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Progressive metal, more commonly know as prog metal, is characterized by genre transgression and instrumental virtuosity. Its signature features are guitar driven songs that have complex time signatures and very intricate playing.
Progressive metal as a genre is associated with acts such as Dream Theater, Fates Warning and Queensrÿche, who had their heyday in the early 1990s, but progressive elements have been fused into metal virtually since the inception of metal. For instance, on their early releases, Black Sabbath would incorporate jazzy passages into their compositions, while also drawing on other genres, and many proto-metal acts also had backgrounds in progressive rock and heavy psychedelic rock. In the early to mid 1980s, some NWoBHM groups, such as Iron Maiden would find direct inspiration in progressive rock acts like Genesis, Yes, and King Crimson and incorporate progressive elements, such as complex song structures, twin guitars and changes in time and tempo into their style, while the cult band Mercyful Fate were known for blatantly disregarding the conventions of composition in popular music, opting for complex and unusual song structures.
So, progressiveness was a part of metal since the inception of the genre, but it was not until the late 1980s and mid 1990s as bands like Watchtower, Fates Warning, Queensrÿche, Psychotic Waltz, and Dream Theater that progressive metal became established as an independent subgenre. These bands would draw both on previously established metal genres, like NWOBHM, and progressive rock acts of the 1960s, 70s and 80s. Especially Dream Theater would become iconic of the genre, and their instrumentation, which includes prominent keyboards, became the blueprint for many progressive metal bands to follow. The music that came out was very diverse and even symphonic at times. Not all of it was overly technical, though some bands such as Dream Theater were very technical, while others, like Fates Warning and Watchtower emphasized odd time signature. Psychotic Waltz incorporated psychedelia into their sound, and Queensrÿche began to operate with complex lyrical themes.
After progressive metal had been somewhat popular for some time, it began to take on more extreme forms such as progressive death metal, and so on. Bands such as Edge of Sanity and Atheist took prog metal to greater heights with their infusion of prog and death metal. Atheist also added a jazz/fusion sound to their music to make it true progressive death metal, as did Pestilence on their jazz-influenced Spheres. Also during this time, bands such as Opeth and Voivod changed their style to a more progressive sound. While Voivod changed in the early 1990’s, Opeth became a more progressive metal band in the late 1990’s which was probably an effect of the progressive metal movement that was going on at the time. Some already established metal acts in other genres would similarly cross over into progressive metal territory, such as Savatage, who - although having a background in traditional metal and power metal - released several progressive metal albums. In parallel with the development of progressive extreme metal genres, many power metal acts would take their music in a more progressive direction, resulting in the subgenre of progressive power metal (which is included under power metal here at the MMA) some of which, like Kamelot and Savatage, would eventually become fully fledged progressive metal acts.
Most bands in the progressive metal genre have their own unique style; whether it is more spacey, more symphonic, or more technical while others follow the Dream Theater configuration to a smaller or greater extent (these are sometimes referred to as 'traditional progressive metal' bands), but they all have an equal balance between the influences. Over the years progressive metal has gained the title of having longer songs then regular metal, and while this is mostly true, it isn’t always.
These bands are here because they are different, in a sense, than regular metal bands because they not only include metal but different genres as well, such as jazz/fusion, prog rock, and classical music, and put them all together to make an enjoyable sound. Bands and releases who include progressive elements in their music, but whose central sound is more firmly anchored in another genre are placed in that genre - for instance, Enslaved, whose style is progressive and experimental but still quite firmly based in their black metal roots, are placed in the black metal category, while mathcore and progressive metalcore bands are placed in metalcore.
