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Topic ClosedGiving prog metal a fair hearing..
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chopper View Drop Down
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Points: 20049 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2008 at 15:24
Originally posted by Blacksword Blacksword wrote:

Apart from 4 Dream Theater albums, I know very little about prog metal. Today I bought 'Ghost Reveries' by Opeth from the bargain bin in my local HMV.

I must confess I had some negative pre-concieved ideas about Prog metal and most of them are being proven right by this album. Some of the music sounds pretty good; dynamic and powerful, and presenting a varitey of moods and styles. They are clearly good musicians, but when that guy sings like a werewolf, to me, it turns into comedy, bordering on tedium. I dont think I'll ever get to grips with growling vocals; I'm probably too old for that, but can anyone reccomend any prog metal - apart from Dream Theater - where the singer sings 'properly' all the time?

I will persevere with this album, btw, it's just that my first impressions are not that great..

I tend to agree with you Andy. I also bought Ghost Reveries and I quite like it. He does have a great voice when he sings normally but I just persevere with the growling bits and wait for them to finish, as the music is really good.
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Points: 21792 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2008 at 15:35
I can't say I'm too happy about all the bashing of the extreme vocal styles in this thread ... I sometimes have problems with them myself, but they're certainly not all out of place or ridiculous. There are also many distinctly different styles ... Mikael Akerfeldt's growling doesn't sound anything like Devin Townsend's screaming for example.

@Blacksword: Please check out Heaven's Cry ... they recently made their two albums available for free on their website (http://www.heavenscry.com), you simply need to register.Smile
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Points: 65792 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2008 at 15:46
Blacksword;  Spastic Ink has a decent vocalist who actually sings (Jason McMaster) but they're an Extreme band and I don't know if you're interested in that...  I second Riverside though I find the music a bit bland, and I assume you've tried Maiden-- though they're ProgRelated here I consider them quite proggie

 
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Points: 66758 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2008 at 15:48
Is that the same Jason McMaster from Watchtower and Dangerous Toys? 
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Points: 65792 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2008 at 15:53
yep..  Texas boys
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Points: 66758 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2008 at 16:00
All the early King's X and Galactic Cowboy albums always thanked each other and thanked Watchtower.  Since I liked those two bands, I occasionally tried to find Watchtower's albums to no avail, and nobody other than me ever heard of them around here. 
 
When Dangerous Toys came out with their debut album I was in my hair metal stage so I bought that album.  I wasn't really too big of a fan of his voice though.  Definitely, a heavy metal chewing glass type voice.  If I remember that debut album was pretty good though with songs like Scared, which was either about Alice Cooper, or had Alice Cooper make a cameo (I forget which or if it was both).  Songs like Sport'n A Woody, Take Me Drunk, and Bones in the Gutter were fun to sing along to during those teenage years however.


Edited by rushfan4 - February 28 2008 at 16:01
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Points: 16130 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2008 at 16:47
Thankyou for all the suggestions folks!

I quite like the Riverside samples I've heard on this site, and some of the reviews nake them sound quite interesting.

Mike, I'll check out Heavens Cry.

Atavachron, I grew up on metal generally, especially Maiden, although I gave up on them after 'Seventh Son..' They did have proggy elements, which caught my ear early on. It was probably a liking for their more lengthy songs that opened me up to Rush. I think after I discovered prog, the metal sound just lost its appeal.
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Points: 16449 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2008 at 16:54
Pain of Salvation- The Perfect Element (Can not recommend this album enough)
Kamelot- The Black Halo
Opeth- Damnation (not really metal but no growling on here)
Anathema- Judgement
Ayreon- Into the Electric Castle (a bit cheesy, but great performance from Fish)
Fates Warning- A Pleasent Shade of Grey
Indukti- SUSAR
Liquid Tension Experiment- 1 & 2
The Gathering- Mandylion, Nighttime Birds
Symphony X- The Divine Wings of Tragedy, V: The New Mythology Suite
Threshold- Hypothetical, Critical Mass, Critical Energy
Vanden Plas- Beyond Daylight, Christ 0
Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005

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Points: 20723 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2008 at 17:21
Originally posted by MikeEnRegalia MikeEnRegalia wrote:

I can't say I'm too happy about all the bashing of the extreme vocal styles in this thread ...
 
