50 albums that built progressive metal

Black Sabbath was instrumental in building metal in general but King Crimson was very much a key player in the progressive metal scene as well. In The Court established a very early way of combining aggression and progressiveness all together. In fact KC is one of the few artists that is listed on PA, MMA and JMA. On MMA as proto-metal although some of their albums like Lizard are lacking the metal bite.

aglasshouse wrote: micky wrote: To me...  it begins with the first musical incarnation of Judas Priest.  Sad Wings of Destiny. To me.. that is the ground zero of prog metal. Maybe, but there was a bit on Rocka Rolla too.

true that... but a firm believer in the old adage.... if they ain't listening to it.. they aren't being influenced by it.

Good album.. that sold.. what 15 copes   Sad Wings put them on the map...and what would become prog metal on the radar.

One thing to add...  as a veteran, ,participant and observer of this topic over what 15 years on musical forums.

It is interesting to note how people fail to differentiate between metal and heavy rock.. or this case.. heavy prog.. and prog metal.  Deep Purple.. the orginators of heavy prog.. but metal?  come on...

given the nature of prog metal.... one can see the sonic influence of Priest over Sabbath.  No question in my mind there.  One could argue that Sabbath didn't exactly pervue prog metal.. but was a metal band that given suitcases full of cocaine decided to expand their sound.  Prog? hell yeah... prog-METAL?  debatable. Priest never bothered with teh artsy fartsy sh*t and broadening their sonic horizons... never bothered with f**king mellotrons, bagpipes, sitars or bringing in Rick Wakeman as a guest haha but again.. as has been noted... metal is a different beast than rock. .and prog-metal is not prog rock. A distinction that if often missed IMO.

Cristi wrote: ^ no one is saying that Sabbath, Priest or Purple are progressive metal, but they influenced the genre, that's all.

interesting.. so let's get to brass tacks and nails... I was going here but your post is what I was waiting for to bring up my thoughts.

how... just how did they influence it.  No one is saying they are...  some of the more infamous 'discussions' this site has had have been directly about just what those groups were.. or were not.

it is a rote thing to say they did.... but can you explain just how they did?  Or anyone..for discussions sake of course for I want to measure that versus my thoughts on it.

A little late, but Nostradamus is the Priest nomination? I know Sad Wings... was already mentioned, but what Sin After Sin? Stained Class? Screaming For Vengeance? Even Painkiller probably had a bigger impact.

micky wrote: given the nature of prog metal.... one can see the sonic influence of Priest over Sabbath.  No question in my mind there.  One could argue that Sabbath didn't exactly pervue prog metal.. but was a metal band that given suitcases full of cocaine decided to expand their sound.  Prog? hell yeah... prog-METAL?  debatable. Priest never bothered with teh artsy fartsy sh*t and broadening their sonic horizons... never bothered with f**king mellotrons, bagpipes, sitars or bringing in Rick Wakeman as a guest haha but again.. as has been noted... metal is a different beast than rock. .and prog-metal is not prog rock. A distinction that if often missed IMO.

Good observation.   I tend to agree, and I'd add that progmetal is, on balance, a product of heavy metal, not prog rock.   Conversely and contradictive, heavy metal itself was a byproduct, or a result, of the progression of rock in the late 1960s (Psych/Prog).  

The musical influence that moved heavy rock to metal was firstly, abandoning blues, being more aware of harmonic changes - i.e. a more classical influence. This is usually in the form of using modes which is the part of a scale that originates on parts of a piece of music that is not the root or tonic. The addition of building blocks of established classical harmony rather than pentatonic blues jamming. Of course there is the neo-classical guitar thing where they all wanted to prove they could all do the same thing. And not play actual pop songs for me.

Rhythmically, abandoning groove especially on thrash. The knucklehead approach mistaken for being "aufentic".

Melodically - oh hell it's metal, why bother.

Ok there are the Scorpions and UFO.

Look if you tracked a line from say Therion to Purple and Sabbath you'd be including priest, Maiden (itself a cross between Wishbone Ash, Jethro Tull and Led Zeppelin, especially Achilles.). Therion use orchestras and opera singers (think Lonesome Crow as a good influence on that bit). Not to mention the last Uli Jon Roth album. He's a fine example of progressive metal. Four Seasons covered as well.

Purple you betcha - Two Group and Orchestra suites (and one done again, thankfully) but guitar wise probably more Rainbow. You get metal bands doing Purple tributes, one lot that's been around a while called Machine Head. Vocally singers have spent decades in the shadow of Ian Gillan. Sadly the use of wit has been one of the first of his many influences to go.

Not that I regard death growls as helping things along. At least no one I like can blamed for that overdone gimmick. If only they had ignored Mike Oldfield in this respect. I know I do.

I think the question is not that which metal / heavy rock / whatever has influenced metal but what music other than metal has helped things along. I'm imagining romantic classical (Beethoven, Mahler, Wagner) as modern classical (Varese, Messiaen, Stravinsky, Webern) has worked in with prog rock.

I think it might be hard to pinpoint a direct obvious Hendrix influence in Converge or Opeth but that is hardly the point which is the development of heavy metal pop music is a process. Once upon a time ACDC were regarded as metal. But the metal heads insist now this is not so. The often spouted idea that ACDC are "classic rock" is a way of trying to shake that off and "purifying" the metal blood. (I hope dear reader you get an inkling of sarcasm here).

"Vey're klassik rokk!"

"You mean, like ACDC and Simon and Garfunkel?" Attempting a contrasting correlative example

"Wot?!"

... sigh... where's the vino...?

Classic rock is a sales format not a style of playing any pop music. Perhaps metal heads are even more simple than the ones I knew and are only able to take in very limited information and that is only within their cultural orbit. Trying to discuss a musical one makes me think of a combo of The Wall and Thick As A Brick (real life Dunning - Kruger syndrome).

I find it funny that metal heads find prog rock a challenge. They insist that metal is not "pop". Yet if there is anything to far outside the sonic milieu (noisy) and wimpy (fast, noisy) and yet thusly go and display the same characteristics as any other teenybopper.

Thankfully we prog rock fans with our wisdom and lack of snob standards know better and can set an example, or at least be quietly understanding.

^ Absolutely 

Yes to everything Dean said.

Someone is going to have to explain Power Windows by Rush being anywhere on that list. I love that album but to say that it helped build prog metal? huh?

Edited by Jeffro - October 03 2016 at 07:30