Dark prog epics
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Topic: Dark prog epics
Posted By: el böthy
Subject: Dark prog epics
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 16:42
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It has come to my atention that most epics, or at least the mayority of epics I am familiar with, come from light prog bands (Yes, The Flower Kings, The Tangent, ELP...) and only a few are from the dark side of the prog...from thouse, my favorite is "A plague of lighthouse keeper" from VDGG and "Lizard" from KC as second best and favorite... So, which are your favorite dark prog epics? Do you agree with me that the mayority of epics are from the lighter bands? If so, good, and if not well...see you in hell you  !!!huhuhuhu, me so funny ------------- "You want me to play what, Robert?" 
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Replies:
Posted By: micky
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 17:08
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the first two 'dark epics' to jump out are no brainers.. Museo Rosenbach - Zarathustra and Il Ballleto di Bronzo's - Ys (would consider the album as a whole) ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: Harold Demure
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 17:11
My favourite "dark" epic is Plague Of Lighthouse Keepres, too. And have you heard the album "Unfolded Like Staircase" by Discipline? Virtually all of the tracks there can be cold epics because of their length and it's the best "dark" prog I've ever hard (except for VDGG of course  )You must listen to it if you haven't yet. And we can't forget about Floyd's Echoes and Atom Heart Mother. And Flyin' High by UFO.
------------- You can choose a ready guide In some celestial voice If you choose not to decide You still have made a choice |
Posted By: Tuzvihar
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 17:11
Damn!  You've beaten me to it.
------------- "Music is much like f**king, but some composers can't climax and others climax too often, leaving themselves and the listener jaded and spent." Charles Bukowski |
micky wrote:Posted By: micky
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 17:12
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some others that jump right to mind... Magma - Kohntarkosz VdGG - A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers (quality concerns aside... an essential dark prog epic) ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: micky
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 17:14
hjahah.. the powers that be would fire me if I hadn't  As much as I flap my yapper about those albums  ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: Tuzvihar
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 17:17
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Also: 'Relayer' is a rather dark epic although from a light band. And one more has just come to my mind - 'The Fall of the House of Usher' by The Alan Parsons Project (well, you can consider it as an epic although it consists of five songs). ------------- "Music is much like f**king, but some composers can't climax and others climax too often, leaving themselves and the listener jaded and spent." Charles Bukowski |
Posted By: Trickster F.
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 17:17
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Green Carnation - Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness
Edge of Sanity - Crimson I & II
In The Woods.. - Omnio
Agalloch - She Painted Fire Across The Skyline, Our Fortress Is Burning
Ulver - Silence Teaches You How To Sing
Opeth - Black Rose Immortal, In Mist She Was Standing, Blackwater Park
Disillusion - Back To Times Of Splendor, The Sleep Of Restless Hours
Anything by Esoteric
My Dying Bride - The Crown Of Sympathy
Katatonia - Scarlet Heavens
Most things GY!BE
...and most Post-Rock is not light stuff either.
-- Ivan ------------- sig |
Posted By: micky
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 17:21
(the APP one... it's one damn epic.. forget the CD track listing.. they
often bungle it.. which they did on the first two I mentioned
Zarathustra and Ys. ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: Fassbinder
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 17:23
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Actually, you can count each epic from King Crimson, Van der Graaf Generator and Peter Hammill (solo).
I would say Meurglys III (VdGG, World Record) is my favourite...
As for the question of majority -- which bands are in majority -- light or dark? Right. Therefore there are more epics from the lighter side of Prog. Just my opinion...
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Posted By: Kleynan
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 17:23
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Opeth - Reverie/Harlequin Forest, Bleak
Genesis - Supper's Ready (Don't know if its so dark. It has its dark and light moments.)
Godspeed You Black Emperor - Sleep ------------- 
You've just had a heavy session of electroshock therapy, and you're more relaxed than you've been in weeks. |
Posted By: micky
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 17:28
no no no no... 
hahah. Compare that to ones listed already man... it's a damn
peaceful walk through the English countryside on a sunny day by
comparison. ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: Tuzvihar
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 17:30
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And something from my country: 'Bema Pamieci Zalobny - Rapsod' - Czeslaw Niemen. ------------- "Music is much like f**king, but some composers can't climax and others climax too often, leaving themselves and the listener jaded and spent." Charles Bukowski |
Posted By: Apsalar
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 17:39
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I think one of the dead give aways would have to be pretty much anything Devils Doll has release.
