Now here is a tour that really excites me since its one of my favorite Symphonic Metal bands and their bringing along a solid bunch of support acts. I’ll let the official press release speak for itself after the poster so check it out below. Don’t worry I will return with some additional thoughts at the close.
The Press Release:
Dutch symphonic metal heavyweights EPICA will return this fall for The North American Principle Tour in support of their upcoming album The Holographic Principle which will see a worldwide release on September 30th through Nuclear Blast. EPICA will be joined on this trek by Italian symphonic death metal kings FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, Russian pagan warriors ARKONA and their good friends in THE AGONIST. The first three dates will see Germany’s XANDRIA as a replacement for ARKONA. Tour kicks off on November 4th in Quebec City and will conclude on December 3rd in Worcester, MA.
EPICA’s front woman Simone Simons commented on the tour:
“The time has finally come to visit North America again. We are super excited to show you guys our kick-ass new material of which we are extremely proud! We hope to welcome you all to experience The Holographic Principle extravaganza!”
VIP/Meet and Greet Bundles and upgrades are now on sale via SOUNDRINK. They will include teh follow:
• Ticket to the show
• Meet & Greet plus photo opportunity with all the band members
• Separate signing cards of all band 6 band members
• Laminate + Lanyard
• Limited edition 7-inch vinyl with an exclusive (previously unreleased) song
• Exclusive VIP only tour shirt
• Early venue access
• Digital download of The Holographic Principle on release date
General admission tickets will go on sale Wednesday, June 29th at 10:00am local time.
The Tour Dates:
11/04/2016: Imperial Theater – Quebec City, QC **
11/05/2016: Corona – Montreal, QC **
11/06/2016: Phoenix Concert Hall – Toronto, ON **
11/08/2016: Concord Music Hall – Chicago, IL
11/09/2016: Cabooze – Minneapolis, MN
11/11/2016: Amsterdam Event Center – Saskatoon, SK
11/12/2016: Marquee – Calgary, AB
11/13/2016: The Ranch – Edmonton, AB
11/15/2016: Vogue Theatre – Vancouver, BC
11/16/2016: Studio 7 – Seattle, WA
11/18/2016: Social Hall – San Francisco, CA
11/19/2016: The Regent – Los Angeles, CA
11/20/2016: Vinyl at Hard Rock Hotel – Las Vegas, NV
11/22/2016: Summit Music Hall – Denver, CO
11/23/2016: Granada Theater – Lawrence, KS
11/25/2016: Gas Monkey Live – Dallas, TX
11/26/2016: Empire Control Room – Austin, TX
11/28/2016: State Theater – St Petersburg, FL
11/29/2016: Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
12/01/2016: Soundstage – Baltimore, MD
12/02/2016: Webster Hall – New York, NY
12/03/2016: Palladium – Worcester, MA
** with XANDRIA replacing ARKONA
EPICA will release of their forthcoming record The Holographic Principle (September 30th through Nuclear Blast). The album was produced with Joost van der Broek at Sandlane Recording Facilities. Mixing was handled by Jacob Hansen (VOLBEAT, DESTRUCTION). The cover artwork was created by Stefan Heilemann (www.heilemania.de).
The band commented:
“The Holographic Principle deals with the near future wherein virtual reality has taken off and allows people to create their own virtual worlds which can’t be distinguished from “reality as we know it”. This raises the question whether our current reality is a kind of virtual reality on itself, a hologram. This implies the existence of a higher reality which we currently do not have access to. The lyrics challenge you to think out of the box, to reconsider everything you thought to know for sure and to be open-minded towards recent revolutions in science. Fasten your seat belts and get ready for a ride as nothing appears to be what it seems in our holographic universe.”
*** end of transmission ***
PiercingMetal Thoughts: I can proudly say that I have been following Epica since their debut release “The Phantom Agony” was just being released on Transmission Records and I’ve stood by them as both a fan and a media voice ever since. They have continually impressed me with their sonic delivery and creative approach to the genre and they seem to be getting better and better with each recording. I’m pretty sure that I have sen them on every single tour that they have headlined or been a part of over the years as well. That’s all I have to say about that one. The direct support of Fleshgod Apocalypse should be interesting but I am on the fence as to whether they truly fit well on this particular bill. I love what Arkona does in concert and on recording so think that they are a good addition but I am sad to see that Xandria is only here for a few short dates when this side of the Metal Republic needs that band to come back and do a proper tour. That’s all I got my friends so let’s hear from you in the comments below and let’s also start counting down the days to this great tour. See you next time.
Official Websites:
Epica: http://www.epica.nl
Fleshgod Apocalypse:
Arkona:
Xandria:
The Agonist: