Musician Reacts to EPICA – Crimson Bow and Arrow (Live) | Father & Son Reaction!

This one was a little different because my son Brennan joined me for the reaction! He immediately recognized the song from Attack on Titan, and after looking into it, he was right—it was originally the opening theme from the anime before Epica put their own symphonic metal spin on it. Simone Simons has an incredible voice. It's almost operatic, which is exactly what you'd expect from a band like Epica, and she absolutely delivered. The entire band was outstanding. The lead guitarist was phenomenal, and even though I don't know a lot about keyboards, I couldn't help but notice Coen Janssen's unique curved keyboard setup—and his solo was fantastic. The drummer was excellent from start to finish as well. My only real observation was that, with the full orchestra, it felt like the band was buried in the mix at times. There was so much happening that it made me curious to hear the original studio version without the orchestra, just to hear the band on its own. I also wasn't expecting rhythm guitarist Mark Jansen to jump in with the harsh vocals. Brennan loved that part because that's right up his alley! If the whole song had been that style, it probably wouldn't have been for me, but used the way it was, I thought it added a nice contrast. Overall, we both gave this one two thumbs up! It'll definitely be making one of Brennan's playlists, and it just might make one of mine too. I'd definitely listen to it again. If you enjoyed this reaction, please Like, Subscribe, and click the notification bell so you don't miss any new videos. I upload new reactions every Friday! Want your request moved to the front of the line? Send it through Super Thanks! There's a short video at the end explaining exactly how it works. Thanks for watching, and we'll see you next time here on Riffs and Reactions!