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About

Released : 20 December 2017 (Japan), 20 July 2018 (Worldwide)
Labels : Chaos Reigns, Ward Records
Recorded : In July 2017 at Sandlane Recording Facilities, Rijen, The Netherlands
Producers : Joost van den Broek, Epica

Versions

Digital EP / Jewel case / Digipack

01. 紅蓮の弓矢 (Guren no Yumiya) / Crimson Bow and Arrow
02. 自由の翼 (Jiyuu no Tsubasa) / Wings of Freedom
03. もしこの壁の中が一軒の家だとしたら (Moshi Kono Kabe no Naka ga Ikken no Ie Datoshitara) / If Inside These Walls Was a House
04. 心臓を捧げよ!(Shinzo wo Sasageyo !) / Dedicate Your Heart !
05. 紅蓮の弓矢 (Guren no Yumiya) / Crimson Bow and Arrow (Instrumental)
06. 自由の翼 (Jiyuu no Tsubasa) / Wings of Freedom (Instrumental)
07. もしこの壁の中が一軒の家だとしたら (Moshi Kono Kabe no Naka ga Ikken no Ie Datoshitara) / If Inside These Walls Was a House (Instrumental)
08. 心臓を捧げよ!(Shinzo wo Sasageyo !) / Dedicate Your Heart ! (Instrumental)

LP

Side A
01. Crimson Bow and Arrow
02. Wings of Freedom
03. If Inside These Walls Was a House
04. Dedicate Your Heart !
Side B
05. Crimson Bow and Arrow (Instrumental)
06. Wings of Freedom (Instrumental)
07. If Inside These Walls Was a House (Instrumental)
08. Dedicate Your Heart ! (Instrumental)

Black
Yellow : Limited to 300 copies
Violet : Limited to 300 copies, exclusively available through Nuclear Blast mailorder

Trivia

This EP covers songs from the TV anime Attack on Titan !

This EP was released in Japan for ¥1500 (11€ / 13$ / £10).

“We were given very basic English translations of the Japanese lyrics, and we had to rewrite it completely because it was a very direct, one-on-one translation, and it didn’t fit the vocal lines anymore. The flow has to be correct – the emphasis on the right syllables. When you’re writing lyrics, [they] need to be easily pronounced. Sometimes, you have these tongue twisters, so we kind of had to start from scratch. But we all knew the big lines of the story ; we knew the theme of the song ; and of course, from the translation, we could derive what was the gist of the story. Then we were given almost full freedom to rewrite the lyrics. We had to send them in for approval, the same with when we were finished arranging the songs. But everything was approved. We were lucky, because the composer from these songs, he is an Epica fan. He was the one that wanted us to do the cover version, which was an honor for us. I could also name a couple of other bands that could have been really great options as well, but they chose us. We were up for a challenge, and getting a little bit out of the comfort zone. I enjoyed writing and recording the songs. Even though it does sound a lot like Epica, it was still very different compared to Epica, but we didn’t put any less effort in it [than] we would do for a normal Epica CD.” – Simone Simons

“I first had to check out what is “Attack On Titan” because it’s not really something… I’m not into anime or I don’t know much about it. I think it’s cool, but it was new to me. We heard that this was an option to do the cover tracks and first, I had to do some research to see what it is about. Coen [Janssen], our keyboarder, he was like, “You don’t know this? It’s huge in Japan”. I said, “Sorry, no. I’ll check it out”. I really liked the songs, but my first concern was “How am I going to sing in Japanese ? I don’t think I could get the pronunciation right”. But, then we were told it would be translated into English for us to re-write the lyrics. Then, I was kind of reassured. But, I did not sing in Japanese because I don’t think I would have done a good job.” – Simone Simons

“The original songs are a little bit faster than the ones we did because for us, it was almost impossible to play and sing that fast. The original songs were much faster and we slowed them down with the exception of the ballad.” – Simone Simons

“When I was in South America with Epica, then Joost [van den Broek] the producer, and I went through the songs to first see if the key was a good key for me to sing in so I could use the best side of my voice. So, we matched the songs to the perfect key for me to sing in. After that, we were then re-writing the lyrics to record demo tracks for us to practice on before the actual recordings and also, to send to Japan for approval, to see if they liked what we did. It’s the same thing with the music as well. Isaac [Delahaye, guitar] and Mark [Jansen, guitar] re-wrote the guitars, came up with arrangements and the choirs, they added some secret EPICA parts and integrated them into the songs to give them a more of an EPICA touch. We did all this in between touring and while being on tour because nowadays, we have our laptops with us. We were writing lyrics in Colombia overlooking the square, sitting in the backstage, getting ready for the Epica show, but also, at the same time, having the “Attack On Titan” lyrics in my head.” – Simone Simons

Singles

Crimson Bow and Arrow

If Inside These Walls Was a House

Chronology


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The Solace System
2017

Next EP »
The Acoustic Universe
2019