Heavy songs by classic prog bands?
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Topic: Heavy songs by classic prog bands?
Posted By: A Crimson Mellotron
Subject: Heavy songs by classic prog bands?
Date Posted: May 27 2021 at 13:45
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What are the heaviest songs recorded by classic prog bands? Off the top of my head, I would start off with 'Red' by King Crimson and 'White Hammer' by VdGG; put 'The Knife' by Genesis in there, too. What else?
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Replies:
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 27 2021 at 13:53
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I'd mention Darkness from VdGG. Heavy in a rather different way than I think you mean would be Comus' Drip Drip. Message's Dreams and Nightmares (Dreams) is a fave with heavy riffing. All of Univers Zero's Heresie is heavy in its way... So many could be listed. ------------- "Questions are a burden to others; answers a prison for oneself" (The Prisoner, 1967). |
Posted By: Mirakaze
Date Posted: May 27 2021 at 13:55
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"Red" is an obvious contender, but a lot of King Crimson's songs from the 90s and early 2000s qualify as well. Part 4 of "Larks' Tongues In Aspic" comes to mind: ------------- https://mirasnelder.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow - Freelance composer, accepting commissions | https://mirasnelder.bandcamp.com/album/altered-acuity" rel="nofollow - Bandcamp page |
Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: May 27 2021 at 13:56
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If you consider Pink Floyd classic prog, then "The Nile Song" (also covered by Voivod) fits the bill quite nicely. Regarding King Crimson, besides "21st Century Schizoid Man" and "Red", I believe "Level Five" deserves a mention. |
Posted By: A Crimson Mellotron
Date Posted: May 27 2021 at 14:00
I think I would add any of the songs on 'Zeit' by Tangerine Dream to this category, as well. Very abstractly heavy. Some Tull could qualify, too.
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Logan wrote:Posted By: Manuel
Date Posted: May 27 2021 at 14:17
| Steel Monkey. |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 27 2021 at 14:22
Yep.\Oh, one with the kind of heavy, evil riffage that you find in Red (and Darkness as well as that Message track I mentioned) is Gentle Giant's The House, The Street, the Room. Love it. ------------- "Questions are a burden to others; answers a prison for oneself" (The Prisoner, 1967). |
Posted By: Grumpyprogfan
Date Posted: May 27 2021 at 14:22
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Kansas - Carry on Wayward Son Gentle Giant - Free Hand National Health - Dreams Wide Awake Rush - 2112 Tull - Minstrel in the Gallery Genesis - Dance on a Volcano Allan Holdsworth - Metal Fatigue Frank Zappa - Zomby Woof |
Posted By: bsummers12
Date Posted: May 27 2021 at 14:49
| Lucifer's Friend - Ride In The Sky |
Posted By: friso
Date Posted: May 27 2021 at 15:04
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Genesis - Return of the Giant Hogweed Gentle Giant - Peel the Paint Van der Graaf - The Arrow King Crimson - 20th Century Schizoid Man (very heavy for its year of release) CAN - Father Cannot Yell Camel - Separation ------------- I'm guitarist and songwriter for the prog-related band Mother Bass. Find us at http://www.motherbass.com. I also enter stages throughout the Netherlands performing my poetry. |
Posted By: HolyMoly
Date Posted: May 27 2021 at 15:20
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Stick it Out by Rush I admit the downtuned guitars may be influencing my “heaviness” assessment. Kickbutt riff though. ------------- My other avatar is a Porsche It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased. -Kehlog Albran |
Posted By: dwill123
Date Posted: May 27 2021 at 15:33
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: May 27 2021 at 15:51
 ------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: May 27 2021 at 15:57
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Off the top of my head (and without looking too much at what has already been said). Genesis - The Knife Pink Floyd - The Nile Song Yes - Machine Messiah ELP - The Knife Edge King Crimson - Larks Tongues in Aspic part 1 (part 2 also) " " - Red Camel - Freefall Gentle Giant - A cry for everyone " " - The House, the Street, The Room Jethro Tull - The Minstrel in the Gallery (album version) The Moody Blues - After You Came (well, it's heavy for them anyway  )Rush (if they count)- 2112 overture |
Posted By: Frenetic Zetetic
Date Posted: May 27 2021 at 23:43
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Larks' Tongues Part 2 is the proto-metal blue print IMHO. They were already several levels ahead of Black Sabbath by this point without even trying. ------------- "I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021 |
