there definitely is like finnish/norwiegian/sweedish metal. they all sound basically the same as a small fraction of metal, but it is a separate thing.
and also you by looking at it from a technical stand point, then you are also looking at it from how it sounds because if two bands are technically the same then they would sound about the same..
Well, I listen to a lot of Scandinavian metal, Dark Tranquility, Wintersun, Children Of Bodom, ect, and they do not sound the same at all. Dark Tranquility is Melodic Death Metal, Wintersun is Speed Metal, and Children Of Bodom is Power/Speed Metal.
Incorrect. At a technical standpoint, what you look for is
Their phrasing
What scales they use, effects the theme of the song of course
Tone of the guitars really makes a difference to me
One example of 2 similar bands are Symphony X and Dream Theater. I can listen to every single song on their albums, and I won't see much similar. Most 80's albums are different songs, but same chord progressions, scales, tones (feelings), style, ect. Technical wise they are very similar. Both use high-end guitars, and I believe both use Mesa Boogies, both are very very technical Progressive rock/metal, both make very long songs with complicated odd time breakdowns and solos, and it just goes on. However, the guitarists are both extremely talented, and have different styles. John Petrucci (DT) loves extremely fast alternate picking solos and a lot of odd time songs with a lot of instrumental parts, when Micheal Romeo (Symphony X), is more of a sweeper imo, and most of their songs I have don't break 10 minutes like DT (sides The Odyssey, and The Divine Wings of Tragedy). They both sound completely different to me, while being the same genre and having the same influences. That's what I fail to see with most 80s bands, besides Metallica. For example, I LOVE Megadeth. I hate how they use chromatic scales, however (every note in the diatonic music), because it shows how Dave has little or no knowledge on music theory, or just doesn't want to use it. They only have a few good songs, too, due to most sounding exactly alike on the album.