Other metal suggestions?

[Kenneth R.]

those first few posts NAILED it.

 

[NegativeVolume]

Hopefully you can get a few bands from what I listen to.

Metal:
Sinergy
Evergrey
Soilwork
Nightwish
Pantera and the golden era of Metallica \m/
Jag Panzer

Speaking of Jag Panzer, I only own Thane to the Throne, and it's omg wow good. What other albums are awesome by them to those who know?

The power stuff:
Rhapsody
Gamma Ray
Dragonforce
Avantasia
Stratovarius

The prog stuff:
Angra
Pagan's Mind
Explorer's Club 1 and 2, but I like 1 better
O.S.I.
Pain of Salvation
Time Requiem (almost a clone of Sym X but more synth driven than guitar drive)
Tool if you already haven't heard them
Vanden Plas is amazing amazing music, I'm not sure I'd really classify them as prog but they're in my prog folder so yeah
And this little no nothing band Ice Age. I really have no idea where they came from or where they went, but I absolutely adore both of their albums to death. If you want them I'd gladly send them your way

That's all I got, hope it helps

 

[Horus]

Conception > Kamelot

J-Dubya - likes BOTH, a ton

I've not heard much Conception. Any album recommendations, J-Dubs?

 

[greenaxer]

Wow, that's quite a list! It'll keep me busy for a while. Yeah, I've been into those bands I mentioned as well as early Metallica, Megadeth, and Pantera for a while, but I wanted to know what other good, maybe lesser known groups are out there. Thanks everyone!

 

[Matt]

Bal-Sagoth. I love their symphonic sound mixed with black metal that tells an amazing fantasy story with perfect audio mixing.

 

[Matt]

and Borknagar, if they havent been mentioned yet.

 

[Rose Immortal]

I think with ayreon, it's only fair to mention that they don't have a very defined sound. And before anyone gets all prog-snobby on me, just bare with me for a moment.

Ayreon has a style that constantly changes, and some of the albums *are* heavier and some are just prog. For example, INto the Electric Castle is hailed as a masterpiece, and i find it the most boring piece of shit album i've ever heard. However, the human equation and universal migrator part 2 are great.

I'd say the deal with Into the Electric Castle is that's it's more like a modern take on classic rock than anything--the metal element is almost totally absent, so for someone who's been used to much heavier stuff, I wouldn't suggest starting there. The Human Equation is probably the best starting point for someone who has had some exposure to Opeth. But, I wouldn't write off ItEC entirely--with Ayreon I recommend starting with the most recent and working back in reverse chronological order as far as you want to go. One exception, though: if you don't like ItEC but you've liked the others that far, try Actual Fantasy Revisited. But if you haven't become a totally committed fan by the time you get to Actual Fantasy Revisited, do not bother with The Final Experiment. That one's for hardcore fans. Which I happen to be, but I know very well that made me able to look past the clear flaws on that first album.

The reason for the style not being very defined owes at least something to the parade of guest musicians Arjen's had over the years. So liking the sound of one album isn't an instant guarantee of liking the others. But, I do think it's best to at least try each before rejecting them entirely. There are TONS of samples, sometimes multiple samples from the same song, on www.ayreon.com so go there and knock yourself out!

For BG, I wouldn't call A Twist in the Myth totally worthless, but to me it does come off as kind of stuck-in-the-middle between styles. But I do agree that A Night at the Opera is for now the all-time best.

 

[DoomsdayZach]

I'd say the deal with Into the Electric Castle is that's it's more like a modern take on classic rock than anything--the metal element is almost totally absent, so for someone who's been used to much heavier stuff, I wouldn't suggest starting there. The Human Equation is probably the best starting point for someone who has had some exposure to Opeth. But, I wouldn't write off ItEC entirely--with Ayreon I recommend starting with the most recent and working back in reverse chronological order as far as you want to go. One exception, though: if you don't like ItEC but you've liked the others that far, try Actual Fantasy Revisited. But if you haven't become a totally committed fan by the time you get to Actual Fantasy Revisited, do not bother with The Final Experiment. That one's for hardcore fans. Which I happen to be, but I know very well that made me able to look past the clear flaws on that first album.

