I haven’t always been a big fan of keyboards in rock, and especially in metal music. But with time I’ve learned to appreciate it more and more, and enjoy the depth and atmosphere this instrument provides to a music piece.
Here are some musicians that helped change my mind (in no particular order).
1. Jon Lord. This music legend was mostly known for playing with Deep Purple. With the classic Hammond organ mixed classical music elements with rock helping create some of the most recognizable rock songs ever.
2. Derek Sherinian. The versatile keyboard player of Sons of Apollo and ex-Dream Theater.
3. Elton John. A rock legend with a great voice. He is also a talented keyboard player and composer who has created many musical hits.
4. Tuomas Holopainen. The super creative Nightwish keyboardist has not only made the beautiful symphonic metal gems of this band but also designed a whole dream world for this genre of music and its fans.
5. Jens Johansson. This crazy and funny genius is mostly known for playing with Yngwie Malmsteen’s band and with Stratovarius.
6. Vessel. One of the recent musical geniuses is singer and multi-instrumentalist Vessel (one of the anonymous musicians of the mysterious band Sleep Token). He sings and plays with raw emotion the most hauntingly charming songs.
7. Martin Powell. One of the many keyboardists who played in Cradle of Filth. He helped create a dark and creepy atmosphere in the songs.
8. Janne Wirman. With his keyboard, he added melodic and neoclassical elements to Children of Bodom.
9. Vince Clarke. This musical genius played in Depeche Mode, Yazoo, and Erasure. One of the pioneers of synthpop and synthwave, Clarke’s use of synthesizers defined the sound of 80s electronic music.
10. Nick Rhodes. His synth work is the heart of Duran Duran’s signature sound, blending new wave and synthpop with rock elements.