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deandob View Drop Down
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    Posted: December 13 2013 at 17:54
All,

Thanks to this site and progressiveears I have discovered a lot of new prog music, and I've become a bit addicted to seeking out new music. I've started this thread to share a bit about my prog rock discoveries to find folks with similar tastes who can recommend me some of the more obscure groups that I might like.

Sounds pretty selfish? Yes, but hopefully sharing what I have discovered and talking about them in this thread will help others make new discoveries as well! After all that is what social sites like prog archives are all about, connecting and sharing.

A little about my musical tastes:
- I grew up with the 70's prog bands but apart from Pink Floyd I don't listen to them anymore, much preferring modern prog with the occasional Camel or Genesis song. I would say Pink Floyd had a pretty profound influence on my current music tastes, as anything similar I tend to like.
- My interest in prog rock (in any depth) has only been in the last 3 years, but I do listen to a fair variety (eg. iamthemorning through to Opeth).
- I tend to like darker/moodier/melodic artists.

It's hard to describe tastes, probably easier if I outline the bands that get the most listening in my favourites playlist:
- Anathema. I have all of their CDs from Alternative 4 onwards, I like the direction this group is evolving to (especially given their roots) (*)
- Airbag (clear Floyd influence here) (*)
- Anekdoten
- Antimatter
- Aeon Zen
- Big Big Train (*)
- The black noodle project
- Blackfield/steve Wilson
- Children of Nova
- Coheed and Cambria
- Collage / Satellite (underrated IMO) (*)
- Comedy of Errors
- Crippled Black Phoenix
- The deer hunter
- Demians
- Devin Townsend (Ki)
- Disperse (*)
- Dream theatre (only a few songs, like wait for sleep from images and words)
- Edison's children (looking forward to the new CD) (*)
- Enochian Theory (*)
- Gazpacho (*)
- Genesis
- Ghost Brigade
- Green Carnation
- Haken
- iamthemorning (*)
- ioearth (* first album)
- IZZ
- Kamelot
- Karcius
- Karnivool
- Katatonia (I have most of their albums) (*)
- Leprous
- Long distance calling (*)
- Marillion (*)
- The Mars Volta (deloused at the comatorium especially)
- Maudlin of the well (without the growling songs)
- Mystery
- Nine Stones Close (*)
- Not a good sign
- Oceansize
- Opeth (their lighter songs) (*)
- Pain of Salvation (*)
- Pendragon
- Peter Gabriel (*)
- Phildeaux (*)
- The Pineapple Thief (excellent band, very underrated IMO) (*)
- Pink Floyd (*)
- Porcupine Tree (*)
- Pure Reason Revolution (another underrated and quite unique band) (*)
- Quidam
- The Reasoning
- Riversea (*)
- Riverside/Lunatic soul (probably my biggest progrock discovery) (*)
- RPWL
- Sieges Even / subsignal (*)
- Sound of Contact
- Spock's Beard
- Storm corrosion
- Sylvan (Posthumous Silence is a very emotional CD, top 10 prog album IMO) (*)
- TesseracT
- Unitopia (*)
- Vanden Plas
- Votum (this is another big discovery for me, similar to Riverside and a must to check out for Riverside fans) (*)
- Yes (the latest album is surprisingly good and fresh)

I have put a stars next to the artists that if you like the majority of the bands in the list above and have not heard the ones with the star then I recommend give them a listen!

Almost all these bands I have discovered from this site, progressiveears and discovery apps like Spotify. However its been harder lately to make new discoveries, so I'm hoping this thread will give me some pointers to more obscure bands (or even more mainstream groups I may have overlooked) so I can discover new music!
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Neo-Romantic View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Neo-Romantic Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 13 2013 at 18:36

Nice list! Seems like we share some similarities in our preferences Smile

I recommend adding Van Der Graaf Generator, Discipline, and Anglagard to your library.

VDGG is my favorite prog group, hands down. Dark, ever-evolving, and ridiculously interesting emotionally and musical throughout, they sound exactly like something that would fit right into your library. Their sound is timeless. Their classic era albums are all as diverse as they are masterful, each one offering something new and of the highest quality. Godbluff is utterly perfect. It's the one I recommend the highest.

