Does originality eventually end?

[MysticX9]

Ascension's criticism of Circus Maximus, that they're merely a Dream Theater/Symphony X hybrid, made me think; does a genre eventually reach a mature state? A mature state where nothing truly original is possible? And if so, has Metal, or more specifically Prog Metal, reached that state? At this point, is all that's left to do is borrow from here and there, and hope the combination of ingredients sounds somewhat fresh?

As for the whole idea of genre maturity, is anyone doing anything groundbreaking with Jazz, Blues, Rock or Classical music?

As a clarification, I don't share Ascension's view of Circus Maximus. I think they're an elite band with elements spanning a range as wide Queensryche to Kansas. Regardless, this thread isn't about Circus Maximus and how original they are. It was merely Ascension's comment about them that got me thinking.

Zod

In answer to your first question, I think yes, at some point the influences associated with a particular genre are going to be so evident that those fans "in the know" will experience a sort of deja vu, even if an attempt has been made by the artist to create something unique. I believe a good question would be: How important is this to you? As for me, I agree with Dustin and others who are only interested in the quality of the material; as far as I'm concerned as long as it's not a blatant rip-off of another artist's work I'll focus on the songwriting, musicianship and finally whatever creativity can be introduced into the material. True originality at this point would have to so sharply deviate from what we typically conceive of as prog metal that I think it would end up being classified as fusion, or avant garde, or something else...

 

[Purveyor Of Evil]

Did originality ever really exist? All bands are influenced by some other band. Every band in some way is a derivative of another. And, who really cares? If you like a band or don't like a band, then who they are a derivative shouldn't really matter, IMHO.