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Rednight View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: Top 10 Reasons Why Metal Eclipses Prog
    Posted: October 30 2014 at 10:31
There, I said it. No, no, I'm not a metal head - I'm just a card carrying progger simply amazed (and aghast) at how big metal is compared to my beloved art rock. One might really have to strain hard to find 10 reasons, but I've noticed there's quite a number of fine essayists on this site who could probably toss this thread aside in no time with definitive thoughts on why prog is lagging behind metal in popularity. I suppose I'm also looking in anticipation for a few good belly laughs, so be perfectly forthright with your sardonic evaluations.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 30 2014 at 10:34
Prog is not my first musical love either, RN. I can only take so much of it at a time. But what are your reasons for metal trumping prog?
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 30 2014 at 10:36
Originally posted by SteveG SteveG wrote:

Prog is not my first musical love either, RN. I can only take so much of it at a time. But what are your reasons for metal trumping prog?

I don't care to give any reasons. I'm only interested in the opinions of others. And I never said prog is not my "first musical love." In fact, it is.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 30 2014 at 10:52
What?
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 30 2014 at 10:55
Originally posted by Rednight Rednight wrote:

Originally posted by SteveG SteveG wrote:

Prog is not my first musical love either, RN. I can only take so much of it at a time. But what are your reasons for metal trumping prog?

I don't care to give any reasons. I'm only interested in the opinions of others. And I never said prog is not my "first musical love." In fact, it is.
My bad RN, but it seems that you have some like for metal. True or not?


Edited by SteveG - October 30 2014 at 10:58
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 30 2014 at 11:02
For one, metal is a lot catchier than prog, IF you are tuned into that kind of music.  But once you get used to that much heaviness on a regular basis, metal's way more infectious, just no comparison.  There's no immediate hook like a crushing riff to draw you into the music in prog.  You have to wait until the music grows on you and that always pays lower returns on investment.  Also, prog is so anonymous, it's just music for music's sake.  Whereas metal is a lifestyle and a subculture that extends beyond music.  I am not saying any of that necessarily makes metal better and I find so called tr00 metalheads and their obsession with who is and isn't a poser (based on things like the length of their hair and their attire) quite insufferable.  For better or worse, metal has a lot of personality whereas prog is just about a bunch of dudes playing music.  If prog did eclipse metal over a long period like say 20-30 years, THAT would be unbelievable.   
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 30 2014 at 11:03
The one reason why Metal eclipses Prog I can think of is this:

It is the way of the world that the ones who sw**k loudest shout down the others.


Edited by someone_else - October 30 2014 at 11:07
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 30 2014 at 11:08
  1. It's way cooler.
  2. It appeals to chicks.
  3. It has cooler subject matter.
  4. It has better guitarists.
  5. It has better drummers.
  6. It has better bassists.
  7. It has better singers.
  8. It has better lyrics.
  9. It's played louder in concert.
  10. It has better concert shows.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 30 2014 at 11:12
To be honest I can't help with anything else but agreeing with RN when I see its crescent popularity compared to prog, its more aggressive style fits perfectly for a huge and massive invasion of 'kill-destroy-kill-detroy' video games in my country.  But obviously not everything from this genre is trash metal.


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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 30 2014 at 11:14
^^^  It is kind of the gateway to extreme metal, though.  At least used to be when I got into metal.  If you can digest Master of Puppets, you can be moved on to Reign in Blood.  Thereafter, death metal is a breeze.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 30 2014 at 11:18
I would find that the kinds of metal you are talking about and the kinds of metal fans you are talking about would make for different reasons. Some are into metal because of the emergence of critically acclaimed acts like Alcest, Wolves in the Throne Room, and Sunn O))). Others are into metal because of a kneejerk reaction to pop music, with the nearest thing to them requiring technical skill being metalcore. Some are into metal via proto-metal via classic rock. Some are into metal after digging through their older brothers CD collection. I also know people for whom the only good prog and the only good metal to be found are in prog metal. You probably would be better off looking at the different sub-genres and fans instead of the qualities of the genre itself.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 30 2014 at 12:04
Originally posted by SteveG SteveG wrote:

Originally posted by Rednight Rednight wrote:

Originally posted by SteveG SteveG wrote:

Prog is not my first musical love either, RN. I can only take so much of it at a time. But what are your reasons for metal trumping prog?

I don't care to give any reasons. I'm only interested in the opinions of others. And I never said prog is not my "first musical love." In fact, it is.
My bad RN, but it seems that you have some like for metal. True or not?


