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Progressive metal: What are you listening to?
My love for progmetal, djent, and related genres has recently been rekindled by an appreciation of the depth, complexity, and even runtimes of progmetal pieces in a world where most music made today (more generally) consists of relatively simple 1.5 minutes long tracks.
I'm out of the loop. I've kept up with Periphery over the years (listened to them in highschool) and not much else. I recently saw Animals as Leaders, Devin Townsend, and Dream Theater live and had a good time.
Bands I've been listening to:
- Periphery
- Erra
- Animals as Leaders
- TesseracT
- Devin Townsend
What else should I be listening to? What should I know about progmetal; both historically and today? What shows have you been to, which were your favorite? Just a general thread about a genre I've rediscovered.
I think this counts, I've posted it elsewhere recently
The new King Gizzard album is excellent PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation
My husband gets a kick out of making our Google Assistant read that whole title out loud. It's honestly just funny enough to keep me from being annoyed. King Gizzard is wild.
Lol I'm on the same page, I get a kick out of pasting the full title every time I send it to someone
It’s the best tool album I’ve heard in awhile!
Thanks for posting this thread. I'm a /r/progmetal refugee. I used to comb that board for new music constantly. There's already a great mix of prog in this thread. I really like instrumental prog so my list is a bit weighted:
Thanks for the summary of links! I actually got to see TessaracT opening for Megadeth in '17... was rather intrigued.
Glad to share them! Maybe you'll find something you like? I think I remember the tour you are referencing. They also played with Meshuggah if I remember correctly.
Yes! I knew there was another one. Honestly, lots of metal is hit or miss for me, which is why Tesseract fell off my radar. I'm not a fan of Messhugah, and honestly they didn't top Tesseract's opening!
Thanks for the instrumental-heavy recommendations.
Scale the Summit is exactly what I've been needing to get through this compressed work week!
Nice, I'm glad you liked my list! Instrumental prog also helps me get through work, vocals can distract me sometimes, especially when I need to focus. Scale the Summit is great. I saw them live in 2009 with Big Elf, Dweezil Zappa, Beardfish and Dream Theater. I believe Pain of Salvation was also suppose to co-headline but dropped out when they finally got to me.
When I discovered scale the summit, they reminded me of epic video game songs from games I played as a kid from like Megaman or the final fantasy series on the NES. Oddly enough I was recommended 8-bit covers of their music on youtube. They are incredibly good!
Caligula’s Horse is a new one for me. I’ve been really enjoying their work. Marigold has been bouncing around in my head all week. I crave more of this stuff!!
Check out anything and everything from Haken. You can't go wrong. I'm not into DT but there is similarities there which should hook you in.
I saw them in concert not too long ago. Hell of a show. They are one of those rare bands that sounds just as good if not better than their recorded stuff. I've heard them described as if Queen was making prog metal in today's day and age, and I think that fits their sound quite nicely.
I believe it without question. They are masterful musicians. And that is definitely the best way to describe them for sure \m/.
My favorites are:
Caligulas Horse (Bloom, In Contact are my favorite albums)
Between the Buried an Me (Listen to Voice of Trespass, absolute banger! The mix with Jazz is amazing)
Intervals (Especially the first non instrumental album A Voice Within)
Vola
Leprous
Protest the Hero - The vocalist is a bit screechy, but I love the lyrics
Native Construct
Artificial Language
Mandroid Echostar
Maybe you also like Polyphia? Thats pretty much in the range of Animals as Leaders. Check out G.O.A.T, Playing God or Ego Death.
Additionally, Earthside produced an epic album "Dream in Static" which I like this song the most of:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhtEusYxATQ
Really love TesseracT and Periphery. Have you listened to the project King Mothership from Spencer Sotelo?
