On ‘Aspiral’, Dutch symphonic metal giants Epica have found a new balance between their trademark bombast, their adventurous songwriting, and a greater degree of accessibility than ever before. According to guitarist Isaac Delahaye and drummer Ariën van Weesenbeek, that increased amount of accessibility was a necessity.

“It had been a silent wish for us to sound more like a band”, Van Weesenbeek says. “Instead of everything being perfectly on the grid, and building the orchestral parts on top of our songs, on top of the band, rather than the other way around. That resulted in more openness and more dynamics. That way, there is more space for the individual, and definitely for Simone (Simons, singer). She has sung incredibly well on this record in particular. I think everything fell into place much better this time around.”

“Obviously, there is always a lot that’s happening in our music”, Delahaye adds. “And we had the feeling that sometimes it may have been a bit too much. It’s quite a feat to keep everything clear in the final mix. That is one thing we took into consideration when we started to write this album. Especially concerning the vocals. You can do anything you want, but if the vocals aren’t in the right place, people won’t connect with the song.

So this time, the idea was to start with the vocal melodies: let’s see if those blend with the progressions and the music we have on the shelf. And only when that basic idea, including the vocals, had been solidified, only then would we add bells and whistles. We are a metal band, of course, so the dynamics of the drums, bass and guitar are clear. But all the extra layers were approached a bit more consciously.

For example: if the choir is very important for a certain part, we would dial back the orchestration. Or if the orchestration is the main focus, we won’t do all kinds of crazy shit as a band. Or maybe sometimes we do, but only to deliberately enhance the chaos. And that is something you have to stay focused on from day one right down to the final mix: do I hear all the elements I want to hear, and is nothing getting in the way? I think we were able to maintain that focus.”

Natural and Pleasant

“For ‘Omega’ (2021), we rented a house and spent a week writing new material there”, Van Weesenbeek explains. “We did that again this time around, but much more extensively. We rented a place three different times, for three songwriting camps, if you will. And that was really cool. We started with nothing, and we ended up with thirteen songs. We are very happy with this natural and pleasant manner of writing songs. Instead of working on stuff by ourselves at home, we truly got together to ask: what do you think of this? Do you have any ideas for that?

I suspect we will adopt the same approach for the next album is as well. Honestly, we should have started doing this much sooner. Just taking the time, putting the band front and center, and only then think of where the orchestra and the choir can play a complementary role, rather than building the guitars and drums on them. We didn’t know any better. There is a lot more room for dynamics that way, and it all sounds much more natural.”

“Since we live in four different countries, the entire process used to be done over e-mail and Dropbox and things like that”, Delahaye says. “I’m working on something at home, and then I send it to the others, and someone in a different country will open the file to work on it some more. Which is kind of odd for a band; usually bands rehearse together and work on things together.

We never really had that with Epica, so we decided to give it a try for ‘Omega’. And we were so happy with the results that we decided to do three of those weeks this time around. That way, we can immediately check if it works for Simone, and because there were breaks between those three writing weeks, you can work on songs from other band members in the meantime as well.”

Playing Catch-Up

“What sometimes happened in the past is that we had already developed the instrumental part of a song, sometimes we even have a vocal melody in mind already, but then when Simone tries to sing it, it turns out that it doesn’t really suit her range”, Delahaye says. “We have been playing catch-up in that regard a few times in the past. You could transpose something, or try a different vocal melody. But then you already added a bunch of bells and whistles that don’t sound right anymore.

Compared to how we used to do it in the past, our current approach allows us to lay down a foundation that already works. After that, you can work on it some more and see what else you can come up with. It’s a completely different process.”

“Simone is a fantastic singer, and she has only gotten better through the years”, Van Weesenbeek adds. “And in a way, a band is at its best with a great singer. For this album, I wrote a majority of the song ‘Eye of the Storm’, which I worked out with Isaac, before working on the arrangements with Joost (van den Broek, producer) and Coen (Janssen, keyboard player). It was originally in a completely different key, but we started trying out some things to see if we could come up with something that would work better for Simones vocal parts.

That is important for the live show as well. If Simone has a bad day, the rest of us can work our asses off, but the audience will pick up on that. If she feels well and her singing is on point, we have already won. I think this process might just give us the advantage.”

