Symphonic Metal

For those who have read my blog on a weekly basis, it has probably become pretty obvious by now that musicians love to fuse heavy metal with just about every other style of music on the planet. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that there are bands that frequently enjoy combining heavy metal with orchestral symphonic music, thereby practicing a subgenre of heavy metal commonly known as symphonic metal.

In its most basic form, symphonic metal consists of a metal band with an operatic singer alongside the addition of a keyboardist. Symphonic metal bands may get more complicated than that, though. It is common to find symphonic metal bands with more orchestral instrumentation. Acoustic guitars are also prominent amongst symphonic metal bands. 

Compositionally speaking, symphonic metal places a heavy emphasis on keyboards. Many keyboard parts are uncommonly technical and are brought out in the mix of the music. Symphonic metal also makes use of catchy, upbeat melodies that are usually determined by the soaring vocals and/or the “epic” guitar parts. 

Hints of symphonic metal can be found in the heavy metal music of the 1980s and early 1990s, but Therion was the first band to really pioneer the style in the mid-1990s. Therion began as a death metal band, but began experimenting with symphonic elements, and eventually their style of music completely changed. 

Nightwish and Within Temptation soon followed Therion’s lead, with both bands releasing their first albums in 1997. With the release of these records, symphonic metal was really brought to life. The subgenre became popular quickly, particularly in Europe. Nightwish has since become arguably the most successful and popular symphonic metal group of all time. 

In the early 2000s, more symphonic metal groups rapidly emerged, and the subgenre’s popularity grew quickly in the US. Some of the groups that became successful around this time are Epica, Delain, After Forever and Leaves Eyes.

Since the early 2000s, symphonic metal has rapidly evolved. Nowadays, the subgenre is more often combined with other subgenres such as gothic metal, power metal and black metal in an attempt to innovate and create multi-faceted material. In a later week, we will talk about symphonic metal’s hybrid with black metal much more thoroughly, as it has taken on an identity of its own. Symphonic metal remains popular, particularly in Europe, and many bands that perform it have proven to be very successful.