Carl Begai

By Carl Begai

Even if you don’t buy into the idea of a critically acclaimed metal authority like BW&BK offering regular coverage on a radio (pop) rock artist like Bif Naked, you have to respect the amount of work and in-your-face commitment she put into her new album, The Promise. On a purely selfish and personal level it’s an honour to spend the time, having watched and waited over the last year as she battled breast cancer, praying for a positive outcome. The Promise has become a guilty pleasure, and a bloody inspirational one to boot for reasons that will become painfully clear. It was written and recorded while Bif was undergoing chemotherapy, an endurance test that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy, and fans will be far from disappointed. The best part of it all, however, is that the Bif Naked who made an unforgettable impression on yours truly 15 years ago with her warm-hearted tough as nails approach and became a fave interview over the years hasn’t changed. Okay, a few more tattoos, but the person underneath the ink is alive and well. Thus, the question about whether or not Bif ever broke down with a “Why me?” after being diagnosed – especially after her successful run with the Superbeautifulmonster album and in her personal life – is wasted breath.
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I recently spoke with EPICA vocalist Simone Simons about the band’s new double live album, The Classical Conspiracy. An excerpt is available below, with Simons discussing the band’s set list for the one-off show featuring a full orchestra and choir backing them up…

“We had to decide which classical songs we were going to play, and which Epica songs would be in the set. Oliver (Palotai / KAMELOT keyboardist) arranged the Epica songs for the orchestra we were going to play with, so it was a big job. We were in Hungary for a week to rehearse, so it was a lot of work, and for me the show itself was really stressful because we had a rehearsal on the same day at 10:00am and then the show in the evening. It was a really long show – one hour of classical music, one-and-a-half hours of Epica – and I was nervous because normally I perform with backing tracks, and they never make mistakes. Now I was working with a choir, which of course isn’t perfect, so it felt a little bit different because the rock I normally leaned on had changed, if you know what I mean.”

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