Twinmusix got to speak to Mark from Epica about their new album and more.
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TM - Hi this is Amelia and Elizabeth from Twinmusix and we are here with Mark from Epica, thank you for having this interview with us today we appreciate it.
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MK - Thank you.
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TM - What can fans expect from your new album "Aspiral"?
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MK - We wanted to make this album Sound live compared to the past so we recorded the guitar drums and bass guitar line in the studio and it gives the album a more organic sound. We know every song on the album is live because we rehearsed them that way and recorded them that way. In the past, we had to check which songs would work live and which songs wouldn't work live but with this album, we knew we could play every song in a live setting. When we worked on the album we did three writing camp sessions where we were working on each other's songs. In the past, we used the digital Highway to send each other files and now we have the good old vibe back with modern technology.
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TM - Do you write while you are on the road?
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MK - It depends on the band member, I like to write music on the road. Whenever I have an idea I sit down and record it.
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TM - How did you come up with your Album cover?
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MK - Hedi Xandt designed the album cover and we changed some things here and there so we didn't repeat ourselves with the music or the artwork, even though we were satisfied with our old art design. Hedi has a modern touch and modern approach and it worked well. Some of these guys were already a fan of his work and we did some sessions where we talked to each other and saw if we could find some Common Ground and we noticed we had a lot of things in common and that's why we started working with him.
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TM - How did you come up with your video for T.I.M.E.?
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MK - I wrote the song together with Isaac and he told me he had an idea for a girl to sing the intro and get scared and scream. On that same day I had recorded my daughter doing a really loud scream and that scream ended up being in the song and the girl singing is her cousin. I tried to record the screen professionally but it sounded better on my phone. For the video, we worked with David and he does a lot of lyric videos for us so we decided to let him do our video for this song. I discussed the topics with him and the vibe of this song. We wanted to have a Tim Burton like five so he created this Dark Fantasy atmosphere.
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TM - What can fans expect from your tour?
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MK - We are going to do shows in the UK, Europe and Mexico and some other places. We are also doing Summer festivals throughout Europe. We are also going out with Powerwolf and we know each other pretty well because we have played together before.
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TM - Are you coming to Australia?
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MK - I cannot say too much about it but hopefully we can get down there soon.
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TM - If you could have any band play one of your songs what band would it be, what song would it be and would it be in your style or their style?
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MK - I would pick Opeth to play "Design Your Universe" in their style. The intro has an Opeth vibe and I'd be curious about what they would do with the rest of the song.
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TM - How was your tour with Metallica?
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MK - That was something I didn't expect to happen and it happened. The shows with Metallica were above expectations when we were there. The Metallica guys were so nice to us. You have no idea how a band will treat their support acts because you don't know what they will be like. They came by to our dressing room to make sure everything was alright and to check if anything was missing and whether we had any wishes. I also had default that if the biggest band on earth can do that with the support acts anyone should do that. We always treat our support bands well because in the metal scene, we should also support each other and make each other stronger.
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TM - Who was the first band you saw live and can you tell us a story?
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MK - Gorefest In the early 90s, they don't exist anymore but they were pretty big back in the day. I remember I went to the show and I expected the show to be over later and my parents were going to pick me up later. I had to wait a long time after the show had finished to get picked up and the drummer of the band was in the crowd and to me they were untouchable, so it was pretty cool that they were hanging out in the crowd. It was a very down-to-earth experience and from that day on I thought I wanted to be in a band myself.
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TM - Did they inspire you to play?
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MK - yes it inspired me to start a band myself.
TM - Is there anything else you want to say to your fans?
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MK - The last few times we have played in Australia it has been awesome and even though your spiders are big we cannot wait to come back. I was running through the streets in Australia and I stopped when I saw a big spider web, it just appeared and it would have been in my face if I had kept running, I will never forget that moment.
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TM - Thank you for having this interview with us today, we appreciate it.
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MK - Thank you.
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