---
title: "Neoclassical Metal"
type: "MusicGenre"
url: "https://themetalnet.com/genre/neoclassical-metal"
parent: "Heavy Metal"
bands: 36
era: "mid 1980s"
---

# Neoclassical Metal

**Neoclassical Metal** is a metal sub-genre, formative in the mid 1980s. TheMetalNet maps 36 bands and 187 albums under it.

Neoclassical metal fuses metal’s speed and power with the harmony, counterpoint, and virtuosity of Baroque and Romantic classical music, foregrounding fast, ornate lead guitar built on harmonic-minor scales, diminished arpeggios, and rapid sequences. Sweden’s Yngwie Malmsteen set the template on 1984’s Rising Force, playing at breakneck speed with violin-like phrasing. Sweep picking, alternate picking, and precise articulation are central, often echoed on keyboards. It is metal as classical showpiece.

## Facts

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Genre | Neoclassical Metal |
| Level | Sub-genre |
| Parent genre | Heavy Metal |
| Formative era | mid 1980s |
| Bands | 36 |
| Albums | 187 |
| Formation span | 1962 to 2016 |

## Bands

- [Marty Friedman](https://themetalnet.com/band/marty-friedman) (Japan, 1962)
- [At Vance](https://themetalnet.com/band/at-vance) (Germany, 1998)
- [Derek Sherinian](https://themetalnet.com/band/derek-sherinian) (United States, 1966)
- [Yngwie J. Malmsteen’s Rising Force](https://themetalnet.com/band/yngwie-j-malmsteen-s-rising-force) (United States, 1984)
- [Vinnie Moore](https://themetalnet.com/band/vinnie-moore) (United States, 1964)
- [Jason Becker](https://themetalnet.com/band/jason-becker) (United States, 1969)
- [Winds](https://themetalnet.com/band/winds) (Norway, 1998)
- [2CELLOS](https://themetalnet.com/band/2cellos) (Croatia, 2011)
- [Insania](https://themetalnet.com/band/insania) (Sweden, 1992)
- [Neil Zaza](https://themetalnet.com/band/neil-zaza) (United States)
- [David T. Chastain](https://themetalnet.com/band/david-t-chastain) (United States, 1963)
- [石渡太輔](https://themetalnet.com/band/band-faeb2565) (Japan, 1973)
- [Time Requiem](https://themetalnet.com/band/time-requiem) (Sweden, 2001)
- [Cacophony](https://themetalnet.com/band/cacophony) (United States, 1986)
- [Mastercastle](https://themetalnet.com/band/mastercastle) (Italy, 2008)
- [Nachtreich](https://themetalnet.com/band/nachtreich) (Germany, 2003)
- [Uli Jon Roth](https://themetalnet.com/band/uli-jon-roth) (Germany)
- [Silver Mountain](https://themetalnet.com/band/silver-mountain) (Sweden, 1978)
- [Bernd Steidl](https://themetalnet.com/band/bernd-steidl) (Germany, 1966)
- [George Bellas](https://themetalnet.com/band/george-bellas) (United States)
- [Valentine Wolfe](https://themetalnet.com/band/valentine-wolfe) (2006)
- [Zemeth](https://themetalnet.com/band/zemeth) (Japan, 2010)
- [Johansson](https://themetalnet.com/band/johansson) (Sweden, 1994)
- [黒夜葬](https://themetalnet.com/band/band-861e6d60) (Japan, 2006)
- [Nachtgeblüt](https://themetalnet.com/band/nachtgeblut) (Argentina, 2001)
- [Corpo-Mente](https://themetalnet.com/band/corpo-mente) (France)
- [Weemoed](https://themetalnet.com/band/weemoed) (Netherlands, 2003)
- [ExxoStack](https://themetalnet.com/band/exxostack) (2016)
- [Janne Warman](https://themetalnet.com/band/janne-warman) (Finland, 1979)
- [Jason Solowsky](https://themetalnet.com/band/jason-solowsky) (1977)
- [Sergey Rybytskyy](https://themetalnet.com/band/sergey-rybytskyy)
- [Shadow Realm](https://themetalnet.com/band/shadow-realm) (2012)
- [Kapitur](https://themetalnet.com/band/kapitur)
- [Teeth of the Fae](https://themetalnet.com/band/teeth-of-the-fae) (United Kingdom)
- [Dangerous Nuns](https://themetalnet.com/band/dangerous-nuns) (United Kingdom, 2013)
- [Dave Van Detta](https://themetalnet.com/band/dave-van-detta) (Serbia)

## Where it is played

- [United States](https://themetalnet.com/country/us): 8 bands
- [Germany](https://themetalnet.com/country/de): 4 bands
- [Japan](https://themetalnet.com/country/jp): 4 bands
- [Sweden](https://themetalnet.com/country/se): 4 bands
- [United Kingdom](https://themetalnet.com/country/gb): 2 bands
- [Netherlands](https://themetalnet.com/country/nl): 1 bands
- [Norway](https://themetalnet.com/country/no): 1 bands
- [Serbia](https://themetalnet.com/country/rs): 1 bands

## Bands formed by decade

| Decade | Bands formed |
| --- | --- |
| 1960s | 6 |
| 1970s | 4 |
| 1980s | 2 |
| 1990s | 4 |
| 2000s | 7 |
| 2010s | 5 |

---

Source: [TheMetalNet https://themetalnet.com/genre/neoclassical-metal](https://themetalnet.com/genre/neoclassical-metal). Catalog data from MusicBrainz and Metal Archives. Full site index: https://themetalnet.com/llms.txt