Symphonic metal is a subgenre of
metal music which combines the characteristics of this genre, such as heavy drums and guitars, with different elements of
classical music including (but not limited to) symphonic instruments, choirs and on occasion, a full symphony orchestra. Keyboards reminiscent of
power metal also often find a dominant place in this subgenre. Symphonic metal bands often feature classically trained female vocalists, giving rise to the nickname
opera metal or
operatic metal, and it is not uncommon for them to feature a second vocalist performing
growls, a more common characteristic of
gothic metal. Perhaps the most typical and prominent examples of symphonic metal bands are Finnish band
Nightwish, Swedish band
Therion and Dutch band
Epica, all three of which place a large focus on elements prevalent in
film scores on top of the more basic classical components utilized more widely in the genre.