Aeronwen has the voice of a bard: there's a light Celtic touch in the orchestrations, an earthy darkness in the guitars, and a stoutness in the melodies that often feels more like straight-up heavy or power metal than symphonic, so it has to be the vocals that continuously pull this album into a register of symphony. Her semi-narrative delivery ensnares the listener with the promise of tales of myth and legend, and her serene delivery during the stirring choruses gives the songs a fantastical air. New textures emerge in harsh vocals and occasional bursts of extremity, balanced by ethereal synths and dainty keyboard percussion, but the bulk of the album rests in an enchanting grove of folk-inflected power metal, and while on paper it's nothing too out of the ordinary, the sound of Aeronwen's debut is an uncommonly magical one.

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As seems to be a trend currently in symphonic metal (see also Delain and Xandria), Spanish outfit Against Myself entered their fourth album cycle with an almost completely revamped line-up, with only founding guitarist-cum-drummer Charly Carretón remaining from previous record Unity. Carretón’s new ensemble have hit the ground running, however, with Tides Of Insanity picking up where the impressive Unity left off; new singer Elizabeth Amoedo is equally adept with operatic and more conventional singing, the Nightwish-style keyboards and symphonic orchestrations nicely complement the underlying power metal base, and Against Myself effectively balance bombast with compelling riffs. There’s also some impressive progressive inclinations to their writing, culminating in the epic 20-minute title track; all change on the personnel front, but Against Myself remain a firmly relevant name in the modern symphonic metal scene.

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Let's start by making one thing clear: there isn't anything exceptional about Blackbriar's style. This is Dutch-brand symphonic metal very much like early Within Temptation; they're not trying to reinvent the genre and they don't need to either. The thing making Blackbriar stand out from the rest is Zora Cock's completely spellbinding and mesmerizing voice. That's not to diminish the rest of the band - they're very competent musicians and the production is excellent - but when listening to A Dark Euphony you will be dragged in by Zora's alluring voice, feeling like Odysseus when tied to the ship's mast while being completely enchanted by the sirens' song, making it an almost Herculean task to turn the album off after pressing 'Play'. However lacking in originality, Blackbriar still is a bright shining light in their genre.

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Once Midnight Eternal, Everdawn rebranded in 2019 following the arrival of vocalist Alina Gavrilenko and haven’t looked back since. Gavrilenko’s mezzo soprano voice dominates Venera, effortlessly shifting between full-bodied lower-register singing and soaring operatics, but the backing band also bring their A-game; Venera features hooky, muscular riffs and catching guitar leads, spanning power metal and progressive metal. With over an hour of material, including a commendable effort at a 13-minute electronics-laden extravaganza, there’s plenty of grandiose bombast to get stuck into on this record.

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Have you ever wondered how a mix of Fleshgod Apocalypse, Lamb Of God, Gojira, and Septicflesh would sound? Genus Ordinis Dei have an answer to this burning question, but they are much more than just an attempt at copying the fictional supergroup LambOfSepticFleshGodApocalypse incorporating the distinctive interplay of guitars and drums typical of Gojira. The fourth full-length album from the three Italian professional musicians may suggest a return to the synth-heavy origins of the band in its title, but in reality, the concept album The Beginning serves as a thematic prequel to the previous album, Glare Of Deliverance. It transports the listener to a prehistoric era where two siblings, belonging to a cannibal tribe, seek the truth about their gods and the origins of humanity. The musical backbone remains symphonic death metal, but the cannibal stew truly becomes meaty and flavorful with the addition of progressive metal, gothic, and folk, rounded off by a dash of groove metal and seasoned with a touch of deathcore.

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In case you're confused (we were), this is Ghosts Of Atlantis, not Visions Of Atlantis; while the latter spent their 2023 on sunny beaches enjoying orchestral odysseys with pirates, Ghosts Of Atlantis were skulking around the cemetery trying on various capes. Riddles Of The Sycophants synthesizes various elements that typically inform the "symphonic metal" appellation, leaning rather close to the theatrical strains of Cradle Of Filth-style gothic metal with its whirlwinds of shrieking and blast beats, and then again to the bombastic and ominous death metal that Septicflesh have perfected, and yet not without great respect paid to the power metal origins of the style in a heavy but illuminated sense of melody akin to Epica. Riddles Of The Sycophants definitely belongs to the extreme end of the symphonic spectrum, but it retains an unusually large amount of dramatic flair and memorable choruses, making it a riveting tour of how metal can be made grander.

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Haliphron is a genus that contains numerous species of octopus. Cute! Well, no, not so much. You see, Haliphron is actually a symphonic metal band. Cute! No. Stop that. This is the death metal side of the symphonic subgenre, a band for whom the brassy bombinations herald an onslaught of breakdowns and the stern strings provide a high-end contrast to ominous choruses of growling. Now, Haliphron do still have a little bit of that sassy diva symphony in them, so listen for some swinging hooks – but this is mostly concerned with the terrors of the deep, so make sure you bring enough oxygen (and maybe a speargun) before you dive in.

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On their first album released after their 20th anniversary as a band, Serenity demonstrate the maturity that has come with that experience. The symphonic arrangements continue to grow more polished and elaborate, with an orchestral-only version of one of the songs available as a bonus for anyone who wants to hear the arrangements in all their glory. However, the ‘power’ in their symphonic power metal sound remains undiminished, with several songs on Nemesis AD exhibiting what good use the band make of the inspiration they draw from symph-power icons Kamelot; the similarities between the two groups are further underlined by a guest appearance from former Kamelot singer Roy Khan, although Serenity’s Georg Neuhauser’s vocal skills more than stand up alongside such a legend. Any concerns after the band’s last album that they might be losing their touch can be put to rest, as the group sound as good as ever on Nemesis AD.

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Shade Empire’s releases have typically been quite spaced-out, and their style has evolved dramatically between each release. The band’s black metal origins have been toned down, but Shade Empire’s sound on Sunholy cannot be pigeonholed into any one category; beneath the elaborate orchestrations (arranged by Fleshgod Apocalypse’s Francesco Ferrini), there are elements from extreme power (particularly on the part of the keyboards), meloblack, melodeath, and prog, plus even some curveballs such as saxophone cameos. It's busy, ambitious, and at times remarkable; Sunholy is another bold effort from an unpredictable band.

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In 2022, Xandria underwent a near-complete transformation, bringing in a new lineup with only founder and keyboardist Marco Heubaum remaining from the previous iteration. Change has long been a part of Xandria, though, and for this band the career course has always been building strong albums rather than getting settled into a single identity; thus The Wonders Still Awaiting shows off a new band filling no one's shoes but its own. If anything, this album is one of Xandria's most personalized yet, for while it continues with the epic and cinematic symphonic style that the band has become associated with, it is also less reminiscent of certain other genre heavyweights. Ambre Vourvahis makes a great debut in the captain's chair tearing through these elaborate yet catchy swells of melody with grace and feeling. Cycle though they might, Xandria have plenty of wonders still awaiting.

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