Epica - Interview

At the beginning of 2012, I had the chance to interview Yves Huts, bassist from Epica, the Dutch paramount symphonic metal band.

On December 1, the band had announced that the name of the fifth album would be “Requiem for the Indifferent.” The album was released on March 9, 2012, in Europe.

On March 25, 2012, it was announced that Yves and Epica had parted ways. Hence, hereunder you will find one of Yves's last interviews as a member of Epica.

Just for a starter, would you please tell us something curious or meaningful that lately happened to you guys while on tour or in the recording studio?

Yves: There was this Dutch guy that wanted to have tattoos of our autographs on his back. So we thought we would just have to sign his back with a marker and a professional would do the real tattoo. No, he really wanted us to take the tattoo pen and sign straight away our autographs on his back, without any preparation. So we did. No one of the band members has ever touched a tattoo pen. No band member even has a single tattoo. You can imagine what the result looked like and what excruciating pain this dude must have undergone, but the guy was really happy.

Epica’s music is of a sort that defies classification; some say it's Symphonic metal, but how would you describe it from your personal perspective?

Yves: female-fronted symphonic metal .

And what about the new album, “Requiem for the indifferent,” that sounds like an ultimatum? Would you tell us something about the title's meaning?

Yves: Everybody should start caring for some different topics, like the environment, the economical crisis, and the self-destructive nature of humankind. If we all care about it, then we can change it. If we all look the other way, then we will sink deeper into these crises.

Where does “Requiem for the Indifferent” stand when compared to “Design your universe” and the previous albums? And Why?

Yves: it’s a natural successor of DYU. It takes DYU as the basic template and then goes one step further, defining the Epica sound at this point in time. This time Isaac had time to work on the album from the beginning so he had more influence on this album.

By December 2012, all the recordings, mixes, and mastering of “Requiem for the indifferent” were finished. What can you tell us about those moments and about the people that helped you during this process?

Yves: we worked with the same team as our previous albums. Sascha Paeth is the producer, Amanda Somerville is the lyrical and pronunciation supervisor and Miro does the orchestral arrangements. I didn’t have much contact with them, I just wrote my basslines and communicated with the band and then I recorded the bass at home and sent them to the studio. They once again did a great job, so why would we change a winning team? Heile is also part of the team now. He’s been making our artwork for 3 albums now. He’s a great artist!

The new album is some beautiful artwork from Stephan Heilemann, and it seems to show the relation between the natural and the mechanical world. How does it relate to the songs inside?

Yves: I want to leave the interpretation of the artwork open for everyone, so I won’t give an explanation. Everybody is free to give his own interpretation, that’s part of the fun and I wouldn’t want to spoil it.

Will “Requiem for the indifferent” have some social or political focus? What does the think about the subject of this worldwide crisis, and do you think that music can point humanity on the right path?

Yves: Our albums always have some critical views about the world and it’s inhabitants. The general opinion on this album is that we can overcome our problems if we all do something about it and not look the other way. I don’t claim that the opinions in our lyrics are the right path, it’s just a statement of what the lyric writers think or feel. Everybody should make up their own mind.

Epica already started playing some of the new songs live, am I right? Can you tell us how it was and how did the fans react to those much expected new songs?

Yves: We only played Storm the Sorrow live. The reactions were pretty good. Of course, you can’t expect the audience to sing along and really go nuts on a song that they’re hearing for the first time, but this was one of the easier songs to listen to and understand after hearing it only once. Most other songs on the album are much more demanding to the listener, so it’s good the album will come out before we play them live, because then they can prepare themselves for some pretty complex music.

Next, for Epica, comes a worldwide tour to promote “Requiem for the Indifferent,” how do you describe the experience of being on tour with the band and crew. And what are your expectations for this upcoming year on the road?

Yves: It’s like coming home to your second family. Everyday life changes to something completely different with it’s own set of rules and people. Not only the band members are part of the family, but also the crew, of which most of them are working for us for many years now.

My expectations: so far we’re not going to any new countries, that we’ve never been to before, so I don’t expect a lot of surprises. It will be like the previous tours, but hopefully with a slightly bigger audience.

Epica has a large legion of Portuguese fans, and that devotion was rewarded with a couple of tour dates. This is a comeback after the Vagos Open Air concert in 2009. How was that experience, and what memories does the band have from Portugal?

Yves: Actually our last show was in Lisbon in March 2010, if I’m not mistaking. Portugal is a southern country for us and in our experience, southern people are more passionate than northern people, who are more reserved. So Portuguese shows are always very good because the applauses are bigger and the interaction is better. That was also my experience at Vagos. That and the extremely hot summer!

This time the band will play on a club set, that’s probably a quite different kind of show because Vagos is an open-air festival. What can we expect from a confined setting performance, and what’s Epica’s favorite environment for live acts?

Yves: A club show is more intimate and we have more contact with the audience. On a club show, we also have more possibilities with lighting, so we can have more control over the atmosphere.

I would prefer the festival shows because there’s more air and generally the stages are bigger. But it’s nice to have a balance between both kinds of shows.

Which songs from “Requiem for the Indifferent” would you highlight, and why?

Yves: “Storm the Sorrow” because it’s a nice catchy song. It also has a special meaning for me. My autograph has a certain rhythm or pattern when I sign it. That specific pattern is the verse of the song and it was specifically made for that. So my autograph is the inspiration to the verse of this song.

“Internal Warfare” is also cool because it’s very cinematic and evil, which are both traits I like in a song.

What are your feelings about “Requiem for the Indifferent,” and can you tell us how your experience was recording the new songs?

Yves: It was a stressful experience because there was less time to prepare and to record. Otherwise, it went pretty much like the recording of the other albums. Overall I’d say we completed the production of our best album in less time than the previous ones.

What will the future bring for Epica?

Yves: Touring touring touring. We’re also going to make a video clip and we’re going to do something special for our 10th anniversary.

Any final words for the fans?

Yves: Remember, I’m Belgian, not Dutch. You wouldn’t want to be confused with Brazilians either, right?

Rui Carneiro is a teacher and life-coach specialized in strategic communication and self-development. Before his experience in Project Management for The European Commission, he was a decorated Army Sergeant.

Rui is a senior partner of Rock n’Heavy and a graduate of the University of Porto, Faculty of Letters.

We can meet and discuss this or any other topic on Twitter.