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Mark Jansen

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Not to be confused with Mark Janssen.
For the American politician, see Mark Jansen (politician).

Mark Jansen
Mark Jansen playing at 3-Majówka Festival in Wrocław, 2022
Mark Jansen playing at 3-Majówka Festival in Wrocław, 2022
Background information
Born (1978-12-15) 15 December 1978 (age 45)
Reuver, Netherlands
GenresSymphonic metal, progressive metal, death metal
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter
Instrument(s)Guitar, vocals, keyboards
Years active1995–present

Mark Jansen (born 15 December 1978) is a Dutch guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. A prominent figure in the symphonic metal subgenre, he is known for his work with the bands After Forever (1995–2002), Epica (2002–present), and MaYaN (2010–present).

In both After Forever and Epica, he has performed growled vocals, complementing the vocals of, respectively, Floor Jansen (no relation) and Simone Simons.

Career

After Forever (1995–2002)

As guitarist, Jansen founded After Forever with Sander Gommans, and was one of the main songwriters for the band's first two albums, Prison of Desire and Decipher. During his time with After Forever, the band's music had been strongly influenced by Jansen's love for movie soundtracks and classical music,[1][2] with the albums' lyrics showcasing Jansen's interest for religious and moral themes, as demonstrated through The Embrace That Smothers and My Pledge of Allegiance.[3]

Jansen left After Forever in 2002 as a result of creative differences with the rest of the band.[4][5] Prior to his departure, he had intended to further explore complex interactions between classical instruments, choruses in Latin and death metal elements in the band's next album,[6][7] while Gommans and the others preferred a more direct and aggressive approach to music, retaining some elements that made the sound of the band recognizable, but expanding it in new and different directions.[5] These musical differences led to Mark Jansen leaving the band, in what he felt as an actual dismissal.[6][8] After his departure, the band took a new musical direction.

In a 2007 interview, Jansen described his departure from After Forever as coming as a shock to him at the time, with the news of his dismissal being delivered to him by fellow band members shortly before a band rehearsal. At the time of his dismissal, the band were preparing to participate in a series of major tours and concerts such as Pinkpop.[9]

Epica (2002–present)

Jansen playing at Wacken Open Air, in 2018.

After his departure from After Forever, began looking for musicians who would work towards a more classical/symphonic type of music project; this was initially named Sahara Dust.[6][10] In late 2002, the band courted Helena Iren Michaelsen[10] (from Trail of Tears) as its frontwoman, but shortly after, she was replaced by the then unknown Simone Simons in 2003, who was Jansen's girlfriend at the time. The band's line-up was completed by guitarist Ad Sluijter, drummer Jeroen Simons, bassist Yves Huts, and keyboard player Coen Janssen. The name was later changed to Epica, inspired by Kamelot's album of the same name.

Through Epica, Jansen continued to further pursue the combination of symphonic metal with gothic metal elements, that had been present in After Forever's first two albums. Over time, the band began to incorporate strong death metal influences into their sound.[11][12][13] Starting from the third album, progressive metal influences have also become evident.[11][14][15] In addition, the band often uses thrash metal and groove metal riffs, black metal passages (mostly in the drum technique), power metal moments and references to Arabic music.[16][17][18][19][20] Some songs also have electronic shades, djent transitions and folk metal melodies derived from Middle Eastern, Chinese and Celtic traditions.[21] Epica is also known for the attention to the vocal lines that, in contrast to the heavy context, weave very catchy, easy to hold, sophisticated and emotional melodies.[22][23] The band's lyrics often deal with philosophical, psychological, spiritual, moral, scientific, environmental, socio-political, global and topical and personal themes, and the band is also known for their wide use of orchestra and opera choirs.

MaYaN (2010–present)

In 2010, Jansen announced that he and former After Forever keyboardist Jack Driessen have formed another band called MaYaN.[24] The name was chosen by Jansen out of his fascination for the ancient Maya civilization.[25] MaYaN's lyrical themes include religion, politics, and world events, as well as philosophy, meditation, existence, and inner struggles. The band has released three studio albums to date, Quarterpast in 2011, Antagonise in 2014 and Dhyana in 2018.

Unlike his other bands, Jansen sings but does not play guitar, with the band featuring many different vocalists (either full-time members or guests) in a mix of clean vocals, growled vocals, and screams, supported by an instrumentation combining both heavy metal and symphonic metal elements.

