Fairytales and romance may sound like wussy things to believe in, but what if you back it up with some lush orchestrations and backbone of goth and metal? That's what you get with Epica, the popular Dutch sextet, whose fifth album called Design Your Universe combines dreamy atmosphere with a solid foundation of rock. Mark Jansen's songwriting is the most mature to date, and is elevated by the hauntingly exquisite vocals of mezzo soprano Simone Simon which contrasts with the Mark's gruff demon-grunts. Energized by the addition of a new guitarist, Epica set out to record a masterpiece. Mark says, "This album almost killed us. We worked our asses off and went much more into detail than ever before. There's nothing I would like to change now. This album sucked all the energy out of us but as it's for the good course you won't hear me complaining" All the toil they put into their album paid off: Design Your Universe debuted at #8 on the Dutch music charts, cementing their superstar status in their home country. To hear the product of Epica's blood, sweat, and tears, check out the track "Resign to Surrender" from their latest album on JamLegend. Epica has been touring in Europe in the final months of 2009, and are set to tour North America in early 2010. All of their tour dates are available on their official site, as well as on their MySpace page.