The Dynamics of Playing Together

Delahaye points out another reason why ‘Aspiral’ sounds different. “In the aftermath of covid, we recorded our collaboration EP ‘The Alchemy Project’ (2022)”, he says. “Since we just did that for fun, it wouldn’t be an issue if we ended up writing something we wouldn’t have come up with for Epica. But then it turned out that a lot of things that we thought were quite far removed from what Epica does still sound like Epica if we write, play, and record them.

That opened our eyes to the fact that we can deviate from the usual path without us sounding like a completely different band. One of the things we did because of that was recording the foundation of the songs live in the studio. In the past, Rob (van der Loo, bassist), Ariën and I did do the pre-production together, but the actual recordings were done separately.

A lot of people tell us that they think Epica sounds better live. And I think that human factor is the reason why. So for ‘The Alchemy Project’, we started recording drums, bass and rhythm guitar together. That was the ideal situation for us to test if we could do that for an album. And we liked doing it that way because of the dynamics of playing together. If you spend multiple weeks on your own in Sandlane Recording Facilities, it can sometimes feel like you’re working the assembly line. This way, recording became a lot of fun again.

We were in the studio four days a week: Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. That way, there was enough time between studio days to think about the recordings, to prepare, and to rest. We did about a song per day, or a song per two days. Coffee in the morning, listening to things, checking where the difficulties are, rehearsing until lunch, then doing a bunch of takes.

Of course we would sometimes re-do short bits, and I would double the guitars separately, but when I listen to the album, I can hear that human factor. If you record with an orchestra, you’re not going to tell me that all those musicians always start exactly on the one. It floats a little bit. But because it’s an orchestra, people love it. And I always thought: yes, but that’s what I want with the band as well, haha!”

Bringing Back the Power

“In terms of dynamics, ‘The Holographic Principle’ (2016) was quite mechanic and compressed”, Van Weesenbeek says. “So going for a more open, organic sound was something we already wanted for ‘Omega’. One of the things that could give us that was a natural, acoustic drum sound. I have played with triggers in the past, and I still have them, but after a while, playing with triggers will cause you to lose the power of the bass drums without even noticing it.

What I wanted was to bring that power back. I was missing that punch, so I decided to hit a little harder once again. Kind of like I used to do with God Dethroned: that punch is always there, and it raises my heartbeat. And to then get that energy on tape. I truly love power drummers. Gene Hoglan and Dave Lombardo also still play at full power all the time.

One thing I needed to do for that was to get back in shape physically. I noticed that my left foot was getting a little cramped during faster sections, so I had to awaken those muscles again. Just take a few steps back, and build it back up from there.

On tour, I need to make sure I keep a healthy routine. And that can be difficult sometimes. Sometimes you’re having a good time, you have a few beers, and you wake up in the morning thinking: oof, let’s not work out today. But I can’t afford being in a bad shape. Some days, our guitarists and bassist may get away with it, but if I don’t play well, people will pick that up immediately.

We do still use bass drum triggers, but we use those to enhance the low-end, and not for the attack. You can hear the attack exactly as I play it. And it is my task to make sure I will be able to do it right.”

Different Views on the Same Ingredients

Epica is lucky to have no less than five songwriters in the band, with bassist Rob van der Loo being increasingly involved  “Rob always lays down a relatively simple foundation, and after that, he checks what Simone will do with it first”, Delahaye explains. “If I look at myself, I often want to throw in a fast technical thing here and there, but Rob really writes in service of the vocals. It’s fun to have five people with different perspectives, inspirations, and different views on the same ingredients. Ariën tends to write more from his death metal background.”

“It is cool to not just be responsible for drums”, Van Weesenbeek nods. “I have always written a lot for my old bands Pandaemonium and Downslide. In God Dethroned, I have contributed a lot of riffs as well. In that case, Henri Sattler (vocalist and guitarist) was the main songwriter, and he asked us to give him what we had, so he could pick out the things he could use. In Epica, I can contribute entire sections, and everybody else can do whatever they want to improve them.

