50 albums that built progressive metal

My companion Vitaly, who runs veteran prog website www.progressor.net, published a list of 50 albums that built progressive metal this week. I kind of guess that a few people in here will question some of his choices.  I'm putting it out here in case someone has the interest to see what one of the true veterans of the progressive rock universe thinks are vital progressive metal albums. This is, after all, a guy who read books about progressive rock even before I was born.

The list:

50 Albums That Built Progressive Metal (in chronological order)

1.    "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"    Black Sabbath (1973)
2.    "Kansas"    Kansas (1974)
2.    "Sabotage"    Black Sabbath (1975)
4.    "2112"    Rush (1976)
5.    "Technical Ecstasy"    Black Sabbath (1976)
6.    "Leftoverture"    Kansas (1976)
7.    "A Farewell to Kings"    Rush (1977)
8.    "Never Say Die"    Black Sabbath (1978)
9.    "Hemispheres"    Rush (1978)
10.    "Moving Pictures"    Rush (1981)
11.    "Melissa"    Mercyful Fate (1983)
12.    "Power Windows"    Rush (1985)
13.    "Awaken the Guradian"    Fates Warning (1986)
14.    "Epicus Doomivus Metallicus"    Candlemass (1986)
15.    "Mekong Delta"    Mekong Delta (1987)
16.    "Life Cycle"    Sieges Even (1988)
17.    "Dimension Hatross"    Voivod (1988)
18.    "No Exit"    Fates Warning (1988)
19.    "Operation Mindcrime"    Queensryche (1988)
20.    "Them"    King Diamond (1988)
21.    "Conspiracy"    King Diamond (1989)
22.    "Nothingface"    Voivod (1989)
23.    "Control & Resistance"    Watchtower (1989)
24.    "A Social Grace"    Psychotic Waltz (1990)
25.    "Dances of Death"    Mekong Delta (1990)
26.    "The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth"    Skyclad (1991)
27.    "Images & Words"    Dream Theater (1992)
28.    "Kaleidoscope"    Mekong Delta (1992)
29.    "The Outer Limits"    Voivod (1993)
30.    "Focus"    Cynic (1993)
31.    "Psychedelicatessen"    Threshold (1994)
32.    "Wildhoney"    Tiamat (1994)
33.    "Life, Death & Other Morbid Tales"    Memento Mori (1994)
34.    "Awake"    Dream Theater (1994)
35.    "Sophisticated"    Sieges Even (1995)
36.    "Burnt Offerings"    Iced Earth (1995)
37.    "The Seduction of Madness"    Garden Wall (1995)
38.    "Abstrakt Algebra"    Abstrakt Algebra (1995)
39.    "The Graveyard"    King Diamond (1996)
40.    "Irrational Anthems"    Skyclad (1996)
41.    "Extinct Instinct"    Threshold (1997)
42.    "The Wake of Magellan"    Savatage (1997)
43.    "Scenes from a Memory"    Dream Theater (1999)
44.    "Disconnected"    Fates Warning (2000)
45.    "Blackwater Park"    Opeth (2001)
46.    "Forget the Colours"    Garden Wall (2002)
47.    "Toward the Silence"    Garden Wall (2005)
48.    "Nostradamus"    Judas Priest (2008)
49.    "Death Magic Doom"    Candlemass (2009)
50.    "The Book of Souls"    Iron Maiden (2015)

I love a ton of the records on the list...but I would disagree that a lot (esp. the later releases) of the albums listed built the genre. Prog metal has been around for quite a while. But overall, a really solid list of fantastic records.

So the first Iron Maiden-album that helped build prog metal came out last year. Right. There must be atleast 20 albums included here that's pure subjective silliness - including every single album released the last 15 years. Three albums by Garden Wall but no Metallica, Megadeth or Death. Black Sabbath is essential but four albums, including two of their worst: Never Say Die and Technical Exctacy? No rom for anything by Rainbow, King Crimson, Deep Purple or Led Zeppelin.

and Kansas?... Why?

People are to generous. I don't care all that much about prog metal but do not approve.

These lists are always subjective and can't be taken as more than a bit of fun. I own 29 of them but if you're including Iron Maiden then The Book Of Souls is a bit late to have any influence of the building of prog metal. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son released more than 25 years earlier would have been a better choice.

The absence of King Crimson is a little disconcerting, but what's really troubling me here is the fact that Moving Pictures is in the bloody top 10! 

Edited by Magnum Vaeltaja - September 30 2016 at 16:54

I think I heard about progressive metal for the first time (if I remember right) '94 or'95.

Edited by Dean - October 01 2016 at 08:04

On a smaller scale, I can't help noticing the presence of Voivod, Watchtower and... Candlemass, but the absence of Coroner and Celtic Frost is rather... disturbing...

The choices that the only albums important in shaping prog metal prior to 1986 are from Rush, Kansas, and Sabbath seems wrong. Definitely agree with Sad Wings of Destiny. The slant seems more on metal shaping prog metal than the prog. Certainly King Crimson's Red deserves mention as well as a Yes album. Early Iron Maiden and Metallica.

I can buy into Kansas a little because my initial reaction to Dream Theater's When Dream and Day Unite was "Kansas on speed" which I said to my roommate.

Saperlipopette! wrote: CPicard wrote: Coroner and Celtic Frost Yeah forgot about Coroner. Not so certain about the importance of Celtic Frost in this regard. What direction of progmetal did the latter band inspire? The atmospheric post metal stuff? I'm asking because I don't know - not to be difficult.

To be honest, Celtic Frost isn't a direct influence on progressive metal, but the band dared some experiences that might have led some metal bands to try doing... something else.
It's true that Celtic Frost may have given ideas to the doomdeath scence, some gothic metal bands (maybe Opeth?)... rather than the likes of Dream Theater, Magellan or whatever "classical" prog-metal band.
But their album Into the Pandemonium is still a milestone: it showed a path, and even if most of prog-metal bands don't follow this path, it's here.