2 METER SESSIES - WE WILL TAKE YOU WITH US

By the time this DVD was released (2004) my prog metal phase was long gone. I had got back to symphonic and neo prog acts. Nevertheless, I was still amazed by Epica´s great debut The Phantom Agony and I had to see this release because I had never seen them on video before. This is a ´live´ in the studio appearance, with a full string section and choir. The result is one of the best DVDs made by a band in this category. Simply astonishing! Great melodic symphonic power metal performed by one hell of a band!

The center figure of this DVD is of course singer Simone Simmons. Not only she has a great operatic voice but also a strong and unique presence (the fact that she has a striking beauty to match does not hurt either). Still she does not overshadows the other band members, who work in unisson, with great effect. Like in the CD, all songs are good and work very well in this format. I realy like the choir (which includes studio ace Amanda Sommerville).

The second part is the piano and cello version of Feist (better than the original, by the way), the piano and guitar Run For A Fall (also great) and, oddly, Memory from the classic braoadway musical Cats. It sounds strange to have such number in a prog metal DVD, but it works. Great performance of Coen Jansen on piano (as well as on the other keyboards in the main songs. The guy really kicks!), The extras brings two promo videos (one including the making of), on which Simone Simmons also proves a powerful presence as an actress.

If you liked Epica´s debut CD, this is a must have. If you don´t know them yet, this is a good starting point to discover this unique and excellent band. They trancended the genre and it is recommended to any music lover. Four stars.