who do you think are the best bands actually in the prog metal scene?

[ProgMetalFan]

Riverside (probably my favorite band right now)
OSI (new album is firmly in the prog-metal vein... killer stuff)
Wolverine ("Still" is a gorgeous album)
Evergrey (though there's NOTHING prog-metal about their latest... the excellent "Monday Morning Apocalypse")
Pain of Salvation (though it's almost 5 years now since their last album not named "Be"... ugh)
Porcupine Tree (I guess their recent stuff is prog-metal)
Sieges Even ("Navigating" is a wonderful comeback)
Zero Hour (always thought "Towers" was ultra-cool... especially Erik Rosvald's vocals... didn't care for the follow-up and haven't checked out the new one with the dude from Power of Omens)

 

[Soundscape]

"Prog Metal"

Superior
Pain of Salvation
Zero Hour
Shaaman

 

[ProgMetalFan]

Does Mars Volta count as prog-metal? Their new album rocks.

 

[DT Jesus]

>> best bands in the prog metal scene today?

Sadly, there's probably only two or three good prog metal bands left anymore. PoS, Enchant, (I guess) Dream Theater. I long for the glory years of the late 90's where you couldn't turn around without stumbling into a great prog album, be it from one of the stalwarts (Savatage, Fates Warning, Arena, Angra, Eternity X, Shadow Gallery, Royal Hunt) or the one-off wonders (Clockwork, Divine Regale, Ice Age). Too bad 2001 had to come around when 99% of the genre just decided to start phoning everything in.

 

[ProgMetalFan]

wow... 2001 was probably my favorite year for prog-metal

 

[Ascension]

My Top 5 from the top of the heap down:

Dream Theater (have owned this genre for years)
Fates Warning (defined this genre)
Vanden Plas
Pain of Salvation
Andromeda

I'll throw in an Honorable Mention even though they strayed after making their mark:

Queensryche

 

[The Wickerman]

Does Mars Volta count as prog-metal? Their new album rocks.

The Mars Volta are a genre unto themself. And yes, their new album is awesome, as is the rest of their stuff.

Oh, and speaking of which, if you don't already have it, get "Relationship of Command" by At the Drive-in, Cedric and Omar's old band. You might possibly have had reservations about them if you heard they were "punk" or something, but they were just as progressive as The Mars Volta. Shorter songs, but still amazing songwriting.

 

[Burke]

or the one-off wonders (....... Divine Regale, Ice Age).

Two of my FAVS....
Still to this day I absolutely LOVE
Forever Changing Winds by Divine Regale....

The other two I would add here are Digital Ruin (I finally tracked down their hard to find 'intro' cd LISTEN and I love the hell out of it) and ALTURA

When I first got the Altura cd from Magna Carta, there were two songs I liked - the rest was 'too busy' for me.... about a year later I spun the disc again and was like 'holy crap, these guys are sweet!'

Just a damn shame they (Altura) seemed to have quite literally fallen off the planet after that CD.....