The 80s..the worst era for prog.

bignoze wrote: I can't believe I seem to be the only one who does not think Heavy Metal is prog. Nor is Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, or Frank Zappa for that matter. And the 80s has absolutely NOTHING to do with prog rock AT ALL. There are a few bands who didn't realize the end had come and for the first few years of the 80s still made a few records the way they used to in the (only) true prog era of the SEVENTIES, like Rush (Moving Pictures and, marginally, Signals), Yes (Drama, but NOT 90210), Genesis (Duke but nothing else), and so forth. But to call Jethro Tull prog in the 80s is just plain silly. Or Queensryche, Alan Parsons, Camel, etc. They all abandoned prog and tried to be 80s. I will agree that Marillion is still jarringly prog in this otherwise entirely un-prog era, but they are the exception. Prog was a 70s phenomenon altogether, say I.

I can't believe I seem to be the only one who does not think Heavy Metal is prog. Nor is Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, or Frank Zappa for that matter. And the 80s has absolutely NOTHING to do with prog rock AT ALL. There are a few bands who didn't realize the end had come and for the first few years of the 80s still made a few records the way they used to in the (only) true prog era of the SEVENTIES, like Rush (Moving Pictures and, marginally, Signals), Yes (Drama, but NOT 90210), Genesis (Duke but nothing else), and so forth. But to call Jethro Tull prog in the 80s is just plain silly. Or Queensryche, Alan Parsons, Camel, etc. They all abandoned prog and tried to be 80s. I will agree that Marillion is still jarringly prog in this otherwise entirely un-prog era, but they are the exception. Prog was a 70s phenomenon altogether, say I.

From what I've listened to so far the 80s was a mixed bag for prog, at least when it came to the old guard. King Crimson and Rush managed to successfully incorporate the sounds of the era into their music. Also, I like what Peter Gabriel did with So, and, right now, I'm listening to Eye In The Sky by The Alan Parson's Project. I wasn't too fond of Yes' 90125 (though I remember liking Drama), and I found Jethro Tull's The Broadsword And The Beast to be kind of lame.

I want to check out Iron Maiden one of these days.  I've heard some good things about their work.

Some of my favorite prog albums came from the 80's (of course, the best was from the 70's) as well as some of my favorite non-prog (non-prog has really gone downhill since the 80's).  But yes, there was a lull there in the 80's for prog.  Anyway, some of my favorites from the 80's:

Fact & Fiction from Twelfth Night
Clutching at Straws and Script for a Jester's Tear (as well as the Market Square Heroes single) from Marillion
Duke from Genesis
Drama (and yes, I'm about to say it) 90125 from Yes
Tales from the Lush Attic from IQ
Nude from Camel
Long Distance Voyager from the Moody Blues

Looking back one can easily see the 80s was the Metal head era. So many metal bands came up through the ranks namely Metallica, Venom, Megadeth, Slayer, Exodus, Iron Maiden and Anthrax among others.

Edited by AtomicCrimsonRush - May 30 2012 at 03:34

Discipline came out in the 80s.  These also came out in the 80s:

Cardiacs - A Little Man and a House..., On Land and In the Sea, The Seaside
Dun - Eros
Eskaton - 4 Visions
Univers Zero - Uzed, Heatwave, Ceux Du Dehors
Zamla Mammaz Manna - Familjesprickor
Picchio dal Pozzo - Abbiamo Tutti I Suoi Problemi
Naked City - s/t
Art Zoyd - Symphonie Pour Le..., Berlin, Generaton Sans Futur, Le Mariage du Ciel et de L'Enfer, Phase IV, NOsferatu, Les Espaces INquiets
This Heat - Deceit
Miriodor - Rencontres
Present - Triskaidekaphobie, Le Poison Qui Rend Fou
Eider Stellaire - debut
Shub-Niggurath - Les Morts Vont Vite
Etron fou Leloublan - Les Poumons Gonfles, Face Aux Elements Dechaines, Les Sillons De La Terre,
Captain Beefheart - Doc at the Radar Station, Ice Cream for Crow
Fred Frith - Gravity
Thinking Plague - In This Life
Zappa - The Perfect Stranger

Probably more I can't think of, too.  Not a bad decade at all, in my opinion.

Three of a perfect pair was released in the 80's.

Exhibit No. 1:

ProgSeeker wrote: It certainly was the worst decade to discover prog.  I discovered prog in the mid 1980s in high school, and had a heck of a time finding the obscure stuff.  Not to mention the lack of live shows.  Even if those bands did tour, playing the old stuff wasn't fashionable and they all were in re-invent mode.  I always said I was born a decade too late, but thankfully the 1990s brought on a new golden age for prog, and a lot more access to the old stuff.

It certainly was the worst decade to discover prog.  I discovered prog in the mid 1980s in high school, and had a heck of a time finding the obscure stuff.  Not to mention the lack of live shows.  Even if those bands did tour, playing the old stuff wasn't fashionable and they all were in re-invent mode.  I always said I was born a decade too late, but thankfully the 1990s brought on a new golden age for prog, and a lot more access to the old stuff.