Prog Metal-Like It or Don’t Like It?

I'll be 100% honest, I like some Prog Metal, it's not my favorite sub-genre, but there are good and bad bands as in any other genre, for example yesterday got a Pain of Salvation album and found it pretty Good (Thanks for the tip Proctologyst and Bryan), but I get bored after 10 minutes of Dream Theater (Not saying they are bad or suck, just not my cup of tea).

What I don't like is the desperation to consider any metal band with keyboiards as Progressive, as I don't like to see so many AOR bands compared with Kansas or Alternative bands mentioned as the new Pink Floyd.

Iván

I like Prog Metal - and great work Mike, Jody et al on the re-organisation project

Arnold Layne wrote: I love it, thanks Jody

Your welcome,arnold

I love it, thanks Jody

i like metal thats actually progressive - not w**kery like shadow gallery, dream theater, symphony x or whatever

Of course my work is primarily useful to fans of Prog Metal. The Prog Rock categories are also quite confusing for newbies and generally only useful to fans of Prog Rock ...

Isn't the following a good procedure for getting to know Prog Metal:

• Find out the names of some key bands which are recommended by people
• If you like one of them, try to find similar bands
• If you like one of these, try to find similar bands etc. etc. etc.

IMO my categories can be helpful in finding similar bands. Currently the Avant/Experimental genre is confusing, but in all the others there is a much better chance that people find similar things.

Example: Someone likes Dream Theater and tries the next best band in the general Prog Metal top 100. He might end up with Devin Townsend, or Psychotic Waltz, or Opeth. With the sub genres there's a chance that he might find Pain of Salvation or Shadow Gallery first ...

MikeEnRegalia wrote: ^ well said ... I'd like to throw in the label "Heavy Rock" ... also often applied to bands like Deep Purple or Led Zeppelin.

Both bands were progressive, so "progressive heavy rock" is appropriate. One could just as easily classify AC/DC or Led Zeppelin as Heavy Blues, Heavy Rock, Hard Rock or Heavy Metal - and be right each time.

The term "Heavy" as applied to rock music originated in the 1960s, and is used by Grace Slick on the "Woodstock" compilation album during her band introduction speech, which runs something like;

"OK, people, you have heard the heavy bands, now it's time for morning maniac music".

Heavy referred to the seriousness and earnestness with which the bands played the music, as well as the opposite to the "lightness" of sound and philosophy of the more folky, dancy and "peace, love and happiness" type bands.

Terms like these have a grounding in reality, and are convenient "labels", as you put it, but can be readily interchanged and crossed-over. Deep Purple's music grew out of psychedelia and the blues, and Led Zeppelin's grew mainly out of the blues, with a dash of folk. These are the same roots that Prog Rock had.

Prog Metal's roots are mainly in metal - anything else seems largely forgotten or cut off. The "Prog" aspect of it comes from doing something a bit different to the rest - using odd time signatures, making it a bit more technically complex by and extending elements like riffs, bridges and so on. These are not common techniques in "traditional" Prog Rock.

The usefulness of subclassifying it seems limited to those who have a deep interest in the genre only; to those not immersed in it already, it all seems rather confusing.

That's only my perception, of course - I'm sure that your hard work is very useful to fans of Prog Metal.

Dont misunderstand me, prog metal still has its moments. For one I still own Tool's Laterilus

Not only am I Prog fan I am a metal fan and when the two are combined that much better.I must say however not all Prog Metal is killer because too many vocalist think they are opera singers or something.Hey I love Dream Theater,Symphony X,Vaden Plas or Threshold as much as anyone else but there are too many Fates Warning,Dungen,Queens Riech or many others with anoying vocals.I must say my favorite Prog metal right now is Ayreon the dutch master.

BaldJean wrote: I just want to add that Friede and I suggested that a band could belong to more than one genré, which would make this splitting-up unnecessary and be much more accurate.

That would be cool, if the genres were listed all together. As the site is now, it would be incredibly confusing to search the Prog Metal section and find Dream Theater, then go to the Symphonic Prog Section and find them there too.