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Fyrus View Drop Down
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Points: 44 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Need some direction
    Posted: January 13 2011 at 21:30
Hello, unfortunately I didn't even know what prog was until about a year ago when I found Dream Theater.

Now, a year later, I've blazed through Pain of Salvation, Porcupine Tree, a little Opeth, Spock's Beard, Transtatlantic, some Beardfish, and perhaps my favorite, Riverside.

I now have some questions, and I would like to see what people think.

1. Are BlackField or No Man worth listening too? (Steven Wilson stuff)

2. I've listened to (and loved) Blackwater park and Ghost Reveries, what Opeth album is good to go to next?

3. Are any of Neal Morse's christian prog albums any good, and, if so, which ones.

4. I've been dying for some prog metal along the vein of Riverside or Tool, any other bands that fit the bill for that?

and 5. Name any bands that you think really deserve a good listen.

Thanks :)
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Points: 15745 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 13 2011 at 21:39

For point 5 check this out: http://www.progarchives.com/top-prog-albums.asp?salbumtypes=1#list

For your more specific questions, I can recommend you more stuff in the vein of Transatlantic. Definitely check out Neal Morse's solo stuff, especially the highly rated ones in here. Then check out The Flower Kings, The Tangent, Karmakanic, Moon Safari, and the like. All modern Symphonic Prog bands which resemble the old classic stuff. The Tangent is probably the most eclectic of the bunch, with a more Canterbury/Fusion feel.
 
I'm not a Prog Metal fan of any kind, so I can't answer your other questions. (neither am I a huge Wilson fan to check out other stuff than Porcupine Tree).
 
But seriously, the first thing I would do if I were you is to check the Top 100 from here and check some samples.
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Points: 3830 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 13 2011 at 21:54
Can't say I like Neal as much as I did when he was a coked-up fiend.
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Points: 29625 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 13 2011 at 22:18
Go west young man.
Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Points: 17995 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 14 2011 at 00:00
2. all of them, pretty much.  I'd say go with Deliverance next
3. NO
4. you need some Maudlin of the Well
5. Magma
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Points: 218 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 14 2011 at 00:16
1. I have never listened to No Man, but I do like Blackfield. It is not proggy at all, but it is enjoyable music if you are a big Steven Wilson fan.

2. I would go with their most recent, Watershed. It is my favorite Opeth album and the perfect balance between cookie monster and clean vocals.

3. YES! They are all good! You can't go wrong with Testimony, One, ?, and Sola Scriptura. LIfeline is good as well, but more of a mixed bag than the others. My personal two favorites are One and Sola Scriptura.

4. Hmmm...lately the two prog metal bands I've been getting into are Redemption and Seventh Wonder. I'm not sure if they have much in common with Riverside or Tool though.

5. I would recommend, based on the bands you said (all of which are personal favorites of mine): Frost*, The Flower Kings, The Tangent, Phideaux, Echolyn, IZZ, Karmakanic, and Moon Safari.

Hopefully that is helpful!
Please check out my Progressive Music Blog: The Leviathan.
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Points: 26228 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 14 2011 at 01:55
Neal Morse solo albums are excellent
 
recommend Sola Scriptura to start with
 
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Points: 2720 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 14 2011 at 03:01
1. Are BlackField or No Man worth listening too? (Steven Wilson stuff):
   Blackfield I find a bit too quiet and laid back, and, to be honest I find No Man very difficult to judge because they seem too faceless to actually get a good grip on (if that makes sense)

2. I've listened to (and loved) Blackwater park and Ghost Reveries, what Opeth album is good to go to next?
   Anything after (and including) still Life is worth listening to.

3. Are any of Neal Morse's christian prog albums any good, and, if so, which ones.
   Yes, most deifitively. My favourite is Testimony because I find it to be his most diverse, but they're all very very good.

4. I've been dying for some prog metal along the vein of Riverside or Tool, any other bands that fit the bill for that?
   Possibly Threshold, Kamelot, Green Carnation, and Royal Hunt

and 5. Name any bands that you think really deserve a good listen.
   Wow, no small task. OK, I'll try to weedle it down to the bare essentials, but I feel terrible about the dozens I'm not mentioning:

Tori Amos, Dream Theater, Genesis, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Liquid Tension Experiment, Moon Safari, Planet X, Psychotic Waltz, Renaissance, Transatlantic, Van Der Graaf Generator, Yes, Frank Zappa.

Especially Tori Amos (not kidding!)
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Fyrus View Drop Down
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Points: 44 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 14 2011 at 05:16
Wow, I have a lot of bands on my list now :p

Thanks bros.
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Points: 182 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 14 2011 at 07:50
1. Aviv Gefen and Steven Wilson are doing great together, Blackfield is amazing project, very emotional.
2. Damnation shows the real potential of Opeth
3. Yeah, if you can ignore his cheesy lyrics you will surely enjoy it!(I recommend One).
4. Indukti and Quidam are nice(both from Poland)
5. You better check PA top 100 albums, I'm sure you'll find many great things there.

Try Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel\Hammill solo stuff.

Keep on Progging!
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Points: 32482 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 14 2011 at 07:56
If you like metal, Sola Scriptura is a must.  Very intense, dynamic album.

You should check out Echolyn.
https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays
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Points: 19643 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 14 2011 at 08:07
1. YES, absolutely.
Blackfield is like the poppier side of PT with a fresh sound - not essentially prog, although still incredibly wonderful and definitely worth checking out.
no-man is very hard to give a straight answer for - they're eclectic although still somewhat familiar throughout their discography. As always, I'll say yes, definitely one of my favourite bands ever.
Some samples:



2. Still Life next easily. One of my all-time favourite albums and the one which finally made me love Opeth.
3. No idea!
4. Pain of Salvation if you haven't already; very much in a similar vein to Riverside, and one of the two or three best prog metal bands ever.
5. I'll drop back in tomorrow with some recommendations
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Fyrus View Drop Down
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Points: 44 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 14 2011 at 12:48
Originally posted by progkidjoel progkidjoel wrote:

1
4. Pain of Salvation if you haven't already; very much in a similar vein to Riverside, and one of the two or three best prog metal bands ever.

