[SERIOUS] Metalheads of Reddit, what do you appreciate about heavy metal music? For a person who has limited experience with the genre, what are some lesser-known bands that you might recommend?

Well, from the get-go you need to understand that there are just SO MANY genres of metal. If you like the heavy stuff, you can find something for you besides the generic black metal/death metal that seems to be everywhere. I'm not saying all black/death metal is generic, but it is like the pop of the metal world and usually sounds the same.

I still like the heavy stuff though. I started off with screamo- Atreyu being the main gateway, though Linkin Park's older work is categorized as Nu Metal. Screaming gives me a headache though if that's all that's going on in a song. So my first journey took a hell of a time getting started.

Things started getting weird because I got into choir around sixth grade, and really became quite picky about who I listened to and ran into many problems. First of all being that now I know what classically trained music sounds like and even though middle schoolers are terrible at it, I felt like I was part of something greater being part of it. The next issue was the fact that I was just a ball of anger--I wanted the raw passion that many metal music embodies, but I wanted the gorgeous classical voices too.

It took me until eighth grade to discover Nightwish. Nightwish is a symphonic metal band--yes, symphonic metal. What is symphonic metal? It is the beautiful love child of classical music with heavy, angry guitar chords. But at this time my social life had many issues and I had many toxic friendships that affected my world view, and most of my music started off as very depressing and lonely. Nemo by Nightwish became my favorite song.

Because of this though, I fell in love with the Beauty and the Beast technique, which was originally implemented by Theatre of Tragedy's older work with Liv Kristine. A sampling of what this entails, from wikipedia, BatB technique "made use of contrasting vocals – male bass vocals (making some use of death grunts) and female soprano singing (commonly referred to as "Beauty and the Beast" vocals)". This made me start to look for bands with multiple singers, with clean classical vocals combined with beautiful, deep growls. I have to say, once you go growls, you can't go back to screaming. it's just not the same.

I remember it being like an avalanche after that where I randomly clicked through recommended videos to find similar bands to Nightwish and of course, I found the more well-known in the genres first: Within Temptation, Kamelot, Epica and Sonata Arctica. They all vary in their style, and that's what I love about them. The good news is in Symphonic Metal, you generally go through everything available because it's hard to start a symphonic metal band.

Normally a SM band has well trained composers, elements of either synthetic or live symphonic sounds, keyboards, choirs, and lots of heavy layering, and the whole group must be 500% into it or you run into problems. They are very theatrical when live and have a great crowd-- the few concerts I've been to so far have the listeners headbanging along but there are a lot of classy folks there who I imagine to be sipping champagne while they rock out to the music they love.

It is ridiculously dramatic. I love the dramatic flair they have, and normally the band members have gorgeously kept hair that they use to headbang with you. They use many dynamics and know how to keep you on your toes. The average song length is 6-8 minutes, and the bands usually put out at least three fifteen minute long songs throughout their career.

No two bands sound the same and they can range from generic, probably closer to Evanescence sounds like Within Temptation and Krypteria to never knowing what you're gonna get Sonata Arctica and Pathfinder.

For me personally, I think power metal and symphonic metal are heavily related and tend to float between the two genres, but I do also like some industrial metal like Rammstein. I like the techno aspect some bands can throw into their sound.

Now, the main reason I like symphonic metal? The choirs, the classical music and the heavy feeling. They are combined together in one and I feel describe my likes quite perfectly. They tend to be female fronted which is hard to find in metal itself, and full of many empowering figures who show that you can be girly AND listen to heavy metal. I also feel that my affection for SM shows that I more open to try new things. My other music tastes can be quite eclectic, as I listen to KPOP and techno/dance music also, along with my main. This menagerie though, is just beautiful to me because I find elements I like and can find them easily within the growing community.

Some of my current favorites: Epica- From the Netherlands. Their latest album, The Quantum Enigma, is so thought provoking that it does make you question life. I know many who claim it to be the album of the year, at least in the SM community, in 2014. They're currently on tour and I love how well the band gets along together. Lately, they have gotten heavier in sound and Simone's voice has improved and just is hauntingly beautiful. (I recommend Essence of Silence) Diabulus in Musica- From Spain, they are also theatrical. When they play live, they like to bring their choir with them and Zeberoa plays the flute. They even have little scenes they act out. They are more techno-y but their latest album Argia fluctuates between classical greek sounding to modern, scratchy metal. Their old stuff is a bit different but it works altogether. (Recommend Spoilt Vampire) Sirenia- From Norway. I have to say, Ailyn's voice is a bit different and more poppy sounding. When she first joined I couldn't get into the band at all, but after she went to choral training, her technique has improved and has led to their latest creation, The Seventh Life Path. I do have to note that they have a huge obsession with numbers, specifically seven. Everything you hear on their album? Written and performed by one gun. Except for Ailyn's part. Older Sirenia is not necessarily the complete opposite, but easier on the ears so there's some for everyone. (Recommend Once My Light) Kamelot- From US. The last two albums have been recorded with a new lead singer, but the transition was so flawless it's difficult to tell it changed. They have a tendency to tell a story throughout their CD itself, Silverthorn and Haven being prime examples of this. Their album Epica, led the band Epica to choose their name and create their own legacy, and starts on the journey about Geothe's story of Faust. It's beautiful. (Recommend Edge of Paradise) Sonata Arctica- From Finland. Everytime they put out a CD, you don't know what to expect. This is more of a gamble, and leads to wild crazy songs but I follow along just to hear Tony Kakko's voice. And his writing- he just has a way with words. The band itself focuses mostly on the issue of man vs nature, and is pro-nature. They like wolves. (Recommend Full Moon) Myrath- From Tunisia. Fell in love with them upon first hearing when I stumbled upon them. Their sound is heavily influenced by their culture, and seems to follow the traditional "desert sound". It's something different and I highly recommend to give it a listen as it shows another aspect of SM. (Recommend Merciless Times)

I'm not going to mention Nightwish because just about everyone has heard of them at some point. I talked about the ones I know the most about because I follow them religiously. There are some other ones worth mentioning like Leaves' Eyes, Tristania, Eluveitie, Blind Guardian (though they are more power metal), Haggard, Pathfinder, Sons of Seasons, Ancient Bards, Stream of Passion, etc.

I have my own definition of SM I follow, because it's too new to really have... any real weight behind it? I guess. It's hard to find info on symphonic metal.

/r/AskReddit Thread