Keyboards In Metal

ultmetal wrote:

Depends how they are used. Sometimes I like 'em, sometimes I don't.

An instance of liking them would be "Rainbow in the Dark" by Dio.

true dat
take 'em or leave 'em for me.

I like them as long as they're not being used for leads.

Option 3 for me, and I agree with TroubleZone as well (using them as lead), except in the case of Jon Lord.

I like keyboards in power metal (Rhapsody, Mob Rules, Narnia, Kamelot, etc.) but I also like power metal without them (Running Wild, Rising Faith, Firewind, etc.). Goth metal is barley goth without keys, IMO. Thrash probably would not work with them. They work well with death metal and black metal too. As for progressive, well they're pretty much the standard (although a few could probably get away w/o them, though I can't think of anyone well known).

I think a good example of a band who uses keys in a very positive way is Sonata Arctica. Take for instance their new album, "Unia". That album would suck if it weren't for the incredible keys that lace that thing up and down. Not only do they add personality and give them a much more progressive edge, but they also enhance the other instruments. They also use them as leads several times and I think it works nicely.

I also think these bands benefit from their keys:

Dio (like Ult pointed out)
Kamelot
Stratovarius
Leaves Eyes
Nightwish

and many many more ...

Dragonforce make good use of keys.

defender_of_the_faith wrote:

Dragonforce make good use of keys.

I agree.

defender_of_the_faith wrote:

Dragonforce make good use of keys.

True dat.

Keyboards in metal are decent just so long as they aren't overused. Examples of good keyboardery are in bands like DragonForce (mentioned), Dio, and Deep Purple (though I doubt that they'd really be considered metal).

Deep Purple is metal, albeit 70s metal. Still metal to me.

I find it funny, that I dislike the keyboard effects in Rainbow In The Dark while all you others think its good.