Univers Zero - La Faulx Present - Souls for Sale Guapo - Five suns part 1 - 5 Along with most of Art Zoyd's later material The are many more but that is what I can think of for the moment. Also Ivan good to see Esoteric getting represented here
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Posted By: lightbulb_son
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 18:10
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I'm just gonna go ahead and add everything that Godspeed has ever done, especially the masterpieces off of Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven. (Especially Storm)
Two of my favorite prog metal epics are
Opeth - Black Rose Immortal
and
Meshuggah - I (Not for the faint of heart. The first time I heard this it blew me off my chair  )------------- When the world is sick Can't no one be well But I dreamt we were all beautiful and strong 
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Posted By: chamberry
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 18:31
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Yeah. Sure.There's this band that I've been talking since I joined her called Godspeed you! black emperor I don't believe you noticed yet, but they have 2 really really dark albums called F#A#oo and Yanqui U.x.o. Check them out. ------------- 
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Posted By: Fassbinder
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 18:39
Yes, absolutely! This is very dark song.
But is Niemen himself considered dark artist?
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Posted By: chamberry
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 18:56
I agree completly with what you said about UZ and Guapo (I don't know the other song by Present and I don't have an Art Zoyd album yet) -------------
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Posted By: MustShaveBeard
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 19:12
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Jethro Tull's Passion Play hasn't been named, surprisingly.
And if you count Gog/Magog by Peter Hammill; that might be the darkest song ever. ------------- Your life or your lupins!!! |
Posted By: The Miracle
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 19:35
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All I can think of now is the forst song on Univers Zero's Heresie and Kontarkosz... Indeed, all Godspeed songs are epics, and all Godspeed epics are dark(or more like just melancholic, deep depression, especially on the debut) ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/ocellatedgod" rel="nofollow - last.fm |
Posted By: el böthy
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 21:32
Just one person said something about ther ebeing more light epics than dark... Hey, so much talk about Godspeed!...now I definitly will check them out! ------------- "You want me to play what, Robert?"
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Posted By: Clepsydra
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 22:25
"Unfolded"is a Great CD!
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Posted By: chamberry
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 23:07
You don't know what you've been missing my argentinian friend. -------------
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Posted By: OpethGuitarist
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 23:16
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Tool's Aenima, if it can be considered as such it is also considerably better than Lateralus, although lateralus is good. ------------- back from the dead, i will begin posting reviews again and musing through the forums |
Posted By: KoS
Date Posted: August 05 2006 at 23:22
| Tool- wings for Marie |
Posted By: heyitsthatguy
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 00:32
Yes!! And could A Change of Seasons be considered dark? I think it is hmm....The Drapery Falls- Opeth..... I'll try to think of some others.... ------------- 
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Posted By: DarioIndjic
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 01:49
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Green Carnation - Light Of Day ,Day Of Darkness
Tako - Druga Strana Mene(which means other side of myself...the best song in prog rock history from Yugoslavia)
Riverside - Second life syndrome
Opeth - Dirge for November(not really an epic,or maybe..)
