EPICA's massive "We Still Take You with Us" career retrospective box set sold out entirely within under two hours of going on sale on March 7, the band's management confirmed Sunday morning. The box set, celebrating the Dutch symphonic metal band's 25th anniversary and featuring 23 discs of music including completely remixed and remastered versions of all nine studio albums, a disc of rarities, two live albums, and an extensive documentary Blu-ray, was priced at €299 and limited to 10,000 copies worldwide.
The sell-out speed came as a surprise even to the band's management, who had prepared extra server capacity for the on-sale following prior crashes when EPICA merchandise announcements created unexpected traffic spikes. "We knew demand would be high, but this was beyond anything we anticipated," the management statement read. "We are in discussions with Nuclear Blast about a possible second pressing, but we cannot make any promises at this stage." EPICA's fanbase, known as the "Phantom Agony," mobilized with exceptional speed, with queue positions stretching to over 100,000 within minutes of the sale opening.
The box set features artwork by longtime collaborator Claudio Bergamin and includes a 200-page hardcover book with new photography, essays by guitarist Mark Jansen and vocalist Simone Simons, and a foreword from producer Joost van den Broek. The remixes were supervised by van den Broek himself, who stated that "hearing what was always inside these recordings, with modern mixing tools, is a completely revelatory experience." Fans who missed the sale are encouraged to sign up for a waiting list on the band's official website.