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Music Dorkery

J.S. BACH = THE MOST METAL OF ALL COMPOSERS

 Wednesday, December 24th, 2008 at 1:00pm by

johann sebastian bachRather than the usual aural assault, this morning I decided to tune my radio to 89.9 FM (WKCR here in NYC), who are celebrating the life of Johann Sebastian Bach all week during their annual “Bach Fest.” And it hit me: this man may single-handedly be responsible for heavy metal, having composed the blackest of black music some 250+ years before Black Sabbath.

I’ve been trying to convince metalgf for some time that modern metal (much of it, anyway) is an extension of classical music, and listening to Bach this morning drove that point home. Bach — even moreso than many other classical composers — is the quintessential forefather of metal. His shit is just so raw, evil-sounding, and full of emotion, and because his pieces are primarily solo works on the organ you can hear the melodies front and center. To further support my claim, I paid a visit to the bedrooms of America via — where else — YouTube, to find some modern metal renditions of the most famous tunes by our favorite Baroque composer.

Symphony #5: The first few notes comprise one of the most famous musical phrases in history. [Apologies on the Bach/Beethoven error. I think this example still illustrates the point of classical as a precursor to metal, even if Beethoven wrote this piece much later than the rest mentioned here. - Ed.]

Toccata & Fugue: Another instantly recognizable (and metal!) tune:

Another version… with a pink Ibanez JEM (metal!), no less:

I forget the name of this Bach tune but it’s also really fucking metal:

Invention #8:

And finally, the king of neo-classical guitar, none other than Mr. Yngwie Malmsteen himself playing Bach (drenched in ridiculous levels of reverb, natch):

-VN

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  • Produced by Jacob Bannon

    I laughed at this part:
    “His shit is just so raw, evil-sounding, and full of emotion”

    Keep trying to convince your gf that Metal is evil-sounding. How old are you btw?

  • Jesse

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ8BbZO84Yc

    Alexi Laiho and Roope Latvala with a violin effect on their guitars tearing some classical shit up.

  • Jesse

    BTW: At least I think it’s a violin effect. Either way it’s worth a look.

  • dont panic

    I thought it was an established fact among metalheads that Wagner was the most metuhl classical composer. With vikings and huge bass drums and shit.

  • Tim

    this is so true. I’ve always said music is music. it’s all the same notes, but delivery is what categorizes it. played on a violin… it’s classical. played on a guitar w/ lots of distortion… it’s metal.

  • Sean

    Tchaichovski was pretty metal-y, too. The 1812 Overture is brutal.

  • http://www.myspace.com/corrosivefate Rohit

    Sorry but Franz Schubert is the most metal of all.

    “Gravedigger’s Tune,” “Fratricide,” “Ghost Dance,” “To the Cemetery,” “The Song of Burial,” “Cemetery at Dawn,” “Call from the Dead.”

    All titles of Schubert’s works.

    Beat that Bach.

  • rd5

    Didn’t Beethoven write Symphony #5?

  • kamisama

    nice article. but the first video, 5th symphony, is from beethoven not bach. like bach, beethoven was the father of the structure of songs as we know today.

  • mr_Izan

    does that make antonio vivaldi the original metal monk???

  • http://www.cerebralmetalhead.com Etan

    The clip whose name you didn’t know is the Fugue section from the Toccata and Fugue.

  • Mike

    That Symphony number five is definitely Beethoven and not Bach. Thumbs down. Boo

  • 36Thoughtless

    If you want to hear the precursor to all mathcore, listen to Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring.” But yeah, agreed on Bach.

    @Rohit: You’re forgetting “Der Erlkonig”….true brutality…

  • Slntpsych1

    I’ll have to put in another vote for Wagner, not only for his music, but also his lifestyle.

  • cornblood

    Shostokovich!

  • http://outthrowingroses.blogspot.com Matt

    The scowl is pretty metal if you ask me. By posting something I enjoyed you have asked me.