oh come on Mike, we are perfectly entitled to give our oppinions on a particular band/vocal style...especially as Andy's initial reaction to Ghost Reveries was similar to mine... it does nothing for me artistically whatsoever, and I should be free to express this oppinion without people taking offense...Stern%20Smile
Music has always been a matter of energy to me. On some nights I believe that a car with the needle on empty can run 50 more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. Hunter S Thompson
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Points: 21792 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2008 at 17:29
^ I took no offense ... I just felt the need to say something about it. If it does nothing for you artistically it may well work for other people, just like the theatralic style of Peter Gabriel is not for everybody, or the avant-garde/experimental style of Peter Hammill.Smile
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micky View Drop Down
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Points: 46843 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2008 at 18:13
Originally posted by Atavachron Atavachron wrote:

yep..  Texas boys




I remember Dangerous Toys from back in the day... .loved the album I had by them.  He is a hell of vocalist.  Putting that group there you suggested on my list to check out.


Edited by micky - February 28 2008 at 18:14
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Points: 28057 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2008 at 18:37
Stryper is the end all of prog metal.
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Points: 28057 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2008 at 18:44
Originally posted by Blacksword Blacksword wrote:

Originally posted by fandango fandango wrote:

^^I LOVE Threshold, but for me, there's more of the 'heavy neo' about them than pure prog metal (mainly Nick Midson's influence)..if you can cope with Arena with a few more crunching riffs...either way, they are very British...


mmm, I've heard a few Arena albus, and they never really jumped out at me. The only one I ever purchased was 'Contagion' which I dismissed fairly quickly as being simple and a bit cheesy, but maybe I've always been a little dismissive of neo. I'll have to dig it out, blow the dust off it and give it another go.


EPIC FAIL!

However, the most metal albums Arena has released are Immortal? and Pepper's Ghost. Both are pretty awesome, but Pepper's Ghost is inferior, IMO. Immortal? is one of the darkest records I've ever heard and also a very excellent album, with one track I don't quite think is totally great.




Edited by stonebeard - February 28 2008 at 18:45
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Points: 28057 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2008 at 18:49
Opeth is one of the best prog metal acts period. The death growls/grunts may take some getting used to, and if you don't really like veering from the velvety singing of Gabriel or whatever, then you may never get into them. But Opeth is probably one of the least cheesy or pretentious acts you'll find in prog metal. Ghost Reveries is my favorite album, but all are rather good (having not heard Orchid or most of My Arms, Your Hearse). You must simply perservere.
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Points: 2819 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2008 at 21:03
My Arms, Your Hearse is solid. Not the favorite of most people, but always agreed it is a pretty strong transitional album.
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Points: 1697 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2008 at 22:00
^ very much agree. (i liked it more than still life Shocked) 
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micky View Drop Down
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Points: 46843 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2008 at 22:24
Originally posted by stonebeard stonebeard wrote:

Ghost Reveries is my favorite album, but all are rather good (having not heard Orchid or most of My Arms, Your Hearse). You must simply perservere.


those are the only two albums I haven't got my grubby hands on yet...  Orchid I found at a Borders a couple of weeks ago.. and promptly  hid it in the country music area till I get back to the store to get it.LOL
The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip
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Points: 10094 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2008 at 22:44
let's see

some good prog metalluh

as mentioned before Pain of Salvation
and select albums from Devin Townsend's discography such as Terria

this is probably a pretty random plug but Shaolin Death Squad is a nice recent find, and though they use growls on the first track, they're few and far between, much less than Opeth's
Arcturus is another good one, try The Sham Mirrors


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micky View Drop Down
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Points: 46843 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2008 at 22:54
Originally posted by Atavachron Atavachron wrote:

Blacksword;  Spastic Ink has a decent vocalist who actually sings (Jason McMaster) but they're an Extreme band and I don't know if you're interested in that...

 


just put on  'Ink Compatible'  You made me curious LOL....
The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip
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Points: 340 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2008 at 23:02
I'll also recommend Shaolin Death Squad, if you can put up with vocal acrobatics and sparse growling.
 
 
[QUOTE=darkshade] [QUOTE=Sckxyss]
I'm disappointed - neither of these players are avant-garde!

Al di Meola.

[/QUOTE]

haha i know. but the poll itself is avant-garde
[/QUOTE]
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