66 replies to this topic

[Chukchi Husky]

Queensrÿche are an American heavy metal band who started out playing metal in the style of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.  Their name is taken from a song called "Queen of the Reich" on their first release, but had to change the spelling so people would not think they are a Nazi band,  From their first album, "The Warning", Queensrÿche added progressive elements to their music, which made some people call them "thinking man's metal",  These elements would increase in their next album "Rage for Order", until the release of "Operation: Mindcrime", a concept album about a drug addict who is brainwashed into becoming an assassin, and is considered the band's best album.  Their next album, "Empire", the band changed their sound, turning into a more mainstream hard rock band.  Four years after that album, the band made "Promised Land", a darker album that returned to progressive rock.  After that, the band turned into an alternative rock band.

 

Spoiler

 

This is "Roads to Madness", from the album "The Warning".

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 29 May 2013 - 08:41 AM.

[Chukchi Husky]

This is a strange one.  Orphaned Land, a progressive metal band from Israel.  They combine western progressive and death metal with Middle-Eastern folk music, and sing in English, Hebrew and Arabic.

 

Spoiler

 

This is "Sapari", from the album "The Never Ending Way of ORWarriOR", the band's second concept album.

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 31 May 2013 - 12:07 PM.

[Chukchi Husky]

Rainbow, a band formed in the mid seventies by Richie Blackmore after he left Deep Purple over their direction.  The early period of Rainbow was hard rock inspired by classical music and featured Ronnie James Dio as the singer, who would bring medieval and fantasy themed lyrics to the songs.  This style would influence later metal bands, especially those who play progressive, symphonic and power metal.

 

Spoiler

 

This is "Stargazer", from the album "Rising".  This is considered the band's best song.

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 02 June 2013 - 04:26 AM.

[Chukchi Husky]

If there is any band that can claim to have invented progressive rock it is King Crimson, with their 1969 album "In the Court of the Crimson King".  The sound of this album would influence what are known as the symphonic prog bands, like Genesis, Yes and especially Emerson, Lake & Palmer, as Greg Lake was a member of King Crimson on this album and the next.  King Crimson are considered one of the most innovative rock bands whose sound is always changing, continuing to influence modern rock bands like Tool.  Bill Bruford, once the drummer of Yes then moving on to join King Crimson, once said "When you want to hear where music is going in the future, you put on a King Crimson album"

 

Spoiler

 

This is the title song from "In the Court of the Crimson King".

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 03 June 2013 - 04:19 AM.

[Chukchi Husky]

Camel are one of the lesser known progressive rock bands of the seventies.  They played a style that is softer and spacier than the other symphonic bands.  Now they are probably known as one of the bands that influenced Opeth.
 

Spoiler

 
This is "Nimrodel / The Procession / The White Rider" from the album "Mirage".  The is based on the fall and return of Gandalf taken from the Lord of the Rings..

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 05 June 2013 - 05:07 AM.

[Chukchi Husky]

Another song from The Gathering

Spoiler

"Travel", from the album "how to measure a planet?". On this album the band had gone more experimental, almost completely stripped of metal and taking influence from progressive rock, shoegazer and trip hop.

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 07 June 2013 - 09:55 AM.

[Chukchi Husky]

Van der Graaf Generator are one of the more obscure progressive rock bands of the seventies. They were most popular in Italy, but for some reason they ended up influencing many punk bands. What makes them different from other bands is the lack of guitar solos. Instead, they have organ solos and saxophone solos.

Spoiler

This is "Killer", from the album "H to He, Who Am the Only One".

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 10 June 2013 - 02:57 PM.

[Chukchi Husky]

I thought maybe I should post some of the progressive rock epics.

 

This first epic is "Tarkus" from the album of the same name by Emerson, Lake and Palmer, released in 1971.  The song is just over 20 minutes long and consists of seven movements.  The song supposedly follows a story, told mainly through the album artwork, but the lyrics of the song suggest more of an anti war theme.  The story follows Tarkus, an armadillo-tank hybrid that is born from a volcanic eruption.  The travels of Tarkus involve battles with other creatures until an encounter with a Manticore.   Tarkus is defeated, but then reborn as Aquatarkus.

