pure prog

[Satori]

Ok, now that there are more people here I'll ask this again:

What are the most progressive bands? (metal or not) I'm talking insanely talented and complex in the vein of Opeth, Cynic, Yes, Genesis.

I still haven't heard Meshuggah or Spiral Architect, but they seem pretty appealing to me and I'll have to stop being so lazy and check them out soon. Any other suggestions anyone?

hail prog!

Satori

 

[Soul Forlorn]

For many years I've been a big fan of old Rush stuff, mainly their mid to late seventies works such as 2112, A Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres, and Permanent Waves. Awesome amount of talent there, especially in terms of song composition. There's actually quite a bit of stuff in there that is reminiscent of Opeth.


www.mp3.com/soulforlorn

 

[Graveless Soul]

The kings of prog rock (and surely the inventors for that matter) must be King Crimson. Check out their first two albums "In The Court Of The Crimson King" and "In The Wake Of Poseidon", Prog Rock at it's upmost finest. "Red" isn't bad either....

Also, Cressida, T2, Fantasy, Caravan and maybe early Pink Floyd should also be mentioned...

 

[Till Fjalls]

I really enjoy the progressive sounds of Sinkadus and Anekdoten. Especially Sinkadus though, some very twisted stuff indeed. But still quite emotional, when you get your ehad around the absolutely odd progressions and melodies they use.

 

[Satori]

Originally posted by Till Fjalls
I really enjoy the progressive sounds of Sinkadus and Anekdoten. Especially Sinkadus though, some very twisted stuff indeed. But still quite emotional, when you get your ehad around the absolutely odd progressions and melodies they use.

great description.. are there any mp3's floating around the net someplace?

Satori

 

[Satori]

Originally posted by Graveless Soul
The kings of prog rock (and surely the inventors for that matter) must be King Crimson.

yea, I saw a show they did in toronto about 7 months ago, it was just totally fucking brilliant. I saw them on their last tour too, definitely the best live band I ever saw (even better than Yes & Rush imo). They have too much talent for one group. I dunno why I never got into the albums, not "majestic" enough for me I guess.

 

[Zerokelvin]

Dream Theater
Fates Warning
lastest Radiohead
Devin Townsend (less violent songs)

If Meshuggah is prog then Dillinger Escape Plan is prog then Weezer is prog then The Beatles are prog...

 

[Biowaste]

Not necessarily progressive, and since you did say 'insanely talented and complex' music, you should definately check out Theory in Practice. They are extreme metal, incredibly technical and just plain badass. I think I read somewhere they are Swedish, but I'm not certain. They are similar to Spiral Architect only with better vocals, imho.

Check out Meshuggah as well, though they are less prog. Don't get me wrong however, they manage to create some very complex rhythms whilst retaining focus and groove to the songs. It took me a little time to get used to it actually. To me, they are one of the heaviest bands on the planet with the intertwine of polyrhythms, odd time signatures and one of the tightest, absolutely brutal guitar sounds ever created. Just my 2 cents.

 

[HoserHellspawn]

Yeah, I'm not sure how high up the all-time scale of progressiveness you'd rank 'ol HevyDevy, but the highly original songs and amazingly bizarre sounds he managed to put on tape with Infinity never cease to amaze me. One of the most interesting records ever...

And, of course, Ocean Machine is magnificent (one of my all-time fave records) although I don't think the compositions are as complex. But again, the use of layers of sound is quite engrossing, and concieving, let alone producing, a record like that must be a difficult task to undertake.

 

[Satori]

Originally posted by HoserHellspawn
... HevyDevy, but the highly original songs and amazingly bizarre sounds he managed to put on tape with Infinity never cease to amaze me. One of the most interesting records ever...

And, of course, Ocean Machine is magnificent (one of my all-time fave records) ...

Hmm.. what are the name(s) of the band(s) you are talking about here?