True. I can sit through a televised Judas Priest concert and appreciate its spectacle. I also respect metal for its sizable fan base. But with the exception of a few acts like Black Sabbath, metal really didn't come along in time for me to formulate any true appreciation for it (i.e. my teenage years). Up to that point, I was wallowing in the typical classic rock foisted on me by the times (Doobie Bros., Allman Bros., Loggins & Messina, ad nauseam). I was in danger of discovering Bob Seger's back catalog when a friend granted me a listen to PFM's Chocolate Kings and Genesis' A Trick of the Tail. Enlightenment was reached, and I never looked back.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 30 2014 at 12:08
Originally posted by someone_else someone_else wrote:

The one reason why Metal eclipses Prog I can think of is this:

It is the way of the world that the ones who sw**k loudest shout down the others.
Case in point - check out the ad banners on PA at any given time.  Metal is really good at promoting itself.  And yeah, metal fans are generally pretty "out-front" about their tastes, to put it diplomatically.


Edited by HolyMoly - October 30 2014 at 12:09
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 30 2014 at 12:10
Of course, as is the case with prog, metal comes in MANY different flavors.  I'm thinking mostly of the "stereotypical" types for the sake of simplicity.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 30 2014 at 12:36
I started seriously obsessing over music with metal, so I do love metal. I never really liked the extreme metal direction, so I stuck to early/proto metal, thrash, power metal, and prog metal. But prog...it just seems to have way more variety and fewer boundaries. It's true what rogerthat mentioned about pop, because that's one of the reasons I relate to prog fans more than metal fans.
Both reject mainstream pop but for different reasons.
1. To metal fans, the opposite of pop is being dark, shocking, and tough/masculine.
2. To proggers, the opposite of mainstream pop is being creative, unpredictable, and boundary pushing, which usually come off as less catchy.
Even when I only listened to metal, it needed to meet the latter criteria for me to accept it, whereas the former was an afterthought. That's why I made the switch, I think. As for some of the ten reasons, I'd agree with some. It's definitely "cooler" and gets more chicks, and definitely singers like Rob Halford totally slay every vocalist in prog (though even he was influenced by Peter Hammill). However, I wouldn't say the instrumental playing is necessarily better. It can get repetitive playing metal and not very creative. I think it was Rob Zombie who said every metal band gets their riffs from Sabbath, and while that's not entirely true (more like from Schizoid Man haha), I agree with the sentiment that playing minor key, distorted riffs is nothing new and has become overdone.
I also strongly disagree with the lyrics being better. I typically only really cared for the sound of metal, and the few bands I liked lyrically were the more literate, thought-provoking bands like Iron Maiden and Metallica. There's so much more to life than death, the devil, fist-pumping, and all those metal cliches that many fall into. It's not that prog doesn't have it's standard themes, but I don't think prog necessitates any theme. It's that prog themes will go wherever mainstream culture has left a gap.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 30 2014 at 13:58
  1. Opeth
  2. Meshuggah
  3. Athiest
  4. Death
  5. Cynic
  6. Between the Buried and Me
  7. Delinger Escape Plan
  8. Voivod
  9. Enslaved
  10. Edge of Insanity

Ten more reasons why metal eclipses prog. Wink



Edited by SteveG - October 30 2014 at 14:01
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 30 2014 at 14:07
well, i think metal was more popular than prog from the beginning, even though they crossed multiple times since then.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 30 2014 at 14:26
1. Metal is not weird.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 30 2014 at 18:06
It wasn't true in the seventies though unless you count Purple and Zep as metal.

Metal was actually something that grew out of punk and heavy rock music. Best of both worlds?

Prog as a collective movement died towards the end of the seventies and was eventually replaced by neo prog and prog metal. It could be argued that neo is just a pale imitation while the true evolution of prog rock can be found in bands like Dream Theater , Iron Maiden and latterly Tool and Opeth. Sitting inbetween these are Threshold , Anathema and even Porcupine Tree. This is really where its at if you are looking at a movement All the weird stuff that is called prog including Radiohead is just very idiosyncratic music that cannot really be labelled so it gets called prog or art rock.Its not a movement though so can hardly be pulled together and be trumped by something that has evolved. Basic metal is not worth bothering with imo but presumably survives because its simple and is based on image much like tons of pop music.

End of ramble.

and sorry I didn't answer the questionLOL




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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 30 2014 at 18:07
^Ah, what was the question?
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