What helps is that I’ve got perfect pitch. That’s quite strange for drummers, but it does allow me to work out my ideas in Cubase. I found a couple of good guitar sounds, so I can make demos at home and send them to the rest. Or if we rented a house for a week, I can show the others my ideas, instead of singing it to them. Because that’s what I did with my first band: I would scribble down something on a piece of paper, and the others would have to try and play what I sang to them. That took a long time. Things have become a lot easier.

I have a lot of freedom to change things in the songs that Mark (Jansen, vocalist and guitarist) brings to the table. Isaac can play the drums a bit himself, so he has more of a feel for how the drums should be. He often comes up with pre-programmed parts. But even then, I can alter whatever I want. Sometimes they ask me to play a different groove or to simplify my parts. We always find a way.”

Peace of Mind

Epica never made a secret of the fact that ever since joining the band in 2009, Delahaye has been responsible for recording all the guitars on their albums. “Mark gives me that space, and that is pleasant for him as well, because that gives him the space to work on his vocals”, Delahaye explains. “After all, there are a lot of lyrics that need to be written, and they need to make sense as well. Me recording all the guitars gives him the peace of mind to do that.

Through the years, I have learned to make a habit out of writing out sheet music while composing guitar parts for the albums. In part for myself, so that I don’t have to figure everything out when the time comes to record, but I also need them for Mark, so we can prepare live versions for the songs.

To be honest, I would not want to be in his position. Being handed the sheet music and then having to start learning his parts. That must be quite a daunting task. If the parts are very technical and he has to grunt as well, we usually try figure out how to make it work together. Sometimes, that results in him playing a slightly simplified version of the same riff. But it also happens that he insists on playing the riff as is, and he asks me to grunt a little bit. It usually isn’t that much of a problem.

Sometimes it happens to me as well. I’ve played something in the studio, and I’ll think: what the hell have I come up with? And then you have to be able to do it in a live setting. And it happens to the songs Mark has written as well. Sometimes I’ll throw in a little technical thing or something, and you’ll have to straighten things out again. That’s why having written 90 to 95 percent out as sheet music is so convenient. You can always go back to that.”

Sticking to the Framework

One part of Delahaye’s guitar playing that isn’t transcribed is his solos. “Sometimes I have a framework on the demos, sometimes I don’t”, he says. “When they press that button, I’m never entirely sure what I’m going to do, haha! But I enjoy that. It doesn’t always work out, but you do come up with some nice things that way.

I do have to admit: once I have it, I will try to stick as closely to it as possible when we play the songs live. For some of the faster things, I might forget what it is that I did exactly, but I know: that’s where I begin, that’s where I have to end, and we’ll see what happens, haha! But that framework stays up. Some guitarists do something completely different live, but that is something that annoys me. When I hear that, it always makes me think: but I want to hear that melody!

There’s also things like ‘Eye of the Storm’, which has a death metal-like hook. That’s where you want to do something like a Slayer-like tremolo dive or something. But I don’t have a tremolo on my guitar, so I’ll have to think of a way to play something that has that same feel without actually doing it. Sometimes it’s a challenge, but it’s very fulfilling when it works out.”

Only Seeing Lights

“As a musician, I think you owe it to yourself to challenge yourself”, Van Weesenbeek says. “It should never become something you take for granted, because that’s when I think it will start going downhill. Of course, that can be difficult. Sometimes it’s something you don’t even realize, and then you listen back to recordings, and you think: oof, I used to be able to play that with a lot more ease in the past, I need to work on that.”

Despite seeking out challenges, Van Weesenbeek doesn’t consider his impaired eyesight one. “Weirdly, that has never been in the way of my playing and my live experience”, he says. “One thing it does impact, especially in larger venues, that I’m only seeing lights on stage, and it’s almost like there’s no one there. That’s the only instance in which I notice a difference. But it doesn’t influence my performance.

My eyesight has been impaired since I was born. And I started taking drum lessons when I was seven. Since then, I have often played on kits that weren’t mine. Sometimes, there would be something that was in an inconvenient position, maybe a cymbal that was too far away, but I could always find a workaround. Having said that, my own kit is always set up the same way, so I don’t have to think about it at all. People are taking great care of me.”