Topic: Symphonic Metal
Whatever happened to the days when music had melody, and counter point, and harmonies, and layers, and actual instruments, as opposed to synthesised drumbeats and lousy electric guitar rips of modern mainstream "music"? Music used to take talent and ability to compose and sing, and intelligence to appreciate. But instead of demanding that people get smarter, music producers have decided to dumb down music for the masses, forcing those of us with actual taste and talent to suffer through hundreds upon hundreds of shitty songs just to find something worth listening to. Unfortunately for them, most modern music has failed in this objective. Literally nothing on the radio has succeeded.
Believe it or not, though, there is hope. I discovered a quite wonderful band about a year ago known as Epica, and boy, are they fantastic. They've manged to combine the soft melodious voice of Simone Simons with the harsher growling styles of Mark Jansen, and the effect is quite extraordinary. There aren't many bands out there, even in metal and all its sub genres, that can pull off this kind of combination.
Is anyone else here a fan of the beacon of musical beauty that is Symphonic Metal? Any band suggestions? I've got quite a healthy library as it is, but I'm always looking to expand on it. 
