Anyone Into Symphonic Metal/Opera Metal?

Sainguin

I've just really started getting into more symphonic/melodic metal and I stumbled across Therion. Their pretty awesome and I would love to hear some bands that are in the same style as them. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Here's a great Therion song for anyone who hasn't listened to them: An Arrow From The Sun

Enjoy and thanks ahead of time for any suggestions!

Hobin

Meh, I used to listen to Within Temptation in the past, but I'm not listening to a lot of 'hard' music anymore.

EDIT: And of course there's Nightwish. Although I prefered the 'misheard' versions.

Sainguin

I don't get into the really heavy stuff. Every now and then I might put on something really heavy but I usually keep it light. That's why I'm asking for bands like Therion. Less on the metal, more on the symphonic. I love heavy use of keyboards and violins but a good bass riff and supporting drums seems to tie it together for me.

I like Nightwish and Within Temptation. Both aren't bad bands. But they don't really do anything amazing.

Pythagorean

bp_psy

They are more of a mostly instrumental doom metal band but you may like Agallolch.

Sainguin

I have all of Dimmu's albums. Awesome, awesome band.

Sainguin

@bp psy: Good stuff. I've listened to them before. They do some great instrumentals.

Pythagorean

Lamb of God is another one. You certainly probably have heard of Cradle of Filfth. There's a band called Dismal Euphony that had one good song and I can never find it.

Sainguin

I've listened to Cradle of Filth. Gotta be in the mood for them. They've really gone down hill. I've never heard of Dismal Euphony. I'll have to look them up.

Some how I knew a physics forum would be a great place for metal.

bp_psy

If you can listen to black metal there are some bands and there is Emperor:

Sainguin

Emperor is awesome. I love black metal.

Curious3141

The problem with many symphonic bands is that they compromise a little on the brutality to maintain the symphony. It's the rare band that manages to pull off beauty and brutality in equal measure. One such band is the Italian technical death metal band Fleshgod Apocalypse.

'Agony' is the album where they truly come into their own. IMHO, it is a truly amazing album, and they are a vastly underrated band.

Check them out:

Temptation (intro) followed by The Hypocrisy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fee9ORFAOlE

The Violation (their only music video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjKyzwqIT7s

The Betrayal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xPBAiHaT-0

Just three of my favourites, but the entire album is breathtaking. It should be listened to as an organic whole without gaps in between the tracks. And you need a really good sound system to pick up all the nuances - there's very complex layering. Youtube definitely does not do it justice.

Sainguin

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm definitely gonna have to find their album and listen to it. I'm always down for a good album. Rare to find metal bands that put out an album that's actually worth listening to all the way through (except Dimmu). I have a pretty nice set of headphones that's perfect for this kind of music.

EDIT: Fleshgod Apocalypse. Awesome. Just what I was looking for. If you got any more suggestions I would love to hear them.

Mépris

"Oh what would they care if I were gay? No one should know, oh no..." (some old YouTube comment! )





If you like the second song, look into "post black metal".

bp_psy

Your post made me go back to my 2006-7 metal.Here is some Summoning and Root:

Curious3141

Don't worry, I'm the biggest Opeth fan, and I'm already familiar with all their music. In fact I just went to see them 2 weeks ago (9th Feb) when they came to Singapore for the first time as part of their Heritage tour. 2nd row, right up close and personal. Managed to catch not one but TWO guitar picks when they were thrown by Fredrik Akesson after the set (hooray for static electricity!). Couldn't catch any of the ones thrown by Mikael Akerfeldt, though - probably for the best, because he licked one before flinging it into the crowd!

This was the setlist (yes, I created it as soon as I returned from the gig): http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/opeth/...-3bdea0f8.html

Curious3141

Well, I've heard other people recommend Septic Flesh (a Greek band), but to my ears, it still falls short of FA.