Dutch female-fronted symphonic metallers EPICA have released a double live CD, titled The Classical Conspiracy, on May 8, 2009 (Europe) and May 19, 2009 (North America) through Nuclear Blast Records.

The album was recorded in Miskolc, Hungary, on June 14 2008 during the Miskolc International Opera Festival. The band performed a 45-minute set of metal adaptations of classical songs and movie soundtracks, accompanied by the orchestra and choir as well as symphonic versions of its own songs (including a few orchestral songs from singles and "The Score," which had never been played live before).


The Classical Conspiracy (U.S. Version) track list:
CD 1 - Classical Set:
01. Palladium
02. Dies Irae
03. Ombra Mai Fu
04. Adagio
05. Spiderman Medley
06. Presto
07. Montagues & Capulets
08. The Imperial March
09. Stabat Mater Dolorosa
10. Unholy Trinity
11. In The Hall Of The Mountain King
12. Indigo
13. The Last Crusade
14. Sensorium
15. Quietus
16. Chasing The Dragon
17. Feint

CD 2 - Epica Set:
01. Never Enough
02. Beyond Belief
03. Cry For The Moon
04. Safeguard To Paradise
05. Blank Infinity
06. Living A Lie
07. The Phantom Agony
08. Sancta Terra
09. Illusive Consensus
10. Consign To Oblivion
__________________________________
 ______


Purchase The Classical Conspiracy at:

BUY - NB USA: http://store.nuclearblastusa.com/Art...

BUY - NB EUROPE: http://www.nuclearblast.de/showShopS...

BUY - NB MP3 SHOP: http://www.nuclearblast-musicshop.de...

BUY - eMusic: http://www.emusic.com/artist/Epica-M...

BUY - Napster: http://free.napster.com/view/artist/...

BUY - Rhapsody: http://www.rhapsody.com/epica

BUY - iTunes: http /ax.itunes.apple.com/WebObjec
 ts/MZStore.woa/wa/browserRedirect?
 url=itms%253A%252F%252Fax.itunes.a
 pple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZStor
 e.woa%252Fwa%252FviewArtist%253Fid
 %253D185933496

BUY - Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw...

BUY - FYE: http://www.fye.com/viewamgrefdata.ht...

BUY - Barnes and Noble: http://music.barnesandnoble.com/sear...

Epica MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/epica

Epica Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Epica/...

Epica Bebo page: http://www.bebo.com/epica

Dutch female-fronted symphonic metal act EPICA entered Gate Studio in Wolfsburg, Germany on Monday, March 2 with producer Sascha Paeth to begin recording the follow-up to 2007's The Divine Conspiracy, tentatively due before the end of the year via Nuclear Blast Records.

According to the band, drummer Ariën van Weesenbeek "is doing great so far. The beast already nailed five songs; he's been drumming for about 12 hours [on Tuesday]!"

A short video clip from the recording sessions can be viewed here.

Vocalist Simone Simons previously stated about EPICA's new material, "It is so exciting! I love the new songs and can't wait to play them live."

The Divine Conspiracy was EPICA's first full-length concept album. According to the band, "This concept deals with the theory that, as a test, God created all kinds of different religions and released those upon humanity to see if they would be able to find the true nature of them, realizing that in all religions it is actually the same. But there's more to it; it also concludes the 'Embrace That Smothers' concept that could already be found on [2003's] The Phantom Agony."

Dutch act EPICA has found a new guitar player in Isaac Delahaye who replaces Ad Sluijter. Delahaye is best known for his work with GOD DETHRONED where he worked with Arien van Weesenbeek already.
Comments Isaac: “It’s an honor to join my friends in EPICA and an offer I simply couldn’t refuse. I’ve been following the band closely from the beginning, and it was great to see them growing into a leading band within the scene. I want to express my gratitude to the whole EPICA crew (including Ad) for the confidence they put in me, and I’m totally ready to rock out on stage and to help creating some great music in the future.” EPICA are currently working on the last details of their new record which will be released by Nuclear Blast in Autumn 2009. en.

www.epica.nl
http://www.myspace.com/epica