 

Spoiler

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 11 June 2013 - 03:05 PM.

[Chukchi Husky]

This second epic is "Supper's Ready" by Genesis, from the album "Foxtrot".  I think the album name and the artwork is a reference to Peter Gabriel dressing up as a fox on stage.  The song is almost 23 minutes long, split in seven sections.  I not sure what it's about, but it does feature lyrics based in Greek mythology and eventually leading to Revelations, and there's one strange section that's been described as Pythonesque.

 

Spoiler

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 12 June 2013 - 03:10 PM.

[Chukchi Husky]

"The Gates of Delirium" by Yes, from the album "Relayer".  Yes are known for their lengthy epics, often using an album format of an epic on one side, and a couple of shorter songs on another.  The album before this one, "Tales of Topographic Oceans", was a double album consisting only of epics, considered one of the most pretentious records ever made and helped cause an end to progressive rock.  What makes "Relayer" an unusual album is that it doesn't feature Rick Wakeman on keyboards, who would often leave the band because of creative reasons and then return (one of the auditioned replacements was Vangelis, who will later be known for film scores).

 

Unusual for Yes, who usually have songs with meaningless lyrics, "The Gates of Delirium" is based on Tolstoy's War and Peace.  The largest section of the song is instrumental, representing battle, completely over the top and chaotic.  The last part of the song was released as a single called "Soon", and is much calmer than the rest of the song.

 

Spoiler

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 13 June 2013 - 02:36 PM.

[Chukchi Husky]

A modern epic, "The Odyssey" by Symphony X, from the album of the same name, released in 2002.  I wasn't sure to post this song or the earlier "The Divine Wings of Tragedy", but I thought this one might be easier.  As the title of the song suggests, it is based on Homer's The Odyssey.  The song consists of seven parts, beginning with an overture, and each part a different part of the journey of Odysseus.

 

Spoiler

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 14 June 2013 - 09:08 AM.

[Chukchi Husky]

"Octavarium" by Dream Theater, from the album of the same name, released in 2005.  This song is in five parts, each one about how things end up where they begin, and full of odd references.  Many of the band's musical influences are shown in this song, beginning in the style of Pink Floyd and ending in the style of Genesis.  "Octavarium" is the eighth song of the album, which is also the band's eighth album up to that point, along with five live albums.  Throughout the album is a theme of the octave, with each song beginning with a different key, and five random noises that link the songs that act as accidentals.  The song "Octavarium" is an octave higher than than the album's opening song.

 

Spoiler

 

This is taken from the live album "Score", with the band backed by an orchestra.

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 18 June 2013 - 09:01 AM.

[Chukchi Husky]

I thought maybe it was time to go back to shorter songs.

 

Anathema are a band from Liverpool.  They started out as a death/doom metal band, moving on to gothic metal and then alternative progressive rock.

 

Spoiler

 

This is "Deep", the first song from the album "Judgement", a transition album between the gothic and progressive phases.

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 20 June 2013 - 10:33 AM.

[Chukchi Husky]

Gentle Giant are another of the lesser known progressive rock bands of the seventies.  They were more over the top and complex then even the other progressive rock bands, with the members multi-instumentalists.  Their aim was to "expand the frontiers of contemporary popular music at the risk of becoming very unpopular".

 

Spoiler

 

This is "Free Hand", from the album of the same name.  The song is more straightforward then what I've heard so far from the band.

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 02 July 2013 - 05:25 AM.

[Chukchi Husky]

This is what happens when you combine Yes with The Buggles.

 

Spoiler

 

"Machine Messiah" from the album "Drama".  When "Drama" first came out it was dismissed simply because it featured The Buggles as replacement members for singer Jon Anderson and keyboard player Rick Wakeman, but not it's seen as underrated.  "Machine Messiah" is possibly the heaviest song Yes has ever done, it could almost be considered heavy metal, and could possibly be considered an early version of progressive metal.

