Simone Simons of Epica

Photo by Jack Lue

Southland Adventures with Simone Simons of EPICA

Interview by Ken Morton - Photo by Jack Lue

Epica recently completed a tour throughout North America with Sabaton, which included a local stop at the iconic Hollywood Palladium. Promoting both their Omega 2021 release and their just issued The Alchemy Project EP, Epica unveiled a show that was filled with magic and sonic intrigue. Vocalist Simone Simons would do a shoot with photographer Jack Lue prior to the show - and a few weeks later after the craziness of being on the road, Simone chatted with Highwire Daze about their Southland adventures, The Alchemy Project, photography, and other topics of interest. Read on...

How did your recent tour with Sabaton go and what were some of the highlights?

Oh, it was an interesting tour. We had some problems with our tour bus, so we were struggling a little bit in the beginning due to the shortage of tour bus availability. (Laughs) We had a broken tour bus, so everyday was a little bit like an adventure trying to get to the next venue – with or without a bus. But the shows were amazing, and we had so much fun with Sabaton. The tour flew by, and we gathered a lot of new memories, new Epica fans – and some of the highlights were the last show of the tour in New York. I loved playing Boston and I loved playing Montreal. Overall, it was really a great tour with great people, and we had a good time.

Nice! I saw that show at The Hollywood Palladium, and it was awesome!

Yeah, it was cool! A lot of legendary artists and bands have played there.

Let’s talk about The Alchemy Project. Is there any story behind that title and how did it all come about?

The idea was that it’s a collaboration project so there’s seven songs that were written by Epica band members together with our friends and colleagues in the scene. And because it’s a collaboration and it’s like experimenting, we should do something with a laboratory and all these secret ingredients – and everybody working together coming up with a special formula to create amazing music. And that’s a little bit the idea that we had, and together with Stefan Heilemann, I did the artwork. He was the graphic designer, and I took photos of the guys while we were on tour - they’re the little puppets on the cover and on the inside. It was a lot of fun to create this. It’s a little bit more like fun on the loose side. That was also the idea behind writing the music and also recording the music – we wanted to do a little bit more old school, jam together in the studio, and also record those sessions. We recorded it in March/April 2022 and now it finally sees the light of day.

Let’s talk about a few of the songs. Phil Lanzon of Uriah Heep – he’s a legend! What was it like working with him on Wake The World? And you also have Tommy Karevik from Kamelot on that one.

That was actually one of the first songs when we had the idea of doing this collaboration project – it was the first song that we worked on. Rob our bass player worked on the song with Phil - and then Phil told us the idea of the lyrics – he wanted to have this girl who could sing music and music could hold this special power and that it unites people. And he wrote the first version of the lyrics and then we changed the lyrics but kept up the idea that he had for the lyrics. I never met him in person -we only had Skype conversations. He was a really nice guy, and it was really great to have him on the project.

The Great Tribulation features Fleshgod Apocalypse. What was that collaboration like?

That was a song that Mark wrote together with the Fleshgod people. We also toured with them in North America. They are a brutal band, like in a positive way – and they’re really nice people. They gave the song an extra dimension and made it even heavier. And it’s also one of my favorite songs off the album. Mark really never got together with them in one room – it was all sending files back and forth. And the same with Tommy (on Wake The World). Tommy recorded his vocals in Canada, so he was also never with us in the studio. He did an amazing job! I was blown away when I heard his vocals. He’s a great guy and a really great vocalist. So, some of the musicians joined us in the studio and some of them recorded from their homes.

Your previous album Omega was released during the pandemic. What was it like to record and release an album during that time?

We were kind of lucky that we almost finished the recordings of the album when the pandemic started. The only problem that we had were the vocal recordings – so like the ending of the recordings – that was when it started like getting really bad. And Mark and I both had to record our vocals from home. So, Mark recorded at his home in Sicily, and I searched for another studio nearby here in Germany, and then our producer Joost was there via Zoom while I was recording my vocals. It worked out really well. The only downside of course was that we couldn’t tour, but because of that we created Omega Alive. Normally if we were touring, we would do a CD presentation and then we would go on tour. This time, we had the time, the space, the means to create something like that – so that was the silver lining.

What was the experience like working with Arjen Anthony Lucassen of Ayreon?

He’s extremely well prepared. When I work with him, he sends me all of the files in advance. I only have to practice the songs. I go to his place, record the vocals, and that’s it. It all goes so quick. And performing live with him is also super nice, because I feel like half of the metal scene is always there. He’s a great guy – I admire him – I love working with him. Every time he asks me to work with him, I always say yes. I don’t have to think twice. It’s always a lot of fun working with him.

How often do you and your husband Oliver Palotai (of Kamelot) actually get to tour together – and why wasn’t he on The Alchemy Project?

We toured together before we had our child. And now it’s either him going on tour and I’m home, or the other way around. Sometimes we’re both on tour – not with the same bands though. He’s also one of the busiest people I know, so he has a lot of projects on his own. So, no time to join us on this project, but at least Tommy from Kamelot was in one of the songs.

Maybe if you do an Alchemy Project 2, you could invite your husband to participate.

Yeah, but I do like to keep business and family a little bit separated. We work together every once in a while, but not too much. As a conscious choice, but also, we’re just so, so busy – and I don’t want to ask him “Can you do this? Can you do that?” Because I know he’s busy like hell. We actually have this little project – it’s this musical in Germany where I just had to sing the demo, and they wanted to find a singer to sing the part. And they liked the demo, and they want me on the CD. (Laughs) So sometimes I do stuff like that. But that’s the max. I don’t think I’ll do any live shows with that because of the busy schedules we both have.

How active are you with your photography, and is that something you still keep up?

I do love photography a lot, but I have very little time at the moment because Epica is so busy. And we have an online fan club which is called The Epica Universe, that is something that takes up a lot of my time. And I have a Patreon myself, also photography related – because my goal is to release my first photo book hopefully next year. Epica’s been touring a lot, so I did not have as much time as I would like for photography – but that will come at a later time, I think. But I have my own little studio at home, and I can use that for also the other promotional things I need to do for Epica – and also for my Patreon. I’m a very busy woman.

Definitely! Do you have any messages for Epica fans here in the States who are reading this right now?

Yeah, we had the best time in the US. Hope to be back soon. And I was very happy to see a lot of familiar faces throughout the tour, but also a lot of new Epicans. So, the family is growing, and everybody is welcomed. Thank you so much for the support!

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