Is Prog becoming Metal?

Prog  is not becoming Metal,  

mystic fred wrote: Prog  is not becoming Metal,   Prog Metal is Prog's little kid brother - noisy, loud, arrogant, outspoken, irascible, bad tempered,  bombastic, complicated, intelligent, brilliant. my..... look how he's grown!!!!

Peter Rideout wrote:   Okay then Mike, all of that and my general dislike of modern metal aside for the moment (as I tried to say in subsequent posts), how about the main question(s):   Is "prog" -- in general, or inevitably -- becoming metal?

No, I don't think so. I guess you're not actively monitoring the prog releases of 2006 ... if you did, you'd see that many of them are not even related to metal. Have a look at the list on the front page of my website ... the top 10 albums are 50% metal, 50% rock.

However, it is true that prog metal seems to have more fans than prog rock ... or at least metal related topics seem to attract more attention than the rock related ones. But then again you also have to consider that most metal fans also love rock, and many clearly prefer it to metal in combination with prog.

I love both Rock and Metal, Non-Progressive or Prog, ... music is the best!

Peter Rideout wrote:   If "prog metal" and "prog folk" are in, why not put "prog country," "prog rap," etc, here as well?   Where is "prog" going?

Prog Metal is here because Metal is related to Rock (it's a sub genre). As to why Folk is in ... I guess that's mostly because of a couple of Prog Rock bands which had the folk element. But as far as I know there is no Prog Folk band in the archives which isn't also based on Rock ...

The other genres you mentioned (country, rap) are not really related to Rock, and that's where the boundary should be IMO.

Peter Rideout wrote:   And, believe it or not, I'd actually welcome the chance to sample any prog metal that you or others would think I might like. (Too bad we lost the MP3s  -- a review from a fan is one thing, but actually being able to hear some of the music, before buying it was a very useful, sales-enhancing thing, IMO!) I like some Purple, Heep, Hendrix, Rush, Steve Morse, Jeff Beck (I am thinking of his last couple of releases, in particular) -- all arguably at least "metal-esque" at times. I may not be as close-minded to 'heaviness" in music as you might think!    (And please bear in mind that lyrics matter to me a lot -- if they are overwhelmingly negative and bleak, I will not want to listen to the album more than once.)

Try these for a start (Pain of Salvation):

http://www.painofsalvation.com/samples/flesh.mp3
http://www.painofsalvation.com/samples/morning.mp3

And then these (Heaven's Cry):

http://www.dvsrecords.com/samples/HeavensCry_Track4.mp3
http://www.dvsrecords.com/samples/HeavensCry_Track6.mp3

Then some by a supposedly heavy band:

http://www.symphonyx.com/media/communion_and_the_oracle.mp3
http://www.symphonyx.com/media/the_accolade.mp3

Let me know if you want more!



Edited by MikeEnRegalia - July 03 2006 at 15:53

^ Thanks ... I chose them with great care! Here's another great one:

http://www.hevydevy.com/audio/mp3/dtb_gaia.mp3

Here's another one of Devin's masterpieces ... from one Canadian (Devin) to the other (Peter):

http://www.hevydevy.com/audio/mp3/dt_canada.mp3

Pain of Salvation is an anomaly, or is so from my perspective. If there is any prog metal band that simply isn't "metal with keyboards," it's PoS.

Thanks a lot, all, and especially Mike!

Peter Rideout wrote: Thanks a lot, all, and especially Mike!   I'll get back to you....   No growls in there, right Mike?

Thanks! Indeed there is no growling in any of those songs ... but I didn't have that in mind when I was compiling the list.

AtLossForWords wrote: stonebeard wrote: Pain of Salvation is an anomaly, or is so from my perspective. If there is any prog metal band that simply isn't "metal with keyboards," it's PoS.   ahem   There is a distinct difference between progressive metal and metal with keyboards.  I suggest you listen to Children of Bodom and find out what metal with keyboards sounds like.

I SHARE YOUR OPINION, MR RIDEOUT!...But I like to remark that the commercial exigencies of the major labels have forced the progressive music genre in the recent  years: that's the reason for which some prog metal bands such as Dream Theater in primis, then the other less successful bands from the commercial point of view - such as for instance Symphony X, Pain of Salvation, Magellan, Mastermind and so on, are the leading or main music stream within the 'prog' genre...unfortunately some other European  ensemble - like for example After Crying, Isildurs Bane or Glass Hammer, strictly 'progressive' bands" in the true meaning of this latter term,  have no opportunities in the music business (I think also of the failed attempt performed by Echolyn during the early nineties within the Sony Label: "As the world" was the title of the album dated 1995- and that's quite sad after all!! Regardless of the whole new progressive wave genre, talking about bands such as IQ, Pendragon, Jadis and so on... these latter often quite anachronistic, being represented by the clones of the clones- and you know what I mean...). Therefore, by forgetting interesting - sometimes remarkable - bands from South America, like for instance SAGRADO Coraçao Da Terra, which have gone away definitively from the Romantic prog scene in Brasil, probably the only Romantic Prog band which still survives in an intelligent manner is Camel, the music project by Andy LATIMER (in the case such band still exists..). They are  able to produce something original inside the light prog scene of UK/USA today; instead another famous English band - Yes - has been quite uneven in their recent production...then there's much confusion in the other experimental, post rock or RIO bands of the world, where you can find a lot of groups trying to establish themselves in the music business today, but very hardly ... I think of the clever group of Don Caballero, now a missing band from the underground!!

Edited by lor68 - July 03 2006 at 17:36