EPICA & ORIGINAL BASSIST PART WAYS; REPLACEMENT ANNOUNCED

Dutch symphonic metal band EPICA have issued the following statement:

“It is with sadness that we announce that Yves Huts and EPICA have decided to part ways. Yves has been with us from the start and has been of great value to the band. We thank Yves for his contribution to EPICA's success and wish him the very best in his future career, whether musically or in a different direction. We will never forget the good times together on the road!”

Former EPICA bassist Yves Hut shares:

"The 013 in Tilburg is the venue where we did our first show with EPICA and, almost a decade later, also my last. I’m leaving the band because I have another career opportunity that is not combinable with the schedule of a world-touring band. I’ve tried to live these two different lives simultaneously for as long as I could, but in the end I just had to make a choice, one of the most difficult ones in my life. I look back to these 10 years in EPICA satisfied and enriched with life experience. As a founding member, I’m proud of what we’ve achieved so far and I’m sure the future has a lot more great things in store for the band. I would like to thank the band, crew, fans and everybody else involved for the good times and I wish my successor good luck. Those of you that might be interested in any possible future musical plans of mine can visit my artist page on www.facebook.com/yves.huts.official. Kind regards."

EPICA members go on to say:

“The silver lining to this cloud is that we can already announce an awesome successor. Fulfilling duties on bass from now on will be none other than Rob van der Loo. You might know Rob from his work with MaYaN or Delain. We are sure that Rob will fit perfectly as a musician and as a person, and we are looking forward to share the stage for the first time next week.”

Current MaYan / new EPICA bassist Rob van der Loo adds:

"A few days ago I spoke to Yves and he brought back a memory from the time when EPICA was still just a support band for one of my former bands. At that time, he would never have guessed that almost ten years later I'd be his successor in EPICA.... Well, neither did I... but I'm damn proud of it! I've been sharing the stage with the people of EPICA for almost ten years now, and becoming a member of MaYaN last year brought us even closer. So making this decision to join EPICA feels pretty good, therefore, I want to show my gratitude to the band members (including Yves) and the crew for allowing me in the EPICA family! See you guys on the road! I won't let you down!"

Visit Rob van der Loo’s artist page at www.facebook.com/RobvanderLooOfficial.

Requiem For The Indifferent, EPICA’s sixth studio album just released in North America on March 13^th, debuted at #104 on the Billboard Top 200. The band will be headlining Day 1 of the ProgPower XIII festival in Atlanta, Georgia on Friday, September 14^th.