Is Symphonic Prog dead??

Unless the Symphonic bands of today get to do something more inventing instead of copying the old timers, like Yes, old Genesis, ELP, etc, the genre will continue declining; not to disappear, but to become less and less influential.

You might want to check out the new IZZ album. I find it to be a fine example of modern symphonic prog.

desistindo wrote: Svetonio wrote: desistindo wrote: (...) besides the forementioned, would you quote any other artist relevant in the genre? Of course. For example, Spanish artist Greyfield, already in Prog Archives due to my suggestion. Hey, I really enjoyed that band! Thx

The original symphonic bands had tremendous personality!  Wakeman in his cape, Gabriel in his costumes, Emerson with his daggers etc.  

cstack3 wrote: The original symphonic bands had tremendous personality!  Wakeman in his cape, Gabriel in his costumes, Emerson with his daggers etc.   I don't think that the modern symphonic groups have that strength of personality.  Of course, there are some strong musicians, but I'm not sure that they draw the audiences like the originators did.   Personally, if we had more women in prog, I think we'd draw more attention.  Annie Haslam was perhaps the greatest female vocalist in symphonic, and there have been a few others (Magenta, etc.), but why so few?   Mind you, I'm not talking about a stage full of dancers!

Progosopher wrote: No.  Are the Beatles irrelevant?  Elvis?  Beethoven?  Miles Davis?  As long as people listen to the music, it is relevant.  As long as Symphonic artists keep releasing material and/or performing, and people buy/attend, it is still alive.  It may not be in the top 40 and the fans may not be teenagers, but both of those are beside the point.  I consider it a fallacy, perpetuated by record executives and others, that the only pertinent music on the planet is what they are promoting and what hits the top of the charts.  Don't succumb to their dictates.  Nor does it matter how old the artists are.  Yes, for example, is still alive, if not particularly well (but at least they are still striving to do something different).

The first bit's fine as the music of artists of that calibre is widely considered timeless in essence etc (but I couldn't fail to notice that most of your choices are deceased, apologies to Paul and Ringo of course) but do you honestly believe there is merit in the humiliating spectacle of watching those from the 70's who are now in their 70's becoming their own sagging tribute bands? (ELP, Yes, Crimson etc) If such musicians were continuing to create and perform music that was genuinely innovative and advancing what they had done previously then yeah, fine, more power to the 'ash blondes' but in 2015 they just aint. Similarly, the retro-Progressives like Transatlantic, Wobbler, Corvus Stone, Flower Kings, Black Bonzo et al are incredibly talented and skillful musicians who appear to be frittering away their fleeting ripeness by merely replicating the structures and textures of 1st Gen Prog Rock. (I don't actually believe there is a 2nd Gen Prog Rock but that's my issue perhaps...)
Given that the internet and affordable digital technology has made the music industry unrecognisable from what it was in the 70's with unprecedented marketing and promotional opportunities afforded to recording artists so that major record labels do not dictate what most of us listen to, why do you persist in this redundant cliche about 'record executives and their dictates?' The days of the Pop svengali and A&R man are long gone comrade. It makes you sound like an implacable Scottish Trade Union leader. Unthinking conformity to a popular culture is no worse than blind allegiance to a freshly minted nostalgia for an earlier popular culture.



Edited by ExittheLemming - April 16 2015 at 08:43

richardh wrote: I'm not convinced by the argument based solely on Magenta , another band I love yet the presence of a very attractive female vocalist as made jack all difference to their popularity in my opinion. Seven is generally considered a great album and the often overlooked Metamorphosis is a fill blown symph prog album that deserves more attention.

moshkito wrote: A band from LA, The Rocket Scientists opened and everyone left the seats to go outside, and they brought on Lana Lane, (Erik Norlander's wife) and they put on an extremely tight, professional and well done show ... and someone said they were just a "metal" band from LA.

^One of my favorite bands! The current line-up was working on some new material, but life happens.