Metal and Classical Music: A Shared Ethos of Virtuosity and Tradition

Composer and baritone Jens Ibsen argues that despite surface differences, metal and classical music share deep commonalities in musical language, performance values, and even problematic gatekeeping. Ibsen, who straddles both genres, highlights how power metal borrows from classical harmony and operatic vocals, citing bands like Versailles. He notes the virtuosity of guitarists from Eddie Van Halen to Tosin Abasi, and the culture of authenticity that leads to online 'exposing' of fake guitarists, paralleling debates about amplification in opera. Concert etiquette in metal, from dress codes to mosh pits, has its own rules, similar to classical concert decorum. Both genres also struggle with tradition and exclusion, with metal's moral panic over metalcore echoing classical's othering of marginalized musicians. Ibsen profiles two artists bridging the genres: Yoshiki, co-founder of X Japan, whose 'Art of Life' was inspired by Schubert's 'Unfinished Symphony', and Einar Solberg of Leprous, whose solo album 'Vox Occulta' (2026) features the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. Ibsen's own work, such as his whale metal opera 'HWAEL-RĀD' and string quartet 'Overdrive', aims to make metal accessible in concert halls, hoping for a future where 'string metal' is not far-fetched.