The reason for the style not being very defined owes at least something to the parade of guest musicians Arjen's had over the years. So liking the sound of one album isn't an instant guarantee of liking the others. But, I do think it's best to at least try each before rejecting them entirely. There are TONS of samples, sometimes multiple samples from the same song, on www.ayreon.com so go there and knock yourself out!

Good call. My point was more that you cannot expect to get the same thing from any ayreon album because it's a constantly shifting entity. My point is that the first hting i heard was Into the Electric Castle (which i wouldn't suggest anyone overlook, but it sure as hell does nothing for me) and i hated it, but think a few of the other albums are masterpieces.

 

[theVikingR]

Some recommendations (probably most already said):
Agalloch
Andromeda
Ark
Circus Maximus
Communic
Conception
Disillusion
Dreamscape
Into Eternity
Madsword
Mindflow
Mind Odyssey
Orphaned Land
Riverside
Silent Voices
Sun Caged
Thessera
Threshold
Venturia
Wastefall
Wolverine
Zero Hour

EDIT: forgot agalloch

 

[DoomsdayZach]

Careful with disillusion. The new one sucks sooooooooo bad.

 

[theVikingR]

I reckon it's pretty good, but Back to Times of Splendor is clearly better imo.

 

[DoomsdayZach]

have you heard the new one? Not being a dick, being serious.

 

[theVikingR]

We're talking about Gloria, yes? I said I think it's pretty good Not for the same reasons as I like BtToS, but I like it nonetheless. I can see why a lot of people don't like it though, it's not death metal anymore, in fact it's not really metal anymore.

 

[DoomsdayZach]

Yeah, it's a huge diversion. I didn't like it because it's not metal because i like Ulver's post metal stuff. It just came off as a half assed attempt to go in the ulver route. Oh well, oppinions and assholes.

Edit: and worst cover art ever... i just have to say that

 

[theVikingR]

The thing that annoys me about Gloria is that Disillusion said they were going to make an album that was more suited for playing at shows, because the BtToS stuff was too long. I fail to see how Gloria, which relies heavily on post production, is any more appropriate for live venues even if the tracks are shorter.
Frankly I don't think they'll go down too well at Wacken, regardless of the acceptance from those like myself who found merit in the album.

Do you guys consider technical metal to be progressive?

the video for Don't Go Any Further makes no sense:

 

[Liquid Tension]

I'm looking forward to getting Gloria....

I'm thinking it'll be like the change that Dark Suns made from their first disc...

 

[DoomsdayZach]

God that is such a horrible song.

 

[Horus]

The thing that annoys me about Gloria is that Disillusion said they were going to make an album that was more suited for playing at shows, because the BtToS stuff was too long. I fail to see how Gloria, which relies heavily on post production, is any more appropriate for live venues even if the tracks are shorter.
Frankly I don't think they'll go down too well at Wacken, regardless of the acceptance from those like myself who found merit in the album.

Do you guys consider technical metal to be progressive?

the video for Don't Go Any Further makes no sense:

You mean bands like Spiral Architect? They're way too technical to be Progressive.

The most Progressive band ever is this

 

[Rose Immortal]

Good call. My point was more that you cannot expect to get the same thing from any ayreon album because it's a constantly shifting entity. My point is that the first hting i heard was Into the Electric Castle (which i wouldn't suggest anyone overlook, but it sure as hell does nothing for me) and i hated it, but think a few of the other albums are masterpieces.

There are a lot of differences, but aside from The Final Experiment, which to my ear is more different than the rest, I do hear a certain continuity between them (which we should expect from the same main composer). The weird thing for me about Ayreon is, before I even knew the prog metal genre existed, I had thought that if I were to ever write music, that's what it would be like. So naturally I went totally head-over-heels for it. To this day I have yet to find anything that matches my "ideal" that closely. Other bands, like Symphony X, I appreciate for a very different, distinct vision they had--Ayreon is different because for me, it executes something much like my own vision. (And so saves me a lot of work. )

 

[Matt]

The most Progressive band ever is this

Your singer sucks, but everything else is good.