ABSTRACT
Amongst the comedy and true-to-life mishaps, Reiner includes a scene that jokes about heavy metal’s neo-classical sound. Since the late 1960s, rock bands have fused the timbres of heavy guitars, drums, and basses, with pseudo-operatic singing styles, orchestral arrangements, and virtuosic performance practices. The trend of classicizing rock and heavy metal in this way became common practice during the 1980s. Heavy metal bands that use elements of High Art music in their aesthetics have been labeled ‘neo-classical’ by fans. Heavy metal’s late-1960s musical genesis relied on blues and, to a lesser extent, jazz influences for its composition. By the 1980s, heavy metal was at the zenith of its commercial popularity and bands were economically free to diversify their repertoire.
