Symphonic metal - Nightwish

[Starman]

So, someone over on RPG.net mentioned a band called Nightwish, a symphonic metal band from Finland, I believe. Sounded interesting, so I downloaded their Once album and, holy crap!, it's good. The lead singer is a female with a fantastic voice and the blend of orchestra and metal is masterful.

Anyone else heard of these guys? Any other recommendations for symphonic metal?

 

[Jdvn1]

I've heard them, and I'm not a huge fan. They're okay, but a bit too gothic for me.

 

[ddvmor]

Aye, I have their Century Child album, which rocks. It incluides their version of Phantom of the Opera, which is cool... particularly the funny Finnish way they say the word 'opera' - 'oh-pee-rah'. I fully intend to inflate my collection in the near future!

I'd like to hear some other takes on this genre of music too, so any suggestions would be gratefully received!

 

[12rounds]

Well ... me being a Finn ... I have closely followed Nightwish's success over the years. The band kicked the lead singe, Tarja Turunen, out of the band a while back. Now the lead singer is getting back to actual classical music. Btw ... she is one of those with the talent of breaking glass with her voice! She's done that in her youth, not sure would she be able to pull that off anymore.

 

[Nyaricus]

Check my sig EN Worlders, I'm the official En World Metalhead. And Symphonic/Power Metal ROCKS!

Here's a link to the downloads section of Symphony X, an amazing band. You get a few songs off each album, for free, and can listen to most of the other albums in another section of 'Audio'.
* Recommended Download: Inferno (Unleash The Fire) a wicked song with an awesome guitar riff.
* Recommended Listen: The Odessey. A 25 minute audio representation of the greek epic bearing the same name. Buy this CD; it's wroth it
* Recommended CD: The Odessey is a great album, and with a 25 minute-long song, more than worht your money.

Rhapsody of Fire (previously just Rhapsody) are another awesome Power Metal band. I first got into this genre through them, and they kick some ass!
* Recommended CD: Power of the Dragonflame. The song of the same name on this album ROCKS!
* See also: Symphony of Enchanted Lands. Emerald Sword is another awesome Power Metal Song.

Gamma Ray (not the greatest pic on their page...) is a band I've heard a lot from, but don't have an album... yet. Some awesome tunes though, trust me


For those who mix pain with pleasure, here are some Symphonic Black Metal bands, and associates. A little more hardcore, a little more heavy and evil, you could say...


Cradle of Filth is a bad-ass band with an ever-changing sound. They started off as pure black metal, but branched off on an album they did while under Sony. Got a group of monks and everything in there to record that record! You can also download a few songs here.
* Recommended CD: Damantion and a Day. A mix of brutal bacl metal and symphonic metal in one tight-ass package, this will really appeal to those who like stuff like Lamb of God, In Flames, etc.
* Recommended Song: Hurt and Virtue. A testimony to the fact that Symphony Metal and Black metal can be molded into one kick-ass song!

Children of Bodom is a uber awesome Symphonic Thrash Metal band with some great flow in their music.
* Recommended Album: Follow the Reaper. A perfect mix of thrash and symphonic metal, this album is just great - and not TOO hardcore.
* Recommended Song: Children of Decadence is probably the best song on this cd, but Bodom After Midnight and Follow the Reaper are both *very* close follow-ups.

Also, Rammstein has 2 songs which are definitly Power Metal: Mein Herz Brent (My Heart Burns off the cd Mutter) and Mann Geigen Mann (Man Against Man, off of Rosenrot). Both awe great songs, and I recommend listening to Rammstein in general - they are an awesome band, methinks

That's about all I can think of for now, but I'll glady answer any more questions to the best of my ability

 

[ddvmor]

I just Wiki-ed Nightwish and came across some suggestions for Starman. Haven't listened to any of 'em myself, but I may give them a try:

Nightwish is considered one of the main developers of the symphonic metal genre, which encompasses similar bands such as Epica, After Forever and Visions of Atlantis.

Also, thanks for the suggestions above, Nyaricus. I shall check 'em out later!

 

[BOZ]

I've heard them, and I'm not a huge fan. They're okay, but a bit too gothic for me.

yeah, that's where i'm at.

 

[GlassJaw]

Some of my current faves:

The Black Dahlia Murder - Their newest album, Miasma, is insane. Metal at its finest.

The Wake - A band I've only recently heard but very good.

Avenged Sevenfold - more of a punk/metal thing but they are amazing players and songwriters. Great videos too!

Dragonforce - For pure technical metal wizardry, this is about as good as it gets. Their songwriting isn't so great though - has a very early-90's metal sound.

I'm also a big fan of Swedish metal bands: Soilwork, The Haunted, Callenish Circle (they are Dutch actually), Mokoma. Soilwork and The Haunted sing in English but I can't understand anything by Mokoma! Doesn't matter though - they rock.

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

If you like Nightwish (and I love 'em, just so you know), you'll probably like Stream of Passion and Edenbridge. Both melodic, powerful metal with women lead singers. And if you can find them (I think they're not available anymore) anything by DrainSTH.

 

[reanjr]

Nightwish is good, but a bit too over the top for me. Rhapsody or Luca Turilli might interest you, as well as Blind Guardian. My personal preference is for bands such as Within Temptation and After Forever.