80's vs 90's prog

Although it's considered that the 80's killed prog and the 90's was some kind of a revival (which is basically true), there are tons of bands in the 80's still playing adventurous music. I think in general the 90's generated bands that were more consistent and more well known because of their...let say "Mainstream" approach rather than the 80's which were still maintaining an experimental approach, for example bands like DT, Ozric Tentacles, Pendragon, Porcupine Tree, The Flower Kings, Anglagard, Anekdoten, Spock's Beard, Pain Of Salvation and a lot of other metal bands enjoyed moderate success and interest. A lot of the 80's bands didn't make it to the 90's like Marillion did and vanished. Furthermore I think 1981 was as good and important to prog as the late 70's years. 

Edited by Sagichim - May 13 2020 at 02:51

^Koenji Hyakkei, Bondage Fruit, Tipographica and Happy Family were Japanese prog bands from the 90's. Symph prog was the main prog for 80's Japanese bands while in the 90's the avant bands like those I just mentioned seemed to take center stage.

Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - May 12 2020 at 22:37

verslibre wrote: The 90s wasn't a resurgence. It was the "Third Wave." Prog never went away.

I guess 90's for me, though I still have some checking out to do on both decades, but specially on the 80's... I guess mostly on Neo and Prog Metal, to begin with.

The 90s wasn't a resurgence. It was the "Third Wave." Prog never went away.

^ So far i'm digging Univers Zero and Art Zoyd a lot. I wasn't around, but compared to the lackluster 80s prog scene I can only assume the 90s resurgence felt special

I'll add a big movement in Polish prog was initiated in the 1980s but flourished in the 1990s with Collage, Albion, Annalist, Quidam, Abraxas, and others

I'd have to sit down and make a list anyway to give an accurate response from my perspective but I tend to agree that there wasn't so much in the way of new prog bands in the 1980s but some of the older bands were still producing higher quality.  In the 1990s a lot of new bands came in.  

In Finland I think nineties was better time to prog than eighties. Prog was really bad word here in eighties. But of course then Jukka Gustavson made one really great album and Pekka Pohjola made 6 really good, although most of them have quite bad eighties synth sounds. But in the nineties here were also kind of alternative moving in prog, YUP made really great punkprog album Toppatakkeja ja Toledon Terästä, also Absoluuttinen Nollapiste started and make some good and one great prog-related albums. Wigwam made comeback and made one ok album, Haikara made comeback and made really great album. Pekka Pohjola released his first symphony and two others really great albums, Jukka Gustavson made two really great album and one ok jazz-album.