Pulsar - Strands Of the Future
Klaus Schulze(the second song on Timewind,i dont remember the name)
Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene 2
Museo Rosenbach - Zarathustra
Tangerine Dream - Force Majeure
Sigur ros - Danarfregnir og jardafrarir
Ange - Capitaine coeur de miel
I think thats it... ------------- Ars longa , vita brevis |
Posted By: ldlanberg
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 01:59
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Tuzvihar, I really like that painting you have on your message screen. That's good. What is that? It looks like pentamethylcyclopentane or something. ------------- LDL |
Posted By: Tuzvihar
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 04:14
It's a fractal: A fractal is an object or quantity that displays self-similarity, in a somewhat technical sense, on all scales. The object need not exhibit exactly the same structure at all scales, but the same "type" of structures must appear on all scales. A plot of the quantity on a log-log graph versus scale then gives a straight line, whose slope is said to be the fractal dimension. The prototypical example for a fractal is the length of a coastline measured with different length rulers. The shorter the ruler, the longer the length measured, a paradox known as the coastline paradox. (quoted from MathWorld: http://mathworld.wolfram.com/ - http://mathworld.wolfram.com/ ). I just found the image on the net by googling the word. ------------- "Music is much like f**king, but some composers can't climax and others climax too often, leaving themselves and the listener jaded and spent." Charles Bukowski |
Posted By: Paulieg
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 05:18
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How about Metamorfosi's album Inferno.
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Posted By: micky
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 07:53
wouild toss Biglietto Per L'Inferno's debut album in there as well.... a real laugh riot that was ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: Tony R
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 08:06
| Not musically dark,but thematically bitter and twisted,I recommend "The Shaming Of The True" by Kevin Gilbert. Similar in some ways to "The Wall" or "Wish You Were Here" when they touch on the Music Business,its a savage indictment of the whole industry circus and a must for the cynics amongst us. |
Posted By: Syzygy
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 09:42
Beat me to it. Shub Niggurath are about as dark as Zeuhl gets - Incipit Tragadaeia form Les Morts Vont Vite is an extremely disturbing 15 minutes of music.
Art Zoyd's Etat D'Urgence (Phase IV) is my favourite of their extended pieces.
And from the Krautrock scene Can - Augmn and Halleluwah and Faust - Miss Fortune and Listen to the Fish. ------------- 'Like so many of you I've got my doubts about how much to contribute to the already rich among us...' Robert Wyatt, Gloria Gloom |
Posted By: Kleynan
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 10:36
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Pink Floyd - Echoes is pretty dark in my opinion. Feel free to correct me again... lol. -------------
You've just had a heavy session of electroshock therapy, and you're more relaxed than you've been in weeks. |
Posted By: micky
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 11:03
with pleasure hahahhah seriously though... you must the type us normal mortal men must hate.... trophy wife, a Ferrari in the drive way, 3 story beach house, more money than you can count... dude you need to listen to some DARK prog hhahahah ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: Forgotten Son
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 11:11
| Anything by Lacrimosa. |
Posted By: Tuzvihar
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 11:15
True! ------------- "Music is much like f**king, but some composers can't climax and others climax too often, leaving themselves and the listener jaded and spent." Charles Bukowski |
Posted By: Crushed Aria
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 12:17
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While not an epic compared to the length of some bands songs, such as Opeth's Black Rose Immortal or whatever, I feel that there is a very dark and dreary feel to the two big Pain of Salvation album closers from The Perfect Element and Remedy Lane. The Perfect Element closes with a title track that closes a tragic concept album is total tragedy, and Remedy Lane closes with Beyond The Pale, which is actually somewhere near the middle of the concept chronologically, has such a feeling of deep emotional scarring and pain. They are not very long, but both have a very epic feel to them for sure. ------------- 
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Posted By: Meddler
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 12:42
Yanqui U.X.O is amazing... I think it's underrated by the fans! My fave from them. So, yes, check this out, people.  ------------- [IMG]http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i165/amorfous/astro-1.jpg"> |
Posted By: Kleynan
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 13:15
Getting there. Been listening to alot of Godspeed and Opeth. Besides that, I need to study my dark side some more.
