Yngwie Malmsteen, a Swedish guitarist, is regarded by most people as the founder of the most primitive neoclassical metal form. As a teenager, he was influenced by two musical styles: rock and classical music. 1982, Mike Varney of Shrapnel Records Company introduced ingrid's music to the United States.
The golden age of neoclassical metals was in the late1980s, when many guitarists signed contracts with Shrapnel Records Company as their artists, including Yngwie Malmsteen, Tony MacAlpine, Fini Moore, Paul Gilbert, Greg Howe, Joey Tafrola, David Chastain, Jason Becker and Marty Feynman. Most of these musicians adopted Yngwie Malmsteen's playing form in the early and middle 1980s.
Today, many orchestras choose to be a whole, abandoning the solo form of musicians in the past. Some famous neoclassical metal musicians or orchestras include Michelangelo Baggio, Joe Stein, David Vandis, Symphony No.10, strato Warjus, Adagio, Apocalypse and Warman. Some mainstream metal bands are also slightly influenced by neoclassical metal, such as Death's Son, Between the Buried and Me, Human Abstraction and Protest Heroes.
Neoclassical metals often adapt classical music works and play them in orchestral form. Especially baroque music and classical music, their unique music and skills can be effectively integrated into rock and roll. Commonly used classical music techniques include counterpoint and sustained tone.