Your opinion on Prog Metal

 

I agree with you completely!

 

However, I suspect that this is a (not so) subtle sniping remark about a comment I made in a different thread.

 

But please let me clarify.  The title of the thread is Your opinion on Prog Metal. 

 

The points I give in my posting are completely on-topic.  They are my opinion - not objective universal truths.  Yes Prog does and should embrace a very wide range of musical styles (and thank God for that).  Prog Metal is one of my least favourite prog genres.  I state this as a personal opinion and was invited to do so by the creator of this thread.

 

A broad church should allow for a broad range of opinions; please allow me mine.

Because the trillions of Dream Theater knock-offs pollute the air, because the other instruments usually take a backseat to the electric guitar and vocalist, because the entire metal paradigm is one that eschews half the human emotional palette, because they tend to swarm to metal due to their lack of abilities when it comes to writing eminently memorable melodies, because half the genre is built around impressing rather than affecting or impacting, because most metal has nothing to do with subtlety, because distortion can mask inferior playing abilities, because people involved with it tend to care more about image and style rather than sheer musical qualities, because the genre lacks a distinct edge for experimentation, because it's typically so damn derivative and unoriginal. Just look at those trillions upon trillions of Iron Maiden albums and Iron Maiden ripoffs releasing the same long, droning, unoriginal tripe year after year, because it propagates this new silly loudness war, because it's often based only on wh can play faster or louder or whatever, because people associated with the genre seem to typically take flash over substance, because it tends to be lyrically banal and adolescent.

There's a nice list of easily discernible reasons. Note: none of these are intended to be generalizations. This also isn't directed toward post metal, or bands such as Pain of Salvation or Devin Townsend. This list doesn't regard ALL prog metal, just the majority, so don't jump with your inane defenses thinking I've gone and done something ugly and erroneous to deface your oh-so-holy genre and forgotten X such and such group or Y such and such group that totally obliterates my preconceived notions of the genre. It don't work like that, Mack. And remember, this is coming from a guy who used to utterly worship heavy metal, progressive or otherwise.