Radio Head prog? I guess the beatles are too in some cases, but I'm talking about stuff that is up there with Yes and Genesis.

spank dat ass,

Satori

 

[nyleve]

The truest of all prog bands is Yes --- it defines the genre, pretty much. Close by are Genesis, Jethro Tull, ELP, Kansas, NOT Rush ))

Alright, as for the new bands, it would have to be Anglagard, Dream Theater and Magellan ... following that are Anekdoten, Opeth, Versus X, Cairo, and Pain of Salvation.

Just my take on it...

 

[Zerokelvin]

OK this sucks. I had written my big reply and then I don't know what I did but it disappeared!
So here goes again...


Satori: Ocean Machine is a band that released one album: Biomech. The main guy behind it was Devin Townsend, who was also the main guy behind Strapping Young Lad. After Ocean Machine he went on by his own name, releasing Infinity and Physicist. Soon to come this summer is Terria. He is a really amazing musician and his stuff is beyond comparison. And for Radiohead I consider Kid A to be more prog than old Genesis, even though I'm a big Genesis fan (favorites being Nursery Cryme and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway). And The Beatles aren't really prog...they changed in their last years...but not so prog.

HoserHellspawn: I consider Devin's music to be quite progressive...as progressive as music that's not stampeded over by jazz influences can be...ok not really But still...Devin made some really intense AND progressive songs which is rare...if you look at modern prog metal like Fates Warning and Dream Theater it tends to be more calm, reflected, while Devin is just plain out crazy. I know it's not super-prog-land, but it's something.

 

[Satori]

Originally posted by Zerokelvin
And for Radiohead I consider Kid A to be more prog than old Genesis, even though I'm a big Genesis fan (favorites being Nursery Cryme and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway).

Wow, Kid A more prog then Genesis? Ok, I haven't heard Kid A or anything but come on, have you thought this through? I find it hard to think that much of anything is more proggy than Genesis, especially stuff made in this century. The little bit I did hear of Radio Head (the hits) sounded more like they are artists than real hardcore musicians. Aren't Radio Head kinda mellow with simple 4-5 min tunes? Fill me in.

I know Kansas is always said to be prog, but I haven't heard much of them that impressed the hell out of me or anything. And what's this about Rush NOT being prog? Hahaha, take a listen to Hemispheres, how can you think that's not prog? Amazing stuff.

Dream Theatre, Fates Warning, and Pain of Salvation all make me want to puke huge moutains of vomit, why the hell are so many great musicians so damn CHEESY?

Speaking of Genesis, do you like Selling England by the Pound or Foxtrot? They are incredible! I never heard The Lamb.. but now that you say it's great I will have to get it. I guess they sold out after that album.. any thoughts?

I'm intrigued by your analysis of Townsend and I will have to check it out. Being a prog freak, which one should I get first? Thanks for all the info man!

Prog Freak Satori

 

[Soul Forlorn]

And what's this about Rush NOT being prog? Hahaha, take a listen to Hemispheres, how can you think that's not prog? Amazing stuff.

Thank you Satori. Rush is one of my all time favorite bands and one of my greatest influences. To hear that they are not prog just blew me away. Gee, I wonder how many bands that are considered "prog" today would list Rush as an influence? Just by personal knowledge gained over the last few years reading interviews, articles, reviews, ect. I would say that most would. Odd time signatures, 20 min. songs, complex chord voicings, complex arrangements, numerous tempo changes, numerous key changes, and 3 of the most talented musicians of all time. Nope, doesn't sound at all like prog to me!

 

[HoserHellspawn]

Satori:

I've been pushing support for Devin Townsend (HevyDevy... the name of his self-managing record label) for awhile, he's from my hometown and I met him once briefly at a record store... he's a really cool, strange, funny guy.

"Ocean Machine: Biomech" is in my top 5 fave records ever. It's a flowing, melodic hard rock album with some 8-12 minute songs. It's such an emotional record... and again, the massive layers of rich sound are incredible.

"Devin Townsend: Infinity" is quite possibly the oddest record I've heard. Again, the tracks all flow together to create a whole. Nobody has ever really been able to label the album... Devin refers to it as a musical. The second track, "Christeen" is a bit of a pop song, the rest is just strange. There's a song called "Ants" which is, (I seem to recall reading somewhere) comprised of a few instrument tracks and (apparently) 200 layered tracks of his own vocals which together compose a melody. Very cool. He also does something similar during "Hide Nowhere" on Ocean Machine...

