🔥NEW UPCOMING ALBUM RELEASE ANNOUNCEMENT!🔥
🤘New release from: SIMONE SIMMONS – Vermillion (August 23, 2024)🤘
Simone Simons has been a pioneering force within the world of metal for over two decades as part of Epica. Now, alongside her musical partner and longtime collaborator, Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon), she embarks on the journey of her debut solo album, Vermillion.
Arjen is no stranger to Simone’s soaring operatic voice, one that can stir even a gargoyle’s stone heart to tears. Together they have crafted a sonic universe that befits the influential figure she is. Vermillion emerges as a gargantuan goose-bump generator, a universally touching, stellar tour de force. Vermillion will be released on August 23rd, 2024, via Nuclear Blast Records.
(Following taken from Nuclear Blast Records page with minor editing)
“I strive to become better with each art piece that I create. Vermillion has broadened my musical horizon even further.” – Simone Simons
For more than 20 years, ever since she was a teenager, Simone Simons has been spearheading the world of symphonic metal. As a lead singer, icon, and role model for a whole generation of female metalheads, the Epica lead singer remains one of the most prominent key figures in all things metal. After eight albums and countless global tours with her band, Simone Simons finally found the time to release her first solo album – a moment 15 years in the making! Her breathtaking debut Vermillion is a stunning feat chronicling her storied past as well as her rise to fame, and showcasing her many different influences ranging from prog rock to film scores to metal to electronic elements.
Of the timing for her eagerly awaited foray into the realms of a solo career, the Dutch singer says with a disarming grin: “Epica has my priority and I always have the liberty to do other musical projects besides my career in Epica. Yet, I never had the time to dive into a project to this extent.”
Some endeavors require patience and time, and rightly so. Simone chose not to rush her solo project, opting instead to thoughtfully consider how she wanted to present herself. Enter stage right Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon). Her musical partner and longtime collaborator is no stranger to her soaring operatic voice. Together they have crafted a sonic universe that befits the influential figure she is. And while many would use their solo effort as a radical, even provocative departure from everything they stood for, Simone remains true to her love for epic melodies, huge choruses and monumental, intelligent music.
“Metal has my heart, and Arjen too”, Simone laughs. “I fell in love with Ayreon’s music when I was 16. It was always a dream of mine to work with Arjen. Many years and even more features in Ayreon later, I contacted Arjen saying that I would love to write a whole album with him. This must have been around five to six years ago. We talked to each other every once in a while but were both swamped and couldn’t commit to such a project. Now, the timing was right for both of us. Our busy schedules had an opening for this project to come to fruition. Vermillion was born.” (…..read more at Nuclear Blast Records page)
01. Aeterna
02. In Love We Rust
03. Cradle To The Grave (feat. Alissa White-Gluz)
04. Fight or Flight
05. The Weight of My World
06. Vermillion Dreams
07. The Core
08. Dystopia
09. R.E.D.
10. Dark Night of the Soul
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