EPICA Singer, KAMELOT Keyboardist Welcome First Child

Singer Simone Simons of Dutch symphonic metallers EPICA and her longtime boyfriend, KAMELOT keyboardist Oliver Palotai, welcomed their first child, Vincent G. Palotai, on Wednesday, October 2 at 11:26 p.m.

Said Simone in a posting on the EPICA Facebook page: "Both Vincent and me are doing great. He is a perfect little man.

"Thank you for all the love and well wishes you have sent us. It is absolutely heartwarming!"

In a May 2013 interview with Finland's RadioCity, Simone spoke about whether she had to be extra careful on stage because of her pregnancy. "Yeah, well, when the belly gets bigger, your gravity shifts forward, so I don't wear heels anymore in daily life, but during the show I do," she explained. "But it's weird, because the headbanging doesn't work so well anymore, and, of course, I try to not tense my belly so much, so there's enough room still to swim in my belly. I still do some headbanging, but not the really heavy stuff anymore; I don't jump or do crazy stuff. But I still wanna have a good time and don't stand there like a stiff board."

Asked if her unborn child had reacted to the music yet while she performed on stage, Simone said: "I talked to my friend [and former THE GATHERING singer] Anneke [Van Giersbergen] about that, because she was pregnant on stage as well. And she told me that her son was really quiet during the heavy songs, and when she did the ballads, he would then start kicking and getting active. But until now, I didn't feel the movement during the shows yet — outside I did."