Progressive Rock Discussion

**Bendover** · Joined: 10 May 2008 Posts: 1069 Location: Monroe, WA

Yup, it's exactly what it sounds like, let's discuss some Prog. Favorite bands? Favorite songs? Upcoming tours? Looking for some new prog to listen to? Anything that has to do with progressive goes here.

Personally, some of my favorite prog bands right now are;

Tool (How can you not love the varying time signatures among the crazy instrumentation and amazing vocals?)

Pink Floyd (I usually listen to The Wall at least once a week, it's that amazing. Pink Floyd was the first band I heard to really tell a story with their music)

Dream Theater (Absolutely amazing instrumentation from everyone, probably the most talented band out there right now, possibly of all time. Great song structures, guitar solos, almost all their songs are just pure awesome)

Discuss away!
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**GIRLintheFIRE** · Joined: 26 Dec 2009 Posts: 139

I've been really into Pelican lately. City of Echoes is an amazing album. If anyone likes instrumental works, definitely check out Pelican. City of Echoes somehow tells a full story without lyrics. The whole album is a concept album I guess based on it being an echo all of the way through.
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**GenericName** · Joined: 21 Feb 2009 Posts: 1630 Location: ¯\(°_o)/¯

My favorite proggy bands are Mastodon, Dream Theater, and Opeth. Not really progressive rock, more progressive metal, I guess, but I still love it.

I don't even really know if Mastodon is progressive or not, but I've heard them called that before, and they're my favorite (or second favorite?) band.

Dream Theater is a band that is good enough that when they make a "bad" song, it's still good. It might suck in comparison with other Dream Theater songs, but it's still good. I'm sort of a Dream Theater fanboy though, so...

I don't really know what to say about Opeth, lol.

But I like anything with prog elements, prog rock, prog metal, anything even vaguely proggy... I just seem to enjoy it more than other music.

Oh, and Porcupine Tree is progressive rock also, right? That's another one of my favorite bands.
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**machchunk** · Joined: 28 Oct 2006 Posts: 3829 Location: Pasco, WA

Open question: Where should I start with Emerson, Lake & Palmer?
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**phAde** · Joined: 27 Dec 2007 Posts: 232 Location: Port 80

Pink Floyd is easily a must. Personally, I would rather listen to anything besides the Wall for progressive-ness, namely up to Atom Heart Mother, but their whole discography is superb. I can't count the number of times I've listened to Animals. =]

Why aren't we talking about Uriah Heep or King Crimson? Look At Yourself and Demons & Wizards are two must haves for Uriah Heep. (Although everything they have done is amazing, same with King Crimson) Also, how can you not talk about In the Court of the Crimson King? Personally, I don't think there are any flaws at all in that album, but that is just me. :>

You know how everyone is connected to everyone one way or another? Well a band that I listen to (The Floating Men) has a drummer named Steve Ebe, who has jammed with Robert Fripp multiple times. How do I know this? I know the lead singer for The Floating Men personally, and I'm acquaintances with the rest of them. I was in their recording studio (Vibe 56 in Nashville, Tennessee) watching them record the first part of their rock-opera album, (both parts are out now) and in between songs I would talk to the members. At one point, I started talking to Steve and I had my Court of the Crimson King Shirt on and naturally the conversation led to them and his anecdotes of jamming with Robert Fripp. It was quite an enjoyable experience. I have a few videos of them recording, and I could upload them to Youtube if anyone wants. =]
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**this1neguy** · Joined: 19 Aug 2007 Posts: 5444 Location: Flint, MI

**Moonglasses** · Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 11:04 pm Post subject:

where is the swedish prog rock?
Pain of salvation? Beardfish? The flower kings?

Then there is Dream theater probably the best in the world

And steve vai OMG
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**Nubnut** · Joined: 07 Jun 2008 Posts: 2078 Location: Denver, CO

My personal tops.

