Prog-metal for people who don't like prog-metal

Progressive metal is the most feeling-less, complex and cold kind of prog that I've heard. Your idea is good, but useless, I think; because it's related with one of the most dissapointing styles of music ever made. What do you think, Bryan and company? 

#1floydfan wrote: hurray spastick ink if any likes spastic ink i would recomend behold... the arctopus well any way this is a good idea i have noticed this also and its a good idea!

Sorry I don't really update this anymore, I don't think anyone really cares anyway though.

If you aren't listening to Hammers of Misfortune yet, get on it!

See the list of extreme poll

Doing a great job there, Bryan! I'd contribute to this thread, but then I have recently begun working seriously on the reviews once again.

Wow! Thanks for the inputs, guys! I'll give 'em a try for sure.

clarke2001 wrote: Finally, the topic for me!!! I have a problem and I need a help form an expert I love prog rock. ELP, Tull, King Crimson, GG...well, you get the picture.  I like some metal. I used to listen a lot of Metallica, Anthrax, occasional Megadeth and Maiden,  S.O.D., Nuclear Assault, and Halloween.  But I can't digest prog-metal. I tried. Not too hard, though. And than I realised: I can't stand combination of deep, brutal distorted guitar power chords and keyboards. No matter how good musicans are. No matter how good lyrics are or intimate is the story, it won't reach me. Does anybody know any good prog-metal with power-majestic-heavy or preferably trashy overtones? Guitar/guitar/bass/drums, no keyboards please! With vocals screaming or singing, but no death-growling. Or without vox. Preferably not overproduced (there's nothing worse than a "crystal" sound). Thanks in advance, experts!

This may be a little late, but i would reccomend you try out either 'Blood Mountain' or 'Leviathan' by Mastodon. Very thrashy, heavy, with no keyboards, lots of screaming. Its absolutely insane and their drummer is amazing.
If you want power-majestic-heavy, try Blind Guardian(some would consider it not prog) or Rhapsody.

Thank you all; this kind of thread is one of the reasons why I keep going back to Prog Archives. I tried Alive Again from Nightingale after hearing the last sample of theirs in PA. Alive Again did not chick with me as a whole, but that one song is a gem. I will try Moontower and maybe some of Nightingale's other releases.

    

Edited by Swanhild - November 29 2006 at 08:03

As usual Bryan, good comments and good recommendations.

Let me add a band that is unjustifiably unkonwn and I have suggested it to the Prog-Metal team (they are on their list).

This is an Austrian band called Dreams of Sanity. They have released only 3 albums, all of high quality.
In the particluar album I want to tell you about called Komodia, they are fronted by two, yes 2 female vocalists - The maginificent Sandra Schleret (which was their regular vocalist) and Martina Hornbacher. The combination of the two is very nicely done and on several songs (the 5th track - The Ending) they complement each other perfectly. Truly a beautiful album, which is also progressive and not that heavy but still very much rooted in metal. The music, never boring, is quite emotional (in a good way), energetic, rich in sound and should be appreciated by people who like the more symphonic side of metal. (this is not power metal). It does have more pop bits in it, but rest assured it is scarcely noticeable and will not hamper your enjoyment.
This album is related to the Divine Comedy by Dante.

They disbanded in 2002 after only 3 albums,
http://www.the-gothicworld.de/dos/



This band should appeal to metal fans (of the style I mentioned above and others) and also to non-metal people who want to try to taste a bit... It's not too heavy and you won't get hurt, I promise.




DOS the Komodia Lineup


Martina and Sandra


Martina


Sandra



    
    
    
    
    

Edited by avestin - November 28 2006 at 20:13

A couple more...

Band: Indukti
Album: S.U.S.A.R
PA Link
Samples: http://www.indukti.art.pl/audio-english.htm
Are you a fan of Red-era King Crimson and its many followers?  Indukti are the prog-metal band for you.  This mostly instrumental Polish outfit has channeled its evident primary influence through the scope of slow, dramatic and dark prog-metal which even borders on post-rock at times.  Their soaring compositions are some of the most powerful and yet subtle you can find in the genre, their encorperation of the violin certainly serves to add an extra unique dimension to their sound.  Riverside vocalist Mariusz Duda lends his voice to a few songs on S.U.S.A.R, providing certain tracks with his gorgeous melodic side and delivering a bit of extra punch to others with more agressive stylings.  Like Robert Fripp and company they manage to completely avoid stagnating stylistically, delivering seven entirely distinguishable and equally enthralling tracks.  Though there's no mistaking the King Crimson influence here, Indukti avoid being yet another derivative worship band, and with their debut album have established themselves as one of prog-metal's most promising upcoming acts.

Band: Spastic Ink
Album: Ink Compatible
PA Link
Samples: See PA Link
Were it not for the distinctly shred-esque guitar tone and Ron Jarzombek's background in seminal early prog-thrashers Watchtower, it would be easy to mistake Spastic Ink for an experimental jazz-fusion outfit.  Though breathtakingly technical, this instrumental trio never loses its sense of experimental boundary pushing nor its sense of fun, slicing through these eleven pieces with a degree of tightness and technical ability that people who believe John Petrucci to be the be-all-end-all of guitar playing may not be able to fathom at first.  In addition to being one of the most technical albums ever to exist in the metal genre, Spastic Ink utilize ideas like trying to portray a day in the life of a squirrel, trying to do as much with the key of E minor as possible within a 4 minute song, even writing a piece of music designed to synch up with a scene from the movie Bambi, right down to the guitars' key and pitch being identical to those of the voices from the movie.  This album is both utterly astonishing to behold and a lot of fun to listen to, setting itself well above the standard Liquid Tension Experiment type of instrumental prog-metal w**kery.


Edited by Bryan - April 08 2007 at 19:50