In a study carried out by Professor Adrian North, they were revealed the similarities between the average Classical Music fan and that who worships Metal (a widely celebrated pun).It was discovered that fans of both genres have a tendency to be laid back individualistic beings. And not to mention an obvious tendency to be more creative than the average Music fan.
And just as all of you know, Classical music listeners are very often influenced to pick up an instrument and pursuit their obsession. Similarly, Metal fans have the same obsessive inclinations towards “metal-creating” instruments.
Having covered the psychological grounds these two genres share, it is time to move to the Musical aspect. Most of you would find it far-fetched of me or anyone who would claim that these two genres intertwine Musically. Well think again…One of the earliest evidences of Classical influence on Rock would be with Deep Purple. Ritchie Blackmore was the first to experiment with his guitar and bring the Neo-classical sound to life. This subgenre was embraced and carried on by guitarists such as Yngwie Malmsteen who in his turn inspired a generation of guitarists.
Take a band such as Children of Bodom in their early days. “Hatebreeded” and “Follow the Reaper” are perfect examples as to how Metal can be directly linked to Classical Music. With Violin-like Guitar compositions played with great dexterity, and Alexi Laiho’s long fascination with practitioners such as Vivaldi.A more vivid example would be that of Symphonic Metal. I’m sure all of you have heard of bands such as Epica and After Forever, the list goes on… The Classical Music elements are so abundant that the guitar becomes more of a secondary instrument for the keyboard to sore over.
Finally, the main purpose of this article wasn’t just to lay down similarities between two Music genres seemingly diverse when judged by the surface. But to help liberate you from narrow-minded stereotypes that some people voluntarily try to fall under. It should be us as individuals who define Music and not the other way around…
