Subgenre of heavy metal combining classical music and speed metal
Neoclassical metal
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Stylistic origins
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Cultural origins
| Late 1970s and early 1980s, Europe and North America
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Derivative forms
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Neoclassical metal
is a
subgenre
of
heavy metal
that is heavily influenced by
classical music
and usually features very technical playing,
[1]
[Note 1]
consisting of elements borrowed from both classical and
speed metal
music.
Deep Purple
's
Ritchie Blackmore
and
Jon Lord
pioneered the subgenre by merging classical melodies and
blues rock
. Later,
Yngwie Malmsteen
became one of the most notable musicians in the subgenre, and contributed greatly to the development of the style in the 1980s.
[1]
[Note 2]
[2]
Other notable players in the genre are
Randy Rhoads
,
Luca Turilli
,
Michael Romeo
,
Jason Becker
,
Tony MacAlpine
,
Vinnie Moore
,
Alexi Laiho
,
Jani Liimatainen
,
Uli Jon Roth
,
Stephan Forte
,
Wolf Hoffmann
,
[3]
Timo Tolkki
, and
Marty Friedman
.
[1]
[Note 3]
Although the genre is mainly associated with guitarists (especially lead guitarists), keyboardists like
Jens Johansson
,
Michael Pinnella
,
Alex Staropoli
and
Janne Wirman
are also found playing in this style, with
Jon Lord
as an early influence on the genre.
Definition
[
edit
]
Neoclassical metal takes its name from a broad conception of
classical music
. In this it is a concept distinct from how
neoclassicism
is understood within the classical music tradition.
Neoclassical music
usually refers to a movement in musical
modernism
which developed roughly a century after the end of the
Classical period
and peaked during the years between the two World Wars.
On the other hand, neoclassical metal music does not restrict itself to a return to classical aesthetic ideals, such as equilibrium and formalism. Its influences include both the
Romantic
musical period and the
Baroque
period of the seventeenth and first half of the eighteenth centuries. The music of late Baroque composers such as
Vivaldi
,
Handel
and
Bach
was often highly ornate. Neoclassical metal musicians such as
Yngwie Malmsteen
and
Joshua Perahia
are inspired by this aspect of Baroque music
[1]
[Note 4]
and also by later composers such as the violinist
Niccolo Paganini
in using runs and other decorative and showy techniques in their performances.
Neoclassical metal music thus looks to classical music as broadly understood by the general public and not to the more specialist technical definition used within classical circles.
History of the genre and influences
[
edit
]
In the 1960s and 1970s, there were many works that influenced this subgenre,
Deep Purple
's
Concerto for Group and Orchestra
being the most important one. Other bands, like
Rainbow
, also featured neoclassical influences. Early
classical
influences within
hard rock
and heavy metal are most notably found in the playing of
Jon Lord
,
Keith Emerson
,
Ritchie Blackmore
,
Uli Jon Roth
and
Randy Rhoads
. But it was in the 1980s when neoclassical metal became a distinct subgenre.
[1]
[Note 5]
Heavy metal guitar technique developed rapidly from its late-1960s beginnings to its late-1980s peak, but before the 1980s, few metal guitarists displayed the advanced technical proficiency which is a hallmark of the neoclassical metal style. The popularization and growth of neoclassical metal is closely related to the ascension of the guitar "
shredding
" movement.
The "golden age" of neoclassical metal in the middle to late 1980s revolved around the sizeable roster of flashy electric-guitar soloists who recorded mostly instrumental albums for
Mike Varney
's
Shrapnel Records
label. Swedish guitarist
Yngwie Malmsteen
, widely regarded as the originator
[Note 6]
and still-reigning king of neoclassical metal,
[4]
was brought to the United States by Varney to sign with Shrapnel Records in 1982.