Discipline is one of my absolute favorite groups, and if you like darker prog, they're perfect for you. Unfolded Like Staircase is one of the most moving, musical, and unbelievably impressive albums in my entire collection. It's flawless to my ears. Their most recent one is awesome too! I can't recommend them enough.

Anglagard is a symphonic act that recalls the sounds and styles of some of the most revered older groups but puts a new, inimitable twist with their Hybris album. It's a masterpiece in every regard. Then there's Viljans Oga, an album that defies classifications and, in my humble opinion, confounds and shatters the symphonic prog mold. It's like a classical album with prog stylings and enough emotional and technical depth to keep you discovering something new with each repeated listen. A bit of a grower, admittedly, but I guarantee after you've given yourself a chance to digest it, it'll hold a unique place in your library that no other album can steal.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote deandob Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 13 2013 at 19:03
Hi Neo-Romantic.

Haven't given VDGG much thought having put them in the 70's progr rock bracket and I much prefer modern prog, but given your recommendation after seeing my list I will give them a closer listen.

I have 1 song from Discipline in my favourites - Before the Storm Part 1 (unfolded like Staircase) so I'll need to check them out further.

Likewise Anglagard, they aren't on Spotify (where I do most of my music discovery) so I'll have to hunt them down elsewhere.

There is so much to choose from so it's hard to spend the time listening to somewhat random bands hoping to find one that warrants further time listening. So thanks for the more direct recommendations!

If anyone is interested I have about 1500 prog tracks in a Spotify playlist, can be accessed here:
http://open.spotify.com/user/1241861938/playlist/0VK2eKF32wOjb1mgUijXQd


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Metalmarsh89 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 13 2013 at 19:16
Originally posted by Neo-Romantic Neo-Romantic wrote:

Nice list! Seems like we share some similarities in our preferences Smile

I recommend adding Van Der Graaf Generator, Discipline, and Anglagard to your library.

VDGG is my favorite prog group, hands down. Dark, ever-evolving, and ridiculously interesting emotionally and musical throughout, they sound exactly like something that would fit right into your library. Their sound is timeless. Their classic era albums are all as diverse as they are masterful, each one offering something new and of the highest quality. Godbluff is utterly perfect. It's the one I recommend the highest.

Discipline is one of my absolute favorite groups, and if you like darker prog, they're perfect for you. Unfolded Like Staircase is one of the most moving, musical, and unbelievably impressive albums in my entire collection. It's flawless to my ears. Their most recent one is awesome too! I can't recommend them enough.

Anglagard is a symphonic act that recalls the sounds and styles of some of the most revered older groups but puts a new, inimitable twist with their Hybris album. It's a masterpiece in every regard. Then there's Viljans Oga, an album that defies classifications and, in my humble opinion, confounds and shatters the symphonic prog mold. It's like a classical album with prog stylings and enough emotional and technical depth to keep you discovering something new with each repeated listen. A bit of a grower, admittedly, but I guarantee after you've given yourself a chance to digest it, it'll hold a unique place in your library that no other album can steal.



What a coincidence, those are the last three bands whose albums I've recently purchased. I like what I hear from Discipline so far, though I'm still waiting on the arrival of Anglagard and VDGG.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote zravkapt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 13 2013 at 19:40
I noticed you enjoy mostly vocal-oriented stuff. How are you with instrumental music?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote deandob Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 13 2013 at 19:53
Yes, mostly vocal but I do like some post rock. Examples:
- God is an Astronaut
- Buckethead (very Floyd-ish)
- pg.lost
- Hammock (Kenotic is a favourite)
- Maybeshewill
- Scale the summit
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HolyMoly Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 13 2013 at 19:54
Discipline is definitely worth checking out further.  

I also think The Tangent would be to your tastes, in case you haven't heard them.  I only know "A Place in the Queue" but it's really good, and I've heard good things about their other albums too.

A more obscure one that just came to mind, though I haven't heard them much, is Rainbow Danger Club (from China), which seems to be conducive to the tastes suggested by the other bands on your list as well.  Quite melancholy and mystical.


Edited by HolyMoly - December 13 2013 at 19:56
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JellySucker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 13 2013 at 22:01
If you haven't discovered Birth Control, i feel bad for you man.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Neo-Romantic Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 13 2013 at 22:47
Originally posted by deandob deandob wrote:

Hi Neo-Romantic.

