The two biggest names in European symphonic metal, Nightwish and Within Temptation, approach the problems and opportunities of new albums in rather different ways. Nightwish became famous for Tarja Turunen's operatic vocals, but has since continued making excellent, consistent, exciting music with two successive singers, Anette Olzon and now Floor Jansen, because the band's main composer, Tuomas Holopainen, has successfully developed a house style, so to speak (best observed in tracks like "Ever Dream", "Nemo", "Endless Forms Most Beautiful", and "Storytime".) You can pretty much always tell it's a Nightwish song, even when it incorporates elements of pop ("Amaranth"), folk ("My Walden"), gospel ("Meadows of Heaven"), or thrash metal ("Master Passion Greed"). The lyrics will feel similarly unified, again due to Holopainen's tendency to control much of the songwriting process: while bombastic and occasionally too lofty, Holopainen's lyrics are poetic and not constrained by scansion or perfect rhymes.
On the other hand, the unifying element of Within Temptation's varied discography is Sharon den Adel's voice and its incredible atmospheric range. It's not the most polished or technically strong voice—that honor belongs to Floor Jansen, now of Nightwish—but Sharon den Adel is capable of drawing out incredible emotion in each register, whether it's a tender falsetto or a throaty bellow. Each Within Temptation album, then, is basically a chance to try out a different style, knowing that den Adel will continue to draw listeners...
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