Epica

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Epica's debut album, The Phantom Agony, (2003), featuring the membership of Simone Simons (lead vocals), Mark Jansen (rhythm guitar/grunts/screams), Ad Sluijter (lead guitar), Coen Janssen (synthesizers/piano), Yves Huts (bass) and Jeroen Simons (drums) was released through 'Transmission Records'. On this album, Mark Jansen continues with the collection of songs that make up The Embrace That Smothers. The first three parts can be found on Prison of Desire (2000), After Forever's debut album, and the following three parts, can be found on The Divine Conspiracy (2007), Epica's third album. These songs deal with the dangers of organized religion. The track Façade of Reality on the album was written about the September 11 attacks and includes fragments from speeches by UK Prime Minister of the time Tony Blair.

Consign to Oblivion followed in 2005, and debuted at 12 on the Dutch charts and featured guest vocals by Roy Khan of Kamelot on the track Trois Vierges. Epica also joined Kamelot as a support band on parts of their tour, including in North America, for promotion of their The Black Halo album, to which Simons had contributed her vocals on the track The Haunting (Somewhere in Time). The album was influenced by the Maya civilization, which can be noticed on songs in the A New Age Dawns series, specifically the track A New Age Dawns which refers to the time system of the Mayan people.

After moving labels to 'Nuclear Blast' following 'Transmission's' bankruptcy, in 2007 they released their third studio album, The Divine Conspiracy, featuring Ariën Van Weesenbeek on drums and charting at 9 in the Netherlands. The support tour for this album saw the band headlining their first tour through North America. That tour with Into Eternity and Symphony X, featured Amanda Somerville because Simone had contracted a staph infection (MRSA).

Design Your Universe (2009), the follow-up featuring Isaac Delahaye taking lead guitar and engineering, was met with yet greater success, debuting at 8 in the Dutch Albums Chart, and charting across Europe, also garnering much critical acclaim. On December 31, 2009, it was announced through their website that a new single will be released. The song is called This Is the Time and all profit will go to World Wide Fund for Nature. After the release of Design Your Universe, Epica set out on a World Tour to support the album.

Epica's fifth studio album, Requiem for the Indifferent (2012), achieved international success, entering the US's Billboard 200 at 104, and Japan's Oricon Albums Chart at 172.

On 16 September 2012, the band made a guest appearance on the Dutch TV show Niks te gek (translation: "Nothing [is] too crazy"), where people with cognitive challenges (18 years or older) can get their wishes granted. In the episode, they recorded, together with the autistic Ruurd Woltring, one of his own compositions, Forevermore. The single was released through Nuclear Blast on 25 September 2012.

At the beginning of May 2014 the band released their sixth album, The Quantum Enigma, garnering huge international success, debuting at 110 on the US Billboard 200 and peaking at 4 in their homeland. The album featured new member Rob van der Loo taking bass. In June 2015, Epica was awarded the Music Export Awards, which is given to the Dutch act with the most international success in the past year.

Their seventh album, The Holographic Principle (2016) was received with continued international success, equaling the peak chart position set by its predecessor in the Netherlands.

On September 1, 2017, the band released their first EP, The Solace System during the second North American leg of the tour. The EP features 6 songs that were planned and recorded but never included in The Holographic Principle.

Epica released an EP on December 20, 2017, in Japan titled Epica vs Attack on 'Titan Songs', featuring covers of songs from the anime Attack on Titan. The EP was released worldwide on July 20, 2018.

On July 3, 2019, Epica announced that they would release their first book later that year. This would include a history of the band, interviews and photos.

The band announced on July 17, 2019 that a Gold Edition of their album Design Your Universe would come out on 4 October 2019 in support of its tenth anniversary, along with a tour.

Omega followed in 2021.

Their third EP, The Alchemy Project was released on 11 November 2022 via 'Atomic Fire'.