Just a few weeks after Epic return to our country, we were able to talk with the leader and guitarist of the band, Mark Jansen On the plans that the band has in the future, they are already preparing a new album!
The last time we talked you were already working on new material for Epica, how's that wave going?
We continue in that. We are working on the new album, everything is progressing. Everything is going very well and we will continue along that line until the songs have the quality we need.
Epica has a defined and identifiable sound for its fans. How to continue taking care of your sound without falling into self-plagiarism?
You as a musician should always be open to new influences, especially if you start working with new people who inspire your work and encourage you to work in a different way. Personally, I like working with many different people on other projects or in my other band, MaYaN. You always learn new things and I try to implement that experience also at Epica.
On top of that, we are looking forward to making a great album. We continue to push ourselves to improve the music until we are all satisfied.
Han pasado 10 años desde que lanzaste “Design your Universe”, ¿qué ha cambiado dentro de la banda desde ese álbum al que están preparando actualmente?
Honestly, not too much. Maybe just the fact that Yves left and Rob came on bass. On top of that, the training stayed the same. We also changed producers, not because we were not happy, but also to avoid that we could start repeating ourselves as you mentioned before. However, our former producer Sascha is still involved when we work on vocal lines.
In hindsight, would you do something different with Epica if you had the chance now that the band is close to turning 20 years old?
For now, I am happy with everything we have accomplished. I'm not the type of person who thinks it would have happened if I had done things one way or another. Things are as they are and I accept it that way. We are still taking steps forward and I am very grateful to all of our fans for the support throughout all those years. I am also very happy with my bandmates, they are all great musicians and put their hearts into Epica.
“Epica seguirá existiendo durante al menos algunos años más…“
Mark Jansen, Epica 2019
¿Por qué México ama tanto a Epica? Al parecer tenemos una especie de crush con ustedes…
The special link between Mexico and Epica existed from the beginning! I consider Mexico as a kind of second home. I love being there and once I spend a month traveling I could learn a lot more about Mexico.
We always have a great response at our concerts and there is a lot of symmetry between us and the crowd. I can only hope that it always stays that way. Thank you very much for all that support and for being so kind to us.
Acá entre nos… ¿Rijsttafel o tacos?
The tacos! I don't even like rice (laughs)
Marcela Bovio joined MaYaN some time ago, do you consider that her incorporation meant an improvement for the band?
Absolutely! Marcela is an amazing singer and can handle all styles that require great power. He was also able to handle some of the old songs that Nightwish's Floor Jansen sang without problem, so he had great shoes to fill. However, she fit in very well from the start and we are very happy with her.
Some people said that rock is dead. Meanwhile, bands like Tool, Rammstein or Slipknot reach the first places in the popularity and sales charts.
Esta es una pregunta que recibo de vez desde hace unos 20 años (risas). Así que creo que eso responde a tu pregunta (risas). Si tuviera que creer “lo que dicen algunas personas”, no me habría convertido en músico en primer lugar, ya que “algunas personas” me dijeron que nunca podría vivir de tocar metal.
What does the future hold for metal?
As long as there are new young people who are attracted to metal, the genre will have a bright future and believe me, I still see many young people coming to our concerts.
Yo de forma personal, sigo muy ansioso por componer música nueva y estoy seguro que los otros muchachos sienten lo mismo que yo, por lo que Epica seguirá existiendo durante al menos algunos años más. Incluso con bandas como Slayer y Black Sabbath retirándose, hay nuevos headliners como Rammstein llenando ese vacío. Estoy tranquilo, no me preocupa el futuro del metal…
