Symphonic Gothic Metal

Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitars of metal with different elements of orchestral classical music, such as symphonic instruments, choirs and sometimes a full orchestra, or just keyboard orchestration. Symphonic metal bands can feature classically trained vocalists. The metal subgenres most typically featuring a subset of symphonic bands are gothic, power, black, death and classic heavy metal. Lyrics cover a broad range of topics. As with two of its often overlapping elements, power metal and opera, fantasy and mythological themes are common. Concept albums styled after operas or epic poems are not uncommon.