Pascal's Prog Journey

I'm getting more and more used to heavier rock music and am listening to a lot of King Crimson and Dream Theater these days. I know that the latter is not a favourite of everyone here, but their music is done with so much energy and contains a lot of detail, got beautiful sound and syphisticated rythmics. The solos are hit or miss, sometimes they mix melody and virtuosity brilliantly but sometimes it's downright boring- playing random fast notes. I can add the album Black Clouds & Silver Linings to my list now with an 8.

Good to hear, I'll try Awake.
I also thought of trying more of eclectic prog, either Gentle Giant or VDGG, but not sure yet where to begin. Which album(s) of their top period is the easiest to get into?

Gentle Giant - Acquiring the Taste
VdGG - Godbluff

My experience with VDGG was that I often needed several spins to get used to their albums. Many find Hammill's voice uncomfortable at least in the beginning. I had the same experience at first but got into it with time and now they're one of the top acts for me. Also there is some unconventional mixing on some albums that makes the sound seem strange in the beginning, but again, one can get used to it and even appreciate it.
I'd go for Still Life first but with H to He (...) or Pawn Hearts you won't go wrong either as far as I'm concerned.
But whatever you try, give it some time.

VdGG: Godbluff and Still Life serve well as starting points. From Gentle Giant I'd recommend Free Hand or Three Friends. Keep away from In a Glass House until you have acquired the taste.

Edited by DDPascalDD - August 12 2016 at 13:40

Dropping in here to toss you a curveball, before I forget about it.

In this case by one of the contemporary eclectic bands I'm rather fond, and for easy inspection purposes here's a live DVD ripped to YouTube by them. You should get a notion by the end of the  second song here on whether or not this is a band that might merit further inspection.

File it for a possible future inspection, at your own leisure.

DDPascalDD wrote: Now this is exactly what I always wanted to hear! Great complex composition and endless eclecticism through the whole album, kept very compact without many filler. Gentle Giant fits my taste very well. Just listening and analysing this without doing anything else doesn't bore me for a second. I've also searched for some sheets which makes it even more impressive if you read that while listening. Two outstanding albums to add and many more to come (based on what I've read). Gentle Giant: 9 Acquiring The Taste: 9.5

DDPascalDD wrote: Just listened to the Major Parkinson vid.  They know how to adjust to this time but maybe a little too much for my taste. The sound is great, but what I appreciate less is the singer and the length, and therefore depth, of the songs.  So nice for a listen or two, but I'm afraid it won't be much more for me.

Oh well, no one band will have a universal appeal :-)

If you tend to desire length, you should probably try out another Norwegian band at some point, just added to the Progarchives database this week. Shamblemaths, whose debut album consists of three songs, the shortest of them clocking in at the 10 minute mark. They do have a bit more of a foundation in 70's prog as well, with some distinct avant orientations.

If you have 28 minutes to spare at some point, you can have a go at the opening track of that album here *chuckles*

Another 2 great GG albums. I find Three Friends to be a little boring at times but has its outstanding moments just like the preceeding two, which makes it a 8.5 for me. It also appears as a little less eclectic to me.