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You've just had a heavy session of electroshock therapy, and you're more relaxed than you've been in weeks. |
Posted By: Kleynan
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 13:16
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Could Mars Volta be considered dark????? If so... Tetragrammaton of the new album is a 17-minute epic. Feel free to flame me again.... hehe. -------------
You've just had a heavy session of electroshock therapy, and you're more relaxed than you've been in weeks. |
Posted By: chamberry
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 13:25
Indeed. Most of the fans don't like it, but since I started with it I find it my second favortie by a hair rivaling Lift yr. skinny fists... for first. -------------
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Posted By: micky
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 13:39
hahah ...good man.... the dark side (the non- DT side which is just meerly evil and must be exorcised from this site) is a good place. I love happy music as much as anyone.. being a certified Yesfreak as I am.. but the dark side explores the parts of us and of life.. that are truly dangerous.. and fun. ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: Runaway
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 17:29
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The Flower Kings - Devils Playground, Silent Infierno, Rollin The Dice, Christianopel Spock's Beard - The Water
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Posted By: herbie53
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 18:30
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Excuse me, Runaway, but THE FLOWER KINGS is considered Light Prog. And Roine Stolt assumes it in the inlay of his 'The Flower King' album. Songs like 'Devils Playground' have some dark parts, but others very clear, or 'light'...
And about SPOCK'S BEARD... is difficult to see them as a dark band. His leader was christian (and get out of the band because of that). 'The Water' is a fantastic song, but for me isn't so 'dark'... (in the conception we are talkin' here).
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Posted By: chamberry
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 22:58
Check out the reviews of Fantomas - Delirium Cordia 
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Posted By: Meddler
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 23:00
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Reading reviews for Delirium Cordia gives me that pins and needles feeling.... Ive been meaning to get it, but I never get around to it. Btw, I started on Yanqui too. ------------- [IMG]http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i165/amorfous/astro-1.jpg"> |
Posted By: chamberry
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 23:46
Well, I always think of it as an experience instead of a song and thinking like that makes me appreciate the album more. It's very demanding and you have to be in a right mood to play it. Buy at your own cost  We have to spread the world of our fellow Godspeed. People need this. -------------
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Posted By: OpethGuitarist
Date Posted: August 07 2006 at 03:38
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I dunno parts of Pawn Hearts really scare the hell outta me. Agalloch is also a band id suggest for dark tunes. ------------- back from the dead, i will begin posting reviews again and musing through the forums |
Posted By: lightbulb_son
Date Posted: August 07 2006 at 13:36
 You have no idea what you've been missing. ------------- When the world is sick Can't no one be well But I dreamt we were all beautiful and strong
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Posted By: gong
Date Posted: August 07 2006 at 14:46
| Genesis - "Lamb..." |
Posted By: omri
Date Posted: August 08 2006 at 15:45
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Back to the question :
I know some light and some dark epics. Let's see (unmentioned only) :
Light
Renaissance - Song of Scheherezade
Yes - Roundabot
Genesys - Get'em out by friday & Canutility and the coastliners
Kansas - Cheyene anthem
Rush - 2112
Can - You do it right
Focus - Hamburger concerto
Dark
King crimson - Lark's tongue in aspic pt I
Peter Hamil - A louse is not a home
Genesys - The musical box
VDGG - After the flood
Amon dull II - Phalus dei
Can - Haleluwah (mentioned but I'm trying to show that some can be both light and dark)
Magma - De futura
Vangelis - Heaven and hell (it's debateable but I concider it dark)
I think it's a tie, at least to my knowledge. ------------- omri |
Posted By: Philéas
Date Posted: August 08 2006 at 18:41
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Two I came to think of atm: Rush - The Necromancer (although it has a happy ending) Rush - 2112 (fairly dark. The ending can be interpreted in several ways) |
Posted By: valravennz
Date Posted: August 08 2006 at 18:55
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Well...almost everyone has mentioned GY!BE and I agree. They are hard to beat in "Dark" prog music. That goes for VDGG as well. I also think that Marillion's "Brave" is a good candidate for Dark prog. ------------- 
"Music is the Wine that fills the cup of Silence" - Robert Fripp |
Posted By: micky
Date Posted: August 08 2006 at 19:53
I know.... the first sign of Peart's inability to write a great
song.... a classic D&D inspired romp... ruined by a damn happy
ending... pfff... great music though ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: chamberry
Date Posted: August 08 2006 at 20:42
 -------------
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Posted By: Faaip_De_Oiad
Date Posted: August 08 2006 at 21:38
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"Brown Light Upon Us" by Toby Driver is the darkest song ever writen. And yes. I feel it's an epic although im sure most would disagree there. ------------- 
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Posted By: micky
Date Posted: August 08 2006 at 22:29
hahaha.. let me elaborate on that chamberry..... hey gong.. how is that 'dark' prog? Or did you mistake this thread for the PA's most overhyped, overrated prog album thread hahhah
Seriously though... I never saw anything 'dark' in that. Now give
me some A'sC 666.. now that's a 'dark' album hahaha. ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: Eetu Pellonpaa
Date Posted: August 09 2006 at 02:22
| I'm very fond of MORTE MACABRE's "Symhonic Holocaust", which runs about 17-18 minutes. It's more a long jam though, than a carefully constructed epic though. VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR's "Godbluff" album has a long fine section of music building up from the two first songs on album side A, "Undercover Man" and "Scorched Earth", I have always seem them as a one entity. |
Posted By: Abstrakt
Date Posted: August 09 2006 at 02:27
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VDGG - Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers (of course) |
)Posted By: gong
Date Posted: August 09 2006 at 03:32
... well, of corse GENESIS "The Lamb..."album is not 'dark' on the way of KG, or VDGG,, but its great DARK EPIC (prog) album - to me, so i mentioned...sorry for that!
