CONCERT REVIEW: Epica’s Triumphant Homecoming: A Symphonic Spectacle With Amaranthe In Amsterdam

This weekend, Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome welcomed Epica, Amaranthe and Charlotte Wessels for a night of modern metal. It isn’t just any other stop of the tour tonight, it’s the last show of the first leg. A pause point before the tour continues in March. And if there’s one place to close a chapter properly, it’s Amsterdam. The three bands deliver a night that balances elegance, brute force and sheer scale with ease.

Charlotte Wessels opens the evening with enthusiasm and flair. The flowers around her microphone stand decorate the otherwise blacked out stage. The band starts off their set with Chasing Sunsets, followed by Dopamine and The Crying Room. Charlotte points out that the drummer can’t walk because of his broken leg, but he can play the drums. And to be honest, if you didn’t see him walking on stage with his crutches you wouldn’t have noticed, he still plays phenomenal. The set continues with Soft Revolution, Tempest and After Us, The Flood. Charlotte’s voice fills the Ziggo Dome, while she is backed up by Nina van Beelen. They close their 40-minute set with The Exorcism, with Charlotte letting go of any restraints and leaving everyone speechless with her grunts.

After a swift changeover, Amaranthe takes over as co-headliners and immediately flips the switch. Fearless kicks things off, laser beams cutting through thick smoke as if the venue itself is being sliced open. Viral and Digital World followed. The signature interplay between Elize Ryd’s soaring clean vocals, Nils Molin’s melodic lines, and Mikael Sehlin’s harsh grunts create a wall of sound.

The stage looks apocalyptic: stone-like structures, a dystopian backdrop that wouldn’t feel out of place at a Bring Me The Horizon show, and smoke swallowing the band whole. During Damnation Flame and Maximize, two of the vocalists retreat to elevated platforms at the back of the stage, looming over the crowd while trading clean vocals and harsh grunts. It feels massive, theatrical, and utterly complete.

There’s room to breathe too. Strong strips things back for a moment, with Elize Ryd delivering a solo performance that cuts straight through the noise. Halfway in, the rest of the band joins her, rebuilding the song piece by piece. The band constantly plays to the front-row cameras, feeding the screens with smiles and winks.

Interaction is fierce. During PvP, hands clap in unison across the Ziggo Dome as the crowd chants along. Boom!1 quite literally does what its name promises, prompting the now-familiar question: “Do you know what else goes boom?” Lasers return in full force for The Catalyst, while Re-Vision leans into slightly unexpected, electronic melodies without ever losing its edge. Chaos Theory blasts through the venue before we are treated with one of the more theatrical moments of the set. 

A fairytale-like melody led by flute marks the beginning of Amaranthine with the solo presence of Elize on stage. After the initial chorus, the band storms back in. From there, it’s all gas, no brakes. Archangel opens with gloomy church-like chanting, rays of light pouring down from above.

At one point, just before the last songs in their set, the band asks Amsterdam how loud 8.000 people can get. While the cameraman films the whole ordeal, the crowd erupts in a very loud, synchronized scream. “Okay thank you, now we can go shower and go home,” Nils says mockingly. Then the screaming changes in to boo-ing. “Oh, you want some more?” Is the last thing he can say before the drummer starts the intro of We Will Rock You. But it isn’t Queen, it is That Song. The crowd claps along the well known beat. The band closes their epic set with Drop Dead Cynical while all three vocalists headbang in sync. 

Even though it’s a co-headlining show, it’s unmistakably a home game for Epica. The lights go dark, and a masked figure appears on the screens and backdrop, urging the crowd to put their phones away and live in the moment. With a thunderous bang, the concert erupts, and Simone Simons stands atop of a platform, draped in a black lace veil, swaying gracefully from side to side as she opens with Apparition. 

Cross The Divide is next and, with another loud bang, white confetti streamers fill the air and fall down on the people standing in the golden circle. If you wanted to move to another spot, too bad because Epica has caught you in their web. Martyr of The Free Word’s riffs roll over the crowd. Eye of the Storm showcases Simone Simons’ ethereal voice over sweeping keys, and Unleashed brings raw energy and aggression, combining heavy riffs with soaring vocals. Never Enough slows the pace, a mid-tempo, emotionally charged anthem that gives the audience room to breathe.

You can really notice the band is happy to play back home. Coen Janssen (keyboard) and Isaac Delahaye (lead guitarist) are seen multiple times waving at familiar people in the crowd. Simone jokingly says she can talk in either Dutch or in English and she switches quite often between the two languages.  

The surprise comes with Sirens – of Blood and Water, with Charlotte Wessels, Elize Ryd and no one other than Alyssa White-Gluz, former singer of Arch Enemy, joining Simone on stage. The four women, dressed in sleek, long ballgowns, fill the entire venue with their voices and leave everyone in awe. Tides of Time follows with some heartfelt piano lines, turning the Ziggo Dome into a sea of glowing lights. 

Coen takes a moment to thank everyone. 25 years ago he and Mark Jansen started the band, back then called Sahara Dust. Now, after all those years, they are standing in the Ziggo Dome. He can hardly believe it, but the crowd does — clapping, cheering, and fully present, celebrating every note of the band’s incredible journey from rehearsal rooms to one of the world’s biggest stages. It’s a moment of pure connection, a shared celebration of history, passion, and music.

The Grand Saga of Existence and Cry for the Moon reinforced the epic, cinematic vibe, building anticipation until Fight to Survive and The Last Crusade ultimately unleash the full force of the band. Alyssa once again makes her appearance by jumping on the raised platform and joining in for the last song. Guitar duels, pyrotechnics, and synchronized headbanging make every moment larger than life. As the final notes faded, black confetti rains down and the crowd erupts in sheer appreciation, the kind of finale only a home game can deliver.