Epica started out in the Netherlands in 2002 under the name Sahara Dust when Mark Jansen left After Forever and began building his own band. During their time as Sahara Dust they lost a vocalist and gained a new one. They also developed a choir (two men and four women) and an orchestra (violins, violas, cellos, and an upright bass) to record songs with them. In the end of 2002 the band signed with Transmission Records and changed their name to Epica. Over the next three years they released two Symphonic Metal albums and one non-metal album. In 2005 they went on their first tour with Kamelot. In the following eight years Epica continued to tour and released four new albums. In celebration of the band being together for ten years there would be a large concert called Retrospect and it included a seventy member orchestra, special effects, and acrobats, among other festivities. In 2014 Epica announced that they would be releasing their seventh album, The Quantum Enigma, which was followed shortly by a tour featuring songs from this album.