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Posted By: BaldJean
Date Posted: August 09 2006 at 03:37
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two epics of Amon Düül 2: "Syntelman's March of the Roaring Seventies"
and "Restless Skylight Transistor Child", both from "Tanz der Lemminge"
-------------  A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta |
Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: August 09 2006 at 14:33
*having no hair left to tear out, just bursts into tears of frustration* Peart's inability to write a great song... What have I done wrong in my life to be forced to read these words? There's definitely one too many in the Symph Prog team...  *starts writing application to join the PM team* On a more serious note, I think "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" is the archetypal dark prog epic. However, I would also mention ELP's "KarnEvil 9", which is very far from being a happy romp through the park. Then, the whole of PF's "Animals" and "The Wall" are extremely dark, especially the former (which is also musically better). And if you really want dark as in doom'n'gloom, most DT epics are far from uplifting... As a matter of fact, anything Prog-Metal seems to be pretty dark to me. |
Posted By: Philéas
Date Posted: August 09 2006 at 16:15
You just inspired me do make some seriously happy Progressive Metal. With growl vocals, of course.  |
Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: August 09 2006 at 16:22
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That sounds nice... I'll be looking forward to hearing some happily growling PM!
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Posted By: chamberry
Date Posted: August 09 2006 at 18:04
Thanks Micky. It just shocked me how someone could say The lamb and dark in the same sentence, but I guess it may be a dark album on the Genesis discography even though I still don't really see it.-------------
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Posted By: micky
Date Posted: August 09 2006 at 19:09
no problem.. I saw a fresh face that I hadn't offended yet ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: Yukorin
Date Posted: August 09 2006 at 19:15
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------------- 
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Posted By: micky
Date Posted: August 09 2006 at 19:15
hahahha
you see how all those poor DT kiddies feel... sort of makes you think
twice before crushing the idols of the acne scarred set...see though.. you focus on the provocative noodlings and miss the heart of it... the happy ending ruined what was a potentially great early epic from them... lay that in the lap of Mr. Peart ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: micky
Date Posted: August 09 2006 at 19:17
oh man... another Duran Duran fan... I am in heaven here... never really got into Human League though... ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: BaldJean
Date Posted: August 09 2006 at 19:21
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is "happy growling" possible? I'm just trying to imagine Peter
Hammill's song "Happy" (in my opinion the happiest song ever) with
growled vocals. "grooad moaning sunshorne, you'rrrrrre awwwwllll
arrround marrr headrrrrrr...". no, impossible
------------- A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta |
Posted By: chamberry
Date Posted: August 09 2006 at 20:38
If someone manages to do it, please PM me or something because I will gladly listen to it.-------------
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Posted By: progadicto
Date Posted: August 09 2006 at 20:51
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I pick most of GODSPEED discogrpahy and Evenless and Arriving Somewhere... by Porcupine Tree... they sound very dark to me... and of course, Battlement and The Funeral Plain by Univers Zero...
------------- ... E N E L B U N K E R... |