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Epica
As part of 1990s Dutch rockers After Forever, Mark Jansen helped mix scorching
guitar licks and deathly vocal growls with soaring operatic opulence and
dramatic prog-rock fantasies. The band became leading exponents of symphonic
metal, but Jansen wanted to further explore the idea of melding classical music
with heavy rock and left in 2002 to form Epica in Reuver. He recruited his then
girlfriend Simone Simons as the band's front woman and their debut album, 2003’s
The Phantom Agony, used a choir and a string section to create a huge,
bombastic, orchestral sound. With Simons' sou...
