Symphonic Metal - Dutch (1 Viewer)

[Don Giro]

Sirenia: New vocalist is CUTER, but sounds like the gal in Lullacry. The previous singer has a great voice. I HIGHLY recommend "Nine Destinies and a Downfall."
Epica: Yep, Simone Simons is the "total package" when it comes to this kind of music. Pipes AND looks...
Nightwish: While I too love their version of "Phantom...." it's the live version of "Ghost Love Score" that slays me. When the (pre-recorded) choir kicks in...oh, man!
YouTube - GHOST LOVE SCORE

 

[Ron-P]

Nightwish: While I too love their version of "Phantom...." it's the live version of "Ghost Love Score" that slays me. When the (pre-recorded) choir kicks in...oh, man!
YouTube - GHOST LOVE SCORE

WOW! That is amazing.

 

[Don Giro]

I just heard Lunatica for the first time. I will DEFINITELY be buying their CDs. The only think I DON'T like about this band is their name...

 

[James Lee]

I kinda like the name Lunatica. Their new one, "New Shores" is due on March 3rd and is up for pre-order on Amazon now. I am SO looking forward to it. There are samples from it on the Lunatica website.
Another band I just thought of is Amberian Dawn. They're new and just recently released their first CD. I have not given it enough listens to say how much I like it, but so far I give it favorable impressions.
Right now, I am listening to a lot of Aryeon. It's basically one guy who writes and arranges all the music. He then brings in musicians and singers from a ton of other bands, mostly metal, to play and record his material. His lineups are incredibly eclectic but work out amazingly well. He's worked with Sharon den Adel, Floor Jansen, Floor's sister Irene to name a few. The sound is more on the progressive side with element of symphonic metal but it sounds amazing. Prog rock fans should definitely check Ayreon out, and there is much that symphonic metal fans would like as well.

 

[JohnRice]

Guys, don't order this stuff from Amazon if you can avoid it.
I highly recommend buying from The Other Laser's Edge. Good prices, excellent selection. While you're there I recommend picking up Magenta's latest album Metamorphosis, if you are a fan of classic prog rock.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Why "Other?"

I used to buy a lot of stuff from them in person at NEARFest. I order from them online now and then.

 

[Don Giro]

Amberian Dawn is quite good. You might have to give it a few spins, but it grows on you...
Aryeon: I couldn't stop listening to the track "Comatose" for weeks...
I also like the Apocalyptica's "SOS (Anything But Love)" from their last album, with Cristina Scabbia on vocals. My friend had given me their latest CD, but I only recently got around to listening to it...

 

[Jason Kirkpatri]

, if you are a fan of classic prog rock.

I ordered some of Sirenia's stuff off of this website. I'm impressed. Shipped the same day as I ordered.
What's not so impressive is that I ordered their newest album off of Germany's Nuclear Blast site. I failed to see that the album is due out in North America in April 2009, so I ended up paying a bit of a premium on the shipping charges from Germany. Whoops.
Good news is that it's shipped so should be landing over here sometime next week.
I'll update as my packages come in.
Jason

 

[JohnRice]

Why "Other?"

Maybe the smile indicated you know, but I said "Other" because of the DVD seller with the same name. Of course, I don't keep up on things and now I seem to recall that one shutting down.

 

[Ron-P]

I YouTubed Aryeon, not a fan. I didn't care at all for the vocalist's. I tend to lean towards the female lead vocals with a more operatic type voice. Nightwish is a great example of the style of music and the vocals I prefer. Any other good bands like Nightwish that can be recommended.
Like you with Aryeon's "Comatose" song Don, I've been stuck on Nightwish's "Sleeping Sun". That song is like crack to me right now.

Of course, it's the first song that played in my car after a very surprising lunch I had with a female friend of mine so it now holds quite the memory.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Maybe the smile indicated you know, but I said "Other" because of the DVD seller with the same name. Of course, I don't keep up on things and now I seem to recall that one shutting down.

Oh yeah! I forgot about them.

 

[Ron-P]

How many lead singers has Nightwish had? I really like Tarja's voice but not the other(s) so much.

 

[Jason Kirkpatri]

Two, Ron. The newer one is only the latest album. Bye Bye Beautiful on the newest album is a song directed to the former singer and is somewhat spiteful.

 

[Ron-P]

Thanks Jason. I just listened to a few songs off that latest album and do not like the new singers voice at all, very weak and lifeless compared to Tarja's.

 

[Jason Kirkpatri]

I agree, Ron. However, the new album was released as a two CD set. The second CD is all of the same songs, but done solely instrumental; no vocals whatsoever.

If you like the music, and I think you do, you'd be pretty impressed with the bonus CD. I know I am.

Jason

 

[James Lee]

Personally, I like both Nightwish singers. I try not to compare them because they are so completely different from one another stylistically it's unfair to Anette (the current singer). She'll never be Tarja's equal because Tarja is so unique and has a completely different vocal range. Honestly, it did take time to get used to and accept Anette, but once I got over that Tarja was gone and just move on with the fact that Nightwish is a much different band now, I like Anette as much as I like Tarja. I'm probably in the minority with this thinking but that's just how I roll.

I saw Nightwish when they came to San Francisco late last year and I can say that Anette was amazing live. One of the best concerts I've ever seen. The YouTube clips of Anette singing with the band live simply do not do her any justice mostly because the sound quality is bad and she seemed to be struggling with finding her place vocally in the early days after she became the lead. She is way, way more polished today and her vocal range has improved dramatically. Anyhow, Nightwish is my absolute favorite band in this genre, so they can pretty much do no wrong in my eyes.

 

[Don Giro]

I'm sold. I'm gonna try to get tix for their upcoming NYC show. I really want to hear Anette do the older stuff in person than go by any crappy YouTube videos.
I'm listening to Angtoria right now, thanks to hearing them on Pandora. They're good...
This has become a GREAT thread!
EDIT: Just bought my Nightwish tix...

 

[James Lee]

Ah, you're going to love the show. I guess they are coming back to the U.S. to complete the stops on the North American tour they missed when Anette got sick. Is Sonata Arctica still opening for them? I was really surprised by how good they were. I knew nothing about them before the San Francisco show, but they were so entertaining and sounded great, I became a fan.

 

[Don Giro]

Yeah, a friend of mine (whose primary interest in music centers around female vocalists) kept asking me last Friday night "Are you sure you don't wanna see Nightwish? They're playing on a Saturday night in May.." (He's not even much of a fan of NW). My answer was "No, because Anette can't sing the Tarja stuff, blah blah blah." But then it hit me Sunday morning: "Holy F**k! Nightwish are playing in NYC on a Saturday night! How can I miss THAT?" And I bought us tickets...
Oh yeah, the Black Symphony BD is AWESOME! Unbelievable sound, hi-res picture, and all the extras that went missing from the US CD/DVD release. $33 WELL spent...

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Which extras were missing from the US DVD/CD release? (Aside from the missing tracks on the CD.)