The Student Room Group

Any progressive rock fans out there?

Anyone on here as interested as me in progressive rock music? I've been listening to as much as I can get my hands on since I was 11 or so, starting with the relatively modern Porcupine Tree and extreme prog metal like Opeth then expanding into the classics of the late 60s-early 70s scene before diversifying to everything from Prog-influenced punk like Cardiacs out to psychedelic folk like Comus, avant-garde school fusion ala Frank Zappa, progressive electronic like Tangerine Dream and post-metal like ISIS and Neurosis. I can hear the mentality of a band trying to capture progressive ideas in so much modern pop music such as Muse and say Foals, but I don't think song-writing can ever be as fulfilling to me as when bands completely abandon the constraints they have to fit to be commercially successful - say as Jefferson Airplane did between Surrealistic Pillow and After Bathing at Baxter's.

Been listening to Hatfield and The North's two albums this morning (a supergroup of the 'Canterbury scene') and it really is brilliant, a tasteful mash-up of psychedelic rock, jazz fusion, 60s English pop and so much more. Absolutely brilliant compositions and really great ideas about how to segue between songs and sections of music.

Anyhow, now to see whether prog will live up to its name of being very unpopular via how many people post on this thread!

Libertah

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Rushhhhhhhhhhh
Reply 2
Opeth hell yeah
Reply 3
Got to love em both, damn good, having seen Opeth a fair few times I can say they are one of the best metal bands out there, the direction on the last two albums has been different but to be fair, they do still play the old material from time to time.


I think Rush have been one of the tightest live bands of the 70s still playing today. Got to say I'm still only a fan of the classic albums.
Reply 4
Yeah, Opeth played Download last year and so wanted to go but was watching mainstage all day so couldn't. A real shame, I was hoping for some festival appearances this year but so far nothing.

EDIT: Scratch that, they are playing Bloodstock this year, and their line up is bloody amazing. Seems like a plan.
(edited 9 years ago)
Not hugely but I am seriously digging an 80's prog metal band by the name of FATES WARNING that for some reason never got any real recognition. Supposedly they influenced Dream Theatre. Singer is just out of this world. Also would rank Tool in the top 10 bands ever.
(edited 9 years ago)
If you don't mind clean vocals I would highly recommend the band Alaya on basick records. They're a pretty sick prog metal band. Pretty modern though so if you're looking for 70s/80s style sound don't bother
Reply 7
most of his music doesn't really qualify as any form of rock but in terms of music that is outside of the need to be successful i would say John Frusciante's solo albums are pretty out there because he doesn't care about being successful anymore
standard prog is boring as ****, just emotionless showcases of "look at how much time I spent practising this somewhat hard to play piece"

When bands produce music that doesn'y sound like anything that's gone before though it's fantastic. Bands that sound like the aforementioned BS such as Yes, Genesis, Opeth, etc can SMD, but pink floyd, the gathering, ulver, porcupine tree and such are fantastic bands purely because they don't show off for the sake of it.
I'm a huge HUGE prog rock fan- in fact it's possibly my favourite sub-genre of music. Not that I wish to seem too predictable but I do love King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree, Wishbone Ash etc. and I do admit to being a sucker for early Genesis and Yes as well, although many people I know would call it a little pretentious. But that was the whole idea of it being progressive I guess- being experimental and a bit out there. :smile: In any case, it's good to know that there are other prog rock fans out there!
Reply 10
Original post by metalthrashin'mad
Bands that sound like the aforementioned BS such as Yes, Genesis, Opeth, etc can SMD, but pink floyd, the gathering, ulver, porcupine tree and such are fantastic bands purely because they don't show off for the sake of it.


Putting aside subjectivity for a moment, how is Opeth a repetition of old stuff? The early progressive death metal work is so fresh that it just doesn't have a single comparator. Just listen to any of their masterpieces such as Ghost Reveries and come back to try and argue that point.

Porcupine Tree is very unoriginal IMHO despite me still holding it in very high regard - Steven Wilson admits that PT's early work was just an attempt to copy Pink Floyd, in the mid-era he begins to take influences from Krautrock (He even includes a cover of Neu!'s Hallogallo on Signify) and in the late era borrows from Drop-D heavy metal with the dynamic shifts of King Crimson. Steven Wilson is a show-off geek, I still love him but that's what he is.