Porcupine Tree: I'd highly suggest checking them out, for any prog fan.
Opeth: Probably the most epic prog band, but welcome to the realms of extreme metal (varies between death and black metal).
Dream Theater: Probably the most accessible Prog band
Liquid Tension Experiment: No mention yet?! I'm disappointed!
Between the Buried and Me: As if they haven't been mentioned enough on these boards.
Beardfish: Awesome Swedish beards? Check, Awesome swedish keyboards? Check, Bloody weird music? Check
Spock's Beard: The defining prog rock band of the 90's
Zappa: It's the stache.
Pink Floyd
Jethro Tull
King Crimson

Well, what more can be said about those last 3. And also, if any of you are looking for new prog music check out http://www.progarchives.com/ You can find bands by genre, rating, years active etc. etc. And you can find some ridiculously abstract stuff there. For example: Who the hell has ever heard of a genre called Zeuhl? If anyone here has an example please post it, cause the description sounds interesting.
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**Blehgopie** · Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 1218

*Presses F3, types "Rush."*

No results found.

I am confused at how a Prog Rock thread can have more than say...0 posts and not even mention Rush once. It's not like this thread was about obscure Prog acts either...

Anyway, RUSH. ZOOOMMGGGG. I have Moving Pictures and Permanent Waves...but I want so much more, maybe even their entire discography at some point. My next Rush album will be either Signals or Hemispheres, I'm not entirely sure yet.
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**GenericName** · Joined: 21 Feb 2009 Posts: 1630 Location: ¯\(°_o)/¯

**OCEAT** · Joined: 13 Jul 2009 Posts: 357 Location: Boston, MA

Let's see... Rush? King Crimson? Pink Floyd? Dream Theater? YES?
More please.
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**sbradley77** · Joined: 26 May 2008 Posts: 46

The Mars Volta anyone?

**machchunk** · Joined: 28 Oct 2006 Posts: 3829 Location: Pasco, WA

**Vampyromaniac** · Joined: 08 Feb 2008 Posts: 1216

My favorite prog bands:

1) Animals as Leaders - Pure insanity... ridiculously technical guitars and synths, odd time signatures, melodic riffs overlaying 8-string brutality... and no vocalist so that no one can say "I'd LOVE this band if not for the vocals."

2)Dream Theater - Y'all already know about it.

3)Ayreon - They play a lot of different styles, from acoustic to folk music to metal, usually many in one song... They recruit singers from other bands to sing, including singers from Dream Theater, Iron Maiden, Symphony X, Devin Townsend, etc... nice synth solos... If it had the technical guitar solos of the aforementioned bands this might take the #2 spot.

4) BTBAM - I'm not into hardcore much at all, so I'm not too big on most of the heavier stuff that they play. The proggy stuff is good though, but it's the melodic masterpieces that really shine. Best examples are the outros from Selkies, White Walls, and Mordecai.

5/6/7) Three - Flamenco guitarist as well as electric. Nothing outstanding but a lot of really good stuff.

5/6/7) Scale the Summit - Basically one really long BTBAM melodic riff, with less talent. Good stuff though.

5/6/7) Opeth - Very good at transitioning from heavy to soft and back within the space of one song. Also, they are masters of making dissonance sound amazing.

8) Born of Osiris - Much heavier than the other bands I've mentioned... lots of odd time signatures, machine gun bursts, and melodic synths... all of which are things I like. Overuse of breakdowns and lack of variety are negatives.

9) The Faceless - Prog-Deathcore... EXTREMELY talented drummer, ridiculous tempos... music that is chaotic yet controlled. Only negative is that I don't really like most of their songs.

10) Devin Townsend's various works - Very good at multitracking to create a "wall of sound." In other words, you can often hear when there are maybe 10 or more things going on at a single time during songs. He is quite good at creating good pop-metal music also >.> I haven't had a chance to check out much of Strapping Young Lad yet, which is one of his projects.

11)Porcupine Tree - Great at creating an atmospheric sound, whether dark or soothing.

12) Tool - Thought I wouldn't mention them? I might move them up once I hear more of their work. Love the extensive use of bass-guitar, the trance-ish feel their music gives you, and some of the weird new things they try, such as employing the Fibonacci sequence musically.
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**DarkPress** · Joined: 24 Nov 2007 Posts: 168

I love Rush, really love them, a lot. Also, Dream Theater, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd (Comfortably Numb = epic).

King Crimson, Yes and Hawkwind (no one has mentioned it?), but just 2 or 3 songs of them