EPICA Singer On Being A 'Sex Symbol': 'I Also Have A Brain! I Don't Have Just Tits And An Ass'

Ofir Messer of Metalist Magazine recently conducted an interview with frontwoman Simone Simons of the Dutch symphonic metallers EPICA leading up to the band's second visit to Israel. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Metalist Magazine: It seems 2008 has been a busy year for you and especially for EPICA... since we're nearing its end, I want to go through some of this year's events. First, like you mentioned earlier, at the beginning of the year you announced that you were in infected with MRSA [Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, also known as the hospital bacteria]. Can you tell us how the recovery process was for you and what was the reaction of the fans and the people around you to your condition?

Simone Simons: I was already sick in 2007. I think it started around September... I've been working too hard, we had a little bit stress, like always, and I wasn't taking good care of myself so I got this infection which you can get if you have a very low immune system. You can actually get various things from it like ammonia, blood poisoning and it can go really bad. Luckily, it was not that bad for me, but it was a sign that I had to take it easy. We had a European tour in 2007 as well and right after we would have gone to do the South American tour but we had to cancel because I was at the hospital again. The doctors ran some tests again in December and they found out that I had this kind of bacteria which you get at the hospital, and that I had to take a break to be stronger again. You can't take any medication for that, you just have to take it easy. Doing shows, traveling around the world and having an irregular working schedule is not really good for your health, especially for singers. It such a strain to travel, don't sleep enough and then sing — singers are very vulnerable to get sick. We had to cancel some stuff unfortunately, the South American tour, and European tour in February. The year started very bad, we were all very sad and we didn't know if we would get back on the road. We waited two weeks before the North American tour to see if the doctor would say if I'm ready or not, but he said I was not, and we all decided that the band should go and tour with Amanda [Sommerville, vocal coach for Simone], which is a very good friend of us, knows all our songs and has been involved with our records. Of course it was not nice for me. [Laughs] Because I was home, sick, and I had to let the band go, which is very hard thing to do... it's really a big issue that your band is little bit like your baby and you have to give away... But now, we are couple of months later, in December, and actually a year has passed and I'm feeling great! I have learned to listen to my body and let people know where my boundaries are. That's hard when you're a singer; you can't just stay home and take a day off because it's a whole group you're working with, a whole group depending on you to get its salary and you have a lot of fans which you don't want to disappoint. Luckily, the fans have been really kind to me... I received numerous of very sweet emails and that has given me also a lot of strength. It was not that I just wanted to get better, it was also that so many fans told me that EPICA meant so much for them, so it gave me a little bit of feeling of importance, that I have a message, and that I had to get better. We have now done the South American tour which was really successful and the European headlining tour with a Finnish band called AMBERIAN DAWN — it was also very successful. I'm very happy that this year finally got back on track and it was not only a bad year. The start was not so good but the ending was great, and now we have one last show in Israel, we're looking forward to that too... and then its Christmas time! [Laughs]"

Metalist Magazine: A lot of people attribute some of the band's success to both your voice and looks. How much of an influence on the band's popularity would it have if you were not that attractive?

Simone Simons: Well... First of all, the most important is the sound of the band, because beauty will fade one day, and I hope my voice won't [Laughs]... But yeah, you have two aspects of the band — the music (the CDs) and then the live side of it (the show),and part of the show is also that it has to look nice, so I take good care of myself, I make sure that the fans have something to look at during the show. I love to design clothes, to shop, put makeup, and do my hair — all that stuff I really like (well, I'm a woman so I guess all women like that). It's a compliment that I have good looks, but there are some people who value that more than the music. For me, it's important that they would like the music and not see me as some sex symbol or something, because I have more than that, I also have a brain! [Laughs]... I don't have just tits and an ass... [Laughs]...

Metalist Magazine: Besides touring, what are the next plans for EPICA in 2009?

Simone Simons: Hopefully in January we can start recording our new album and we've already confirmed for some really cool metal festivals in the summer. We won't do a lot of touring before the album is released — maybe do some shows here and there where we can play some new songs — but I guess the real touring starts in autumn, next year. We will take it easy and make sure that we write an even better album than "The Divine Conspiracy". We also have our private lives. Mark [Jansen, guitar / male vocals] has to travel a lot to America because he got a girlfriend there — that's also time-consuming [Laughs]... So in 2009, we will focus on the new album and our private lives.

Read the entire interview at Metalist Magazine.

Fan-filmed video footage of EPICA's performance at the Metal Female Voices Fest on October 18, 2008 in Wieze, Belgium can be viewed below (clip uploaded by YouTube user "Filmpje114").