It's quite an ambitious project: Australia's (and one of the world's) premier doom/Goth band joins the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra for a three-CD classical doom requiem. If it sound interesting, you might want to read on - if not, better go cut the grass!

Requiem is not for the faint-hearted, but it is brilliant music. Like a typical classical piece it consists of various themes explored from various musical angles, but with a difference! The first CD, which has not yet been released, features the more symphonic treatment.

Follow up:

Requiem - mezzo forte,part two in the series and the first to be released, features a mix of symphony and (somewhat mellow) Virgin Black, and Requiem - fortissimo, which has just been released, features Virgin Black more brutal than ever before.

You might have a hard time finding Virgin Black's Requiem in South Africa. Currently it is only available at Gospel Direct stores, and they'll probably have to do a special order for you - but if symphonic doom to pure raw doom tickles your fancy, it will be well worth your effort.

And just to illustrate how good this project is: I'm not the greatest classical fan in the world, and my knowledge of doom & gothic music is scratchy (at best), but this is one of my favourite musical pieces of all time - it just has something that touches my soul and lifts my spirit. (Not bad for a piece of music dealing exclusively with death!)

From Wikipedia: Virgin Black is an Australian band that combines gothic-doom and symphonic metal influences. Formed in 1993 in Adelaide, they have achieved international acclaim during their career, receiving praise from such magazines as Orkus, Metal Hammer and The Village Voice. Virgin Black's lyrics are typically introspective, melodramatic and poetic, featuring gothic horror take on usually faith-based subjects.
The band has often sought to explain that its music is an exploration of spirituality...In response to a question on the "religious atmosphere" in their music, Rowan London responded: "We write our music and lyrics from a personal perspective, hence they do have a particular moral and meaning...It's important to understand that we're not trying to act as if we know everything about life, it would just be great to see more people considering things other than purely the material world."
Virgin Black currently consists of the founding members and main songwriters Samantha Escarbe (guitar) and Rowan London (keyboard, vocals), with Grayh (bass) and Luke Faz (drums).