3 Influential Symphonic Metal Albums That Shaped the Genre
In honor of symphonic metal glory, Audio Ink Radio names its great greatest symphonic metal albums of all time. – Author: Anne Erickson, photo by Arjan Kremer
Symphonic metal is such a grand-sounding genre, and it’s packed with fantastic albums that take the listener on a metal journey. The genre emerged from gothic and death metal in the early days of heavy metal, and one thing that really set symphonic metal apart was its addition of classical orchestral sounds. The genre took shape in the 1980s and 1990s, with bands such as Therion and Believer pioneering the scene, but as the genre became bigger, new bands also became influencers. In honor of symphonic metal glory, Audio Ink Radio presents three of the greatest symphonic metal albums of all time.
Best Symphonic Metal Albums
Delain, “Lucidity”
Former Delain vocalist Charlotte Wessels wowed the metal world with her performance on 2006’s “Lucidity,” and the rest is heavy metal history. Former Within Temptation keyboardist Martijn Westerholt started out Delain as a studio project, but it quickly became apparent that it was intended to be so much more. “Lucidity” features a bevy of guest appearances, including former bandmate Sharon den Adel and former Nightwish bass player Marko Hietala, and in general, it plays like a best-of symphonic collection. The songs on “Lucidity” are magical and heartfelt, and it’s the kind of album that only comes around once in a generation, although Delain has kept active throughout the years.
Nightwish, “Once”
Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish is considered one of the most operatic bands in the genre, and on 2004’s “Once,” the band really hit its stride. The album includes what is arguably the band’s most popular song ever, “I Wish I Had an Angel,” and is simply a masterpiece from front to back. The instruments on here are joyous, the vocals are strong and the lyrics are deep and poetic. The album, which was named one of Rolling Stone’s greatest heavy metal albums of all time, is a heavy metal opus which tells the story of the life of a fallen angel and that angel’s redemption. It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “concept album.” The record charted at No. 1 on the European Top 100 albums chart back when it was released.
Within Temptation, “The Silent Force”
Within Temptation, pictured above, unleashed “The Silent Force” in 2004, and it’s arguably their best album ever. It’s not just Within Temptation’s best album, it’s considered one of the greatest symphonic metal albums of all time. Sharon den Ade shows why she’s one of the genre’s greatest vocalists here, offering a powerful, dramatic presentation, and her vocals perfectly compliment the symphonic backings. Within Temptation continue to release new music and stay innovative, but there’s something about “The Silent Force” that’s just too classic to ignore. In 2020, Sharon spoke with Audio Ink Radio about the band’s single “Entertain you,” stating that, “The song is about the fact that we have this urge to satisfy our personal needs to feel good about ourselves, and sometimes we do that by pointing at people who are different than the majority of society and use them, sometimes without realizing it, as a sort of entertainment without realizing the consequences of that.”
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