  • TSO

    That thing you just did, posting Beethoven as Bach, that’s the equivalent of some blogger just discovering metal posting an article about Iron Maiden and crediting to them an Opeth clip without even noticing the differences between the two bands. Your article as a whole is the equivalent of that same blogger proceeding to write about how Iron Maiden was the first black metal band, and the key influence of other black metal bands like Dimmu Borgir and Slipknot. You would rip that person for not knowing what they’re talking about and spreading misinformation about your favorite music. I’m ripping you for the same thing. This is easily my favorite music blog and most of my favorite music discoveries of 2008 have come from here, so it irks me to see uninformed fluff like this show up in my Reader under the illustrious MetalSucks banner. Please either learn about concert music before posting about it, or don’t post about concert music. Please.

  • mrjumping

    Shostakovich Symphony #10 movement # 2

    Mahler – Symphony # 2 Movements 1 and 5

    More metal than Beethoven or Bach

    Check em out

  • Sammy

    The pink JEM guy ruled.

  • Mark

    Vince, the Internet hates you.

  • banter

    Not to sound like an elitist, but you really don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m glad you can appreciate Bach, but your idea that metal is a stretch of classical music is bogus. All music came from classical music! To compare Bach with metal artists of today is an insult to Bach and insult to yourself, simply because you are demeaning metal bands. Bach is an unparalleled musical genius. Scarcely any metal bands feature the classical stylings, and the ones that do continue to stray further and further from what made Bach’s music great in the first place. Bach’s music continues to live on, whereas most metal will fade into oblivion, and the metal that will remain will not be for talent and virtuosity, but out of pure entertainment.

    • Bob

      Yes, you do sound elitist. There’s no way for us to know for sure whether metal will die out or not and it is unfair of you to assume it will. Bach and metal artists have completely different styles, but the complexity and heart of the music is, at the very least similar. This article may have been poorly written but that dosen’t mean that the writer dosen’t have a point. Also, you’re contradicting yourself when you say that the writer is “demeaning metal bands” yet go on to praise Bach and put metal bands down. Check your word usage.

  • http://www.kaaghouse.com GoatRider

    I think it was Joey DeMaio who said Wagner invented Heavy Metal. Classical music is kick ass…

  • Pesely

    without classical, there would be no metal. pretty simple

  • Carter

    Bach invented what western music traditionally considers “harmony.” His chorales are the basis of all music education at the high school and college level. Without him those shredding harmonies in solos wouldn’t exist. Great post

  • CrapMcPoopin

    I’m usually a troll on here, but Banter shut the fuck up. This was a fun little self revelation for Vince. Why ruin his party with your enlightened point of view? It’s the internet… who looks like a bigger twat? Vince for getting shit wrong and making a value judgment or you for taking time out of your life to snub your nose at him. Shame on your for being a fuckwit.

  • TSO

    I’m about to start pulling my hair out. I know this is going to make me sound like an elitist know-it-all asshole, but so be it. This post and much of its comment thread imply that concert music is only interesting in light of metal, and that metal requires concert music as a validation of its worth, and I’m angered by that. First of all, metal in general is largely absent any substantial classical influence. Metal evolved out of classic rock and blues, which evolved from black American and African folk music. Metal’s structural, rhythmic, and harmonic approaches derive almost universally from those roots, and not at all from concert music, which approaches the above in entirely different ways. Some black metal and post-metal takes a more classical approach to structure, but aside from that, the only major intersection of metal and concert music is melody, and in metal, classical melody is a variation from jazz- and blues-based melody rather than a core element.

    Music owes a substantial debt to Bach largely because he redefined its language, but the concepts which the language describes predate Bach significantly. He did not invent or even reconceptualize harmony; he just made it easier to use. And while his music is remarkably beautiful, it was composed largely through mathematical determinism rather than emotional expression. It was one of Bach’s sons, CPE Bach, who began to introduce expressionism into music, and it wasn’t until Beethoven that concert music became fully embodied as an expressionist–rather than ornamental–art form.