Oh hell yes, Pain of Salvation is one of my favorite, and most respected bands ever. I've listened to all their album except Entropia, which I am going to do soon. I admit, Road Salt didn't do it for me the way their previous albums did, but I'm interested to see where they go next.
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Points: 37 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 14 2011 at 18:15
1. Yes!!!!!!
2. Still Life, Damnation....
3. No!!!!!!!!!!!
4. -
5. Rush!!!!!
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Points: 6 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 14 2011 at 19:20
Hello there,

first thing to say is that prog is quite a bit wider than the prog-metal that you've mentioned. Some of the other posts direct you to this material and much of it is well worth looking at. Thing is, if Riverside is your aesthetic core and Spock's Beard is at the edge of the landscape you may not enjoy some of the classic prog like Magma and Rush as their early albums have 70s production values. My recommendations are for relatively contemporary material.

1. Are BlackField or No Man worth listening too? (Steven Wilson stuff)
A: Very much so. The first Blackfield album is very good melodic rock. No Man is also lovely if you enjoy subtle soundscapes - a teeny bit like Mogwai - Housewives Hooked on Heroin and SchoolYard Ghosts are the most accessible.

2. I've listened to (and loved) Blackwater park and Ghost Reveries, what Opeth album is good to go to next?
A: Those are the best, but try Damnation

3. Are any of Neal Morse's christian prog albums any good, and, if so, which ones.
All christian rock is awful, the Devil really does have he best tunes, but the little of  Morse's solo stuff I've heard is about average for the genre.

4. I've been dying for some prog metal along the vein of Riverside or Tool, any other bands that fit the bill for that?
A: Indukti and Lunatic Soul for Riverside; Quidam are occasionally great, but too often cheesy. For the Tool fan in you try King Crimson, maybe A Perfect Circle.

and 5. Name any bands that you think really deserve a good listen
A: Pure Reason Revolution are fantastic - tight, rhythmic, driving and lush. Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, The Mars Volta, Elbow (first album), Threshold, Ayreon - again cheesy, but if you like Spock's Beard - Liquid Tension Experiment and King Crimson. Personally, I'd avoid a lot of neo-prog as it really isn't very progressive, but bands such as IQ and The Tangent and Magenta do have a following.
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Fyrus View Drop Down
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Points: 44 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 14 2011 at 19:59
Oh, I'm actually a big fan of Rush. In fact Rush was the first prog band I even listened to. Hemispheres is my personal favorite from them, but even their late 80s stuff is good.

It's not that Riverside is my core, it's just something that I enjoy a lot. Dark soundscapes, driving, melodic guitar, awesome bass lines. All coming around soothing vocals. Good stuff. Bombastic stuff, such as Marillion is nice too. Misplaced Childhood is an album among my favorites.

I also mentioned Beardfish, whom I quite enjoy, and are way stranger than Spock's Beard (in my opinion) :p

I enjoy neoprog just about as much as any other type. The only type of prog that I like less than the others is Between the Buried and Me technical crazy mash up stuff that some people call "progressive".

 I was pretty damn obsessed with Dream theater for months on end, so I think cheesy stuff doesn't really bother me :p

I've heard very, very good things about maudlin of the Well, so I might check them out soon. 

I also figured I'd download the apparent number 1 prog album "Selling England by the Pound". 
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Points: 6 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 15 2011 at 10:03
I still have fond memories of early Genesis, and still regret never seeing them live as I was a little too young, but I never listen to more than the odd track these days. If you are interested in early Genesis Selling England is good, but their stand-out track is Supper's Ready and that's on Foxtrot - still gives me goosebumps 35 years after hearing for the first time. 
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Points: 5012 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 11 2011 at 23:51

1.Selling England By The Pound - Genesis

2.Larks Tongues In Aspic - King Crimson
3.Close to the Edge - Yes
But if your more of a Prog Metal guy as I can see from your comment you should start listening to Colours - Between The Buried And Me, A Complete Modern day Prog masterpiece.
And also Foretress - Protest The Hero, Again an Unbeleivable Album.
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Points: 1305 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 12 2011 at 00:15
1. Are BlackField or No Man worth listening too? (Steven Wilson stuff)

That's really up to you to decide


2. I've listened to (and loved) Blackwater park and Ghost Reveries, what Opeth album is good to go to next?

Still Life. Work your way backwards from there.

3. Are any of Neal Morse's christian prog albums any good, and, if so, which ones.

Sola Scriptura is really solid. All of it's great if you enjoyed what he wrote in Transatlantic. Musically it's basically a continuation of that. Whether or not you can listen past the lyrical themes is really up to you.

4. I've been dying for some prog metal along the vein of Riverside or Tool, any other bands that fit the bill for that?

Deal Soul Tribe, Control Denied, Cynic, Death,  Green Carnation, Evergrey.

and 5. Name any bands that you think really deserve a good listen.

Van Der Graaf Generator, IQ, Arena, The Tangent, Marillion (both Fish and Hoagie eras but for different reasons). Anything Swedish (especially if Roine Stolt and/or Jonas Reingold is involved). 


Edited by Harry Hood - February 12 2011 at 00:19
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Fyrus View Drop Down
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Points: 44 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 11 2011 at 22:54
This thread is awesome.
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