I’ve never had the chance to see either of them live, only the videos of the live performances, and they both seem to put on a GREAT show, has anyone seen both band and can offer an assessment?
I haven’t seen either live, but I’ll chime in just based on personal preference.
Nightwish is my favorite band and I often find Epica to be disappointing.
I think this performance from Nightwish is one of my favorite live performances I’ve ever seen.
I have seen Epica but not Nightwish (God, I wish though!)
Epica put on a fine performance and it was fun. I can’t remember too terribly much of it because it was the first metal show I’ve been to in years, and the first show I went to at the House of Blues here in Orlando, so I wasn’t as seasoned of a concert vet to pay attention to details. Also working against me was I only listened to a handful of Epica’s songs so I was largely ignorant of the songs being played.
That being said, it was a fun show! The lead singer sounded great live and the best takeaway was the keyboardist had a portable keyboard he walked around with that was fun to see. The biggest negative was the final song they divided the viewing floor up and started a giant mosh pit. I don’t most. Most importantly, Mrs. Cups, who I dragged to the show, doesn’t mosh. Since HOBs aren’t the biggest venues there wasn’t really a place we could escape to…so that sucked.
I have seen Nightwish. They seem like a good band.
I honestly know absolutely nothing about Epica, but my Dad’s mate Troy is in Nightwish, so I shall shamelessly lob in a vote for them…!
That is beyond cool.
Which version of Nightwish? Floor is (IMO) quite different from Tarja.
That being said, Nightwish. What other metal act is endorsed by Richard Dawkins?
Although if Within Temptation was included on the ballot, I’d be torn…
Honestly, I prefer Floor to Tarja. Poor Annette gets overlooked in these conversations, but I think she did a fine job, she just had the misfortune of following Tarja.
And yes, Sharon from Within Temptation is wonderful as well. Though my heart will always hold Anneke van Giersbergen #1.
Yeah, but The Gathering is more Gothic than Symphonic.
Do NightWish even tour anymore? I looked on their website and it seems they haven’t done much in recent months outside of a small European one.
I’d give anything to see them live
I’m not familiar with either of the bands mentioned, but wouldn’t ‘Symphonic Metal’ be an oxymoron?
Not even a little. Do yourself a favor and look the bands up. Strings and horns do wonders behind an electric guitar.
Check out Metallica’s S&M album too. They did a concert with an orchestra and it’s my favorite album of all time
The Gathering has been all over the map, honestly. Started as doom metal, then something slightly like symphonic, then a kind of avant garde progressive something. Definitely agree that they were never really full symphonic metal like Nightwish, though Nightwish has mentioned them as an influence.
I do love Amy Lee’s vocals. I need to see how everything comes together with a heavier sound, I think. I’m used to the heavier metal sound.
It’s always a real treat to hear these bands with a full orchestra backing them. Ear candy for sure. For anyone interested, there was a Christian metal band called Believer who was one of the first to combine operatic vocals with metal music, back in 1990. They continued this combination on their next album, Dimensions.
I would think Evanescance is more of a metal/hard rock band with a female lead singer moreso than a symphonic metal band (who usually have female lead singers).
Other than a small handful of songs, I don’t see many symphonic elements to them.
When I hear/see NightWish - (for example - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEERFBI9eCg ) I don’t hear/see ‘symphonic’ - I hear the same type of metal/rock as I hear/see with Evanescance.
I agree wholeheartedly that symphonic elements in rock/roll/metal can be fantastic - I just don’t see them ‘here’.
This one - from Epica - Epica - Cry For The Moon - YouTube - I definitely see it - going to add more of these to the rotation;.