EPICA Collaborates With Dutch Orchestra On 'Beyond The Matrix - The Battle'

September 7, 2018

Dutch symphonic metallers EPICA have announced their unique collaboration with the Metropole Orkest. The Metropole Orkest is a world-renowned Dutch orchestra which has performed and/or recorded with the world biggest superstars such as Sting, Bono and Brian Eno.

In the summer of 2017, with the help from its massive fan base, EPICA won a high-profiled competition organized by the Metropole Orkest. First prize was a recording of a song of their choice with the orchestra. In between EPICA's heavy touring schedule, the band was able to conjure up a unique, never-before-seen "big band meets symphonic metal" rendition of "Beyond The Matrix". As a bonus to all voters, runner-up in the competition and friend of the band, Arjen Lucassen (AYREON) contributed a beautiful guest solo to the song.

Keyboard player Coen Janssen commented on writing process: "We came up with 'the battle' to fully display the strengths of both worlds — our heaviness and their jazziness, but how to combine it in one piece… In comes Tom Trapp, arranger extraordinaire. He fully understood the way we wanted to build up the piece and he translated it into this amazing arrangement for the Metropole Orkest. From ambient soundscapes to heavy symphonic to over-the-top big band parts... this song has it all!! Expect the unexpected!!! It was an absolute pleasure and honor to see such professionals work from up close and I learned a lot every step of the way. The way the conductor, arranger and orchestra communicate and play is something I've rarely seen before. A unique experience that resulted in a unique version of 'Beyond The Matrix'."

EPICA VS METROPOLE ORKEST "Beyond The Matrix - The Battle" will be released as a limited-edition vinyl and digital download on October 26 through Nuclear Blast.

EPICA's "Attack On Titan" EP was made available outside of Japan on July 20 via Nuclear Blast Records. The release features metal versions of the theme songs from the highly successful manga-series-turned-worldwide-aired anime "Attack On Titan".

Find more on Epica
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).