From LoudHell Magazine
Epica lives up to their name, being a live powerhouse that few
bands can compare to. It's obvious that this is a band that has a
special chemistry together and love what they do. I was fortunate
enough to be able to sit down with guitarist and band founder Mark
Jansen to talk about Epica, its future and the new project by a
former bandmate of his.
Dasher12: I'm here with Mark Jansen of Epica. Your new album was
a lot more guitar driven than the previous two. Was there any
particular reason for this?
Mark Jansen: No particular reason but we wanted to have it more
balanced.. There were more songs written from guitar. So the
natural evolution would be that there would be more guitar parts on
the album itself. I think that there are way more guitar riffs than
in the past that carries the part of the song. So we really wanted
to have more variation and that's why the guitar sounds more
heavy.
Dasher12: In the age of the iPod and mix tapes, where attention
spans are shortening, what is it going to take to keep progressive
metal alive throughout the next decade?
Jansen: I don't know what it takes but the only thing I can say
it that if you make music from the heart, what you really feel, it
can survive anything. It's never going to die. You hear these
things on the radio, you hear the hype and then it disappears
again. But that's all microwave music, it doesn't last forever. The
reason why we make music is because we love it, it's a piece of
art. There's always a fanbase for this type of music so we don't
worry about in in the next decade, if people will like it or not. I
think there will always be people who will like it.
Dasher12: A lot of your band's lyrics deal with Mesoamerican
cultures. When did this interest start?
Jansen: Since I was a child. I've always been attracted to South
America and Latin America but once I started reading books about
the Mayan culture, I got more interested and read book after book
to understand their culture and their ancient wisdom. Every year I
learned more and I wrote lyrics about them and it never let me
go.
Dasher12: It appears that starting Epica kept your career afloat
since your previous band, After Forever fell apart. How do you feel
about ReVamp, which has two former members of After Forever in
it?
Jansen: I already heard some music by the new band, they sound
pretty heavy. I wish Floor the best with her new project. I hope
she gets a lot of success. Furthermore, I think that there is a
good chance that we're going to play together one day, because
we're already in touch and I think that it would be a good
combination to have ReVamp later on as out support and she also
asked for it because one of the best opportunities for her is to
tour with Epica since there's already the same audience. There's a
lot of potential, let's see how it's going to develop.
Dasher12: Regarding that, do you ever worry about animosity
between your fans and Floor's despite there being no personal
issues between the two of you?
Jansen: Fans who always choose a side have no brain.
Dasher12: Well said. What do you think is going to be next for
Epica in 2010 and beyond?
Jansen: We're going to tour a lot. After this we're doing shows
in Europe, then South America, then some shows in Greece, at summer
festivals we'll show up, then at the end of the year we might do
another round here and Canada, also anther round in Europe. All the
while we're going to be writing an new album. It always takes a
while for us to write an album. We already started writing it,
actually. We're going to record it in 2011, and hopefully it will
be released at the end of 2011.
Dasher12: Are you surprised that a European progressive metal
band can headline in the United States where the current trend is
deathcore and breakdowns, that you could make a dent in the North
American metal scene?
Jansen: On the one side I'm surprised that we've been so
successful so far, on the other hand, a lot of bands have dropped
out in recent years. They didn't break even and they don't go to
the US anymore. The good thing about that is that the people who
want to go to shows go to our show because there aren't too many
bands like us touring here anymore, the bad thing is that hopefully
the scene isn't vanishing. That would be a pity. Hopefully we can
contribute in keeping the progressive scene alive and we keep on
coming back because it's now really paying off and I also hope the
other bands from Europe keep coming back the the US and even though
some other styles are big here, I hear every night that fans are so
thankful that we come over to the US and play our music here since
there are enough people who really enjoy it.
Dasher12: Good talking to you. I really dig the new album,
Design Your Universe.
Jansen: Thanks.