Rogues reflect Epica’s eclectic sound

USA - A metal band that’s recorded hits with names like Cry For The Moon doesn’t normally cover music written by the likes of Antonio Vivaldi, Antonín Dvořák and Giuseppe Verdi, but then again, nothing about Dutch act Epica can be described as ‘ordinary’. In addition to performing the works of these and other classical composers, the six-member band has put its own fresh, original and totally captivating metallic symphonic spin on music from films like Star Wars, Spider-Man and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Having risen high on the charts in their native northern Europe, where they perform at large capacity venues, Epica has nevertheless retained a fearless desire to pursue new forms of expression. This was very evident in their latest North American tour, which concluded in early December, not just in their music, but also in their lightshow.
Erwin Van Lokeren, who has been the band’s LD and set designer for 10 years, created a seemingly endless variety of different looks for every song the band performed during their 22-city tour, using a compact – yet creatively fertile floor package - that included four LED strobes and 12 Chauvet Professional Rogue R1 FX-B fixtures supplied by JDI Productions.
“My ambition is to give each song a new look, so I can reflect the band’s musical spirit in light,” said Van Lokeren, who closely collaborates with two of the band’s members, Coen Janssen and Isaac Delahaye, on creative ideas. “I use only two colours when lighting a song. When you have too many colours in a song, you can fall into a trap that makes the lighting for the next song look unoriginal or uninspired, because you wind up repeating the same colours.”
In place of multiple colours, Van Lokeren often relied on variations in movement to impart a sense of uniqueness to the lighting for each song. The Rogue R1 FX-B fixtures, with their five independently controlled moving heads and 360⁰ rotation, provided him with a powerful tool for varying movements.
“With 12 fixtures each having five moving heads, I essentially had 60 lights to move around,” he said. “Controlling each head individually gave me a great many creative options. I was able to cover the stage with some very original looks.”
For some songs, Van Lokeren would use the Rogues to create a tranquil wave down fold. Then he would point the fixture’s moving heads upward, creating beams that shot up between the band members. At other times, he would use the fixtures as spots to highlight particular musicians. Alternating tilts and pans at different speeds, he was able to endow the stage with an ethereal look.
(Jim Evans)

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