Haven't given VDGG much thought having put them in the 70's progr rock bracket and I much prefer modern prog, but given your recommendation after seeing my list I will give them a closer listen.

I have 1 song from Discipline in my favourites - Before the Storm Part 1 (unfolded like Staircase) so I'll need to check them out further.

Likewise Anglagard, they aren't on Spotify (where I do most of my music discovery) so I'll have to hunt them down elsewhere.

There is so much to choose from so it's hard to spend the time listening to somewhat random bands hoping to find one that warrants further time listening. So thanks for the more direct recommendations!

If anyone is interested I have about 1500 prog tracks in a Spotify playlist, can be accessed here:
http://open.spotify.com/user/1241861938/playlist/0VK2eKF32wOjb1mgUijXQd


So glad I could be of service! I definitely hope you like all of them Smile And let me know what you think!

And Anglagard is a little tough to track down. I had to get the actual CDs from amazon.com. I listened to Hybris on youtube a couple times before I bought the album last year so I knew it would be a worthy purchase. Viljans Oga was a sound-unheard purchase, but I was really pleased with it. Always a great feeling when a gamble pays off like that Cool

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Neo-Romantic Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 13 2013 at 22:48
 
Originally posted by Metalmarsh89 Metalmarsh89 wrote:



What a coincidence, those are the last three bands whose albums I've recently purchased. I like what I hear from Discipline so far, though I'm still waiting on the arrival of Anglagard and VDGG.

Haha that's awesome. You've got a lot of wonderful music coming your way Smile

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote deandob Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 13 2013 at 22:48
HolyMoly, The Tangent do sound interesting, have marked a couple of their tracks for repeat listening. Rainbow Danger Club I'm not so sure yet.

Terima kasih Jelly Sucker. Birth Control is a little too 70's classic prog for my liking (I much prefer modern prog).

I'm going to add posts to this thread of some of my thoughts about bands I like that might be of interest to others.

1st up is Votum. They are a Polish progressive metal group who have been around for about 10 years. Their music is similar to Riverside (who are also Polish) and will definitely be of interest to Riverside and Opeth fans. They also remind me of a couple of Australian bands, in particular The Butterfly Effect (from my home town of Brisbane but now disbanded). Like Riverside I prefer their softer tracks, and have been pretty much on the top of my playlist for the last few weeks.

They have a polished sound, produced well, smooth guitar work, good lyrics and strong vocals (English with no accent). They have released 3 albums, all good, but the last two are more polished. The current album Harvest Moon would be in my top 3 albums released this year. They don't seem to get a lot of coverage though, which is a little surprising.

Here are a couple of tracks to give you a taste.






Great stuff! This is the type of band I'd like to find more like.

Edited by deandob - December 13 2013 at 23:04
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote infocat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 14 2013 at 01:10
Well here are some for you!  I searched my database for music from this century, and added some 80s and 90s stuff I could think of offhand.  A star next to ones I think you might start with.
I've included some metal, but not (I think) the harsher sounding bands (maybe a couple of exceptions, depending on your tastes.)

3
3rdegree
The Addiction Dream
Anubis (*)
Beardfish
Carpe Nota
Clover Seeds
District 97 (*)
echolyn (*)
Elephants of Scotland
Enchant
Every Waking Hour
Explosions In The Sky (*)
Frames
The Gathering
Giant Squid
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Halloween
IQ (*)
Isis
Leprous
A Liquid Landscape
Mastodon (probably only Crack The Skye)
Methexis
Oblivion Sun
Orbs
Persephone's Dream
Phideaux
The Psychedelic Ensemble
The Safety Fire
Singularity (*)
Sky Architect (*)
sleepmakeswaves
Symmetry/Symmetry  
Tangled Thoughts Of Leaving (*)
The Tea Club
Thank You Scientist
Tune (*)
Via Obscura
Vultress (*)

While not really in the Riverside/Votum sound, Tune is another band from Poland that I really like.  The theme of their (one) album is similar to that of the Reality Dream trilogy.

And if you're feeling a bit (more) adventurous:
The Gabriel Construct
Guapo
miRthkon
NeBeLNeST
Nooumena
Present
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum
Yeti

Have fun!