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 24 June 2013 - 04:49 AM.

[Chukchi Husky]

Nosound are an Italian band influenced by Porcupine Tree.  They are similar in sound to earlier Porcupine Tree, but using less guitars and more atmospheric keyboards, and possibly gloomier.

 

Spoiler

 

This is "Places Remained" from the album "Lightdark".  This is probably the most accessible song on the album.

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 02 July 2013 - 05:25 AM.

[Chukchi Husky]

I've only just been introduced to this band.  Nevermore are a metal band from Seattle, formed around the same time that grunge was popular.  I'm not sure what kind of metal they play, but I've read them have many genres applied to them, including thrash metal, power metal, groove metal, and progressive metal (with one description being a darker, heavier Queensrÿche).

 

Spoiler

 

This is "The River Dragon Has Come", from the album "Dead Heart in a Dead World".

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 02 July 2013 - 05:26 AM.

[Chukchi Husky]

Another Devin Townsend song, "The Death of Music" from the album "Ocean Machine: Biomech".  Originally, Ocean Machine was the name of the side project, but it's now the first solo album of Devin Townsend.  This song is based on a simple drum machine and uses a lot of ambient sound effects and guitar noise.

 

Spoiler

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 06 July 2013 - 01:13 PM.

[Chukchi Husky]

"Nightmist", from the Pain of Salvation album "Entropia".

 

Spoiler

 

This is the first Pain of Salvation album, where it seems like they tried to experiment with many different styles.  It's been described as their funkiest album, as some of the bass parts sound almost like the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 12 July 2013 - 06:11 AM.

[Chukchi Husky]

Fates Warning are one of the bands that appeared in the early eighties that, along with Queensrÿche and later Dream Theater, helped to pioneer progressive metal.  They are "largely responsible for the infusion of progressive thinking into heavy metal music".

 

Spoiler

 

This is "Something from Nothing", from the album "Disconnected".

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 15 July 2013 - 03:45 AM.

[Chukchi Husky]

Amplifier are a modern day progressive rock band from Manchester.  What makes them different is that all the strange sound and effects are all made with the guitar instead of using keyboards.  As one reviewer described them, "Well, imagine Soundgarden, Tool, Black Sabbath, Oceansize and Pink Floyd taking copious amounts of mind-altering substances and venturing on a trip through time and space (to another dimension), and back again."

 

Spoiler

 

This is "The Wave", from the album "The Octopus".

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 19 July 2013 - 08:41 AM.

[Chukchi Husky]

Therion are a Swedish band that started out playing death metal, but later changed their sound and became one of the first symphonic metal bands.  They would add many classical elements to their music, including choirs and classical musicians, and later full orchestras.  The themes of their music is usually taken from varying mythology.

 

Spoiler

 

This is "The Siren of the Woods", from the album "Theli".  This is the album where they changed their sound, featuring keyboards to simulate an orchestra and two choirs.  The language used in the song is Akkadian.

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 25 July 2013 - 10:51 AM.

[Chukchi Husky]

"Planet of the Apes", from the Devin Townsend Project album "Deconstruction"

 

Spoiler

 

The Devin Townsend Project is a series of albums where Devin Townsend explores his different musical styles.  Deconstruction shows off his most over the top, chaotic, humourous and extreme style.  The album itself is a concept album, which seems to be a parody of progressive metal concept albums.

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 27 July 2013 - 07:27 AM.

[Chukchi Husky]

"Fly", from the Devin Townsend Project album "Ghost".

 

Spoiler

 

Ghost was released the same time as Deconstruction, both separately and in a double pack, and it's almost the opposite in sound.  Ghost shows off Devin Townsend's ambient, new age style, and is the mellowest album he has ever done so far.

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 01 August 2013 - 11:29 AM.

