Neo-classical Metal?

ZuJazz09 · 08-17-2009, 02:29 PM

Windham Hell: Please tell me someone else somewhere has heard of this avant-garde 90's metal band!

I posted it here and not on the metal or experimental forum because I'd like to discuss the topic of classical music's influence on modern metal, if one exists. I hear people claim their band is rooted in the works of Mozart and Vivaldi, but seldom have I ever heard this claim substantiated aside from in this now-extinct band's work, which on Window of Souls, one of Windham's finer CDs, to be specific, even goes far enough to feature a guitar cover of one of Vivaldi's classics.

So what influences, if any, have you seen in modern metal?

Certif1ed · 09-07-2009, 04:02 AM

I will check them out - never heard of them before.

I agree that metal music is almost never "rooted" in classical music - rather it is almost invariably rooted in metal.

To take Malmsteen as an example, while the licks and a few techinques (such as cycle of fifths) are taken from (mostly) Baroque music, the music is usually in a hugely simplified song format.

The concept of development is all but lost - and that was a key part of "Classical" music (to use the generic umbrella term!).

Avant-garde rarely truly exists - I'd like to hear some that isn't based on improvisations that use an "old" mode.

Covering Vivaldi isn't new - Dutch band Ekseption were doing that in the early 1970s.

But this is an interesting topic - I tend not to take Classically influenced metal too seriously, as it tends to be metal that sounds a bit Classical rather than truly Classical that sounds metal - but if there is any that really does root itself more in Classical than metal, I'd be interested to hear it.

Seragon Ripper · 09-07-2009, 08:59 PM

Naw, but I've heard of Malmsteen

08-17-2009, 02:29 PM	#1 (permalink)
ZuJazz09 Groupie Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Miami Posts: 2	Neo-classical Metal? Windham Hell: Please tell me someone else somewhere has heard of this avant-garde 90's metal band! I posted it here and not on the metal or experimental forum because I'd like to discuss the topic of classical music's influence on modern metal, if one exists. I hear people claim their band is rooted in the works of Mozart and Vivaldi, but seldom have I ever heard this claim substantiated aside from in this now-extinct band's work, which on Window of Souls, one of Windham's finer CDs, to be specific, even goes far enough to feature a guitar cover of one of Vivaldi's classics. So what influences, if any, have you seen in modern metal?

09-07-2009, 08:59 PM	#3 (permalink)
Seragon Ripper Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 66	Naw, but I've heard of Malmsteen __________________ All Hail Shagrath

09-07-2009, 04:02 AM	#2 (permalink)
Certif1ed Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 194	I will check them out - never heard of them before. I agree that metal music is almost never "rooted" in classical music - rather it is almost invariably rooted in metal. To take Malmsteen as an example, while the licks and a few techinques (such as cycle of fifths) are taken from (mostly) Baroque music, the music is usually in a hugely simplified song format. The concept of development is all but lost - and that was a key part of "Classical" music (to use the generic umbrella term!). Avant-garde rarely truly exists - I'd like to hear some that isn't based on improvisations that use an "old" mode. Covering Vivaldi isn't new - Dutch band Ekseption were doing that in the early 1970s. But this is an interesting topic - I tend not to take Classically influenced metal too seriously, as it tends to be metal that sounds a bit Classical rather than truly Classical that sounds metal - but if there is any that really does root itself more in Classical than metal, I'd be interested to hear it.