What is neo-prog?
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Topic: What is neo-prog?
Posted By: Conor Fynes
Subject: What is neo-prog?
Date Posted: February 04 2011 at 17:10
| I'm having trouble grasping the concept, what IS 'neo-prog'? Wouldn't that technically be all prog after the 70s??? |
Replies:
Posted By: toroddfuglesteg
Date Posted: February 04 2011 at 17:22
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My very personal views is that Neo Prog is a tag meant to describe Marillion, Pendragon, IQ, Pallas & co. Hence, Neo Prog for me sounds like spruced up sound and an AOR'ised version of symph prog. So to make this a "food recipe": Take one half of Symponic Prog Take one half of AOR Put it into a food processor and let it blend together for 3 minutes. Put it on a plate and into your micro wave oven for six minutes before eaten luke warm. Neo-Prog is best taken together with some glasses of Chardonnay white wine from Australia, Chile or South Africa. |
Posted By: Snow Dog
Date Posted: February 04 2011 at 17:23
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Not quite. It was a term used to describe the new prog bands of the eighties. Now it has been reworded to decribe a certain style of prog. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Snow_Dog" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: lucas
Date Posted: February 04 2011 at 17:46
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bands that sound like Fish-era Marillion , with emphasis on drums and keyboards, and the typical "weeping" Hackett-like guitar soloing. ------------- "Magma was the very first gothic rock band" (Didier Lockwood) |
Posted By: JJLehto
Date Posted: February 04 2011 at 17:48
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I will admit fully, it is a genre I know little of but from everything I've heard/gathered... Sounds like neo prog is basically Marillion, which was Genesis except a bit poppier. Then every band after was basically imitating Marilion. So directly or indirectly all neo prog is Genesis but with varying degrees of "pop"  |
Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: February 04 2011 at 18:04
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After the 70's era ended, people didn't wanted complex music, so in order to survive, prog bands created a new genre that shared elements of Symphonic (vastly Genesis influenced), but blended with some mainstream sounds, and more emphasis in the guitar than Symphonic ever had. Iván ------------- 
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Posted By: Lark the Starless
Date Posted: February 04 2011 at 19:59
I believe this as well. ------------- 
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lucas wrote:Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: February 04 2011 at 21:45
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Oddly enough there is a definition on this site that works just fine for me even though the only band I really know is Marillion. The artists who have stuck around and continue to produce new stuff may no longer fit the mold of the original neo prog movement, as I think most of the artists did prog that owed heavily to the older artists when those were taking a commercial turn and now I suspect as time went on they went on in their own direction.
------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened... 
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Posted By: Conor Fynes
Date Posted: February 17 2011 at 15:48
| So.... anthem prog. |
Posted By: Triceratopsoil
Date Posted: February 17 2011 at 21:47
naw, it's "I wish I were Genesis" prog |
Posted By: stonebeard
Date Posted: February 17 2011 at 21:51
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If it even exists at all, I'd liken it to symphonic prog that actually got to the point sooner.
------------- http://soundcloud.com/drewagler" rel="nofollow - My soundcloud. Please give feedback if you want! |
Posted By: lazland
Date Posted: February 18 2011 at 11:55
Absolutely spot on. You could call it the 2nd wave of prog which burst out of the UK in the 80's by bands such as Marillion, IQ, Twelfth Night, Pendragon, Pallas and so on. It seems to have morphed into a sub genre where the bands are "strongly influenced by" or "sound like" the classic bands of the 1st wave of prog, although, to these ears, most of the bands under the sub genre are very much in the wrong classification if that is what it is supposed to be. My own preference would be to do away with the sub genre and reclassify bands into symphonic, crossover and so on, and I say this, by the way, as a huge fan of most of the bands you will find in the neo top albums charts. As an example (and I've probably said this before, so sorry), I would cite The Flower Kings and Marillion. I love both bands, but the former are in symphonic. If ever there was a band who wore their Yes influence on their sleeve and sound it is TFK, so I actually think they properly belong in neo. Marillion haven't sounded a bit like Genesis, yes, VDGG and so on since probably Fugazi, and definitely Misplaced Childhood. When Hogarth joined, the band left it behind absolutely, and they, IMHO, clearly now belong in Crossover Prog. Lastly, I do actually think the neo label puts a lot of fans off from trying. As a good example, I would recommend all fans of heavy prog, symphonic, and eclectic to try Pallas' new opus, XXV. As a bit of reassurance, it is a great album (I'll review it soon), and bears no resemblance to 1980's wannabee Genesis etc whatsoever. ------------- Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org Now also broadcasting on www.progzilla.com Every Saturday, 4.00 p.m. UK time! |
Posted By: Padraic
Date Posted: February 18 2011 at 11:58
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It's one of those things that over time became circular. What is Marillion? Neo-prog. What is neo-prog? Stuff that sounds like Marillion.
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Posted By: The Quiet One
Date Posted: February 18 2011 at 12:01
^
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Posted By: harmonium.ro
Date Posted: February 18 2011 at 12:10
That's interesting, because all the bands you mentioned have a strong stylistical similarity, making a common (sub)genre if you ask me. I can't hear them just as bands that happened to be contemporary. Or maybe that wasn't what you were trying to say? |
Posted By: Icarium
Date Posted: February 18 2011 at 12:14
+
 this -------------  
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Posted By: Snow Dog
Date Posted: February 18 2011 at 12:26
Difficult to argue to you. For me though, IQ does not sound like Marillion or are even stylistically similar. You might as well say trick Of The Tail is stylistically similar otherwise. But...even if they are stylistically similar that is coincidence. After all Neo Prog is the term coined by journalists describe the new wave of Prog of the eighties.