[Chukchi Husky]

Another Dream Theater epic.

 

Spoiler

 

"The Count of Tuscany", from the album "Black Clouds and Silver Linings".  This is one of Dream Theater's heavier albums, and have mostly avoided trying to imitate other bands (mainly Muse) like they did with the previous albums.  Four of the six songs on the album are over 10 minutes long, with "The Count of Tuscany" being the longest.  Although based on an actual encounter the guitarist John Petrucci had in Tuscany, the song is possibly one of the cheesier Dream Theater songs.

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 02 August 2013 - 07:04 AM.

[Chukchi Husky]

As I'm going on holiday for two weeks, I thought to post an extra long song.

 

Spoiler

 

"Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence", from the Dream Theater album of the same name.  This is the longest song Dream Theater has done, lasting just over 42 minutes, and split into eight movements with an overture, reprise and a grand finale.  On the album each movement was made it's own separate track.  The theme of the song is mental illness, with each degree being a different mental disorder.  In order, these are bipolar disorder (II. About To Crash), post traumatic stress disorder (III. War Inside My Head), schizophrenia (IV. The Test That Stumped Them All), post partum depression (V. Goodnight Kiss), Asperger's syndrome / autism (VI. Solitary Shell), and dissociative identity disorder (VIII. Losing TIme).

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 27 September 2013 - 05:08 AM.

[Chukchi Husky]

"Iconoclast", from the Symphony X album of the same name.

 

Spoiler

 

Released in 2011, Iconoclast is the newest Symphony X album.  Although the album doesn't follow a story, it does follow a concept.  According to singer Russell Allen, the concept is based on "the idea of machines taking over everything, and all this technology we put our society into pretty much being our demise."  Following from the previous album, Iconoclast has moved further away from the symphonic, classical inspired sound of the early albums and to a more heavy sound, and with Iconoclast, more mechanical and electronic (I think to fit the theme),  I find the intro to the song itself is almost like a heavy version to the intro of "Close to the Edge" by Yes.

 

The album Iconoclast was released in two versions, the "Standard" one disc version, and the "Deluxe" two disc version.  The two disc version is the one that the band intended to release, but the record label wanted a one disc release.

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 21 December 2013 - 01:32 PM.

[Chukchi Husky]

"shutDOWN" by OSI, from the album "Office of Strategic Influence"

 

Spoiler

 

OSI is a band that started as a side project by Fates Warning guitarist Jim Matheos.  His 17 minute demo was sent to keyboardist Kevin Moore, who took the demo and further developed it into a more ambient and electronic direction.  This started as a one-off project, but eventually turned into a band.  These two are the only members of the band, who send each other ideas long distance, with guest musicians playing the other instruments.

 

Their first album, "Office of Strategic Influence", has a sound that is often compared to Porcupine Tree, with the best example being the 10 minute song "shutDOWN".  This song started out as a Fates Warning demo called "It's Over", but was reworked, and Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree was chosen to perform vocals and write lyrics for only this song,

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 22 December 2013 - 04:52 PM.

[Chukchi Husky]

"A Voice in the Dark" by Blind Guardian, from the album "At the Edge of Time".

 

Spoiler

 

The creation of the album began when the band were asked to make a song for the game Sacred 2 (called "Sacred Worlds", which has an in-game music video).  All but one of the other songs on the album are based on books.  Although the video for this song has an Aztec / Mayan theme, "A Voice in the Dark" is about Bran Stark.

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 23 December 2013 - 03:50 PM.

[Chukchi Husky]

"A Vampires View" by The Flower Kings, from the album "Adam & Eve"

 

Spoiler

 

"Adam & Eve" is the only album by The Flower Kings that features Daniel Gildenlöw from Pain of Salvation as a member of the band, and this song has him performing the lead vocals.  I think this is probably the saddest song that The Flower Kings have done, which is I guess why Daniel Gildenlöw sings on this song.

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 24 December 2013 - 02:18 PM.