Classical music influence on heavy metal

Razorjack

Bass Behemoth
Jun 13, 2004
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Manchester, UK
www.pythiamusic.com
So, I'm in the middle of writing an essay on the relationship between 'elitist' and 'popular' music, I'm focussing on classical musics influence on heavy metal. Does anyone have any opinions on this that they would care to share? I'm not after anyone to write chunks of my essay for me, just opinions that will help keep my mind open.

Thanks

Andy
 
You must mention the tritone / diabolus in musica and the whole bit about how that interval was not allowed in certain circles; considered evil by the churches...

....then wax poetic about how sweet it sounds through a cranked boogie over a slamming 7/8 groove. =)
 
Hahaha, I will see if I can try and fit it in (if I find a referance for it). Can't talk about it soudning great through a boogie though, I have to stay neutral and not put my own opinions in without being able to back them up with a reference.

I'm talking about Nile thoughm as an example of where metal is progressing compared to the stale state of classical.
 
Paganini 24 Caprices to Yngwie and all neo-classical shredding.
Maybe a brief mention of early Celtic Frost and thier use of it.

I remember Slayer saying back in the day that they were into Bach.
 
I would fail your paper if you did not mention the Yngwie/Paganinni connection. =)

I was going to mention it earlier but assumed you already had that covered.
 
Randy Rhodes (classical guitar) ?
The Beatles? Or would it have been George Martin? Not metal but probably a big gateway since so many were influenced.
 
Rhoads definately threw in the classical! Children of Bodom seem to have a bit of a classical sound to them at times. Wasn't Richie Blackmore big into classical music as well? Or maybe I am just realllllllly stupid. lol
 
BlackestEyes said:
Rhoads definately threw in the classical! Children of Bodom seem to have a bit of a classical sound to them at times. Wasn't Richie Blackmore big into classical music as well? Or maybe I am just realllllllly stupid. lol

Rhoads and blackmore covered, as is YJM. Kinda stuck there though, as I have to stay within the 20th century and most symphonic metal seems to be post 2000.
 
Manowar chord structures - http://www.everything2.com/?node_id=49628

Manowar sings Nessun Dorma - (Pavarotti's sig. tune) hard tune to sing.
http://www.revelationz.net/index.asp?ID=81

pagganni huge influence on yngwie, paul gilbert, rhodes, vinnie moore

Rhodes also actively sought out classical teachers at every opportunity as he traveled with Ozzy.

Some cut and paste that may help, I remeber doing something similar 10 years ago, but havent kept it :(

It comes as no surprise that Eddie Van Halen's stunning technical abilities as a guitarist spawned legions of imitators. Like Hendrix, his style was so fresh and so revolutionary that many ambitions axe-slingers strived to copy it. Throughout the early '80s, his fluid, speedy hammer-ons and impeccable phrasing could be heard on metal, rock, and pop recordings of all stripes. Soon, there was a whole subgenre of metal containing nothing but guitar virtuosos, or "shredders." Within these shredders, there was a subset of guitarists who were equally influenced by classical music and Van Halen's guitar style. They applied hammers and sweep-picking to classical pieces, using them as vehicles for their prodigious technical abilities. Yngwie Malmsteen was the head of these Neo-Classical Metal guitarists, yet he often worked within the framework of a fairly traditionalist metal band; his records were split between sung songs and instrumental tracks. By the second half of the decade, more and more neo-metal guitarists chose to work in a strictly instrumental vein. This was true of shredders in general -- most notably Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, who broke through to mainstream recognition -- but neo-classical metal guitarists particularly benefited from the sans-singers setting, since it gave them ample room to flex their musical muscles. After all, the primary value of these neo-classical metal guitarists was their technical acumen, and fans and other guitarists alike thrilled to the sounds of extended solos, consisting of blinding arpeggios and flurries of precisely picked notes. Of course, there is a limited audience for this kind of music, and by 1992, when alternative rock had replaced metal in the hearts of many hard rockers, neo-classical metal suffered accordingly. Soon, there weren't as many classical shredders, but a few of the prog-metal bands, such as Dream Theater, carried the flame by incorporating elements of classical and neo-classical metal into their dense music
 
You can easily chunk up 1,000+ words or more just on soloing and how most modern intelligent metal soloists approach the axe. Perhaps emphasize the difference between pure pentatonic wankers (BLUES) and those who wanted to learn more and studied the old 16th - 18th century masters to further hone their chops and melodic lines.

Not to promote plagarism, but you can easily finish your paper if you take some cliffs notes from this brilliant piece of non fiction:

http://www.notam02.no/~espenth/mesh/

=)
 
Maybe it would also be worth mentioning some of the so called "sympho-metal" bands (for example, Haggard or Hollenthon) which blend metal and classical music (or vice-versa in Haggard's case ;))