Neo-classical metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that is heavily influenced by classical music. It refers to a very technical performance consisting of elements borrowed from both classical and heavy metal music. Yngwie Malmsteen, the most notable musician in the sub-genre, contributed greatly to the development of the style in the 1980s.
Neo-classical metal music thus looks to classical music as broadly understood by the general public and not to the more specialist technical definition used within classical circles. Because of its breadth of influence and avoidance of simplicity, neo-classical metal music is not a form of Neoclassicism by its traditional definition. Due to this confusion, some see the label "neo-classical" as improper, misleading and even pretentious.
The golden age of neo-classical metal was the late 80s with the many solo guitarists signed to Mike Varney's Shrapnel Records. Musicians like Yngwie Malmsteen,Tony Macalpine, Vinnie Moore, Paul Gilbert, Greg Howe, Joey Tafolla, David Chastain, Jason Becker, and Marty Friedman, were all part of the scene. Most of these musicians followed the format left by Yngwie Malmsteen in the early to mid 80s
Recently, the genre has mostly been enjoyed by guitarists in more of an underground setting as the style is not well known outside of the realm of guitarists. Today, there are many more bands that contribute as a whole as opposed to solo musicians in the past. Some of today's notable neo-classical metal performers are Michael Angelo Batio, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Joe Stump, Symphony X, Stratovarius, Galneryus and Adagio. Even more recently there has been a sudden burst of slight neo-classical influence within mainstream metal acts such as Children of Bodom, and The Human Abstract. .
