Primary Stylistic Influences:
- Heavy Metal, Classical Music, Power Metal, Progressive Rock, Symphonic Rock, Neoclassical Metal
Secondary Stylistic Influences:
- Film Score, Hard Rock, Traditional Heavy Metal, Opera, Doom Metal, Black Metal and/or Death Metal (the more extreme examples)
Symphonic metal is a subgenre of metal that tends to use elements normally found in symphonies or Classical Music. That's the basic description of the genre, but its actual implementation can vary widely. The symphonic part can be an entire symphony, a keyboardist, or violin and cello player. The usage of the symphonic elements can vary from trying to create a classical feel, to simply adding thickness to the music. On the softer end are bands where female vocals are frequently used (with bands often featuring female lead vocalists), and acoustic guitars may be included. On the harder end are bands whose style more closely matches Black Metal or another type of Extreme Metal. A band might specialize in Symphonic Metal, or might play a song or album in the style. Of course most metal bands do use classical music scales at least to some extent, but this is about metal bands adopting instruments and movements from the classical music.
Bands of the genre frequently combine symphonic metal with another genre, in most cases either Black Metal, Power Metal, Gothic Metal, or Progressive Metal. In fact, a "pure" symphonic metal band is very hard to find.
Can involve Heavy Mithril.
Bands that perform in this style:
- Abigail Williams (symphonic black metal on In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns)
- After Forever (one of the Trope Codifiers alongside Nightwish)
- Akiko Shikata (although she can be very ecclectic, some of her songs fall into this)
- Angra
- Antestor (Christian symphonic black metal.)
- Apocalyptica (four guys on cellos that started out doing Metallica covers and later their own songs. Possibly the strangest band of the lot.)
- Avantasia
- Bal-Sagoth
- Battlelore
- Beyond The Black
- Carach Angren (Symphonic Black Metal)
- Cradle of Filth
- Cryoshell (Symphonic Alt Metal/ Post Grunge Crossover)
- D
- The Dark Element (self-categorizes as symphonic metal but in practice is closer to Power Metal)
- Dark Sarah
- Delain
- Dimmu Borgir
- Dragonland
- Elliot Minor (More of a Symphonic Pop Punk band)
- Edenbridge
- Emperor (Trope Maker, and possible Ur-Example, of symphonic black metal)
- Ensiferum (From Afar only. Mixed with Folk Metal, Melodic Death Metal and Power Metal)
- Epica
- E.S. Posthumus
- Eternal Tears Of Sorrow (later albums)
- Ex Deo (Overlaps with Melodic Death Metal)
- Fleshgod Apocalypse (mixed with Technical Death Metal. Easily the most intense band under this genre.)
- Galneryus
- Hollenthon (One of the few Symphonic Death Metal bands; also has a fair amount of Folk Metal influence)
- IGNEA (Modern oriental metal with lots of symphonic elements)
- Immanifest (symphonic death metal)
- Jupiter
- Kamelot (A hybrid of progressive, power, and symphonic metal)
- 2003-5 - Epica Album Series
- 2012 - Silverthorn
- Keep Of Kalessin (Symphonic Black Metal)
- The Kovenant (originally Symphonic Black Metal, added electronics in future albums but kept a symphonic approach)
- Arjen Anthony Lucassen
- 1995-2013 - Ayreon
- 2012 - Lost in the New Real
- Leaves' Eyes
- Lorna Shore (Immortal onward, also deathcore, though symphonic elements started to creep in on Flesh Coffin)
- Lureaway
- Lyriel
- Christopher Lee - Yes, you read that correctly.
- 2010 - Charlemagne
- Magni Animi Viri (An Italian project headed by classical maestros; the metal component is barely there, but present nonetheless)
- Majestica (symphonic Power Metal)
- Make Them Suffer (Symphonic Deathcore, later material features prominent Metalcore)
- MaYaN
- Metallica (on their album S&M)
- Mirrorthrone
- Mordant Rapture (also Technical Death Metal)
- Necronomicon (symphonic death metal)
- Nightwish (Trope Codifier of symphonic power metal)
- Ovids Withering (mixed with Black Metal, Deathcore, and Djent)
- Rage (on their albums featuring the Lingua Mortis Orchestra)
- Red (mainly Alternative Metal, but they display elements of this)
- Re Vamp
- Rhapsody of Fire
- Scorpions ( On the Moment of Glory album, much in the same vein as Metallica above)
- Septicflesh (Mixed with Death Metal and Gothic Metal)
- Shadow of Intent (Symphonic Deathcore, became more death metal-oriented circa Melancholy)
- Sirenia
- Sonata Arctica (On their earlier albums, mixed with Power Metal, though later albums such as Unia were Progressive Metal)
- Sound Horizon (Though they're not against playing Baroque Pop either)
- Stratovarius (Mixed with Power Metal)
- Stream of Passion
- Symphony X
- Therion (Pretty much the Trope Makers.)
- Trans-Siberian Orchestra
- 1996 - Christmas Eve and Other Stories
- 2000 - Beethoven's Last Night
- Tristania (Trope Codifier of symphonic gothic metal)
- Turisas
- Twilight Force (Mixed with Power Metal)
- Versailles (Symphonic Power Metal)
- A Wake in Providence (Symphonic/Blackened Deathcore as of Eternity)
- Alissa White-Gluz
- Winds Of Plague (Fused symphonic metal with Deathcore)
- Wintersun (mixed with Melodic Death Metal, Power Metal, and a bit of Folk Metal)
- Within Temptation
- Xandria (symphonic power metal with elements of gothic metal)
Tropes that apply to the genre:
- Christian Metal: Antestor.
- Darker and Edgier: Fleshgod Apocalypse, Septicflesh, or Antestor.
- Epic Rocking: Quite common.
- Heavy Mithril: The lyrical theme of most of the bands in the genre.
- Rock Me, Amadeus!: The very foundation of the subgenre.
- Soprano and Gravel: Most symphonic metal bands feature this technique. It's interesting to note that the Soprano tend to be the lead vocals, although Septicflesh and Fleshgod both have it reversed, with the harsh vocals being more prominent.
- Trope Codifier: Nightwish began life as a Power Metal band, but the founders were all classically trained musicians and it didn't take long for them to start incorporating it into their sound, which was hugely influential over the development of the genre. Epica singer Simone Simons was inspired to study classical singing after hearing Tarja Turunen on Nightwish's Oceanborn.
- Trope Maker: Probably Therion, overall. The Trope Maker for symphonic black metal is most likely Emperor, while the Trope Maker for symphonic death is probably Septicflesh.
- Ur-Example: Arguably Concerto for Group and Orchestra, Deep Purple's 1969 collaboration with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It was the first time ever that anyone paired a rock band with major classical instrumentation.
