Unknown Affinities Between Metal and Classical Music / Claiming a Heritage, Cousins in The Epic (1)

On January 29 and 30, the world premieres of Voivod Symphonique take place, a rare public event that juxtaposes classical “high culture” with the underground world of metal. Yet there are many links between these two European traditions, both in terms of music and history. Nevertheless, even the most erudite of scholars, and orchestral musicians in particular, remain largely unaware of this connection. To demystify the context in which this extraordinary collaboration culminates, our collaborator and musicologist Laurent Bellemare presents a brilliant comparative overview of the similarities between these two worlds.

Claiming an inheritance

With barely 60 years of existence, metal has made giant leaps in its stylistic and technical evolution, a trend exacerbated by the technological society of the 21st century. Repudiated by official institutions and marginalized in mass culture, this raw, inaccessible music had been drinking in classical European references from the outset, both compositional and extra-musical.

While the first hard rock/metal bands tended to have blues-rock roots (Cream, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin), Judas Priest and Iron Maiden showed a clear technical shift. This rigorous execution and increasingly detailed compositional work went hand in hand with a less systematic use of blues pentatonism – 5-note scales typical of the blues.

There was also increased lyricism and harmonization in the guitar arrangements, enriched by increasingly complex, faster drumming.

Under the influence of progressive rock on metal, waves of bands such as Queensrÿche and Dream Theater catalyzed this new interest in complex, longitudinal forms. Rather than repeating simple patterns, metal developed material.

Cousins in the epic

Beyond the music, let’s now identify the thematic similarities between the metal and classical worlds. Since the birth of the rock sub-genre, metal bands have freely drawn inspiration from Judeo-Christian mythology, whether through overt blasphemy or subversive misappropriation of its symbols, as Black Sabbath, Venom and Slayer have done.

The fantastical worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien and H.P. Lovecraft also figure prominently in metal texts.

Symphonic metaphors abound, from Megadeth’s classic thrash metal Symphony of Destruction to goregrind icons Carcass’ Symphonies of Sickness.

The association with the symphony orchestra, another symbol of sonic power and triumphant grandeur, is also corroborated in the cult documentary Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey (2008), in which the orchestral romanticism of Richard Wagner is seen as the spiritual ancestor of metal.