Many subsequent Shrapnel artists,
[1]
[Note 7]
including
Tony MacAlpine
,
[1]
Vinnie Moore
,
[1]
Joey Tafolla
,
Michael Angelo Batio
,
Paul Gilbert
,
David T. Chastain
,
Jason Becker
,
[1]
and
Marty Friedman
, emerged in the latter 1980s as exemplars of the neoclassical style.
In recent years, appreciation of the neoclassical metal oeuvre has been largely confined to guitarists in more of an underground setting, as the style is not well known beyond the realm of guitarists. Today, there are many more bands that contribute as a whole as opposed to the "solo" musicians in the past.
A common practice in the genre is to transcribe classical pieces and play them in a rock/metal band format or as a solo artist such as
Tina Setkic
. The
Baroque
and
Classical
periods have been particularly influential to the genre because of their unique sound and techniques that blend into a
rock
setting effectively.
Styles and theory
[
edit
]
A common feature of neoclassical metal is the
diminished seventh chord
. It can be a useful tool for modulation, as it's possible to move by minor thirds through the chord, then use the diminished 7th as a leading tone to resolve to the tonic.
Pentatonic scales
are also prevalent (as in the vast majority of rock and metal styles). A scale often used by neoclassical metal musicians is the
harmonic minor scale
, which is similar to the natural minor, but has a raised 7th (in the case of E, the D goes to D
♯
).
Modes
are also used on occasion.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"
L'arrivee du neoclassique remet au gout du jour la virtuosite et le travail de l'instrument
", "Les secrets du metal- Etudes de Style", March 2009, p.14
- ^
"
C'est veritablement en 1984, avec son premier album solo "Rising Force", que le virtuose suedois Yngwie Malmsteen fait decouvrir au monde son melange unique de baroque et de heavy metal
", "Les secrets du metal- Etudes de Style", March 2009, p.14
- ^
"Toute un pleiade de guitars heroes va deferler, pour la plupart reveles par le label Shrapel records, parmi lesquels les plus legendaires sont John Petrucci, Jason Becker, Jacky Vincent, Tony MacAlpine, Timo Tolkki et Vinnie Moore
", "Les secrets du metal- Etudes de Style", March 2009, p.14
- ^
"
C'est veritablement en 1984, avec son premier album solo "Rising Force", que le virtuose suedois Yngwie Malmsteen fait decouvrir au monde son
melange unique de baroque et de heavy metal
", "Les secrets du metal- Etudes de Style", March 2009, p.14
- ^
"
C'est veritablement en 1984, avec son premier album solo "Rising Force", que le virtuose suedois Yngwie Malmsteen fait decouvrir au monde son melange unique de baroque et de heavy metal
", "Les secrets du metal- Etudes de Style", March 2009, p.14
- ^
"
Si l'on peut clairement considerer Randy Rhoads, Uli Jon Roth et Ritchie Blackmore, comme les precurseurs,
c'est veritablement en 1984, [...] que le virtuose suedois Yngwie Malmsteen fait decouvrir au monde son melange unique de baroque et de heavy metal
", "Les secrets du metal- Etudes de Style", March 2009, p.14
- ^
"Toute une pleiade de guitars heroes va deferler, pour la plupart reveles par le
label Shrapnel Records
, parmi lesquels les plus legendaires sont
Jason Becker, Tony McAlpine et Vinnie Moore
", "Les secrets du metal- Etudes de Style", March 2009, p.14
Sources
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
Stephan Forte, "Metal neoclassique" in
Guitarist Magazine Pedago
, Hors Serie #29, "Les secrets du metal- Etudes de Style", March 2009, pp.14?15.
- ^
Farley, Helen (2013).
"Demons, The Occult Devils and Witches: in Heavy Metal Music"
. In Bayer, Gerd (ed.).
Heavy Metal Music in Britain
.
Ashgate Publishing
. pp. 80?81.
ISBN
978-1-4094-9385-3
.
- ^
"- YouTube"
.
YouTube
.
- ^
Yngwie Malmsteen biography
, Shredaholic.com, Retrieved 13 September 2009
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