“A moment we’ll remember forever”: symphonic metal stars Epica to celebrate 25th anniversary with Royal Albert Hall extravaganza in 2027
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Symphonic metal band Epica have unveiled the venue and date for their 25th-anniversary "Symphonic Synergy" show — London's Royal Albert Hall on 6 October 2027 — where a full orchestra and choir will join the Dutch six-piece for what will be their first performance there. The announcement matters because it is currently the only confirmed date on this special orchestral touring format, which previously appeared only in Amsterdam and Mexico City in 2024, and it forms part of a larger world tour still to be revealed.
Tickets for the Royal Albert Hall show go on general sale at 10am UK time on Friday 4 September. Before that, Epica play six Asian dates from 14 to 22 September, then open their anniversary year with three already sold-out shows at Amsterdam's Royal Theatre Carré in January, followed by a March Latin American run supported by Fleshgod Apocalypse. Founded in 2002 by Mark Jansen alongside Simone Simons and Coen Janssen, the band have sold more than a million albums worldwide and are currently touring behind their 2025 record, Aspiral.
- Epica to play Royal Albert Hall on 6 October 2027 with orchestra and choir
- Tickets go on sale 10am, Friday 4 September
- Part of wider 25th-anniversary world tour, dates still to come
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Symphonic metal band Epica have been going since 2002, founded by Mark Jansen and featuring singer Simone Simons and keyboardist Coen Janssen among its six members. The Dutch group blend heavy metal with orchestral and choral elements, a style known as symphonic metal, and have built a large international following, selling more than a million albums.
To mark their 25th anniversary, the band are staging a series of special shows featuring a full orchestra and choir performing alongside them, a format they call "Symphonic Synergy" and have only previously brought to Amsterdam and Mexico City. This wider anniversary celebration also includes other tour dates across Asia, Latin America and elsewhere, tied to their 2025 album Aspiral.
The Royal Albert Hall is one of London's best-known concert venues, historically associated with classical music, orchestras and prestigious one-off events. A metal band performing there with a full orchestra is a significant and unusual booking, which is why the announcement has drawn attention among fans and the wider music press.
Full account
Dutch symphonic metal outfit Epica have announced a one-off UK show at London's Royal Albert Hall on 6 October 2027, forming part of the sextet's 25th-anniversary celebrations. The performance will see the band accompanied by a full orchestra and choir under the banner of their "Symphonic Synergy" concept, and marks their first appearance at the storied Kensington venue. General ticket sales open on Friday 4 September at 10am (UK time/GMT).
The Symphonic Synergy format was first unveiled in 2024 with shows in Amsterdam and Mexico City; one outlet dates these to September and December of that year, while another describes them collectively as four sold-out performances watched by around 30,000 fans. Both accounts agree the London date currently stands as the sole confirmed stop on Epica's schedule to feature the orchestral and choral treatment, and that it will sit within a wider, still-unannounced world tour. Announcing the show, the band said playing the Royal Albert Hall for the first time, backed by a full orchestra and choir, would be "an absolutely magical experience" and "a moment we'll remember forever".
The Royal Albert Hall date caps off a busy stretch of anniversary activity. Epica are presently on the road in support of their 2025 album Aspiral, with an Asian leg running from 14 to 22 September 2026 taking in Tokyo, Osaka and several Chinese cities before wrapping up in Shanghai. Their 25th-anniversary shows proper begin in late January 2027 with three nights at the Royal Theatre Carré in Amsterdam, all of which have already sold out, followed by a March 2027 run across Latin America; one report notes Italian act Fleshgod Apocalypse will provide support on those South and Central American dates.
Epica were formed in the Netherlands in 2002 by guitarist and vocalist Mark Jansen shortly after he departed After Forever, a band that later featured Nightwish singer Floor Jansen (no relation). Singer Simone Simons and keyboardist Coen Janssen also joined that year, and the trio remain the only members to have featured on every one of the band's albums since their 2003 debut, The Phantom Agony. Across a quarter of a century the group have built a reputation for blending orchestral grandeur with progressive metal heft, selling more than a million albums worldwide along the way.
Where outlets differ
Source 1 (Metal Hammer/Louder-style outlet) gives more biographical detail on the band's origins, including Mark Jansen's departure from After Forever and its link to Floor Jansen, and cites total album sales of over one million; Source 2 (Blabbermouth) omits this history in favour of praising the band's musical evolution and debut album The Phantom Agony.
Source 2 provides a full itemised list of upcoming tour dates and venues (Asian and Latin American legs), while Source 1 only summarises the start and end points of the Asian run.
Source 1 states the 2024 Symphonic Synergy shows took place in September and December in Amsterdam and Mexico City respectively; Source 2 describes them as four sold-out shows attended by roughly 30,000 fans without specifying exact months.
Only Source 1 mentions Fleshgod Apocalypse as the support act for the Latin American leg; Source 2 does not reference any support acts.
Source 2 dwells more on the Royal Albert Hall's Victorian architecture and history as a fitting setting, a point not emphasised in Source 1.
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