------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Snow_Dog" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: The Quiet One
Date Posted: February 18 2011 at 12:33
| ^well, 'Prog' was also a term pinned by journalists, wasn't it? That means that Prog bands have nothing in common other than being contemporary? |
Posted By: Snow Dog
Date Posted: February 18 2011 at 12:43
I think virtually every music genre has been invented by journalists. Only ones with "new" in it propose a time constraint. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Snow_Dog" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: lazland
Date Posted: February 18 2011 at 12:54
No. What Ian said is right, in that those bands were at the forefront of the "new wave" of prog in the 1980's. You could make an argument (although I would not necessarily agree) that the first couple of albums by all of these bands shared commonalities. However, listen to all of them now. They have absolutely nothing in common whatsoever, excepting that they are prog rock bands. IQ have never had anything in common musically with Marillion. Pendragon sound absolutely nothing like either, whilst Pallas, in the last three albums certainly, have moved far away from their pure neo roots into a sound that is altogether heavier. I also happen to think that Marillion especially are extremely contemporary. ------------- Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org Now also broadcasting on www.progzilla.com Every Saturday, 4.00 p.m. UK time! |
Posted By: harmonium.ro
Date Posted: February 18 2011 at 13:13
That's what makes a style / movement; the fact that they evolved differently after doesn't change they did put out a style / movement a certain time in history. But I'll agree this is a problem for an archiving resource like PA, where only one genre can be assigned. Many people are new to certain genres and telling them "Go check the bands / albums in the category page" when they ask "What's with this X genre?" can indeed be very misleading. Album tagging would solve this IMO.
That's normal. A genre / style / movement doesn't imply extreme similarity. Symphonic prog also can be the ELP debut, The Geese And The Ghost, Si on avait besoin d'un cinquieme saison or Going For The One, all different but all Symphonic Prog at the same time. |
Posted By: lazland
Date Posted: February 18 2011 at 13:27
I absolutely agree about the album tagging Alex, although I suspect it would entail one hell of a lot of work, possibly too much. Also, your point about the broad range of music that is Symphonic is well taken. I think what I am trying to say is that the way a lot of so called neo bands is tagged is far too restrictive, and that is why they belong in the broader church that is the other sub genres. ------------- Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org Now also broadcasting on www.progzilla.com Every Saturday, 4.00 p.m. UK time! |
Posted By: Evolver
Date Posted: February 18 2011 at 14:12
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I can't wait until the next wave of prog, when we get bands that want to sound like Marillion.
And we classify them as neo-neo-prog.
Future generations will be debating the definition of neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-neo-prog.
Whew! ------------- Trust me. I know what I'm doing. |
Posted By: harmonium.ro
Date Posted: February 18 2011 at 14:53
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^ I think that has been done already
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Posted By: TLM170
Date Posted: February 18 2011 at 15:26
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but when you put neo in front of something it just means new so, if 80 was the turning point so all prog after that is neo by this definition. I understand that it's not that easy but litterally that's what it is. but it brings me another question. If neo is the new symphonic. did symphonic stopped at the end of the 70s?
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Posted By: Conor Fynes
Date Posted: February 18 2011 at 15:44
| ^ ^ That was what I was thinking... How can there be new symphonic-prog bands if 'neo prog' is new symphonic prog bands? |
Posted By: The Neck Romancer
Date Posted: February 18 2011 at 16:13
I fully support an album tagging system similar to that of Rateyourmusic. ------------- 
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Posted By: stonebeard
Date Posted: February 18 2011 at 16:41
We should call it "the genre formerly known as Neo-prog." Might solve some things. ------------- http://soundcloud.com/drewagler" rel="nofollow - My soundcloud. Please give feedback if you want! |
Posted By: Evolver
Date Posted: February 18 2011 at 18:00
------------- Trust me. I know what I'm doing. |
Posted By: TLM170
Date Posted: February 18 2011 at 20:03
or just find another think that connects all those band that is not after 1979
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Posted By: topographicbroadways
Date Posted: February 19 2011 at 09:44
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I find it strange that as a term it has stuck. I mean nobody calls Iron Maiden New Wave of British Heavy Metal anymore. -------------  
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Posted By: lazland
Date Posted: February 20 2011 at 13:43
That's a really good point. ------------- Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org Now also broadcasting on www.progzilla.com Every Saturday, 4.00 p.m. UK time! |
Posted By: JakeMM626
Date Posted: February 20 2011 at 15:05
My thoughts exactly  ------------- 
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Posted By: The Dark Elf
Date Posted: February 20 2011 at 18:24
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Isn't Neo-prog that clear, antiseptic stuff you spray on cuts and scratches?
Stop hurting, start healing with Neo-prog! ------------- ...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: Logan
Date Posted: February 20 2011 at 18:34
One may need that stuff if these hooks get in you. |
Posted By: Earendil
Date Posted: March 02 2011 at 20:28
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The big trend in neo-prog that I've noticed are the 80's drums. Now that I'm thinking about it, is there any 80's rock without the "big", same-sounding drums? |
Posted By: Earendil
Date Posted: March 02 2011 at 20:31
That is true. Maybe since prog was biggest in the 70's but the NWOBHM was pretty different from the early 70's metal that it's considered "classic metal" opposed to neo-prog being considered followers of the 70's prog. |