When your fav neo band stopped being neo.

Was there a moment when neo really wasn't neo anymore? When it had become its own thing, band by band I mean, not across the board.

Let's take Arena, for example, as a band that were still making classic neo well into the 90s, their first two albums are 100% classic neo, but then on the 3rd studio album, they had found their own sound and it wasn't neo anymore it was just Arena.

I don't know how it was in your circles back in the day but where I was Wind & Wuthering was a new kind of breakthrough album for Genesis, and was and still is considered by many as the first neo album, because rather than looking back to classic prog, it looked forward and reflected the moods of the day....enter Marillion and the others... but when did that sound really end for bands and turn into something else. Obviously, it varies from band to band.

So when did your favourite neo band stop being neo?

EDIT: Jesus, I hate autocorrect.


Edited by LAM-SGC - March 09 2020 at 12:00

LAM-SGC wrote: Was their a moment when neo really wasn't neo anymore?

Porcupine Tree stopped being Neo-Prog for me with the release of their Progressive Metal "In Absentia" album in 2002, but I still like them.

Psychedelic Paul wrote: Porcupine Tree stopped being Neo-Prog for me with the release of their Progressive Metal "In Absentia" album in 2002, but I still like them.

Porcupine Tree were never neo, they started as a one-man mushroom psych band, then a couple of Pink Floyd type albums, then he found the PT sound.

It's a given that Arena adapted some metal guitars on the 'Immortal?' album, but to me it still ticks all the neo-prog boxes way up to 'Pepper's Ghost'. 'Seventh Degree' and 'Double vision' are more like symphonic metal records because of the lack of progressive songs. I do like 'The Unquiet Sky' though.

LAM-SGC wrote: verslibre wrote: I haven't liked any of the vocalists after Paul. And he sounded exactly the same live as he did on album. Wow! You've got some catching up to do. Paul Wrightson left in 1998. The current singer Paul Manzi has been with them since 2010. Double Vision (2018) is my joint favourite album with The Visitor.

 

Not really my area of expertise, since I don't think about labels very much. I either like the music or I don't, simple as that. Labels help clasifly the music and give us an orientation as to what kind of music to expect, but if I don't like it, I don't mind what lebel is under, I won't get into it, and if I like it, I'll certainly enjoy it. 

Pendragon went through a change I think from neo prog to something else a bit more heavy , but I haven't heard their latest album though I'm told it's very good I really must check it out soon . 

There's not really such a style as neo-prog.