Classical Musical Quotation

[Atticus]

Has anyone else noticed how some bands like Children of Bodom quote pieces of classical music occassionally? Either that or rip it off completely.

e.g.
Red Light in My Eyes Part II just IS the Confutatis from Mozart's Requiem, and COB have used other Mozart stuff.

Is this clever writing, showing off or laziness?

Also why Mozart? It hasn't got half as much in common with metal as 20th century stuff like Shostakovitch. I actually think Mozart is the classical equivalent of bland pop music.
To remedy the situation one of the songs in my band begins with an extensive quotation from the 4th movement of Shos's fifth symphony. Pretentious nonsense?

 

[veil the sky]

Hehe, no comment.

Only joking

I had noticed that actually, I think it's probably a little from column a and a little from column B if you know what I mean! I wouldn't put it past COB to be pretentious, but if you have the skills and the know how, then make the music!! That's what I say.

I think perhaps if they had the know how, then 'true black metal' bands might have used Richard Wagner influences in their music considering his affiliations with Nietzsche.

Yngwei Malmsteen often quotes JSBach as his main inflluence, which just sounds horrendously big-headed (but maybe I'm just saying that because I know what he's like!!) but he is of course incredible. I don't doubt that he sits at home and listens to Bach and thinks "hmmm he's a bit like me actually". Yeh right Yngwei, you're peas in a pod mate!!

What does make me laugh is when I open up some CD cover with inverted pentagrams all over it and see Bach and Haydn and so on so forth listed as main musical influences. Then you play the CD and it's like horribly out of time, horrendous, simplistic, boneheaded crap and I think 'so how exactly have you taken influences from these classical and Baroque composers? All you do is thrash out power chords in open D tuning on top of blast beats!!!!' Do I sound elitist???

 

[Atticus]

Nah, you're not being elitist, more like realistic. Many bands fail to understand the craft involved in putting together classical music. It just ain't that easy.
Some bands have gone as far as to rip off whole tunes with varying levels of success and credibility left in tact:

Nile: Rameses Bringer of War (Mars from Holsts Planet's Suite) - Thumbs up for this one.
Marduk: Glorification of the Black God (Night on a Bare Mountain - Mussorgsky ) - Quite poor
Bathory: Hammerheart ( Jupiter from Holst's Planet Suite.) - This one is a good lesson in being really careful about such things, as it is the most godawful embarrasing piece of shite ever committed to vinyl.
Sepultura didn't even try and rework Orf's Carmina Burana, they just snipped bits out of somebody else's recording and used it as the intro and outro to one of their early albums. And look what a bag of crap they turned out to be.
Therion on the other hand did their very own version of "Oh Fortuna" from the aforementioned work on the album Deggial, and it's pretty good actually.

Can't think of any others right now but they are out there...

 

[veil the sky]

That Therion cover I'm hot and cold about actually. It's got some really nice parts which are faithful enough to the original with an interesting twist, but others feel a little too 'straight' (for want of a better or genuinely more accurate word). I love Deggial and I happily listen to the 'Oh Fortuna' on it, but it's one of those that each time I hear it I can't help thinking 'I'd rather hear the original arrangement'. Probably something to do with it's relation to the whole of the Carmina Burana actually, it always feels like the begginning of something tagged onto the end of something if you know what I mean!

They are doing something incredible and unique so I would go far with any criticism of Therion though.

There's 'Hall of the Mountain King' on Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow album 'Stranger in us all'. Now that's how it's really done!! I love Ritchie B!!

 

[Surt]

Originally posted by Atticus
Bathory: Hammerheart ( Jupiter from Holst's Planet Suite.) - This one is a good lesson in being really careful about such things, as it is the most godawful embarrasing piece of shite ever committed to vinyl.

You think so? Jupiter is one of my favourite pieces and I think that Quorthon used the music to great effect on "Hammerheart".

 

[Atticus]

Jupiter is one of my favourite pieces

Mine too. Still stirs me now as it did when I first heard it 20 years ago.

I think that Quorthon used the music to great effect on "Hammerheart"

Fair enough, but I'm afraid it makes me cringe in horror. Mainly because his singing voice sounds like an out of tune Mr Bean with a cold. It works on the viking stuff (which I'm a huge fan of btw) but it sounds um... tacky in this context.

 

[veil the sky]

Fair enough, but I'm afraid it makes me cringe in horror. Mainly because his singing voice sounds like an out of tune Mr Bean with a cold.

 

[Surt]

Originally posted by Atticus

Fair enough, but I'm afraid it makes me cringe in horror. Mainly because his singing voice sounds like an out of tune Mr Bean with a cold. It works on the viking stuff (which I'm a huge fan of btw) but it sounds um... tacky in this context.

Well you're entitled to your opinion and although your description of Quorthon's vocal effort is rather humorous; I'm not sure that I would agree.

Another classical quotation (or sample rather) is Dvořák's "From The New World" symphony as an intro to the last track on Dimmu Borgir's "Stormblåst".

 

[epicous]

Dark Moor also borrowed some of Mozart pieces.

 

[serenesorrow]

Accept - Metalheart (Fur Elise)

ohh and Dimmu Borgir covered that as well

 

[Corporal McDick]

Lacrimosa did exellent shit.... in Stille (1997) - check our track 8 - Der Strasse Der Zeit.

I dont know if they ripped it or wrote it but it sounds exellent.

And of course Elodia (1999) which is recorded with the London Phylarmonic Orchestra.... its one of the best combinations of metal and classical music I have ever heard....

 

[anonymousnick2001]

I'm composing a classical piece with metal influences. I'll probably MIDI-track it and release it when I'm done.

Double-bass drums can sound awesome with a string quartet if done right.

 

[the alumnus]

i myself considered ripping off shostakovich at one point. but remember, his music isn't public domain, whereas mozart is. you rip off mozart in every one of your songs, and no lawyer would care. but i am no lawyer and don't know the legal consequences of stealing a bit or two from shostakovich.