So true, the fact that it's not even listed as a release but makes folks feel special who stepped up to buy the limited double disk edition.
Ok ........let's be so very fan centric as to release an album which is great, but only a few were made and only a few know about it?
It would have been better to make it limited at first, then later make it normal to be a 2 disk set. But no, they wanted to edge on obscurity and greatness?
Last time I checked, when you made great music, you wanted people to actually hear it?
Speaking of Gothic, we have Draconian coming out with their new album on Oct. 30th. 2012 saw the fantastic "A Rose for the Apocalypse" which was my favorite Goth-Doom record for 2011.
Their vocalist Lisa Johansson left the band right after the 2011 release, so it is quite the wonder how this new release will fair? They are top providers of the metal sub-genre called " Beauty and the Beast" where you have a clean female voice accented with growls from a male.
It's a totally non-commercial way to split Goth with Metal. White had no growls and found itself in an almost spiritual air. Then they came back with this years monster. I'm actually going to have to listen to Noir again to try and hear how it influenced "Extinct"?
All from a guy who always thought they were "OK" .........I have written a review for Extinct which I may post later this month. Portugal has room for only one band like Moonspell.
Speaking of Gothic, we have Draconian coming out with their new album on Oct. 30th. 2012 saw the fantastic "A Rose for the Apocalypse" which was my favorite Goth-Doom record for 2012.
Their vocalist Lisa Johansson left the band right after the 2012 release, so it is quite the wonder how this new release will fair? They are top providers of the metal sub-genre called " Beauty and the Beast" where you have a clean female voice accented with growls from a male.
It is absolutely not comparable in genre as to what I posted though. Soulside journey is really old school death, proto black if you want. What I posted is closer to Fallujah than anything else.
On that one hand most of us narrow minders hold Sirius B from Therion and it's sister release Lemuria from 2004 as the pinnacle of what a chorus and symphony can do with extreme metal. Of course we have symphonic stalwarts Dimmu Borgir doing their quest and other orchestral attempts which work. Still this Orchestral Death is maybe an under explored genre apart from a band like Italy's Fleshgod Apocalypse who have unlocked the key. What were not looking for is the death metal equivalency to Metallica's S and M. I'm not at least anyway.
+1-I recommend anyone open to symphonic elements in metal listen to that Therion double album and Virgin Black's double Requiem albums. I think Sirius B and Lemuria are probably the best examples of symphonic metal done well IMO.
I would just add a caveat, that Therion isn't extreme metal if that's what you are expecting. Except for a few songs and their earlier albums which some DM influence but aren't as good). Virgin Black incorporates doom death and gothic elements....very unique band!
It's a totally non-commercial way to split Goth with Metal. White had no growls and found itself in an almost spiritual air. Then they came back with this years monster. I'm actually going to have to listen to Noir again to try and hear how it influenced "Extinct"?
All from a guy who always thought they were "OK" .........I have written a review for Extinct which I may post later this month. Portugal has room for only one band like Moonspell.
+1-I recommend anyone open to symphonic elements in metal listen to that Therion double album and Virgin Black's double Requiem albums. I think Sirius B and Lemuria are probably the best examples of symphonic metal done well IMO.
I would just add a caveat, that Therion isn't extreme metal if that's what you are expecting. Except for a few songs and their earlier albums which some DM influence but aren't as good). Virgin Black incorporates doom death and gothic elements....very unique band!
+1-I recommend anyone open to symphonic elements in metal listen to that Therion double album and Virgin Black's double Requiem albums. I think Sirius B and Lemuria are probably the best examples of symphonic metal done well IMO.
I would just add a caveat, that Therion isn't extreme metal if that's what you are expecting. Except for a few songs and their earlier albums which some DM influence but aren't as good). Virgin Black incorporates doom death and gothic elements....very unique band!
The Virgin Black, I will have to seek out and listen to.
The Therion records came as single CDs so you had to buy both, then a 2CD set. I agree as best example of symphonic metal. At the time I read more metal magazines and less internet about metal. The magazine folks love them. Only Therion release I have too.
Still they grow on you, so much I maybe listen to them 5 times a year, every year. I can't get over the quality.
For most of us, this style offers us a divergence in listening and a payoff for being more open minded. IMO
Virgin Black had a concept: produce 3 albums based on the classical/operatic "Requiem" genre. One was to be all classical, one an even mix of classical/metal and one more metal. Interesting concept to say the least. I don't think they ever recorded the all classical version.
The albums are Requiem: Mezzo Forte and Requiem: Fortissimo. Came out 2007-8 I believe.
They hired a full symphony and professional opera singers.
Forte has equal parts symphony/opera and metal with a bigger emphasis on the symphonics. Fortissimo has more doom/death with the symphony more in the background.
When I first listened to Mezzo Forte, I was annoyed as I thought it was an opera album until the metal parts came in. The frontman sings operatic style and alternates with doom/death growls. Now it's one of my favorite albums. But, it's more symphonic/opera and gothic whereas Fortissimo is more doom/death. They are meant to be companion pieces to listen to together as a large 2.5 hours movement and work that way
This will test your limits of metal and symphonic. It's ambitious as hell and written like an actual classical composer. Sounds bizarre, but it's done beautifully and if you are open to something really different, and will give it a few listens, it's something else.
Here's a couple of tracks. The first track is mostly classical, the second, is more of an even split with strong "clean" doom emphasis. The last track is Virgin Black in doom/death mode.
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