Currently thinking about getting tickets for Caligulas Horse. They are definitely worth it. Unfortunately, I haven't seen many progressive bands live, as I am pretty much a math/core kid. :)
protest the hero has a special place in my heart. i grew up near them, so got to see them all the time. i've really been liking their latest album, palimpsest since it came out. rody is my favourite vocalist of all time and it's cool to see the progression in his voice through the years. i recommend the song "all hands" on that record to anyone reading this.
edit: oh! and I also love btbam. I'm going to have to check out some of those other bands you listed!
I think they were one of the first prog bands I've listened to.
I had them on repeat for years and they were in my running playlist to provide me strength. :)
They lost me a bit before Palimpsest, need to listen to that album.
Yeah it really did! I vaguely remember that I wanted to buy tickets for a concert in my area, but they canceled it, because the vocalist killed his vocal cords.. That was a real bummer. :D
My favorites were:
Ces't La Vie
Bloodmeat
(especially) Turn Soonest To Sea (Holy shit, what a picture they are painting there in such a melodic way)
For the other bands, especially Caligulas Horse, Intervals and Vola are worth to invest some time into.
Caligulas Horse - Bloom The first four songs instantly got me hooked, and the transition from the first to the second song is so smooth.
Vola - Stray the Skies A bit noisy at the start, but give it a minute or two. Super melodic band, I really dig their synths.
Intervals - 5HTP
A voice Within Especially the albums title song is pure energy. Ephemeral is great too. The cool thing is, that the last and the first connects and creates a cycle.
Unfortunately, he only does instrumental albums now. Really liked his voice.
Yessss. Protest the Hero was the first prog metal band I listened to. One of the few I can still listen to on repeat
I'll give another endorsement for Earthside; their Dream in Static album is amazing. Having a different vocalist on each track (at least, the tracks that do have lyrics, of course) isn't something that usually works but somehow Earthside has made it feel coherent throughout the album.
Now didn't they release a new track that is supposed to be on the next album a little while ago?
Hey dude, off the top of my head check out VOLA, Rishloo, Riverside, Destiny Potato, Sky harbour, Wheel, Leprous or Black Peaks. Or Long Distance Calling for some more instrumental stuff.
Thanks for asking--I'll be following the replies, for sure. The only progressive metal I still really listen to is Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, a now-defunct band that I absolutely love. I went with some friends to see them at NEARFest 2003 and was so impressed with their music, their theatrics, and the performances overall. I've always loved Carla Kihlstedt; her 2 Foot Yard is really interesting even if sometimes a bit loud and hard to listen to, and I love her work with Tin Hat (Trio) when I want something mellow. And Nils Frykdahl's deep voice is just so badass, as you can hear in "A Hymn to the Morning Star". I'd never seen that video, but it gives a great glimpse into their theatrics!
"Sleep is Wrong" and "1997" are better examples of them on the "metal" side of progressive metal. Grand Opening and Closing is my favorite of their albums, but their others are good, too.
I sure wish I could re-live that weekend in 2003 when we saw them at NEARFest and then followed them to New York for a few more shows. Such a great music experience. I hope this thread suggests some other similar bands that are still active!
CTRL+Fd "ayreon". No hits.
Okay. Ayreon. Mostly hated by purists and cynics, this is my favorite prog rock metal opera music.
Ayreon fan here! Who could possibly hate Arjen? Such a lovely guy and makes great music. I guess some just don't like the theatrical element of Ayreon, but the music isn't cheesy, it's just really well composed.
Also a fan of Guilt Machine, Star One and his solo stuff.
I've been in love with it since Electric Castle. Arjen is the master of cinematic bombast.
I require a duet or vs between Floor Jansen and Brittany Hayes. Get on that, Arjen.
If you're ok with distorted vocals, give Ne Obliviscaris a listen. They have a mix of clean and distorted vocals, as well as a violin player. Here are my favorite songs from each album (two from the first album, since it's hard to pick which I like better).