Posted By: octopus-4
Date Posted: May 27 2021 at 23:54
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ELP - Living Sin The Nice - One Of Those People Camel - Arubaluba ------------- I stand with Roger Waters, I stand with Joan Baez, I stand with Victor Jara, I stand with Woody Guthrie. Music is revolution |
Posted By: Guldbamsen
Date Posted: May 28 2021 at 00:15
If we’re mentioning The Nile Song then how about the equally cool and heavy Ibiza Bar from the same album?  ------------- “The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.” - Douglas Adams |
Posted By: yogev
Date Posted: May 28 2021 at 00:16
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I'm keeping the line of king crimson with Happy with what you have to be happy with. And from the 70s KC I'll choose Larks' Tongues In Aspic, Pt. 1. Damn, KC are heavy.
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Posted By: cstack3
Date Posted: May 28 2021 at 00:22
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King Crimson: Fracture > Red ------------- I am not a Robot, I'm a FREE MAN!! |
Posted By: Awesoreno
Date Posted: May 28 2021 at 00:45
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I see a lot of 90s to present KC mentions. Most of the tracks off those last three albums are heavy as hell. That era, plus the mid-70s era, make KC a good contender for Heavy Prog on PA in my opinion. Anyway, Valedictory by GG.
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Posted By: A Crimson Mellotron
Date Posted: May 28 2021 at 03:43
| All great recommendations and a few ones I have to hear! |
Posted By: I prophesy disaster
Date Posted: May 28 2021 at 06:58
Ooh, them's fightin' words! In 1973 (the year of Larks' Tongues in Aspic), Black Sabbath released their fifth album (Sabbath Bloody Sabbath), by which time they were starting to introduce more artistic elements into their heaviness. It makes me laugh when people give high praise to Red (1974) because of its heaviness, when Black Sabbath had been producing heavy metal for years. ------------- No, I know how to behave in the restaurant now, I don't tear at the meat with my hands. If I've become a man of the world somehow, that's not necessarily to say I'm a worldly man. |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: May 28 2021 at 22:46
| I might be one of the few people who thinks this but parts of tales from topographic oceans sound pretty heavy to me. |
Posted By: Artik
Date Posted: May 29 2021 at 05:25
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High Tide "Sea shanties" from 1969 was heaviest stuff around. Literaly the wall of sound. But is it classic prog? It's prog and from the classic era but isn't widely recognised.
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Posted By: A Crimson Mellotron
Date Posted: May 29 2021 at 06:26
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Posted By: The Dark Elf
Date Posted: May 29 2021 at 06:54
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Two different periods from Tull. 1) Perhaps a vestige of Tony Iommi's brief stay with Tull in 1969, heavy blues with Sabbath overtones.... 2) 8 years later, different drummer and bassist. I think Ian was out of the studio one day and Martin Barre got to fiddle with the knobs.... ------------- ...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology... |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: May 30 2021 at 22:00
| So, from King Crimson, I guess Schizoid Man, Larks Toungues in Aspic (specially part 2), Red, Level 5. And, particularly, the albums The Power to Believe, and the live albums from the new line-ups play very heavy, even older pieces that were not quiet so heavy originally. From Pink Floyd The Nile Song was mentioned (and Ibiza Bar), but I think Sheep should be added too, and perhaps also Careful with that Axe Eugene. From VdGG I would go with Sleepwalkers and La Rossa. From Yes, I guess the most obvious choice would have to be Machine Messiah. And obviously Rush should be included with several of their songs. Now, talking about Rush, perhaps there could be a the reverse thread, about the proggier songs from the classic Hard Rock bands (most of which are actually included in PA as prog related or proto prog or whatever). |
Posted By: Frenetic Zetetic
Date Posted: May 31 2021 at 00:13
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Gentle Giant A Cry for Everyone is pretty damn heavy for its time. ------------- "I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021 |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: May 31 2021 at 14:30
If you are familiar with the album you might be able to figure out what sections I'm talking about. If you aren't then it wouldn't make sense for me to try to explain. Regardless, heavy means different things to different people.