    Metal and concert music are both incredible expressions of music, and I love them both. They each have their own virtues (and faults), and each feature some of the greatest minds in the history of music. Metal and concert music deserve to be enjoyed on their own merits rather than weighted against each other.

    • cdkowald

      The relationship of classical music to metal is mostly a matter of the wall of sound, especially with regards to the similarities of sound between loud, distorted guitar, and loud, distorted French horns and trombones. Distorted lead guitar can also, in the hands of master like Eric Johnson or Paul Gilbert, have a singing violin-like quality. Cellos and basses also add to the full bottom sound like a good rhythm guitar and bass combo. Let’s not forget the massive percussion sections used in works by Wagner, Mahler, and Strauss that certainly can be as thunderous as anything Bonzo did. It is very true that the musical structure and form of metal derived mainly from blues and early rock and roll, but the wall of sound goes back much farther. Listen to the opening of The Flying Dutchman Overture by Wagner, or the opening of Mahler’s 3d Symphony and hear that wall of sound from the brass.

  • Spike

    Vince, QUIT WHILE YOU’RE BEHIND!

  • 36Thoughtless

    @TSO: I understand and respect your knowledge in this area, but I don’t think that was what Vince was implying at all. It was really a tongue-in-cheek post, although I think the connection between metal and classical music, however tenuous, is something to be enjoyed on a superficial level. I doubt anyone here is attempting to make much of a substantial argument for their connectedness at all.

  • TSO

    @36Thoughtless: Agreed. I just don’t like to see my favorite music (metal and classical both) misunderstood. But then, I’m also a pretentious asshole who takes things too seriously.

    BTW, Baroque melodic counterpoint superimposed over metal = epic win (as long as it’s not Malmsteen)

  • vegard

    necrophagist = the new wagner

    ?

  • cadaeib

    @TSO: I agree that metal is largely uninfluenced directly by classical music, but is it possible that they have arrived independently at a similar style? Both emphasize complexity and emotion, embrace dissonance, and there’s a bit of a culture of breaking musical rules in both (the usual example: Stravinsky’s works were so controversial that they sparked riots!) No, they’re not the same, and it’s possible to love one without even knowing of the other, but if you like one, it’s pretty likely that you’ll like the other. Vince is broadening our horizons, and if that happens via somewhat superficial recommendations, so be it.
    This might be the influence of my rubato-loving piano teacher, but I also disagree with your statement that Bach’s music is not emotional. His music, while it may have been composed systematically, inspires emotion. It would be pointless as music if it didn’t, unless it was aural wallpaper, which it definitely is not. It has dissonance (which is eventually resolved in Bach’s music, though), and even his faster, more technical works have a feeling of surging excitement. From a modern listener’s point of view, Bach is just as emotional as a metal band, even if it might not have been in his time.
    I definitely agree that they should be enjoyed on their own merits, though. They’re separate, independent genres — but they’re independent genres that the same people might like.

    Oh, and some random classical-metal comparisons: Vivaldi = Dragonforce. Pretty, catchy melodies, until you realize that everything they’ve written is the same. Violinists’ joke: Vivaldi didn’t write 300 concertos; he wrote one concerto 300 times!
    If you like really dissonant, harmonically harsh metal, try some 20th-century classical. It’s all about breaking harmonic rules too, but — like metal — it often just sounds like noise if you’re new to it.
    Also, the art of the technical-wankery solo is not new: find a recording of a Mozart concerto, and listen to the cadenza (it’s the part near the end where the orchestra stops playing to let the soloist show just how awesome they are). Classic “listen to this! I’m playing one-hundred-twenty-eighth notes!” showing off. It’s fun to listen to, but less fun to practice…

  • DanyLektro

    Rachmaninoff – Prelude in C sharp minor.
    Win.

  • Conduit

    Holy fucking essays. Why so serious?

  • Michiel

    “http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ8BbZO84Yc

    Alexi Laiho and Roope Latvala with a violin effect on their guitars tearing some classical shit up.”