I don't think a lot of his compositions are amazingly technically complex, but the sound he puts to tape is so highly original it can't not be considered progressive.

Samples from all aforementioned records AND MORE are available at: www.mp3.com/devin_townsend
check out "Life", "Hide Nowhere", "Bad Devil" for sure.

 

[Zerokelvin]

Satori:

Selling England by the pound is good in my book, and Foxtrot is not bad, better than the late Genesis (and yeah they did go pop after...but still it's better than most pop out there ).
And do get The Lamb...it's really amazing.

For Kid A, believe me, it's nothing like the old Radiohead...it's really amazingly different from what people expect of a rock band. I haven't heard their new CD Amnesiac, but it's supposed to be in the same trend. Seriously nothing on that record sounds like a radio-friendly rock song. Maybe the songs are 5 minutes long only but they have such a spatial feel that it seems twice longer.

For Devin Townsend, I would suggest Ocean Machine. It's the less ultra-heavy of his records. I don't know if you'll find it under Ocean Machine or Townsend, Devin though. Anyway it's more prog metal. There is also Terria coming out this summer, you can listen to the two first songs on mp3.com and it's great also. The other projects, SYL, Infinity and Physicist are much more heavy...still prog though, but it's less evident.

Hmmm Dream Theater and Fates Warning aren't as cheesy as...let's say...Hammerfall!

 

[Windom Pearl]

Originally posted by HoserHellspawn
"Ocean Machine: Biomech" is in my top 5 fave records ever. It's a flowing, melodic hard rock album with some 8-12 minute songs. It's such an emotional record... and again, the massive layers of rich sound are incredible.

Aye, mate
The Death of Music is the one of the greatest songs ever.

 

[Satori]

OK, keeping pure prog in mind I submit this band/album again which totally knocked my socks off when I first heard it cuz it is so progressive and so well played:

Echolyn - As the World (on Sony)

I listened to this CD a few days ago and I was blown away. The closest comparison I can make to them is Gentle Giant, but not nearly as cheesy. They are like prog folk rock and have some 3 part vocal arrangements like GG. They are NOT metal at all, just prog folk/hard rock. They lyrics are simply horrible (heavy guilt/fear/self-sodomy christian influenced stuff), don't get me wrong, the lyrics are very well written but the philosophical ideas behind them are more than a little outdated and intellectually immature. Aside from this however, the album is a masterpiece of real prog, they aren't trying their hardest to be mathematically whacky or anything, they are emotive artists firstly and prog musicians secondly so the real intent of the tunes isn't lost in overplaying. Anyone who likes the cheesiness of GG (and maybe even early Genesis) would probably love Echolyn for their abundant skill and talent, if not for their lyrical slants (which quite honestly make me want to puke but I still love the album).

Satori

 

[Lee_B]

If it's insanely complex you're after then I haven't heard the following mentioned yet:

Wachtower
Spastic Ink (Watchtower guitarist project. Insane)
Spiral Architect (Watchtower clones, basically)
Sieges Even
Mekong Delta (Not massively complex, but certainly years ahead of their day. Check out the CD "The Music Of Eric Zann")
Spock's Beard
The Cardiacs (one of the few bands to have a sound all of their own. Not to everyone's taste, but insane music none the less)
Mr Bungle (like 'em or not, I couldn't play what they do..)

If anyone wants a Cardiacs CDR let me know. They're one of my favorite bands. They've been going for close to 20 years and are still pretty much unknown outside of the UK, so I wanna do my bit for them and spread the word. Just e-mail your address and I'll post one to you.

Lee

 

[Lee_B]

I've gone and burned 10 Cardiacs CD compilations, expecting a deluge of requests, but so far I've only had one! I even bought the CD's on the way home from work especially..

It won't cost you anything and I won't sell your address on to the tax people or something

Lee