any awesome bands out there?

[progdrumman]

I just joined a little bit ago, and this is my first thread. I am wondering if anyone knows of any really cool bands out there that can compare in greatness to the usual ones (Adagio, Sym X, Dream Theater, Kamelot, Evergrey, Time Requiem, Planet X, etc.) Symphony X is obviously the kings , but any other awesome bands out there would be cool to hear as well. Thanks.

 

[karelrulez]

I assume you are already familiar with Opeth and Porcupine Tree?

 

[The Metal Chick]

Do you know Vanden Plas? their album Beyond Daylight still owns me. If you like that keyboardy stuff like Time Requiem and Planet X, you might dig Warmen's solo stuff. For some great power metal I recommend Edguy and Avantasia... and oh yeah! The guy from Time Requiem did a killer album called Space Odyssey.

 

[PRauhala]

Andromeda is really good prog, Andromeda - II=I (Two is one) is good cd from them

DGM - Hidden Place (good too)
Zero Hour - Metamorphosis (Dont know others)
Pagans Mind - Celestial Entrance (norway prog)
..And Shadow Gallery - All cd's (particulary Tyranny)

....and of course my band!!--- not really

 

[Yngvai X]

Rage - the most asskicking agressive powermetal there is
Edguy - the most asskicking traditional powermetal there is

 

[symphonyXjapan]

Yes, Andromeda is quite good. I do, however, highly recommend Zero Hour, both thier first album (s/t---re-release version called Metamorphosis) and Towers of Avarice are killer. Also, I never paid much attention in taking time to listen to Magnitude 9 before, but now that I have heard "Reality in Focus" and heard some off of thier new cd "Decoding the Soul" I am just angry at my self for passing by the many chances I had earlier to listen to these guys. I think they are very underrated even amongst the prog metal scene.

 

[karelrulez]

and Andromeda's "Extension of The Wish" is ESSENSIAL.

 

[OfSinsAndShred]

Three words: Children of Bodom

Also, I don't care what anyone says, Rhapsody fucking owns.

 

[Pharaoh]

Rhapsody fucking owns.

uke: (I'm going into hiding now)

 

[theodyssey]

RHAPSODY!!!!! \m/

 

[OfSinsAndShred]

uke: (I'm going into hiding now)

Dude, you might not like fantasy, but their symphonic arrangements are unstoppable.

 

[Technetium]

Andromeda ("II=I" is one of the best albums of 2003)

Angra ("Fireworks" and "Rebirth" have mindblowing guitar playing and some great vocals to boot)

Arena (get "The Visitor", "Immortal?", and "Contagion")

Ayreon ("Actual Fantasy" and "Into the Electric Castle" are the two best)

Eternity X ("The Edge" and "Mind Games" in particular are amazing)

Flower Kings (I only have "Unfold the Future" but it is a great mix of prog rock and jazz fusion, with the king of guitar, ruler of all, Roine Stolt)

Iced Earth (Get older stuff with Matt Barlow before the new album, it's way better. Especially get "Something Wicked This Way Comes" and "Burnt Offerings")

Opeth (start with "Damnation", then wean yourself onto the heavier vocals with "My Arms, Your Hearse" and "Blackwater Park")

Pink Floyd (You forgot to list them in what you already know and like :-D )

Porcupine Tree ("In Absentia" is pretty good, "Signify" is much better, the others are out of print)

Queensryche (You should already know these guys)

Transatlantic (if you like long songs, I do and these are my two favorite albums of all time)

Shadow Gallery (start with "Carved In Stone" or the self-titled, if you can find it)

 

[arglebargle]

Andromeda ("II=I" is one of the best albums of 2003)

Angra ("Fireworks" and "Rebirth" have mindblowing guitar playing and some great vocals to boot)

Arena (get "The Visitor", "Immortal?", and "Contagion")

Ayreon ("Actual Fantasy" and "Into the Electric Castle" are the two best)

Eternity X ("The Edge" and "Mind Games" in particular are amazing)

Flower Kings (I only have "Unfold the Future" but it is a great mix of prog rock and jazz fusion, with the king of guitar, ruler of all, Roine Stolt)

Iced Earth (Get older stuff with Matt Barlow before the new album, it's way better. Especially get "Something Wicked This Way Comes" and "Burnt Offerings")

Opeth (start with "Damnation", then wean yourself onto the heavier vocals with "My Arms, Your Hearse" and "Blackwater Park")

Pink Floyd (You forgot to list them in what you already know and like :-D )

Porcupine Tree ("In Absentia" is pretty good, "Signify" is much better, the others are out of print)

Queensryche (You should already know these guys)

Transatlantic (if you like long songs, I do and these are my two favorite albums of all time)

Shadow Gallery (start with "Carved In Stone" or the self-titled, if you can find it)

Yes.

YES.

Finally, someone else realizes the unsurpassable godliness of Roine Stolt and The Flower Kings.

You're my new best friend.

You need to get their other albums, since all of them are stunning. Also, check Tomas Bodin's solo side-project, as well as Karmakanic and The Tangent, two excellent bands that feature FK members, and are (somewhat) along the likes of the FK.



To the topic creator: if you're looking for something heavier but still proggy, check out Edge Of Sanity's album "Crimson II". Yeah, the regulars here will probably roll their eyes at my incessent pimping of C2, but it's really fucking good.

If you're looking for some prog at the rock end of the spectrum, you can't go wrong with Spock's Beard's amazing album "Snow".

If you're feeling a bit adventurous, try Bal-Sagoth, which is an amalgam of power metal, black metal, killer symphonic keyboard orchestration, pompous spoken-word narrations, and much more. One of my favorite bands.

Time Requiem is a great example of quality neo-classical metal. Kind of like Symphony X, but wankier.

Pain Of Salvation is a necessity. Brilliant stuff. Try either "The Perfect Element Pt. 1" or "Entropia".

 

[arglebargle]

Oh wait, lol, you already mentioned Time Requiem. Never mind. I r stipud.

 

[Demonspell]

PRauhala: You need to get Zero Hour's Towers of Avarice right now. Technetium: Very cool list, and I agree about Signify being just as good if not better than IA...

 

[Taliwakker]

Listen to Freak Kitchen....they are good.

 

[progdrumman]

Hey, thanks for all the awesome bands. I am going to check out Zero Hour for sure and Edguy. I forgot to list Vanden Plas, Andromeda, etc. when I made the post, but thanks anyway.

 

[Liquid Tension]

Pain of Salvation are my favorite with Opeth following them.

 

[NegativeVolume]

Dream Theater
Liquid Tension Experiment
Vanden Plas
Angra
O.S.I.
Chroma Key(not much prog, but I just love Kevin Moore)
Children of Bodom
Sinergy
Avantasia
Yes, Rhapsody does fucking own
Yngwie Malmsteen

These are my faves...check out O.S.I. if you dig that spacey shit, I love that album, and Portnoy does a fantastic job on that album

 

[SevenString]

hey progdrumman

I'm with MetalChick: Vanden Plas' "Beyond Daylight" owns. Plus, try ARK's "Burn the Sun" if you haven't heard it yet.

And I don't know about "awesome", since I can't be objective, but you might like some of my stuff if you haven't heard it. Here's a couple of low-bandwidth sample tunes.

http://www.lesliespring.com/seaofstars.mp3

http://www.lesliespring.com/ancientsigns.mp3

BTW, welcome to the Symphony-X forum.