United Metal Minds (2018–present)

Recently, Jansen has launched the international musical project United Metal Minds.[26]

Private life

Jansen was born in Reuver, Netherlands, and has a master's degree in psychology.[27][28][29] In his adolescent years, Jansen originally wanted to become a cyclist; his interest in performing was sparked from attending a Gorefest show when he was 15 years old.[30]

Since 2011,[31] he has been in a relationship with Italian singer Laura Macrì.[32] In the past, he had a relationship with Simone Simons; the relationship ended in 2005, shortly after the release of Consign to Oblivion.[33] Jansen first met Simons in the chatroom on After Forever's website, when he was searching for a singer for a side project, with the then-16 year old Simons making a positive impression after singing to him over the phone during their first telephone conversation.[4]

Discography

After Forever

Studio albums

Epica

Studio albums

Live & Soundtrack albums

MaYan

Studio albums

References

  1. ^ "Mark Jansen profile". Epica Online. 12 April 2006. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
  2. ^ Grant, Sam. "Epica Interview 2006". Sonic Cathedral WebZine. Archived from the original on 29 May 2009. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  3. ^ FaceCulture (2007). "Epica interview - Mark Jansen (part 4)". YouTube. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  4. ^ a b Begai, Carl. "Epica - The Ecstasy of Agony". Bravewords. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  5. ^ a b FaceCulture (2005). "Interview After Forever - Sander Gommans". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  6. ^ a b c "Interview with the Dutch gothic metal band Sahara Dust". Tartarean Desire Webzine. July 2002. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
  7. ^ Elliot, Russell W. (2 March 2004). "Epica: The Phantom Agony". Musical Discoveries. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
  8. ^ FaceCulture (2007). "Epica interview - Mark Jansen (part 1)". YouTube. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  9. ^ FaceCulture. "Epica interview - Mark Jansen (part 1)". YouTube. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Epica". Metal Storm.ee.
  11. ^ a b Della Cioppa, Gianni (2010). Heavy metal: i contemporanei (in Italian). Firenze: Giunti.
  12. ^ "Crítica del CD de EPICA - The Quantum Enigma". Rafabasa.com (in Spanish). 22 April 2014.
  13. ^ "Epica - The Quantum Enigma". La Grosse Radio Metal (in French). Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  14. ^ "Epica The Divine Conspiracy Review and Interview". Musical Discoveries.com. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  15. ^ "Epica – The Quantum Enigma". Ashladan. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  16. ^ "Epica - The Quantum Enigma". ThisIsNotAScene.com. 12 March 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  17. ^ "Epica - "Requiem For The Indifferent"". Metal Underground.
  18. ^ "Epica: il nuovo album "The Holographic Principle" traccia per traccia e intervista a Simone Simons!". Metal Italia.com (in Italian). 28 July 2016.
  19. ^ BMS Soc. coop., ed. (8 July 2016). "Epica: The Holographic Principle (listening session)". MyRock. p. 5.
  20. ^ "Epica – The Holographic Principle". We Love Metal. 10 August 2016. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  21. ^ "Epica (Mark Jansen & Simone Simons)". TrueMetal.it. 27 May 2014.
  22. ^ "Epica – Zuviel gibt es für Epica nicht: Die Listening-Session zu "The Holographic Principle"". Metal.de (in German). 7 August 2016.
  23. ^ Spark TV: Epica – interview with Mark Jansen about upcoming new album "The Holographic Principle" on YouTube
  24. ^ "MaYaN Biography". Mayan Official.com. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  25. ^ Eck, Markus (2011). "Mayan – Enttarnung konspirativer Verbrechen". Sonic Seducer (in German). No. 6. Thomas Vogel Media.
  26. ^ "United Metal Minds". unitedmetalminds.com. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  27. ^ "Members". Epica. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  28. ^ "Mark Jansen". Facebook. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  29. ^ "An Interview with Epica's Mark Jansen". Metal Underground. 16 June 2009. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  30. ^ Van Dijk, Erwin. "An interview with Mark Jansen from Epica". Femme Metal Webzine. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  31. ^ Laura Macrí. "❤️10 years of adventures always together, happy anniversary to us! ❤️". Instagram. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  32. ^ "Laura Macrì: Terra". NuclearBlast.de. Archived from the original on 10 March 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  33. ^ FaceCulture. "Epica interview - Mark Jansen (part 2)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
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