At the end of the day all views are valid, but to push aside bands because they are heavily influenced by their pre-cursors would be a mistaken position to try and hold.
-Camel #1 (Snow Goose is the epitome of prog)
-Genesis #2(73,74,75 albums also epitomise)
-Yes#3
-King Crimson
-Can (Tago Mago gud)
-Rush
-Ozric Tentacles

Also, the suggestion that "standard prog rock is boring as " really just shows a lack of appreciation for the innovators of the genre. The fact that you put Porcupine Tree and The Gathering above the old greats who had legitimate creative talent is bizarre for a prog fan. The majority of Porcupine Tree is w*nk, tbh, if I were to judge their discography as a whole. Signify is a nice album.
Prog ftw. Led Zep and Jethro Tull are pretty much the only pre-90s bands I listen to. Tool are my favourite band.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by WhimsicalSloth
I'm a huge HUGE prog rock fan- in fact it's possibly my favourite sub-genre of music. Not that I wish to seem too predictable but I do love King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree, Wishbone Ash etc. and I do admit to being a sucker for early Genesis and Yes as well, although many people I know would call it a little pretentious. But that was the whole idea of it being progressive I guess- being experimental and a bit out there. :smile: In any case, it's good to know that there are other prog rock fans out there!


I know we talked a bit about prog about a week ago but Wishbone Ash and Genesis are among my favourite bands of all time :sogood: You may have gathered that from that album thread a couple of weeks ago if you remember that.

I've probably listened to Argus around 200 times and Warrior/Throw Down The Sword at least twice that.

I have no idea how many times I've listened to White Mountain and The Knife, but it will be several hundred.

I meant to say earlier than I'd not heard of Echo and The Bunnymen but I will listen to the song you suggested at some point. Sometimes I'm terrible at responding to quotes - sorry!
I used to be really into prog rock. my favourite bands were pink floyd (as you can see from my profile image), yes, dream theater, rush etc
Original post by Manitude
I know we talked a bit about prog about a week ago but Wishbone Ash and Genesis are among my favourite bands of all time :sogood: You may have gathered that from that album thread a couple of weeks ago if you remember that.

I've probably listened to Argus around 200 times and Warrior/Throw Down The Sword at least twice that.

I have no idea how many times I've listened to White Mountain and The Knife, but it will be several hundred.

I meant to say earlier than I'd not heard of Echo and The Bunnymen but I will listen to the song you suggested at some point. Sometimes I'm terrible at responding to quotes - sorry!


Yep I do remember indeed :smile: I've yet to meet anyone else who's properly into Wishbone Ash (excluding my Dad who got me into it), so it is a nice surprise, especially Argus which is one of my favourite albums! I especially love The King Will Come (the way that it builds up is incredible), Sometime World and Throw Down the Sword :smile:

No worries about the delay with the music :smile: it's very different from Wishbone Ash and Genesis (and very 80's), so I won't mind if you're not into it.
Original post by Hazzer2
most of his music doesn't really qualify as any form of rock but in terms of music that is outside of the need to be successful i would say John Frusciante's solo albums are pretty out there because he doesn't care about being successful anymore


Excellent choice :smile: I absolutely love Frusciante's solo work- especially Inside of Emptiness and The Empyrean.
Reply 17
Original post by WhimsicalSloth
I've yet to meet anyone else who's properly into Wishbone Ash (excluding my Dad who got me into it), so it is a nice surprise, especially Argus which is one of my favourite albums! I especially love The King Will Come (the way that it builds up is incredible), Sometime World and Throw Down the Sword :smile:


Steve Upton (drummer) of Wishbone Ash is phenomenal, the fast section of Sometime World has me rewinding so much for that first chorus, he's practically playing with time. Complete master of rhythm. Their debut also has some ridiculously crunchy riffing; Lady Whiskey at full blast while driving down the M3 at like 90mph = a f*cking good time. I am a big fan of Phil Collins too, again he just floats through ridiculously technical passages with flair. Much better behind the kit than up-front but I guess their commercial success post-Peter Gabriel (who I think is the second coming of Jesus Christ) would suggest otherwise.
Original post by Libertah
Steve Upton (drummer) of Wishbone Ash is phenomenal, the fast section of Sometime World has me rewinding so much for that first chorus, he's practically playing with time. Complete master of rhythm. Their debut also has some ridiculously crunchy riffing; Lady Whiskey at full blast while driving down the M3 at like 90mph = a f*cking good time. I am a big fan of Phil Collins too, again he just floats through ridiculously technical passages with flair. Much better behind the kit than up-front but I guess their commercial success post-Peter Gabriel (who I think is the second coming of Jesus Christ) would suggest otherwise.


Steve Upton is definitely one of the greats I'd say! (Along with Bonham) And if you've ever seen Laurie Wisefield in the 1985 live performance at the Marquee club (I think) his performance of Phoenix is phenomenal! But prog rock has definitely offered up some of the most technically gifted musicians from recent times. I'm continually trying to find bands nowadays who match up to it. What other bands do you like?
Dosen't anyone listen to Bad Company, The Guess Who, even..AC-DC anymore?

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