Frost*

 

I would reccommend you continue trying to get into IQ. Dark Matter is a very good album form them and is less objectionable than their earlier releases. However, all IQ albums after the album Ever in the early 90s are of high quality as well.Of the earlier, more "80s" albums from IQ, The Wake is the best IMO, but Tales from the Lush Attic is great as well.

 

Also, Marillion is probably the best Neo-Prog band, IMO. Try Marbles for less cheesy, more mature and melodic music. Script for a Jester's Tear may be their best, and many people seem to like it despite it's cheesy nature. The albums after 1989 are more introspective and subdued while those previous to that year are generally dramatic, buoyant, and upfront.

 

Pallas is one of my favorite Neo bands. They were definitly the cheesiest of the major Neo-Prog bands back in the 80s, but in their new incarnation, they're much better and more appealing. They have a lush keyboard system, but it's less pervasive and more supportive, which decreases the cheese factor. I'd go for The Cross and the Crucible or The Dreams of Men first. Their debut album, The Sentinel, while cheesy as hell, is quite good.

 

Pendragon are quite cheesy some people think, but they do make good music, albeit not innovative at all, unlike Marillion or IQ. Their best release is probably The Masquerade Overture, but Believe or The World would be a good starting place as well. Avoid their 80s album until you're a fan of their 90s and 00s albums.

 

To round off what I believe are the Top 5 Neo bands, Arena are liked a bit more on this site than most of the others because of their metal appeal, because their music walks a fine line between Prog-Metal and Neo-Prog. My favorite album is their debut, Songs from the Lion's Cage, but popular opinion tells us that The Visitor, Immortal?, and Contagion are the best from Arena. Those three are the most metal the band has done, but for a more Pendragon-oriented sound and for a more Neoish album, go for Songs from the Lion's Cage.

 

That's all the main bands, but for some excellent lesser-known bands, try Saens. They produce a great mixture of jazz, lush keyboards, arabic influences, and a bit of metal into their break-through album, Escaping from the Hands of God, which I believe is a perfect album, full of drama. I think it's highly appealing to fans of various genres. Their follow-up album, Prophet in a Statistical World is less innovative and not as brilliant as the previous album, but it is still of high quality. Strangefish are another great band which has little capability of distribution and the only way to get thei music may be through private sellers or their website. Their debut album, Full Scale, is a very modern-sounding, but definitly Neo album without much cheese. Their follow-up album, Fortune Telling, while not as immediate as their debut, is nearly of the same caliber.

 

That's your introduction primer to Neo-Prog, the most maligned Prog genre ever!

 

1. Marillion

2. IQ

3. Pallas (1998 and onward)

4. Pendragon

5. Arena

 

That's just an old cliche!

 

 

                                          Neo Prog

 

1)  Arena ( Immortal, Contagion, The Visitor )

2)  IQ ( Dark Matter, The Seventh House )

3)  Pallas ( The Dreams Of Men, The Cross and The Crucible )

 

 

   I'm not too crazy about neo-prog. Even so, I do like the bands and the albums I listed very much.