The most musically complex prog band(s)?

HughesJB4 wrote: Ghost Rider wrote: There may even be someone who finds, say, Celine Dion's music to be complex...   Let that be the last time that's said here on PA

Crimson King420 wrote: I'd have to say Camel, their albums are so complex they could almost be considered symphonies.

*refrains from comment*

In all my musical exploration  I find that the most complicated music in the rock setting are usually the jazz oriented ones such as Brand X or Area. To be honest some of PFM's music or much of Gentle Giant could have that crown. Some of the old Italian bands like Banco in particular would be hard to beat. It's really hard to say and there isn't one answer because theres to much competition. But if I had to pick one based on a band as a whole. I'd say Gentle Giant.

I'd have to say Camel, their albums are so complex they could almost be considered symphonies.

I am not a musician and have no idea of musical principles. Therefore I will not add names here but agree that when one claims a band to be complex one should explain why that band is complex.

the king of the kings: king crimson

I really wonder about the point of posting in a thread just to say it's silly....

I  am surprised no-one mentioned Van der Graaf Generator, who can be amazingly complex. One of their specialties, which occurs in several songs, is that they combine the riffs of a slow section and and a fast section of a song and play them at the same time, with very complex results. Or listen to "Meurglys III, the songwriter's Guild" with it's fugue-like intro.

99.9% of the polls on the site are silly.

It's probably alot better to say specifically why you think these band are musically complex, based on your knowledge as a musician... other wise this will just be a thread of band names.

My choices are:
Planet X - I only have the Quantum album, and I only bought it because of good reviews and the presence of Allan Holdsworth (not much of a DT fan). But I soon realized that this cd has tons of mind boggling and confusing patterns that take several listens to memorize. They use alot of polyrhythms and deliberate beat displacement to trip up anyone trying to find a groove. Many sections have the feel of several time signatures at once. Virgil Donati makes it sound easy, too.
Meshuggah - This band has completely redefined what 4/4 means to me. Suddenly this seemingly simple meter has over 64 trap doors frequently used by Thorendal to f**k (the proper term) with the listener's mind. They frequently use polyrhythmic passages that are precise down to and sometimes past the 16th note, kept in check by a constant 4/4 beat. And just when you're comfortable with the new pattern of counting, Thomas Haake removes the 4/4 and sometimes the listener is left to fend for his own groove. And the solos from Future Breed Machine and Glints Collide contain some of the most complex tapping I know of. It seems like that's the point of  some of their music: to confuse/mesmerize the listener, no matter how good they can count.
Mahavishnu Orchestra - Pretty much for the same reasons as Meshuggah, except you have more crafty soloists. Good luck counting.

Those have all been rhythmically complex examples, and I understand rhythm alot more than I do chords, melody and music theory. The best example to my knowledge of complex music is Frank Zappa and Gentle Giant. Zappa's music seems to have alot of various chords and textures, which I see as a complex thing to create.


Edited by explodingjosh - March 03 2008 at 23:36