EPICA guitarist Isaac Delahaye is featured in a new interview with Niclas Müller-Hansen at Sweden's Metalshrine. An excerpt is available below:

Metalshrine: You worked with (producer) Sascha Paeth again. What is it that he brings to the table that have made you work with him for such a long time?

ID: "Well, basically he´s the Epica judge. We work on stuff and then we go to Sascha and he´s the one who has fresh ears and who hasn´t heard anything about the music and he then says 'Well, this song is not even Epica, so don´t waste your time and focus on other songs!' because we always write more songs than what actually ends up on the album. Or he could say 'This part is too long.' And so on. He can really listen to everything since he´s outside the band and he also has very instant creative moments, like he can come up with a melody on the spot and it´s much better than what we thought of. He thinks differently apparently, than most other people and therefore he is of big value for us and that´s why we keep going back. We had two of these Sascha rounds where we went there and then changed stuff and then went there again and changed stuff and then the eventual recording. Basically it´s the whole Gate Studios team, because it´s not only Sascha. They really have a good team there and Miro Rodenberg is the guy who does all the orchestration for us, so it´s like we have our own studio with our own sound. Miro has so many good sounds and he makes it sound really good and that´s a huge part of the music of course. The whole studio team is very important for a band like Epica, but not only Epica. Epica decided to go there because of KAMELOT and they also still go there, and then other bands like RHAPSODY. There are so many bands going there and it´s because the whole team is really good."

Metalshrine: I was reading up on the album and there are five different versions of it. When you record songs do you think that you need extra tracks for bonus songs on different editions?

ID: "Yeah, that´s something we think about. As I said, we have more songs than what will fit on the album so we know we´ll need extra songs and that´s not even talking about the songs that didn´t make it to the studio. We make albums and not songs. It could be a brilliant song but if it doesn´t fit on the album, so then we won´t include it on the album and maybe that´s a big mistake. But anyway, then it might end up as a bonus track, but it´s all marketing and part of Nuclear Blast. But of course you need special things for fans out there to get their attention and to make them buy it."

Click here for the complete interview.

Epica recently issued the following update:

"We are excited to announce the two awesome bands that will be supporting Epica on our first leg of the upcoming Requiem for the Indifferent - European tour 2012. On the first part of this tour, Epica's special guest will be STREAM OF PASSION. Supporting act on this tour will be XANDRIA.

We can't wait to storm Europe with this great lineup and hope to see you soon at one of these shows! Remember that you can also upgrade your ticket to a VIP-ticket at some of the shows!"

Dates include:

April

13 - Transbordeur - Lyon, France
14 - Les Docks - Lausanne, Switzerland
16 - Orion - Rome, Italy
17 - Alcatraz - Milano, Italy
19 - Razzmatazz I - Barcelona, Spain
20 - La Riviera - Madrid, Spain
21 - Incrivel Almadense - Lisbon, Portugal
22 - Hard Club - Porto, Portugal
24 - Bikini - Toulouse, France
25 - Theatre Barbey - Bordeaux, France
27 - Z7 - Pratteln, Switzerland
28 - Stadthalle - Langen, Germany
29 - Bataclan - Paris, France

Epica will release their new album, Requiem For The Indifferent, in Europe on March 9th and the US and Canada on March 13th via Nuclear Blast. The North American version of the new album features two bonus tracks and the following tracklisting:

‘Karma’

‘Monopoly On Truth’

‘Storm The Sorrow’

‘Delirium’

‘Internal Warfare’

‘Requiem For The Indifferent’

‘Anima’

‘Guilty Demeanor’

‘Deep Water Horizon’

‘Stay The Course’

‘Deter The Tyrant’

‘Avalanche’

‘Serenade Of Self-Destruction’

North American bonus tracks:

‘Twin Flames’ (Soundtrack Version)

‘Nostalgia’