Neoclassical metal
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Neoclassical metal
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| Development phase: | 1970s and early 1980s years |
| Place of origin: | United States |
| Stylistic precursors | |
| Heavy metal , classical music ( serious music ), speed metal , progressive rock , shredding | |
| Pioneers | |
| Deep Purple - Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force | |
| Instruments typical of the genre | |
| Electric guitar - electric bass - drums - vocals - keyboard | |
| Stylistic successor | |
| Symphonic metal , Viking metal | |
Neoclassical metal describes a metal sub-genre that is heavily influenced by classical music and is characterized by virtuoso playing. Ritchie Blackmore , the guitarist of the band Deep Purple , is considered a pioneer of this music, as he combined classical influences with blues rock as early as the 1970s . In the 1980s, the Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen , who was influenced by Blackmore, became one of the most important musicians of the genre. His debut album Rising Force is considered to be groundbreaking for the further development of neoclassical metal. Other artists who can be counted in this genre include Jason Becker , Tony MacAlpine and Vinnie Moore .
Definition and “classic” influences
The term neoclassical metal is explained by a simplified, slang-spoken use of the term classical music . Classical music is used here as a comprehensive term for the European musical tradition of art music , although a distinction should actually be made here between the different epochs and styles within this tradition. In fact, the term classical in the narrower sense is actually only used in music in relation to the era of Viennese classical music . The term neoclassical metal must not be confused in any way with neoclassicism , as the term neoclassicism relates to this narrower definition and has nothing to do with the colloquial use of the term classical music .
The influences of neoclassical metal cannot be tied to an epoch of European art music. Among other things, influences from the Classical period and especially from the Baroque period can be identified. For example, Yngwie Malmsteen names Antonio Vivaldi , Georg Friedrich Händel and Johann Sebastian Bach (whose "sound" Blackmore also claims to have noticed in Highway Star ) as influences. In addition, he was inspired early on by the so-called "devil's violinist" Niccolò Paganini , which explains his preference for virtuosity and show performances. He even describes Paganini as a rock'n'roller because he played very wildly and extremely. This preference can be seen across the genre and also in related styles such as glam metal , which was popular around the same time.
Pieces by classical composers are often quoted or rearranged and played with electric guitar solo or with a rock group (e.g. Yngwie Malmsteen: “Bourrée in E minor” (BWV 996) by JS Bach, Vinnie Moore: “April Sky “(Arrangement of“ Air on the G string (BWV 1068) ”), originally by JS Bach).
The "classical influences" of rock musicians - sometimes only alleged - have also been the subject of parodies. For example, in the mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap , in which the fictional rock guitarist Nigel Tufnel describes a piano piece he composed as a Mach Piece , as it supposedly contains influences from Mozart and Bach .
History of the genre and major representatives
In the 1960s and 1970s there were already many albums and bands with classical influences, such as Deep Purple's Concerto for Group and Orchestra . Classic influences can be found among the guitarists of hard rock and heavy metal of the 1970s, including Ritchie Blackmore , Uli Jon Roth and later Randy Rhoads . However, neoclassical metal only became a genre of its own in the 1980s. Also, the guitarists of the 1960s and 1970s did not have the preference for the fast game as is usual in neoclassical metal.
The development of neoclassical metal is closely connected with the so-called " shred movement " and overlaps with it. Many guitarists from this movement published their albums on the record label Shrapnel Records of Mike Varney . It was also Varney who introduced the then unknown Yngwie Malmsteen in his “Spotlight” column in Guitar Player Magazine in 1982 and made it possible for him to enter the USA . Other guitarists on the Shrapnel label include Tony MacAlpine , Vinnie Moore , Paul Gilbert , Jason Becker and Marty Friedman .
Neoclassical metal today
Since the focus in the 1980s with the releases of the Shrapnel label and neoclassical releases was generally on the virtuoso abilities of the guitarist featured, the music was often very "guitar-heavy". For this reason, the music was often only received by guitarists or guitar fans, so that the genre was not particularly well known outside of this fan base. Today the focus no longer seems to be just on guitar work, as is the case with the music of artists and bands such as Trans-Siberian Orchestra , Stratovarius , Cacophony , Symphony X , Mekong Delta , Rata Blanca , Narnia , Rhapsody of Fire , Time Requiem , At Vance , Versailles Philharmonic Quintet , Galneryus , Mastercastle , Sound Horizon , Necrophagist , Heavenly , Fleshgod Apocalypse , Adagio , Dark Moor , Warmen , Ayreon , Winds and Amberian Dawn shows. Metal acts like Children of Bodom , Protest the Hero and The Human Abstract also have neoclassical influences.
Individual evidence
- ^ Ritchie Blackmore | Dinosaur rock guitar
- ↑ a b Yngwie Malmsteen interviewed by Darrin Fox, February 25, 2011
- ^ Rising Force - Yngwie Malmsteen | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic
- ↑ Guitar Strength: Put the Pedal to the (Neo-Classical) Metal | Guitar World
- ↑ Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Yngwie Malmsteen's 'Concerto Suite For Electric Guitar' Dvd To Receive US Release - Blabbermouth.net
- ↑ Yngwie Malmsteen Discusses his Roots, His Rep and his Latest Album in this 1986 Guitar World Interview | Guitar World
- ^ Hannes Fricke: Myth guitar: history, interpreters, great hours. Reclam, Stuttgart 2013, ISBN 978-3-15-020279-1 , p. 85.
- ↑ Yngwie Malmsteen Discusses his Roots, His Rep and his Latest Album in this 1986 Guitar World Interview | Guitar World , “Paganini is probably my biggest classical influence. I got turned on to him through a tv show in Sweden. This guy was playing Paganini and I freaked, so I went out and bought Paganini's 'Twenty-Four Caprices', which is my all-time favorite thing to listen to. Paganini did with his instrument what few people have ever come close to doing. He was a rock and roller - very wild and very extreme. "
- ↑ This Is Spinal Tap (1984) - Quotes - IMDb , "I'm really influenced by Mozart and Bach, and it's sort of in between those, really. It's like a Mach piece, really. "
- ↑ Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ About Shrapnel Records | Shrapnel Records Group
- ↑ MusicPlayers.com: How Swede it is! An interview with Yngwie Malmsteen, by John Quigley and Scott Kahn