    Hi, in case you’re wondering, this is a part of Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’. This particular part is called ‘Summer’.

  • Jesse

    Richard Wagner’s Siegfried Act 1 is epic and metal as fuck.

    Also Symphonie Fantastique by Hector Berlioz is the shit and he was obsessed with dead bodies.

  • damienk

    Funny, I remember making this exact same point to an old girlfriend, who just kept looking at me funny for saying it.
    I love the discussion, and you guys are making great references, so I need to add three more.

    Night on Bald Mountain: Just read up on the history of this thing. It’s a tone poem based on a witches sabbath, and it just oozes evil. Original performances of it provoked horrified reactions from listeners, just like yer grandmothers reaction to Deicide.
    Holst’ The Planets: Mars – Bringer of War: OK, this is actually pretty recent(1914 or so), but it’s still concert music, and the main musical theme at play here is pretty much the same tri-tone used in “Black Sabbath”, and countless other metal tunes.
    Niccolò Paganini: Not a piece of music, but a shredder from the early 1800s. The original guitar hero. Stunning virtuosity, a flamboyant stage presence, and a penchant for romantic trysts with married women, all prompted accusations of the violinist having sold his soul to good ol Satan. The original blueprint for Yngwie, among others.

  • http://www.hibernum.net hibernum

    What I love most about this post is that a guy who spent most of his adult life as a church musician and wrote copious amounts of religious music is described as “having composed the blackest of black music” and “so raw, evil-sounding”.

    I once fell asleep in Hill auditorium during Bachfest, where they played all through the night. T-bagg was there. Good times, bad hangovers.

    Did you know that Bach was married twice? His first wife died early (not uncommon those days) and was his second cousin. Not to worry, his son from his second marriage, CPE Bach, was a successful composer still remembered today. Another digression, Bach has quite the musical family, another son was the famouns Johann Christian Bach who gave lessons to a young Mozart in London.

  • http://www.hibernum.net hibernum

    Sorry, typo – CPE Bach was from his first marriage.

  • http://www.last.fm/user/Richaod/ Richaod

    cadaeib said it perfectly.

    I have to second damienk on the Holst though – Mars, The Bringer of War’s 5/4 rhythm would fit perfectly in a metal song, and the tritone pops up in songs like Diamond Head’s Am I Evil?. Not to mention that Jupiter is quoted in Bathory’s Hammerheart, and that John Williams’ Force theme is practically a lift of it (the Star Wars are also extremely metal).

  • http://countshockula.blogspot.com ezra

    “I thought it was an established fact among metalheads that Wagner was the most metuhl classical composer. With vikings and huge bass drums and shit.”
    Obviously it’s Wagner
    He invented a Bass so big 2 people had to play it!

    • better than ezra

      just want to post under this name, i have nothing to offer

  • TedTedPoleyPoley

    did you call in to request LOVE IS A BITCHSLAP or anything else off of ANGEL DOWN during “Bach Fest”?

  • metalheaddrummer101

    I had to play that Invention in ‘C’ on piano that Malmsteen played. But a LOT slower :)
    wagner is also badass.

  • http://www.styleikons.com Andy Weston

    I just listened to the recovered piano rolls recorded by Mahler himself. Strange to listen to the tempi, the fortes knowing that it was the master himself who gave his impression of his music.

  • Jacob
  • ThisIsNecessary

    Symphony X should have been mentioned here, as Micheal Romeo is an amazing guitarist and also has a lot of classical compositional skills.

    ANYWAYS: Here’s Necrophagist solo’s played on piano, really puts things in a different perspective:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpSPAJAZLHU&annotation_id=annotation_37708&feature=iv

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9kWconiUTg

  • Summetaldude

    Have any of you checked out this site on Richard Wagner?

    http://lyraka.com/ourfatherofmetal/index.html

    Says Wagner invented metal.

  • ramone lawrence

    well done piece of work

    • http://ramone ramone lawrence

      well done piece of work.

  • http://ramonelawrence ramone lawrence

    one of the best musician in world well organize orchestra.