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Genres Heavy Metal Doom Metal Gothic Metal Symphonic Gothic Metal

Symphonic Gothic Metal

An operatic soprano set against a growl, over orchestral metal. Beauty and the beast, almost literally.

Active years
1995 – present
Origin
Netherlands / Finland
Family
Gothic Metal
Bands here
13

Start here

Three records in order of how easy they are to get into — which is not the same as best first.

  1. Mother Earth Within Temptation, 2000

    Where the style became popular. Sharon den Adel sings folk melodies over a metal band and the growls are gone entirely — Dutch, enormous, and the easiest thing here to love.

    Listen to Mother Earth

  2. Comalies Lacuna Coil, 2002

    Two vocalists trading lines rather than contrasting registers, which is the Italian variation on the formula. Tighter and poppier than its neighbours, and it sold accordingly.

    Listen to Comalies

  3. Velvet Darkness They Fear Theatre of Tragedy, 1996 The landmark

    The record that invented "beauty and the beast" — Liv Kristine singing in Early Modern English against Raymond Rohonyi growling underneath. Lo-fi by modern standards, which is why it is third; historically it is the whole genre's starting point.

    Listen to Velvet Darkness They Fear

What it sounds like

Two voices, in conversation. A trained soprano against a male death growl — the "beauty and the beast" arrangement — over orchestral gothic metal, with keyboards and strings carrying the melody and the guitars providing weight underneath. Tempos are slow to mid-paced, everything is drenched in reverb, and the mood is romantic melancholy at a theatrical scale. Compared with gothic metal proper it is far more melodic and much more arranged; compared with symphonic power metal it is slower and sadder. The theatricality is entirely deliberate, and taking it literally is missing the point. The soprano usually carries the verses and the growl arrives for weight rather than for menace, which is a division of labour the genre has stuck to for thirty years.

  • Heaviness 3 out of 5
  • Speed 2 out of 5
  • Aggression 2 out of 5
  • Technicality 3 out of 5
  • Darkness 4 out of 5
  • Melody 5 out of 5

Where the name came from

A compound descriptor combining 'symphonic' and 'gothic metal,' coined as bands layered orchestral arrangements over gothic metal's romantic darkness. The 'Beauty and the Beast' vocal style — operatic female and harsh male — became its signature, a term coined by critics reviewing Theatre of Tragedy's 1995 debut.

The bands

Hear these first

  • Theatre of Tragedy Norway
  • Within Temptation Netherlands
  • Lacuna Coil Italy
  • Tristania Norway
  • Delain Netherlands

And 8 more

  • Nightwish Finland
  • Epica Netherlands
  • Edenbridge Austria
  • After Forever Netherlands
  • Leaves' Eyes Germany
  • Stream of Passion Netherlands
  • Sirenia Norway
  • Draconian Sweden

Where it happened

Counting this genre and everything descended from it.

  • Netherlands Dutch Symphonic, Gothic & Death Metal 5 bands

If you liked this

Closest in sound outside this family, leaning towards the similar or the gentler rather than straight into the deep end.