Thanks
It seems I am rapidly coming to agree with you…! Given that Aryen writes& produces nearly all the material, he is - potentially - up there with Tuomas from Nightwish. Near Musical Genius.
@suzywong - I am impressed with your knowledge on things Prog & Metal… 
I can only try to catch up…
2 Likes
That’s because I am indeed a boring old fart!
1 Like
Ayreon do Marillion’ greatest hit… with Fish… No problem…!!
1 Like
Finally, some Nightwish love!
There was a thread a few months ago about the best female vocalists. I must have been only one among hundreds of replies to mention Floor.
Nice to see some alternatives too. Great thread!
3 Likes
Its not lacking… just well hidden… !!!
Thank you… 
I love NW to bits. And Auri. Looking for more/similar/related.
Have now got both Ayreom and Edenbridge on order. Likely to be going after Midnattsol. Maybe also Leaves Eyes and Avantasia…
Warning… This path is dangerous…!!
There are Castles, Dragons & Demons… And people with pointy guitars with extra strings - with keyboard players who know their Moogs and Mellotrons… 
As well as Time Signatures way beyond 4:4 time - with Drummers who think this is easy…
Warning. Go no further… There is no cure.
Haha. I love Auri too.
I come from opera and classical music. I discovered Floor and Nightwish through the YouTube channel of an opera singer I follow. I was blown away by Floor’s outstanding vocal technique. That’s when I started to go down the rabbit hole. Very dangerous indeed.
2 Likes
She is - I think - out in a field of her own, here. Not found anyone to really come close. Some can go high/Operatic (say Tarja) - others can do the Musical Theatre/Rock (say Annette) - and others the Metal growls and gruffness. But all 3 …?
If you like Classical, then Prog is the way for you to head, IMO… Lots of 70’s stuff - Genesis, ELP, Yes, etc. And there is modern Prog - lots there too, but I don’t know about it much… yet…
2 Likes
The Charismatic Voice by any chance?
1 Like
If you dragons etc try Gloryhammer they’re a real hoot
1 Like
Ok, so how did I find Nightwish…?
From Thin Lizzy, I was looking/listening (on YouTube) to some Garry Moore stuff… And I found what I thought was a cover of the Led Zepellin song - Over The Hills & Far Away. Wrong… Totally different - but good. Then YouTube - as it does… ‘fed’ me another version, by a German Hurdy Gurdy player, called Patty Gurdy (she’s good - she can be found on one of Ayreons albums…).
With me so far…? So, the Patty Gurdy version was listed as being a song, not by Garry Moore - but (incorrectly) by a band called Nightwish… So I went to the Nightwish version - with Tarja in fully operatic mode… OMG…! I think I then found their cover of High Hopes…
The rest… you can guess… 
1 Like
Yes!
It was a reaction video to the Wacken Ghost Love Score.
2 Likes
You are very far from alone, there…
I still sometimes watch these reaction vids on YouTube - just to see the absolute amazement of the ‘pro’ Singer/coach, as Floor skips through her range - and then at the end, just goes higher & higher…
I need to check this out over the weekend. Just heading to bed after an Airbag session and tody 
So… the journey continues…
As I understand it, Star One, is a Heavy Metal offshoot of Ayreon, sort of… 
Had a look and found some live tracks from 2003.
Nightwish fans - here is Star One, featuring both of the Jansen sisters (that’s Floor & Irene) on vocals.
1 Like
I personally prefer the earlier Avantasia albums, The Metal Opera Pt 1 and 2, the Scarecrow
Again much like Ayreon they are a metal supergroup.
Try this one for size… all 11 minutes of it!
Avantasia - The Scarecrow
2 Likes
Avantasia are on my list… Just a bit further down…
This - is awesome. I had to re-find it - the Guitar & Keyboard solos had become Ear Worms - and I couldn’t find the track…
Here it is. Skip to about +5 minutes for the Solos.
Ayreon - Amazing Flight - live (originally from Into The Electric Castle).
2 Likes
Well… Royal Mail did not deliver to me, on Saturday or Monday, so - today - I get 3 CD’s arrive, all together - 2 of these are 2 CD sets…!! These were:
Edenbridge - The Bonding
Ayreon - The Human Equation
Ayreon - 01011001
So… time for some Symphonic/Prog/Metal… 
I. Must. Not. Order. Any. More…
3 Likes