I recently discovered Sabaton and am very impressed. Their lyrics aren’t the kind of lyrics that one expects to hear from a Heavy Metal band. Talented musicians.
Fun fact: Sabaton’s drummer, Hannes Van Dahl, is in a relationship with Floor Jansen, the incredible vocalist from the Finnish Symphonic Metal band “Nightwish”, and they have a young daughter. Jansen, herself, is Dutch. I’m currently obsessed with Nightwish.
Other very good Symphonic Metal bands are the Dutch bands “Epica” and “Within Temptation”.
You are correct; To find good modern music, one must look to Northern Europe.
Delain is another very good symphonic metal band.
I would like to see Sabaton live, as their style seems well-suited to an outdoor arena setting.