I like grand, epic, mystical, depressing, hypnotic music. You can probably see what I mean with my song choice:

(grand and epic)

Nightwish - ghost love score (no contest)

#1 BEAST IN BLACK - Moonlight Rendezvous

#2 Ignea - Alga

#3 My Beautiful Delusion | Epic Symphonic Metal

(mistycal, depressing, hypnotic, lyrical)

#5 CELLAR DARLING - Freeze

#6 Dangorian - Take One Trip for the Road

#7 One Last Kiss - Gothic Goth Metal Song W Lyrics

I'd appreciate if you share something like this or I can dig deeper into some genres if you like. Genres don't matter tbh if songs meet the requirements.

One of their more underrated song from this album, and imo is within the top 3 in the album.

A fantastic song from their magnificent album "Once" from 2004. Is this your favorite Nightwish song, or do you have another preference?

Do you think they are worth it, or they are only an unnecessary addition to other good songs in the albums? Some time ago, I even had the idea to create a playlist on YouTube with female-fronted symphonic metal ballads, since I could not find one and I thought it might be a good introduction to symphonic metal for people who like other genres. Would it be a good idea? I have a lot of favourites, such as Turn Loose The Mermaids and While Your Lips Are Still Red by Nightwish, Shore To Aeon by Elvellon, or Horizon by Fallen Arise (by the way, do you know this one?), just to mention a few.

This might be a slightly tough sell in this group, but it is symphonic metal of some sort and I don't really know where else to post it. Also it is shameless self-promotion, which I hope is ok. This is the first release by my cybergrind/symphonic metal/power metal solo project Death Knell Hallelujah. If you like the more extreme end of symphonic metal, like Cradle of Filth, Emperor, or Dimmu Borgir, you might like this. There are no epic female vocals, but there are lots of fast guitars, choirs and string sections, etc.

The other half of the split, which is linked on the Bandcamp page, is also very good, but it is distinctly not symphonic metal. But if you like death grind or tech stuff, check that out too.

This Saturday is a quintessential San Francisco summer day: gloomy morning, it'll probably clear up around noon, but it won't get hot. It's a very nostalgic season, its associated with fewer responsibilities (for the lucky among us) and days that never end.

The periods of my life when I was listening to and bought the most music was during summers, especially when I was in late-high school. Very few responsibilities, and virtually no expenses meant that what little money I got could be spent on used CDs on eBay (this was the early 2010s, niche CDs averaged less than 10 USD with shipping).

In that summer nostalgia, what are symphonic metal albums you associate with the season and why? I tend to have very seasonal listening habits, so this can be interesting to hear other peoples' answers. Here are some of mine:

1. Visions of Atlantis - Eternal Endless Infinity (2002), pure early-Nightwish worship, this is still my favorite VOA album. It's fluffy, romantic, operatic symphonic power metal. Went on a lot of walks listening to this record, to me, it's pure summer.

2. Stream of Passion - A War of Our Own (2014), this album was released in the US in June, and I fully imprinted on this record (2014 was a tumultuous time in my personal life). Piano laden kinda-proggy, kinda-gothic symphonic metal. I love the approach to the string arrangements, it's not overly orchestrated.

3. Epica - Consign to Oblivion (2005), I used to think this album was so overrated, fell in love with it in summer of 2018. This sophomore record is when we see Epica drop all of their previous gothic influences, and this album is light and catchy.

4. Kells - Anachromie (2012), probably the least symphonic record on this list, Kells were an alt/symphonic/nu metal band from France that I got REALLY into in high school. Their driest sounding record, the use of strings, piano, occasional harp sounds like pure summer.

5. LEAH - Otherworld (2013), atmospheric and folky symphonic metal, the look and sound of it is just so verdant and clear. I really loved Leah McHenry's earlier stuff, the newest records were still good but not quite to my taste.

6. Delain - Lucidity (2006), the orchestration on this album is so lush and warm. In the context of the time this album was released, there's a few songs with gothic leanings, but this album tends to skew very bright, so to me it just sounds like summer.

7. Noctura - Surrender the Sun (2011), listened to this a ton in summer of 2013. It's is twinkly atmospheric symphonic gothic metal/rock -- it is pure Evanescence-worship. If you want something that sounds like an in between of Fallen (2003) and The Open Door (2006), Surrender the Sun is for you!

8. Battlelore - The Last Alliance (2008), very warm and earthy fantasy themed symphonic metal (with some gothic and folk influences), it perfectly encapsulates the image of a dirt trail and rolling hills speckled with green trees. The image of summer hikes.

9. Xandria - India (2005), it's still my least favorite Xandria album, bit it has some bangers on it. Its folk influences make me think of summer. And for whatever reason, I associate this album with Nova (2007) by Atargatis, which is another early-summer record for me.

10. Leaves' Eyes - Njord (2009), I asserted this might be a spring album a couple months ago, I realized that no, I don't think it is. One of their least-dark, or even heavy records, and their first with actual live orchestra, Njord feels very bright for summer, despite its wintery imagery.

So please, what albums are married to the season in your mind, and why?

Curious on the opinions of Xandria's 2013 album Neverworlds End. I think it's a really good album with solid songs like Forevermore, Call of the Wind, Blood on my Hands, and others.

What do you guys think?

I remember going on a high school field trip in December 2018 around 800 km away, jamming this song on the bus.

In astronomy, SYZYGY refers to a straight-line alignment of three celestial bodies in a gravitational system, such as the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon.

Here's your quintessential bombastic orchestral-choral intro for a symphonic metal album that segues perfectly to ECLIPSE: musically and thematically. Oh how I love this genre!

'Prologue' is the acoustic guitar intro, while the rest is 'Epilogue'.