Forget Not
And Plague Flowers The Kaleidoscope
Devour Me Colossus
Eyrie
Equus
Here are some options if you want to go more along the "classical" prog metal route. Apologies for lack of links/formatting because I'm on mobile.
I came to this thread looking for someone else advocating for Symphony X. V: The New Mythology Suite is my absolute favorite album of all time and it's insane to see how underrated they still are after all these years. Hopefully the new album (whenever that comes out) returns to their older and more symphonic sound.
Are they even working on a new album? It's been 8 years since they released Underworld, and I'm with you on this, it doesn't come close to being considered in the same tier as their earlier albums.
It's one of those things you always hear is "in the works." This article written in late 2022 says they plan on having one at the very least finished this year. They also did some limited vinyl releases of Iconoclast and Underworld in February of this year but then again that might now mean much. (I couldn't figure out how to have it link as a piece of text in the comment, sorry.)
https://metalinjection.net/upcoming-releases/symphony-x-aiming-to-release-long-awaited-new-album-in-2023
Sleep Token - Take Me Back to Eden
Sleep Token is a wild band to listen to. They don't really have a genre as they like to blend R&B, soul, and funk with ultra heavy breakdowns - but I've heard them described as sex metal. The vocalist has an amazing voice, and almost always sings cleans but can throw a scream in if the song calls for it.
I think their song The Summoning is the best starting point as a metal listener. It is mostly a straight forward metal song, but then the ending hits you with that Sleep Token changeup.
Was hoping somebody mentioned Sleep Token.
I'd like to throw in a few more recommendations from somebody that's listened to them for awhile:
-Jaws
-Calcutta
-Higher
-Ascensionism
-High Water
They're certainly doing some interesting stuff. Can't say I'm a fan myself. I don't like the pop music parts, but I certainly appreciate that it's progressive and gaining a lot of fans.
They're definitely not for everyone, but it's hard to deny that what they're doing is interesting. I think, due to their rise in popularity, that we might see heavier bands try to incorporate some lighter parts and the more straight forward pop/rock bands try something heavier - think Imagine Dragons with a breakdown or djent riff or a metalcore band going to a funk section.
Plini, The Contortionist, and maybe Monuments would be interesting to you, I think.
Oldies to listen to:
As for concerts, I recently saw King Gizzard at Red Rocks (who knows what genre they are at this point, they obviously don't have a genre, but it's sometimes prog.) The concert was nearly canceled by a thunderstorm, but then it eventually started and the whole show had a backdrop of giant bolts of lightening over Denver. It could only be described as absolutely fucking metal.
The best concert I've ever seen was Devin Townsend Project performing Ocean Machine with the Plovdiv Orchestra in Bulgaria, at an ancient Roman theater that was built in the 1st Century AD. Here's the live album. That experience was truly once in a lifetime.
Damn, I don't think I even realized it until I wrote this comment, but I apparently really love prog metal. Actually, I guess some of these are prog rock.. close enough?
I've been listening to a lot of Aviations. Fairly underground band with one song that went viral. A new album drops in September, and I recommend their newest release, Coma.
Also recommend the one that went viral, Outliers.
These guys might be more rock than metal, but they can get pretty djenty.
Evergrey may be worth a listen. They’re not annoyingly over-complicated, but offer catchy songs and stellar guitar leads. I like the albums Recreation Day and The Atlantic.
Don't know if it counts since it's progressive death but Solus by First Fragment has been my go to. Recently saw them live, they totally stole the show.
There's a wealth of names in here that I'm really excited to check out. Ctrl-F didn't return any of the following names (I trimmed off about 20 others!), so I wanted to add a few more on top of the pile here.
Strictly instrumental stuff:
Non-instrumental and pretty textbook prog metal:
A few more that don't quite fit the bill, but are worth mentioning IMO:
Enjoy!
That's a ton of content to go check out, thank you!