Sub-genre collaborators (shared with Avant-Garde Metal): - siLLy puPPy
- DippoMagoo
- Sisslith
- adg211288
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Album · 2019 ·
Progressive Metal
UMUR
"Entheogenic Frequencies" is the third full-length studio album by US progressive metal act Aghora. The album was independently released in December 2019. It´s the successor to "Formless" from 2006, so it´s been quite a few years since we´ve last heard from Aghora. Guitarist Santiago Dobles and bassist Alan Goldstein remain from the lineup who recorded the predecessor, while drummer Giann Rubio has been replaced by Matt Thompson (King Diamond, Imagika...etc.). Lead vocalist Diana Serra has left and has not been replaced, and as a result the music on "Entheogenic Frequencies" is fully instrumental.
Changing from an act featuring a vocalist to playing fully instrumental music would be a major change for most artists but Aghora already played a music style on their previous releases, which could well have worked without the vocals. In fact the vocals were often a distraction and felt like an afterthought on the preceding albums, so the lack of vocals on "Entheogenic Frequencies" is to my ears a bit of a blessing.
The jazz/fusion/world music influenced technical/progressive metal style of the preceding releases is continued in all other departments, and Aghora are still an incredibly well playing band. Thompson surprises me here, as I´m only familiar with his playing from the King Diamond albums he plays on and the King Diamond concerts I´ve attended through the years, and I´ve always felt that he had a stiff, unimaginative, and sligthly tedious playing style which held King Diamond´s music back, but his playing on "Entheogenic Frequencies" has given me another view on his abilities and the dynamics of King Diamond as a band (clearly Thomson just plays what he is told, and is not allowed much imput and creative playing), because this guy can play and there´s nothing wrong with the creativity and power of his playing. In fact the playing from all involved is amazing.
"Entheogenic Frequencies" features a detailed and well sounding production job too, so upon conclusion it´s a good quality release from Aghora and fans of artists like Cynic and the related Portal should find lots to appreciate here. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.
Album · 2020 ·
Progressive Metal
UMUR
"Circle's End" is the fourth full-length studio album by Australian technical/progressive metal act Alarum. The album was released through Dinner for Wolves in June 2020. It´s the successor to "Natural Causes" from 2011. Only lead vocalist/bassist Mark Palfreyman remains from the lineup who recorded "Natural Causes" and new in the lineup are Scott Young (guitars, backing vocals keyboards) and John Sanders (guitars, vocals, backing vocals, keyboards). The drums are performed by session musician Ben Hocking (The Levitation Hex, Aeon of Horus).
Stylistically the material on the 10 tracks, 46:08 minutes long album is a continuation of the technical/progressive death/thrash metal style of "Natural Causes". The difference between the two albums are that Palfreyman delivers his vocals in a slightly more aggressive shouting manner (there are also sporadic male clean vocals on the album and very shortly a female clean vocal section on "Crystals") and that the sound production on "Circle's End" is more powerful, heavy, and massive than the slightly less effectful sound production found on "Natural Causes". It´s a big plus in my book to hear Alarum´s music presented like this. To my ears the semi-jazzy death/thrash/progressive metal of Cynic is a big influence on Alarum, but Alarum generally go for a more straight forward and easily accessible sound.
So, although this is certainly a both technically well played and progressive tinged metal release, the song structures are predominantly relatively simple and easy to follow, and there is an almost instant gratification listening to the music. "Simple to follow" shouldn´t be misunderstood as if the music is primitive though, as it´s still quite intriguing and technically well played music. It´s also quite as eclectic in style and "Circle's End" is overall pretty varied and the tracklist is well thought out.
Upon conclusion "Circle's End" is a high quality release from Alarum and to my ears an improvement over the already great "Natural Causes". Alarum deserve much more attention than they probably receive, and I can highly recommend fans of Cynic and other similar melodic semi-jazz/fusion influenced death/thrash metal acts to check out "Circle's End" as a starting place to get to know Alarum. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.
Movie · 2006 ·
Progressive Metal
martindavey87
Following on very closely to the format of 2004’s ‘Live At Budokan’, ‘Score: 20th Anniversary Tour’ is a fantastic DVD for fans of progressive metal icons, Dream Theater.
