Symphonic Metal 2000s Albums

Design Your Universe layers orchestra, choir and metal riffs with great precision, creating an immense sonic space for Epica.

The Scarecrow brings together Tobias Sammet’s cast of singers with heavy metal and theatrical storytelling.

Cradle of Filth's eighth studio album, from October 2008, a concept record following the life of the fifteenth-century French baron Gilles de Rais.

MyEarthDream pairs Sabine Edelsbacher’s clear voice with Lanvall’s guitar and orchestration to create an expansive fantasy world.

Rethroned brings several notable Finnish vocalists together to recast familiar songs as heavy, symphonic metal.

Worlds Collide connects the low resonance of cello to metal’s riff-driven force through more open songwriting.

The Divine Conspiracy layers Simone Simons’s clear voice, Mark Jansen’s growl, and orchestral sweep into a richly multi-level sound.

Dimensions pours bright melody, fast beats, and stacked choruses into a thoroughly celebratory power-metal record.

Ghost Opera combines heavy guitar, classical keyboard color, and Roy Khan’s shadowed voice on a grand scale.

Red Planet Boulevard uses rich keyboards, fluid guitar, and Lana Lane’s soaring voice to sketch a cosmic sense of space.

Dark Passion Play connects Nightwish’s metal drive and full-orchestra sweep to a more ambitious narrative world.

Reborn uses several distinctive voices and weighty arrangements to remake pop and rock favorites as symphonic metal.

Turisas's second album, issued by Century Media in 2007. It is a concept album following a party down the river routes of medieval Rus to the Eastern Roman Empire.

The Heart of Everything joins heavy guitar and cinematic orchestration to Sharon den Adel’s clear voice.

Cradle of Filth's seventh studio album, from October 2006, and the one with Ville Valo of HIM singing on it.

DRAGONLAND's fourth album, released by Century Media in 2006 and mixed by Fredrik Nordström. A stand-alone record apart from the saga, it features guest female vocals from Elize Ryd, later of AMARANTHE.

The Grand Design joins classical-flavored keyboards, heavy guitar, and Sabine Edelsbacher’s clear voice into Edenbridge’s symphonic metal.

Apocalyptica joins the low resonance of cellos to heavy riffs and live-band momentum.

Consign to Oblivion crosses Simone Simons’s clear voice with growls, choir, heavy riffing and orchestral scale.

The Circle of Life layers lively twin guitar, bright keys and massed chorus hooks into celebratory power metal.

The Black Halo layers dark riffs and symphonic arrangement around Roy Khan’s expressive voice.

Lady Macbeth builds a dramatic setting from rich keyboards, fluent guitar and Lana Lane’s clear, expressive voice.

Cradle of Filth's sixth studio album, from September 2004: their biggest seller, and the one whose title track brought a Grammy nomination.

DRAGONLAND's third album, first released in Japan on King Records' Metal Frontier line on 27 October 2004, ahead of Century Media's 2005 European edition. A stand-alone record separate from the saga, it features EVERGREY's Tom S. Englund as co-producer and guest vocalist, and is the first album with Jesse Lindskog on drums.

Shine layers clear vocals, bright keyboards and heavy guitar to create Edenbridge’s fantastical soundscape.

Once unites heavy guitar, large-scale orchestra and operatic vocal power into a cinematic Nightwish statement.

Wintersun's debut album, from 2004. It was then Jari Maenpaa's solo project, and it was eight years in the making.

The Silent Force combines heavy guitar, cinematic orchestra and clear, luminous vocals to create large emotional waves.

Reflections places the cello at the center of both riff and melody, combining its resonance with heavy rhythm and classical tension.

Cradle of Filth's fifth studio album, from March 2003: their only record for a major label, drawn from Milton's Paradise Lost.

Aphelion layers clear vocals, glittering keyboards and heavy guitar to balance elegance with strength.

The Phantom Agony layers heavy guitar, orchestra, choir and Simone Simons’s clear voice into a large-scale drama.

Epica uses thick guitar, symphonic color and Roy Khan’s shadowed voice to tell a story on a large scale.

The Metal Opera Part II brings together many guest singers, dense choirs and symphonic keyboards to tell an expansive story.

DRAGONLAND's second album, released in 2002, and the second chapter of The Dragonland Chronicles saga. It was recorded and mixed at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg and issued by the Greek label Black Lotus Records.

Eternity layers bright melody, fast rhythm and choruses made for singing along, delivering Freedom Call’s most openly uplifting power metal.

Project Shangri-La centers on Lana Lane’s clear voice while layering progressive movement, symphonic keyboards and the accessibility of melodic rock.

Century Child expands Nightwish’s symphonic reach by joining orchestral scale, heavy guitars and Tarja Turunen’s classically shaped voice.

The Metal Opera begins Tobias Sammet’s large-scale story with a cast of guest vocalists passing the narrative from voice to voice.

DRAGONLAND's 2001 debut album and the opening chapter of the band's self-produced fantasy saga, The Dragonland Chronicles. Released by the Greek label Black Lotus Records and engineered by Andy LaRocque, it is symphonic power metal in the classic Swedish mould.

Arcana is symphonic metal centered on Sabine Edelsbacher’s clear voice and Lanvall’s layered keyboard and guitar work.

Crystal Empire expands Freedom Call’s upbeat melodies and uplifting choruses into a broader power-metal canvas.

Karma by KAMELOT: track list, album artwork and English liner notes on METAL BOOST.

Cult expands Apocalyptica’s cello-led heaviness through more varied and ambitious writing.

Cradle of Filth's fourth album, issued by Music for Nations on 30 October 2000 and drawn from Clive Barker's novel Cabal.

Sunrise in Eden introduces Edenbridge with graceful vocals, expansive arrangements and a refined symphonic-metal sensibility.

Secrets of Astrology frames Lana Lane’s warm vocal within progressive structures, layered keyboards and a mystical thematic arc.

Wishmaster firmly joins Nightwish’s symphonic imagination to fast, melodic metal.

Mother Earth by WITHIN TEMPTATION: track list, Spotify player and English liner notes on METAL BOOST.