EPICA: Previously Unreleased Track Posted Online

October 27, 2003

Holland's EPICA (formerly SAHARA DUST),the new group formed by ex-AFTER FOREVER guitarist Mark Jansen, ex-CASSIOPEIA guitarist Ad Sluijter and keyboardist Coen Janssen, have posted an MP3 clip of the previously unreleased song "Veniality" at this location. "Veniality" comes off the band's forthcoming single, "The Phantom Agony", which is scheduled for release on October 29 through Transmission Records.

As previously reported, the complete track listing for the single (view cover here) is as follows:

01. The Phantom Agony (4:35) (single version)
02. Veniality (4:36) (prev. unreleased track)
03. Façade of Reality (8:12)
04. Veniality (4:37) (prev. unreleased orchestral version)

To promote the single, the group have filmed a video for the title track. The clip was shot at several locations during a four-day period and will likely be aired only on the Dutch television channel The Box. The first 1,000 copies of the single will feature a specially designed cover.

"The Phantom Agony" (the album) was recorded at Gate Studio in Wolfsburg, Germany under the expert guidance of the renowned producer and technician Sascha Paeth (RHAPSODY, KAMELOT, ANGRA) and was released on June 17 through Transmission Records. It entered the Dutch album chart at No. 88 and climbed to No. 54 before dropping down to No. 62 in its third week of release.

The group, which is completed by vocalist Simone Simons, ex-CASSIOPEIA drummer Jeroen Simons, and ex-AXAMENTA bassist Yves Huts, worked with Norwegian singer Helena Michaelsen (ex-TRAIL OF TEARS) during its embryonic stage before settling on Simons, a classically trained opera singer whose style is said to perfectly complement the complex, progressive nature of the band's material.

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