my guitar teacher is always complaining about how genre-defined metal is. "oh, we're a melodic death metal band, so we have to play THIS way!" he just doesn't get it... i guess mixing genres, say power metal with melodic death, would make melodic power death metal... wouldn't it?

and that would be called Children of Bodom

yeah... just as progressive+power+speed+neo-classical=Sonata Arctica... right?

No.

indeed, that would be Symphony X and the likes...

NP
Daedalus "Denies the Day's Demise" (latina weird techno, this is quite good)

Well of course it depends on what the new sound is like, whether it is disimialr enough to exisiting genres to merit a new title. The new sound is obviously going to depend on how much of each style is mixed together. For instance, Children of Bodom didn't create a new genre (despite what some people say) by giving power metal harsh vocals. However, combining metal and hardcore elements a collection of bands did give rise to metalcore as a genre distinct from its two 'parents'.

So I guess the bottom line is that it really varies from case to case.

so what equation equals SA?

Brutal Power Metal

does mixing generes actually create a new genre? yes? no? or do some bands pull it off? it seems to me its just a certain genres vocals with a certain genres guitar style. I wish i thought this through more thoroughly before i posted this, but i know you guys/girls are smart, you can def pick up where i left off.

I think there needs to be a lot of bands doing the style. For instance, System Of A Down did not create a new genre. No one sounds like them, but that doesn't give them a genre all to their own.

They did create their own genre. It's called "Spastic Pseudo-Metal Self-Important Suckfest"

so what equation equals SA?

Power Metal.

Or if you really want to break it down, melodic power/speed metal with pop undertones.

But just Power Metal, really.