The Best Progressive Metal Bands

Thanks for the tip. Will do that. No Exit is a good album, but I guess at the time I was a bit deceived by the change of singers and the production of that album. I was youger and and less receptive to changes, I guess that's why I never got back to them.

Alder's voice has aged very well. His range has dropped, but his timbre has become much richer. Although he can still sound forced sometimes.
 
WARNING: Only for extreme prog metal fans... this stuff gets really crazy and all over the place, but for some reason, I still like it and I'm basically addicted to this album.
Female Vocals for those that this may matter to.

To-Mera - The Glory of a New Day

 
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On the subject of people criticizing Psychotic Waltz...



I shall consider this debate over. (And those two songs are off of their generally least acclaimed album... go fig.)
 
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of course To-mera are progressive,but thier style is too complicated,I mean
they keep on changing structures inside one track ,to me they are so boring and
tedious .
 
I shall check out that Unexpect song when I'm not at work, lol.

To-Mera are starting the process for their 3rd album, and apparently, the entire band is completely inspired and motivated! I can't wait!

Btw, I haven't heard their first album, Prog is King. This track is from their second album, so it's safe to say you'll at least like that one!
 
O.K... So don't be hating but here is my list:

Symphony X
Dream Theater (specifically A Change of Seasons... and Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence)
Shadow Gallery
Theocracy (prog power)
Suspyre
Avantasia
Nocturnal Rites
Future's End
Narnia
Edgend
Pain of Salvation (nuff said guys!!!!)
Psychotic Waltz (despite their production which sounds like they recorded it live in a bathroom)
Nevermore (The Obsidian Conspiracy was pretty cool imo)
Kamelot (I just KNOW I will get slammed for this... :p haha! So it's at the bottom of the list K? Guilty pleasure :p...)
 
There's a video of the singer from Circus Maximus filling in for Khan on tour.
I saw him sing Centre of the Universe. He did a great job!
I used to love Kamelot, but they're not really my taste anymore. I don't really like anything power metal.

I also like Inner Turbulence. The epic is one of my favourite DT songs. I don't know why many people do not like this album.
Also, the song Disappear is quite awesome... gives me chills.
 
Psychotic Waltz (despite their production which sounds like they recorded it live in a bathroom)
That's a given with 90s prog metal, sadly. Even Dream Theater didn't have great production until 6DOIT. Besides, "Mosquito" and my closet favourite "Bleeding" actually sound passable to me.

And as for Unexpect, I will never make the slightest acknowledgement to their art. I picture the way they write their "music" much the same South Park pictured the way Family Guy jokes came to be (for those not in the know: a bunch of manatees throwing balls with little notes between each other). Everything they do sound completely random all the time, no rhyme, reason, melody, ANYTHING desirable at all. And I don't freakin' care how much Portnoy shilled their last album as avant-garde and "out there"... there's not a second of actual music on there.
Sorry to all those who enjoy them. There is music that I don't enjoy but can acknowledge its quality. Unexpect don't fall into that category.
 
^I listened to that Unexpect song and your views have no grounds. I don't know if I LIKE them, but there are more melodies on that song than on some full metal albums. Rhythms are actually quite interesting and I can hear some cool ideas there. I can understand that you feel the music sounds too disjointed to you, but to claim that there is no second of actual music there is silly and quite simply not true. This is not an opinion by the way, but a fact. But you were of course just exaggerating for the sake of underlining your dislike for what they do.

Hmm... Weirdly enough, I actually had to play that song another time and liked it more on the second listen. Pretty cool stuff actually!


Some of the best progressive stuff I've heard lately:

Ihsahn's latest solo album, "After" is amazing.
Intronaut - Valley of Smoke was really cool
Cloudkicker - Beacons (The best instrumental album of last year)
Barren Earth - The Curse of The Red River, great great stuff

And then there's of course this:


Which reminds me:
Devin Townsend - Ocean Machine is one of my personal favourite albums of all time.
 
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I'll second the newest Intronaut disc Valley of Smoke it's better then their earlier discs.

I like these but they may be too heavy/extreme for some of you...
Opeth
Ihsahn
Present
One Shot

Some instumental ones that I like...
7 for 4
Michael Harris
Cosmosquad
Karcius
Ohm