[Evil Beauty of Melody] A roundup of recommended symphonic black metal bands
Among the subgenres of heavy metal, black metal is an underground style that tends to be for a select audience.
We’ll skip its origins and bloodstained history here, but in recent years many people may have learned about it through films like 2018’s Lords of Chaos.
Even within black metal there are further subgenres, and the style that incorporates orchestration and strings with a classical influence is called symphonic black metal.
In this article, we introduce symphonic black metal bands ranging from the well-known to the obscure.
If you’ve recently become interested in this genre, please take a look!
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[Evil Beautiful Melodies] Recommended Symphonic Black Metal Bands (11–20)
Inked In BloodSIGH
Sigh is Japan’s most important group in black metal and extreme metal.
Led by the sole original member and genius Mirai Kawashima, they began activity around 1990.
Their exchanges with Euronymous of Mayhem—the central figure of the Norwegian black metal scene at the time—and the release of their work through his label have become the stuff of legend.
Guided by Kawashima, who is well-versed in music and culture from all times and places, Sigh’s sound has consistently leapt beyond the confines of straightforward black metal with each release, evolving into metal that is experimental and avant-garde in the broadest sense.
The reason we’re highlighting them under this theme is that they’ve also put out albums like 2007’s Hangman’s Hymn, which pushes symphonic black metal elements to the forefront while packing in plenty of riffs rooted in traditional heavy metal.
For those seeking symphonic black metal from outside Europe, this is a work you should definitely check out.
I Am LegendStormlord
In terms of their grandiose keyboard tones, symphonic black metal can be said to pair well sonically with epic power metal.
A band that combines the occult savagery of symphonic black metal with the power-metal-esque elements of explosive, pompous symphonies—that’s Stormlord from Italy.
Rather than the desolation or melancholy often found in Nordic bands, their sound is distinctly Italian: dramatically over-the-top song structures, hook-laden phrases that will appeal to lovers of catchy “kusa-melo” melodies, lyrics and worldbuilding themed around Greek mythology, and the occasional operatic clean parts that surge through their music.
Starting around their fourth album, 2008’s Mare Nostrum, the production improved dramatically and the sound became more polished, making it easier for newcomers to symphonic black metal to get into.
On the flip side, their black metal–style brutality and cult-like atmosphere diminish.
Still, it might be interesting to listen in order from the debut to appreciate their growth.
And for those who prefer symphonic black metal that leans closer to the orthodox side, there’s no need to hesitate—check out the first three albums!
LugburzSummoning
In the black metal scene, it’s quite common to find two-person units or solo projects, and Summoning is a duo based in Vienna, Austria.
They reportedly started as a four-piece in 1993, but soon became the current two-member lineup and have released eight albums up to 2022.
Both members are multi-instrumentalists, and their most distinctive trait is that their works draw primarily on the writings of J.
R.
R.
Tolkien—most notably The Lord of the Rings—as their thematic core.
Like many symphonic black metal bands, their early activity centered on primitive black metal, but Summoning truly came into their own with their second album, Minas Morgul, in 1995.
They presented a mid-tempo black metal built around lyrical melodies led by flowing keyboards and a gothic worldview, and it’s striking that this kind of sound emerged in 1995 not in Norway, black metal’s stronghold, but in Austria.
On the following album, Dol Guldur, most of the lyrics were handled by members of their compatriot black metal band Abigor, an example of how their refusal to cling to a fixed band style enabled them to realize an atmospheric black metal sound.
I feel this is music that should be heard not only by black metal fans but also by anyone interested in underground music.
Marduke’s MazemerisingVesania
Tomasz Wróblewski, known as Orion, handles the bass—the rhythmic linchpin—of the heavy sound of Behemoth, the world-renowned extreme metal band from Poland.
The project where Orion himself takes on vocals and guitar, acting as the frontman, is Vesania.
Formed in 1997, before he joined Behemoth, the band has included drummer Dariusz Brzozowski, a veteran of the Polish scene known for his work with Vader, among others, and delivers classic symphonic black metal with prominently featured symphonic keyboards.
The four albums released between 2003 and 2014 all present high-quality symphonic black metal; to put it bluntly, they’re very approachable even for newcomers to the subgenre.
While the characteristic evil aura of black metal is subdued, the dramatic sound—emphasizing death-metal-derived aggression and brutality—might feel a bit lacking to die-hard black metal purists.
That said, as mentioned above, this is precisely the band that beginners in symphonic black metal should check out.
Sons Of The NorthWelicoruss
It’s written as Welicoruss and apparently pronounced “Werikorasu” in Japanese.
They hail from Novosibirsk, the capital of Siberia in Russia, and started in 2002 as the music project of Alexey Boganov—the central figure and only original member—who has since relocated to the Czech Republic.
Despite their full-on corpse-paint look, they play symphonic black metal packed with pagan and Viking metal elements.
With beautiful keyboard melodies, flute tones, and heroic themes, their sound appeals not only to fans of symphonic black metal but also to those of Viking and folk metal.
Their lyrics are in Russian and reportedly cover a wide range from philosophy to the occult, but their recognition in Japan is honestly low, and it seems there are no domestic releases.
So unless you understand Russian and can ask someone for translations, you’ll have to rely on the atmosphere conveyed by the artwork and music videos.
Including those aspects, they seem to be a band with irresistible appeal for aficionados who love frontier/obscure metal.
In 2020 they released their latest album to date, Siberian Heathen Horde, which is quite accessible—with vocals that carry strong melodies—so starting there is a good idea!
In conclusion
Within the genre known as symphonic black metal, there are bands with a wide range of styles, and many groups actively perform their own extreme form of metal while incorporating symphonic black metal elements.
If this article has made you aware of the depth of symphonic black metal… by all means, take another step into its profound world of darkness!