symphometal giants ‘Epica’ and ‘Apocalyptica’ thrill the audience in Riga

On the evening of January 19, a concert of two important European symphonic metal bands took place in “Arena Rīga” – the Dutch band “Epica” and the Finnish “Apocalyptica“. The Finnish prog metal group “Wheel” was invited to the concert as warm-ups.

Both groups have joined together in a common project – the tour “The Epic Apocalypse Tour”. Such an idea – to organize a symphometal festival for fans, offering concerts of both bands in one evening, as well as a warm-up performance – was born several years ago, but due to the restrictions of the pandemic, it was postponed and changed several times. At the end of last year – in the middle of December – a new “Apocalyptica” song – “Rise Again”, with “Epica” singer Simon Simons as a guest vocalist, reached the listeners. It is a new version of the instrumental composition “Rise” found on the 2020 album “Cell-O”. As “Apocalyptica” member Eika Topinen previously expressed, the new “Rise Again” is perfect for Simone Simons’ unique voice.

The joint tour of the two groups will continue on January 20 with a concert in Tallinn, but further performances are expected in Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Hamburg and other European cities. The Epic Apocalypse Tour will conclude on March 23rd in Leipzig, Germany.

The name of the Finnish cellist group “Apocalyptica” has been known since the 90s – the quartet was formed in 1993 by four academically educated students of the Sibelius Academy. “Apocalyptica” gained international recognition with cover versions of the most popular songs of “Metallica” and other heavy music groups. However, gradually the cello quartet began to build its repertoire from its own original compositions.

Nine “Apocalyptica” studio albums have been released so far (in April 2022, the leader of the association, Eika Topinens, revealed to the media that the tenth is on the way), and their total circulation exceeds four million. The group has performed both with their youth idols “Metallica” and performed about a thousand solo and festival concerts.

The story of the Dutch group “Epica” began in 2002, when guitarist and composer Mark Jansen left his previous group “After Forever”. He wanted to create an association that would lean more towards classical, even symphonic music. After the replacement of several members, the tandem of soloist – mezzo-soprano Simona Simons and Marka has become the core of the group.

Under Jansen’s leadership, the band has gradually expanded its genre boundaries – symphometal. As the organizers of the concert emphasize, elements of gothic, “thrash metal”, “black metal” and other metal trends can be heard in various stages of the group’s work, which are intertwined with both Eastern and Celtic musical influences.

Over the course of 20 years, “Epica” has released eight studio albums and performed several hundred concerts.