On the occasion of the release ofAspiralthe latest album from the Dutch symphonic metal band Epica, Mark Jansen, guitarist and founding member of the group, spoke with the editorial team to take you behind the scenes of a record in which the musicians allowed themselves new experiments.
Don't miss Epica in concert this Sunday, January 25 at the Zénith in Paris and February 4 at the Radiant-Bellevue (Lyon). Places are available.
Aspiral comes after an unusual record, The Alchemy Project, in which you collaborated with various guests. That's not the case with this record, but did it inspire you?
The Alchemy Project had a strong impact on this record. All the songs on the previous album were born from collaborations with outside artists, they would not have existed otherwise. These songs are very different from what we usually do, but since the fans were happy that we played them live, we thought we could continue our experiments.
Let's talk about the experiments you carried out on Aspiral.
A fairly poppy song like “Cross the Divide” is quite atypical. Previously, we would never have included it on an album. But the track “The Final Lullaby” on The Alchemy Project, which has a similar atmosphere, gave us the confidence to do it. We were surprised at how well it worked. It's a question of balance. The disc contains typical Epica songs. In fact, we can afford a few deviations like this, it makes the record more interesting.
In addition, you keep your personality as musicians, you don't betray yourself.
Quite. This is how we have always operated. When we started, our record company asked us to get rid of the death metal-style screamed vocals, which we refused. With this in mind, when we signed with Nuclear Blast (in 2007), we made it a condition that they not interfere in the creative process. This was a good thing, since they assured us that they had no intention of doing so.
You stopped the series of songs “A New Age Dawns” on the album Design Your Universe (2009). Why did you include it on this disc?
This comes from the need of a new age. Humanity is under the yoke of capitalism, which has become a monster. A handful of rich people increase their wealth exponentially, while the situation of the poor gets worse. This system no longer works and we need to find a new one. I remain optimistic, but we still have to get through this trying period. The connection with the other parts of A New Age Dawns was therefore first made through the texts, then I found that there was also a musical link.
To celebrate the release of this record, you held an exhibition at the Alhambra (Paris) with pieces used by the group since the start of its career.
The idea came to us from Metallica, we had the pleasure of opening for them in Paris in 2023. Before their concerts, they set up a museum about themselves in the room. We also organized a question-and-answer session with the fans, so that we could confront their opinions and spend a special moment with them. We exhibit our instruments, stage decor elements, special and rare editions of our records, not forgetting the single by Sahara Dust (first name of the group) which has become almost impossible to find. We are happy that the premiere will be held in Paris!
Find this interview with Mark Jansen from Epica in our weekly n°200, available via our e-reader.