Of course! For what it’s worth, three of the groups you originally listed (AAL, Periphery, and TesseracT) are basically my top 3 faves in the genre, so hopefully you’ll align with a few more of my favorites in here as well. Feel free to hit me up if you want specific track or album recommendations for any of these. Cheers!
Could I get your top favorite instrumental and non-instrumental album from the artists you listed? And maybe your favorite track from those two albums? I hate to trouble you, but I'm certainly not going to turn down an offer like that.
Of course!
Favorite instrumental - Daybreak by Arch Echo
Favorite non-instrumental - The Siren's Song by Slice the Cake
You didn't ask for it, but I'm going to go into more detail on a few of these groups and also offer up another one because I just thought of it lol.
First, I forgot to mention Mestís. It's the solo project of Javier Reyes from Animals as Leaders, you will definitely dig it if you dig AAL. A little less prog and more groove, but his tone is very similar to what he does with Animals and his sense of melodic composition is stellar.
Honestly, It was hard for me to pick a favorite instrumental between the ones I shared out, because in reality it's a dead split between Arch Echo and The Omnific depending on my mood. The Omnific is a lot more chill (think an instrumental version of newer TesseracT), while Arch Echo is extremely high energy and virtuosic - they land somewhere between Animals as Leaders & Dream Theater in terms of their insane noodlings. They also have a very heavy keyboard/piano presence which helps contribute to that Dream Theater sound. Favorite Omnific track is Kismet if you do check them out down the road.
In that same vein, Slice the Cake was an easy choice, but "The Siren's Song" is a concession. My actual favorite "song" of theirs is their newest album, Odyssey to the West, which is basically an hour long composition split up into several tracks for sake of navigation. If you can find the time, I'd highly recommend giving the whole thing a listen. They have a 2023 remaster of it up on Spotify as well.
Some more detail on a couple other ones that I really like out of the list I shared:
Thanks a ton! Got my work cut out for me
Night verses: https://album.link/t/87131015
Polyphia: https://album.link/t/92439234
Both of these are great starts too
Big fan of Veil of Maya, although possibly more towards the side of metalcore? Although still worth checking out!
Personal favourite of mine is Pool Spray
Would also recommend:
Mikasa
Synthwave Vegan
Unbreakable
I like lot of the already mentioned bands but my favorites are Between the Buried and Me, Rivers of Nihil, the Ocean, and Dir En Grey.
I've kinda left my prog phase, so I don't like most of it these days (especially djent or prog-for-progs-sake bands), but I do like bands that incorporate progressive elements or are still labeled progressive but aren't what I consider typical modern "prog"... so Opeth for instance, probably my favorite band that has a "progressive" label.
I also definitely second the King Gizzard rec.
Great to see a prog metal post. I loved visiting r/progmetal and r/progrockmusic, not just for the music recommendations but also the community was a bunch of really nice people on the whole.
So, I'm almost exclusively a clean vocals fan for my prog. There are one or two exceptions, including the mighty Devin Townsend, but he's mostly clean vocals now anyway. Also, Wilderun, I think they are doing some amazing stuff, and their growls don't bother me at all. I'm also more of a fan of Opeth's new material than previous stuff.
Here are some other bands I have recently discovered and who I love. They aren't all "pure" metal bands, but all definitely progressive:
Edit: And how could I forget Riverside! Love most things that Mariusz Duda does.
You have a lot of good recommendations here. I will throw out this progressive metal album I haven't seen mentioned.
Listen to "The Sound Heard Throughout Space" by Parius. There's not a lot of djent on the album, it's a more straightforward progression through a concept. It's a really well-done album and one of my favorites from recent years.
Intervals and Andy James
Posting this because nobody else has, and while its not necessarily on-the-nose prog metal, it is definitely adjacent: Psychedelic Porn Crumpets.
https://youtu.be/f60kHMYRsq8
As a lifelong prog metal listener, this band has been one of my favorite discoveries of the last few years.
I really enjoyed that. Definitely not prog though because the song is less than 4 minutes /s