A few bands for you from the genre as asked: Nightwish (Already covered), Kamelot, Delain, Within Temptation, Lacuna Coil (A bit darker/heavier but in the same vein), Amaranthe(Going more electric pop rock at times), Seventh Wonder. Great reactions, keep em up! :-)

This album from EPICA is amazing from start to finish. Check out ‘Code of Life’ next.

Epica is so good! Not only is the music great, but the contrast between their voices adds so much to their songs.

Maybe you should check out Ayreon, “ the day that the world breaks down “..it’s a project of a Dutch genius that features a lot of metal singers of Europe and beyond 😁

Love when people find out that are more complex, epic and better symphonic metal than Nightwish

Simone Simons is one of the Greatest voices ever...She could easily been a great opera Singer but fortunately She chose Metal 😉🤘🤘

Can't listen to Epica without Consign to Oblivion - Live at the Zenith

Epica is awesome. Their new album is fantastic. Would recommend going back to their first album, The Phantom Agony

The engineer is Joost who is also involved in Ayreon and used to be in a band with Floor, After Forever. Hè get credits! Simone also sings on the last Ayreon project, Maybe try "this human equation". And Epica, sooooooooo many brilliant songs! Experience them live with full orchestra and choir, design your Universe. Curious about your analysis on that masterpiece!

here's a good reference: Nightwish (considered the granddaddy of symphonic metal), Epica (on the extreme metal end of symphonic metal), Within Temptation (on the pop-rock end of symphonic metal), Lacuna Coil (gothic rock/metal end of symphonic metal though with less symphonic elements), and Delain (is somewhere in the middle).

Epica is a Dutch symphonic metal band, founded in 2002 by guitarist and vocalist Mark Jansen after his departure from After Forever (Floor Jansens band). Formed as a symphonic metal band with gothic tendencies, later Epica have incorporated into their sound strong death metal influences. In addition, the band often uses thrash metal and groove metal riffs, black metal passages (mostly in the drum technique), power metal moments and references to Arabic music. Simone Simons has an incredible voice.

Welcome to Epica 🔥🔥🔥

I didn't like growling at all until I heard Epica for the first time. To me, growling is kind of like hot sauce - if you put a little bit in your chili, it spices things up really nicely, but you don't drink straight from the bottle, and you don't pour the whole bottle into your chili. Epica does the hot sauce just right - the juxtaposition between the growling and Simone's beautiful soprano is just wonderful. I've grown to like other growly bands, but Epica was the first for me that opened up this world.

To check out songs that really showcase EPICA’s music, you might want to check these songs:

The "Kingdom of Heaven" Trilogy is a masterpiece 👌

There are many BTS videos of the process Epica uses to create and produce their music, and every member is very involved in everything that goes into making a CD. In addition, Epica is adept at all aspects of the music business, making videos, interviews, tours, etc, and they make the most of it. Add in the fact that they are all best friends, and there are no inflated egos fighting for the spotlight, and you can see how they've managed to stay together for nearly 20yrs, and create music that profoundly touches the heart and soul.

It's worth mentioning that Epica got their name from the album entitled "Epica" by power metal band Kamelot. There is a great song on the album called "Karma" and it's best experienced live.

"Cry For The Moon" is Epica's best song

Yay Epica

This song btw is from their latest 8th studio album Omega, released earlier in 2021. It is one of their best albums, on this one they used the Prague Philhamonic Orchestra.