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Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: May 31 2021 at 14:32
Which is why it made my list. Other than that track I think "the house, the street, the room" is pretty heavy.
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Posted By: cstack3
Date Posted: May 31 2021 at 21:26
"Relayer....all the dying cried before you!" ------------- I am not a Robot, I'm a FREE MAN!! |
Posted By: Progmind
Date Posted: May 31 2021 at 23:35
great song and great and underrated classic album!! if you like Rainbow, Deep Purple and ELF its a mix of those classic hard rock bands. John Lawton best work here, pre Uriah Heep. Amazing song and amazing song, great recommendation Bsummers12!!
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Posted By: JD
Date Posted: June 01 2021 at 05:35
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------------- Thank you for supporting independently produced music |
Posted By: Ronstein
Date Posted: June 01 2021 at 06:19
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Posted By: BaldJean
Date Posted: June 01 2021 at 06:30
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"Scorched Earth" by VdGG is pretty heavy. "A Cry for Everyone" by Gentle Giant. "The Nile Song" by Pink Floyd. -------------  A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: June 01 2021 at 06:57
------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: June 01 2021 at 07:53
Great track...like a better version of Heep...my favorite ELP album still. One of the heaviest...are Heep classic prog...?  ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: siLLy puPPy
Date Posted: June 01 2021 at 08:40
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This is an obvious example for me. Focus was primarily a symphonic prog band but threw this oddball hard rocker out of their usual repertoire. -------------  https://rateyourmusic.com/~siLLy_puPPy |
Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: June 01 2021 at 08:40
I'm also going to guess Rick's synth solo towards the end of TRSOG and most of Ritual (up to the quiet ending).
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Posted By: Prog123
Date Posted: June 01 2021 at 09:11
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yO7l6TmIRI (Atomic Rooster "Death Walks Behind You") https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpBCXof2qCc (High Tide "Futilist's Lament") These two songs are two examples of Traditional (or Proto) Heavy Metal.
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Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: June 01 2021 at 09:27
Two good selections....definitely heavy for the times. I have an original vinyl of Rooster but the High Tide ones are very pricey so just a cd on that one.  Welcome to the forum.... ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: Ronstein
Date Posted: June 01 2021 at 09:36
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Another proto-prog gem - May Blitz |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: June 01 2021 at 09:59
 ^One of my gems on original vinyl in my collection...though I'm not sure that or High Tide are 'classic prog bands'....more like obscure proto prog.------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: yogev
Date Posted: June 28 2021 at 05:34
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This is a really heavy kind of punk song by Queen from 1978.
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Posted By: Sacro_Porgo
Date Posted: June 28 2021 at 13:21
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Heart Of The Sunrise the Apocalypse In 9/8 portion of Supper's Ready 2112 Red The Musical Box just a few that come to mind immediately ------------- Porg for short. My love of music doesn't end with prog! Feel free to discuss all sorts of music with me. Odds are I'll give it a chance if I haven't already! :) |
Posted By: Rick1
Date Posted: July 01 2021 at 03:39
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'The Old Castle' from ELP's Pictures at an Exhibition. The instrumental bridge in the middle of Henry Cow's 'Living in the Heart of the Beast' The middle instrumental section leading up to 'Soon' in Yes's 'Gates of Delirium' |