The Tech/Extreme Prog metal appreciation

TheProgtologist wrote: I LOVE Zero Hour's new album,easily their best in years.Troy Tipton's bass work is absolutely stunning on Dark Deceiver.

That's good to hear... I've been let down by everything after Towers.

TheProgtologist wrote: BTW....have you ever heard the Zero Hour side-project called Death Machine?   http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=3021

Just IMHO of course, but Death Machine is one of the worst bands, and biggest letdowns, I've ever heard. I picked up the album when it came out, being a fan of Zero Hour at the time... it struck me as an attempt to cash in on nu-metal. There are some technical moments, but it's definitely not progressive. Just a warning for anyone going in expecting something like Towers of Avarice but heavier.

Demonoid wrote: Should check out zero hour's dark deceiver. Excellent technical  progressive metal Something like spiral architect. Intense vocals too.(not harsh/extreme vocals) Also, i second all the watchtower/Blotted Science/Spastic Ink suggestions in this thread!

Edited by TheProgtologist - June 13 2008 at 14:35

^ it's not a sub genre ... it's more like a collection of styles which share some attributes.

Should check out zero hour's dark deceiver.
Excellent technical  progressive metal
Something like spiral architect.
Intense vocals too.(not harsh/extreme vocals)

Also, i second all the watchtower/Blotted Science/Spastic Ink suggestions in this thread!


Edited by Demonoid - June 13 2008 at 03:46

Well, I have to say that these bands fall into the same pit that some jazz-rock artists fell into before (Al DiMeola, for example).
First of all, the mere name "Tech Metal" is already misleading; technique is being confused with speed here. There are lots of other instrumental techniques than mere speed, many of which can NOT be used at high speed, or at least even if they can be used they lose their effect. This seems to be something which many people forget. Listen to an acoustic guitar piece by Steve Hackett; it much more deserves to be named "technical", even if it is a lot slower. Paganini could certainly play breathtakingly fast, but he got the most "awws" when he played slowly and used some other extraordinary techniques then. Read up on him if you don't believe me.
The "complex" time signatures are nothing to go "aww" about either, it is all a matter of counting, and compared to Indian rhythms these are still simple ones. But the biggest issue I have with this kind of music is that it seems to be deliberately designed for the "aww" effect and nothing more. As Certif1ed already pointed out, there is no real development; there are just bits and bits put together, like patchwork. The result is a quilt. But it is nothing that impresses me in the least. I can play breathtakingly fast too and will on occasion, but it certainly becomes a bit boring when it continues on and on. I might as well cut out pieces of several fast prog songs and patch them together by sampling to get the same result; it would not be more incoherent in the least.
That's my five cents about the genre. Music lives from contrasts.

MisterProg2112 wrote: I just recently saw BTBAM and Opeth on ProgNation08, and I find it so suprising how a band like BTBAM can be so tech and sound so great live (although Tommy's growls I find to be a bit better on the album). Paul's "Selkies" solo was dead on, not one mistake. As a matter of fact I didn't find a single flaw in any of the music. Opeth was amazing as well.   Anyone else see BTBAM recently? Has anyone seen the perform "Colors" in its entirety?

Majestic_Mayhem wrote: HughesJB4 wrote: Ah cool. In recent weeks I've also checked out Behold... The Arctopus and I quite like them as well. Harry, Ive got 3 bands for you: Coprofago Theory in Practice Canvas Solaris (instrumental) Now go and check them out.

A little bit of a late response, but I've been listening to Canvas Solaris.
They get the thumbs up from me.
They are technical, but they avoid the excessive flashiness syndrome

Check DAATH. A melodic and original band .

 Who knows the Swiss band Coroner? I don't really know the band,  but they are said to be similar to Mekong Delta and Voivod.

Yes good stuffs in there.Guest performances by drummer Asgeir Mickelson, bassist Lars Koppang Norberg (both of the band Spiral Architect) and Mikael Akerfeldt, what could be better?