The first disc features an almost three-hour concert. Beautifully shot, with excellent sound and clear visuals, the band are on top form as always. The set is interesting in that, while touring in support of their ‘Octavarium’ album, (represented here five times), the band also go through various tracks throughout their discography in chronological order. Ending with an orchestra and treating us to ‘Octavarium’, ‘Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence’ and ‘Metropolis Pt. 1’, the set list is fantastic, and certainly differs to other live releases.
Amidst a number of bonus tracks and animated visuals, the true gem on the second disc is an hour-long documentary on the history of the band. While it’s a lot to cram into 60-minutes, this is still an interesting and enjoyable watch, and includes plenty of live footage, interviews and photos.
Rounding up the perfect trilogy of live albums/DVD’s, along with ‘Metropolis 2000…’, and ‘Budokan…’, ‘Score’ is an exceptional release, sure to please fans, and is an absolutely essential addition to every prog collection.
Movie · 2004 ·
Progressive Metal
martindavey87
Compiling two previously released Dream Theater VHS’s (they were the days!), this DVD is around three and a half hours of various music videos, live footage and tour diaries. ‘Images and Words…’ focuses on the bands first visit to Japan way back in the early 90’s, while ‘Five Years…’ follows the bands career from around 1994 to 1998, covering the making of the ‘Awake’ and ‘Falling Into Infinity’ albums, as well as the subsequent tours.
There’s plenty of highlights on both discs, besides the abundance of live concert footage, seeing the band members loitering the streets of Japan, in the studio writing, recording, and dilly-dallying, as well as playing covers with guest appearances, there’s a lot here for fans to enjoy.
An added bonus for the dedicated fans are the commentaries for both discs, where the guys are absolutely hilarious in their ability to poke fun at themselves (and each other), and not take anything too seriously. Overall, two fantastic discs in fantastic package, definitely worth owning for any Dream Theater fans.
Movie · 2005 ·
Progressive Metal
martindavey87
Filmed and released in 2004, ‘When Dream and Day Reunite’ was the first DVD to come out from Dream Theater’s Official Bootlegs series. Paying tribute to the band’s debut album, ‘When Dream and Day Unite’, on its 15th anniversary, this is an interesting look back at the bands first official album. An album which they no longer own the rights to, therefore meaning this is as good as a remix, remaster or re-release that we’ll ever get.
The concert footage is fantastic! Playing their debut album in its entirety, and featuring guest appearances by Derek Sherinian and Charlie Dominici, this is excellent stuff, and well worth watching. The sound and picture are great, and as expected, the performers are all on top form. As well as rehearsal footage and behind-the-scenes commentary, this is all great material for Dream Theater fans.
Then the icing on the cake, a 70-minute “home video” documentary compiled by Mike Portnoy, featuring concert footage and the band discussing their album, all in their early days. This is super interesting to watch, especially seeing them at such a young age. For an “official bootleg”, this DVD has an absolute wealth of material, and is truly a must-have for Dream Theater fans.
Movie · 2004 ·
Progressive Metal
martindavey87
In my opinion, this is without a doubt one of the best live DVD’s ever!
The concert is spot on. The picture and sound are fantastic, the camera angles capture everything perfectly, and the set list, while no doubt being somewhat “dated” now, is still incredible. As you’d expect with Dream Theater, the performances are all breath-taking, not only in the songs themselves, but all the extra jams, solos and whatever else they might throw in during the near-three hour set.
On top of that, there’s a whole wealth of incredible extras that should please anyone who’s ever considered themselves a fan of the progressive metal pioneers. A look at John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess’ gear, a Mike Portnoy drum solo that goes beyond mindless bashing, but fully entertains the audience, a highlights video, a multi-angle version of arguably the most insane instrumental song you’ll ever hear, and the true highlight, a 30-minute documentary of the Japanese tour.
I got this when it first came out, and it totally blew me away back then, as much as it does now. Without any doubt in my mind, this release is absolutely perfect, and definitely one of the all-time greatest live concert DVD’s.
