EPICA Unveil Live Music Video For "Kingdom Of Heaven Pt 3 - The Antediluvian Universe;" Announce Cinema Premiere

“Let’s set our piano on fire!” might be a sentence we haven’t heard since the good old rock’ n’ roll days of the 70s. However, more than any other song from EPICA‘s upcoming audiovisual release, “Ωmega Alive” proves that the Dutch symphonic legends have been truly on fire since the release of their latest studio album in February. Despite not being able to play many shows this year, the band used their time at home to set up an extraordinary streaming event that premiered in June and will now be available in various audiovisual formats on December 3rd.

You can even go and witness it live on a huge screen with popcorn and all your friends at the exclusive Kinepolis cinema premiere taking place in Antwerp on December 2nd, where the whole band will be present to celebrate the release – tickets are now available at epica.nl

Today, the EPICA reveal a new video of the show, the over 13 minutes long ‘Kingdom Of Heaven Pt 3 – The Antediluvian Universe – Omega Alive -‘: “The whole 3rd act was built around the ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ songs”, keyboarder and concept developer Coen Janssen explains. “The 3rd part (from the Omega album) just had to be played, so we came up with ‘Elysia’, the kingdom somewhere in the sky… A new decor resembling a throne room and a massive chandelier with acrobats in it set the tone for this song.

For the ‘piano solo,’ we had an extra surprise up our sleeve… playing it while it was on fire! A stunt we could not rehearse since the piano would be destroyed afterward! Under great guidance from our pyro-crew, we managed to pull it off, luckily the part only lasts about 30 seconds since it was extremely hot as you can imagine! Since this looked so cool on stage, we also lit up the gong at the end of the act, with Ariën hitting it with a flaming torch… These images turned out way cooler than we expected… too bad we can’t do this live.”

Let the band take you to higher places on this new monumental excerpt from “Ωmega Alive” and watch “Kingdom Of Heaven Pt 3 – The Antediluvian Universe -“ below.

Directed by Jens de Vos (Panda Productions) and graced by a magical artwork by Heilemania, the DVD, BluRay, CD, and vinyl contain 15 EPICA classics, fan-favorites, as well as first-ever live performances from tracks off the band’s latest chef-d’oeuvre “Ωmega”, such as “The Skeleton Key” or the insanely monumental “Kingdom of Heaven Part 3”.

Since forming in 2002, the band has amassed an incredible amount of success, their current album “Ωmega” entered the album Top 10 in Germany, Holland, Belgium, and Switzerland. EPICA has toured the globe, performing at venerable festivals including Wacken, Hellfest, Heaven & Hell Festival, Heavy MTL, and Download, while also staging shows in countries where many metal bands have not played including South Korea, South Africa, and Venezuela.

EPICA was formed by composer Mark Jansen after leaving After Forever in 2002, and the band quickly gained attention outside their home country, taking big steps towards becoming the leading symphonic metal superpower they have long proven to be. After their ambitious debut “The Phantom Agony” (2002) and the surprisingly eclectic sophomore work “Consign To Oblivion” (2005), the road took them to new heights via their first concept masterpiece “The Divine Conspiracy” (2007) and their global breakthrough “Design Your Universe” (2009). 2012’s opus “Requiem For The Indifferent”, 2014’s bedazzling “The Quantum Enigma,“ and their finest, most embellished effort yet, “The Holographic Principle” (2016), cemented their reputation as not only one of the hardest working metal bands in the business but also as one of the best. Period. With “Ωmega”, the final part of the metaphysical trilogy they began with “The Quantum Enigma”, they reclaim the throne without so much as the blink of an eye, amassing 3 million-plus streams during the first week of the album’s release.

“Ωmega“ is an album of unity, of friendship, of the close bond the members share. An album that naturally came together as a group effort. And no wonder: Mark Jansen, Simone Simons, and keyboard player Coen Janssen have been playing together since EPICA’s conception in 2002, with drummer Ariën van Weesenbeek joining as early as 2007, lead guitarist Isaac Delahaye following in 2009. In 2012, bass player Rob van der Loo marked the latest addition to their ranks. For eight years, three records and hundreds of gigs, this band has formed an indestructible unit.

In the middle of a world in turmoil, of a cataclysmic change in society, EPICA somehow managed to create their most spectacular album yet. An album that is seamlessly bringing together metal and orchestra, choir and oriental instruments to a perfect storm constantly emitting goosebumps. A record with specifically written suites for orchestra and choir, featuring a wide range of ethnic instruments recorded around the world by some of the best native musicians out there. In short: They outdid themselves. Once again. And still managed to keep the songs approachable and wickedly catchy.

Since forming in 2002, the band has amassed an incredible amount of success, their current album Ωmega entered the album Top 10 in Germany, Holland, Belgium, and Switzerland. EPICA has toured the globe, performing at venerable festivals including Wacken, Hellfest, Heaven & Hell Festival, Heavy MTL, and Download, while also staging shows in countries where many metal bands have not played including South Korea, South Africa, and Venezuela.