Can anyone tell me if there has been a merge of Classical Music & Heavy Metal/Hard Rock have come together, played and recorded a CD.
I know of two:
Metallica and San Francisco Symphony - S&M CD, which I have.
and
The Scorpions and Berlin Orchestra/Symphony - I don’t know the title, but I’m interested on how this sounds, I limke the Scorps.
I always thought the Classical and Heavy Metal/Hard Rock would sound good together.
Any more.
I wouldn’t call it “Heavy Metal” but there was a symphonic Pink Floyd album I saw once… Never heard it though… quick amazon search yields…
The album Dead Winter Dead by Savatage has a lot of classical interludes, and metal/orchestra songs.
When looking at the music structure of (mainly prog) rock, there are a lot of similarities with classical music. It’s no wonder the two mix well. Listen to Beethoven: he was the metal composer of his time.
Definitely.
Prog metal is alive and well, if a little hard to find. The only two bands that I know of that I would put in that genre are Tool and The Dillinger Escape Plan. Although they both use typical instrumentation (guitar, bass, drums, and vocals), they have very complex song structures.
There’s a symphonic album of Led Zeppelin songs as well.
Well, well, last I heard bands like Rush and Dream Theater were still rocking hard, and they’re definitely “prog” in my book.
Of course, Tool is awesome. Gotta check out those Dillinger guys, I suppose!
You obviously need to check out Apocalyptica.
These guys cover Metallica, Pantera, Sepultura, and some others with some seriously plugged-in cellos. I think you’ll really enjoy it. Plenty of full-song samples on their website.
Ah, good suggestion! Their Metallica covers are just awesome.
What about G’N’R’s “November Rain”? Didn’t they use an orchestra in that?
Well, yeah, but if we’re gonna count every Michael Camen orchestration, we’re gonna be here all night! 
I can name Mchael Camen participations in GNR songs, Queensryche songs, Rush songs, Bryan Adams songs…
Another one is Deep Purple and the London Philharmonic’s Concerto for Group & Orchestra (rather you than me)
Definitely. I only have their self-titled EP, but it’s totally awesome, even if it does take a while to get into.
Did Robert Plant & Jimmy Page do some Led Zep music with an orchestra?
I wonder how AC/DC would sound played with an Orchestra or Symphony.
Always thought Metallica would sound good with their music done with the Symphony, I have heard a couple of Scorpions with a orchestra on “Rock You Like A Hurricane” and “Wind Of Change”, that was really good.
I’ve heard “November Rain”, by GnR.
But, I’m talking about a whole catalog of music by a band done with a Symphony, or Orchestra.
I do like Tool, need to check more on them.
At one stage, there were rumours of a full album of classical verions of Rush songs, but I haven’t heard anything about it in a year or two.
The merge makes perfect sense, since classical guitar was a major component of metal guitar. Take a close listen to some of the stuff that was big in the early 80s.
Two words. Yngwie Malmsteen. Seek him out, and your question will be answered.
In the album Classic Case, the London Symphony Orchestra plays the music of Jethro Tull. Since Tull won a Grammy for best heavy metal artist, this fits.
One I haven’t heard in years: Mass in F Minor by The Electric Prunes. I thought it was great back in 1970 or so, but YMMV.
RealityChuck - I was working for a radio station when A Classic Case came out. We had it labled as “Freight Elevator Music”.
Check out:
Therion: “Theli”
Sobre Nocturne: “Serpentine Dreamweaver”
Devil Doll: any, especially “The Sacrilege Of Fatal Arms”
I highly recommend that you go to www.darksymphonies.com and sign up for their mailing list. They sell a lot of symphonic and eclectic metal music. Their catalog updates describe most of the releases in good detail and I’m sure you’d find something that interests you.