When you listen to Cathubodua's debut-ep, which is loaded with heavy battle-hymns and a gloomy, pagan atmosphere, you might be surprised to learn that the whole thing is the brainchild of one woman, named Katrien. Of course, an epic ep like this is always a group effort, but it was Katrien (violins) who formed the band and wrote the initial melodies.
When I learned that, I was quite interested in who influenced Katrien to form this band. As I often do with Songs With Stories, I took a wild guess about which artists would be on her list. Apparently, I was right about the first one but the rest is a bit of a surprise.
Read our review for 'Opus 1 - Dawn'
When I learned that, I was quite interested in who influenced Katrien to form this band. As I often do with Songs With Stories, I took a wild guess about which artists would be on her list. Apparently, I was right about the first one but the rest is a bit of a surprise.
Read our review for 'Opus 1 - Dawn'
Nightwish – Amaranth
Let’s start with a ‘classic’ one in the genre of Symphonic Metal. This is the first song I ever heard of Nightwish and I absolutely loved it from the start. The music video of this song has also left a big impression on me as a teenager: I do think that the imagery corresponding to music is of extreme importance because it can reinforce the atmosphere of the sounds. I also just get very happy when I hear this song, it’s simple and it sounds really great. Thanks to this song our track ‘Scarecrow’ has seen the light of day; I wanted to write something in an ‘Amarantic’ style but also gave it my own twist and so it evolved into one of the first songs I ever played with Cathubodua.
Brymir – Retribution
This is also a song I immediately loved at first hearing. The music Brymir makes has something melancholic and has a true unique atmosphere. The symphonic elements also are very distinguishable. The orchestrations are so rich and are composed with care for every detail and I can really enjoy such work. I was very pleased when I accidentally stumbled upon their first album ‘Breathe Fire to the Sun’. In this particular song you can hear the perfect combination of metal ‘brutality’ with some very attractive symphonic melodies. It’s the perfect symbiosis of ‘Symphonic’ and ‘Metal’. That moment when the metal makes its entry after the orchestral intro, it’s time and time again a moment of pure pleasure to me.
Turisas – Miklagard Overture
This band has given me lots of inspiration. Why? Because Turisas! The concept of a bunch of barbaric Finns who describe their music as ‘Battle Metal’ is just very hard to resist. The cinematic aspect of the occurring symphonies in their music is also a reason why I like this band so much. Also the use of more complicated harmonies makes it interesting to listen to because it has some challenge in it. This song shows the variety of their compositional skills: the epic intro to the song with the obligatory brass section, the more intimate first couplet where the clean vocals are only accompanied by an acoustic guitar, the sing-along first line of the chorus (‘Kon-stan-ti-nopoliiis!’), the choir parts at the end of the song and of course the groovy solo of Olli Vänskä on electric violin.
Dimmu Borgir – Progenies of the Great Apocalypse
Once again a strong example of (this time Black) Symphonic Metal. The brutality of the metal and the vocals fits perfectly together with the complex symphonies. Because of their demonic themed music, the symphonies have their own unique hellish atmosphere which is very interesting and of course heartbreakingly beautiful. The clean vocal parts of Vortex also have their unique supernatural sound because of the somewhat odd harmonies between the two part vocal lines. All these elements contribute to this characteristic sound that I absolutely love. I think Progenies of the Great Apocalypse is one of the strongest compositions they’ve ever made: the bombastic opening, the modulation to the verses and the symphonic section are truly splendid. I also have to mention the piano version of this song, played by their former keyboard player Mustis: an impressive piece of piano virtuosity.
Two Steps from Hell – Protectors of the Earth
To end this list with, let’s leave the metal behind and walk towards the epic trailer music by Two Steps from Hell. For hours and hours I can listen to their songs: they make me feel like I can take on the whole world, they can make me cry, they inspire me to compose and they can also sing me to sleep. The variety and the emotional aspect of their music is something amazing. The musical duo who compose these songs are my absolute heroes when creating symphonic parts myself. One day I hope to achieve the same level of composing as these guys, but for now: let’s just do our best :-)