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote deandob Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 14 2013 at 05:59
Thanks Infocat! Quite a range to explore. Will keep me busy for the weekend checking these out & will report back.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Windhawk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 14 2013 at 07:56
I'd like to toss in a few others, in case they haven't already been mentioned.

Taylor's Universe




Redd





Seconds Before Landing




Galahad




Edited by Windhawk - December 14 2013 at 08:17
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote zravkapt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 14 2013 at 08:03
Originally posted by deandob deandob wrote:

Yes, mostly vocal but I do like some post rock.
 
What team I'm on has nothing to do with my tastes or what I was going to recommend. From the OP I thought of some instrumental suggestions but was unsure how much you enjoyed music without vocals. Anyway, you might like these individual songs but not everything/anything else these artists did. Some are from the '70s.
 
 
 
 
 
 


Edited by zravkapt - December 14 2013 at 08:12
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote deandob Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 14 2013 at 17:44
OK, spent a bit of time sampling a number of the artists recommended.

The following artists appeal and will get deeper listen:
- via obscura
- Tangled thoughts of Leaving
- The safety fire
- A liquid landscape
- Giant squid (vocals a bit suspect though)
- Frames
- Vultress
- Aborea
- Hejira
- The tangent
- ISIS
- Nektar
- Tortoise

Infocat, I have most of the artists you starred (although not in my most played list) so your suggestions are pretty spot on!

I'll post later about another favourite prog artist.

Edited by deandob - December 14 2013 at 17:44
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote infocat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 14 2013 at 20:19
Originally posted by deandob deandob wrote:

OK, spent a bit of time sampling a number of the artists recommended.

The following artists appeal and will get deeper listen:
- via obscura
- Tangled thoughts of Leaving
- The safety fire
- A liquid landscape
- Giant squid (vocals a bit suspect though)
- Frames
- Vultress
- Aborea
- Hejira
- The tangent
- ISIS
- Nektar
- Tortoise

Infocat, I have most of the artists you starred (although not in my most played list) so your suggestions are pretty spot on!

I'll post later about another favourite prog artist.
Our tastes seem scarily similar.  I see that I included a few in my list that you had also included; didn't mean to do that.

For Giant Squid I recommend The Ichthyologist over Cenotes.  Less metal (both vocally and instrumentally).  And some wonderful singing by the female vocalist.



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote deandob Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 14 2013 at 21:12
Infocat, yes it does seem our tastes are similar. Thank you for the recommendation.

As I previously posted about Votum, an underrated Polish prog group, I thought I'd do some more digging about Polish prog, as it seems I have a strong representation of Polish groups in my favourites list.

This morning I found a useful site for Polish prog Power of Prog - Polish progressive rock
This site has a player that you can sample a lot of obscure Polish prog groups, and I like a lot of what I hear! Finding online sources for some of these lesser bands is hard, but there is a post on that site that gives a number of stores (Polish and International) where you can order.

Here are a number of tracks from a number of my favourite but relatively obscure Polish prog bands

Satellite - Album 'A street between sunrise and sunset'


Collage - Previous band name for Satellite


Disperse - A number of their songs are on high rotation from the album 'living mirrors'


Quidam - Check out the albums 'Alone Together' and 'SurRevival'


Tune - Infocat suggested earlier I would like them, and I do!


Lunatic Soul - A side project of the Riverside lead singer


Division by Zero - Something a little harder / metal this time


I'm not sure why I gravitate to so many Polish prog bands - they all have a somewhat similar sound so I guess that is the reason, and it's also interesting that they sing in English not in Polish (I assume to reach a larger audience).

Edited by deandob - December 14 2013 at 21:29
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote infocat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 14 2013 at 21:28
Disperse's Living Mirrors is one I'm not so fond of.  Too much generic metal.

I keep seeing some Metal Mind Productions double CD releases from Collage and Satellite at the local store.  I think I will have to pick up a couple!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote deandob Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 14 2013 at 21:36
Let me know what you think of Satellite/Collage. They were the first Polish group I started to listen to.

Regarding Disperse living mirrors, there are a number of tracks on the album I don't like too much, but here are a couple more (quieter) tracks that I do listen to:




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