Hey, what's up?!

Hi there! I'm new here... people call me Hearst.

I've been into Prog for years and years, since childhood really. I remember being a little kid, I couldn't have been more than five or six, and sifting through my father's record collection. From day one I was fascinated by bands like Genesis (Genesis Live; from 1973) and Yes (Fragile), and I was absolutely terrified by the artwork and music on ELP's Brain Salad Surgery LP. There was something magical about the music on these old records, something that (even as a kid) i realized was completely lacking in whatever music was popular on radio at the time.

So i got into it early and grew up with those classic Prog bands. Later on in life i discovered Van Der Graaf Generator, Camel, Goblin (via their film soundtracks for Dario Argento's films) and King Crimson... and now at the age of 30 i'm pretty well hooked for life i suppose, heh.

I've known about this site for awhile now, and the Prog Archives have introduced me to a lot of great bands that i would have otherwise never known about. Thanks to this site i've become a big fan of Gentle Giant, Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso, Asia Minor, Il Balleto Di Bronzo, P.F.M. and early IQ.

Symphonic Prog is (obviously?) my favorite sub-genre, as all the bands i've listed i would consider to be my favorites. I am very open-minded though and give almost everything a chance...

I listen to tons of other music as well, i'm quite eclectic in my tastes. I've long been into Heavy Metal and Death Metal, but somehow i've never been able to get into Prog Metal... i've never heard a band do it "right" by my tastes. (Well, Cynic come damn close!)
I'm a musician myself and will eventually try my hand at writing and recording some "Death Prog" the way i've always heard in my head but never with my ears.

Well, this post turned out a lot longer than i planned, so i'll end it now..... hallo everyone!

Hey Hearst, welcome!  Glad to hear  you got the Italian prog cookin too.  Enjoy!!

Finnforest wrote: Hey Hearst, welcome!  Glad to hear  you got the Italian prog cookin too.  Enjoy!!

Hey Finnforest!
Aye, i love most of the Italian Prog bands i've discovered so far. Banco is the ultimate to me, esp. Io Sono and Darwin!

I'm very interested in digging deeper and discovering more from the Italian scene. I had a look at your myspace... i plan to add you. 

At a quick glance of your myspace i noticed the poll with the band "Area" (the only band in that poll which i've never heard). What would be the best album/songs to start with them?

Do you speak Italian? I wonder how much it changes a person's perception of those bands if you can understand the language...
I personally enjoy not being able to understand the lyrics, heh... it adds a mysterious dimension to the sound and atmosphere. It's a more abstract listening experience since i can take no literal meanings from the lyrics. It's 100% about the emotion of the voice... i like that.

Finnforest wrote: Many people I think try one or two albums and give up on foreign language prog which is a real shame.

Agreed... it's a real shame! It definitely doesn't apply only to the Italian bands... there just happen to be a ton of really good bands from Italy heh.

As for Area... man, most of their albums are very highly rated in the Archives! I'm listening to the mp3 on the site from Arbeit Macht Frei... sounds really good! I like this crazy section with all the shouting, heh. 
There's so much to explore...........

I'll check your top 25... I think i can trust your taste in Prog.

AdamHearst wrote: As for Area... man, most of their albums are very highly rated in the Archives! I'm listening to the mp3 on the site from Arbeit Macht Frei... sounds really good! I like this crazy section with all the shouting, heh.  There's so much to explore...........

Hi