Is there still groundbreaking prog these days?

Cheesecakemouse wrote: One word - KIDA This album is more innovative than all the prog put together since 1983

In terms of prog?, there has been nothing that has dropped my jaw in terms of innovation and uniqueness, sure KC is good and Mike Oldfield has released some strong albums, but nothing to change the direction of rock in such a dramatic way, most prog b4 that  and OK Computer  album was pretty much imitating Genesis and Yes. Listen to Spocks Beard and Flower Kings etc they are just rehashing old ideas whats progressive about them? they are Symphonic Rock but not progressive

You could look at this way - pop music in that truly innovative period was almost defined by the technology available. The electric guitar and the burgeoning electronics engineering industry that blossomed around it defined the great leaps forward as much as the songwriting which utilised that technology. From a simple method of making acoustic guitars louder we got every weird and wonderful effect under the sun, better amplification the sonic inspiration of harmonically rich distortion, phase, chorus, wah, flange, whatever. The same is true of keyboard technology, piano, Hamond organ, electric piano, Moog, Mellotron, FM synthesis, sampling, etc etc. The sonic possibilities of these facilitators of expression have all acted as catalysts in the great leaps forward. Where would the British blues boom have been without Jim Marshall, Jim Dunlop, Roger Mayer etc, where would psychedelia have been without the electric sitar, Leslie cabinet, Hammond/Farfisa. Where would prog have been without the mini-Moog, Mellotron, Hammond, where would dance music have been without the Roland TB303, Cubase etc.

This isn't to say that the songwriting is irrelevent in all this. It require sparks of Hendrix-like genius to apply the technology, but there is a parallel with classical music - where harpsichord gave way to clavichord to clavier to full piano, lutes ot guitar, the long evolution of woodwinds and horns - all tech advances that inspired composers to greater and greater compositional feats.

The technology of rock (save for the digital recording, synthesis revoliution of the last 20-25 years) is pretty much defined. The palette is large (anything you want really) but the great explorations with this have alreayd been made.

If there is any real innovation these days it comes from fusing disparate elements into something interesting and provoking.

I'd certainly mention Radiohead in this - from OK Computer on they have taken the palette and done some truly amazing things with it. Recent Porcupine Tree too I'd include, their fusion of a classic rock sensibility with elements of 90s and 2000s trip-hop textures and an old interest in trance and overlaying it with a fascination for the sonic possibilities of death metal is really, really interesting, if only for the dynamic swings Steven Wilson can incorporate into his music.

I haven't heard Mushuggah (one of SW's favourites) but must do so.

There's plenty of ground out there left to explore. Some of it has been mapped in rough form already but the possibility of finding new micro-climates still exists.

If it didn't we'd all have stopped buying records when we heard Axis: Bold As Love.

There's loads of new RIO/Avant & Post-rock coming. And that sounds pretty original of what i've heard.