"Tightest" prog band ever in your opinion

friso wrote: Magma. Unbelievable musicianship.

/thread.

Dream Theater
Live at Budokan is a brilliant display of instrumental virtuosity

I think that if you plug out the distortion and other such effect, the metal bands' sound would be a highly unimpressive thin sound. The music bands like Meshuggah or Behold... actually play isn't particularly impressive, it's the wall of sound they create by distortion that sounds impressive. If we'd plug such distorsion to Magma, Yes' "Sound Chaser" or even "light" fusion like Return To Forever, the mindblowing cacophonic mess that would ensue would put metal bands to shame.

IMO, of course... I can't prove this, it may be just fabulation.

I would second Planet X for pure unemotional technical skill... they're brilliant!

I am not a fan of overly tight playing it begins to sound very robotic i like to see some sign that we're listening to humans!!!

Negoba wrote: Zappa's band from Roxy and Elsewhere / thread  (and they have feel too)     When I think of "tight" I think of that feeling where everyone hits a note as if one hand motion create the sound. When it's staccato it's very obvious, but tightness is what turns a group of players into a band. When it's on, it is such a thrill, and one of the biggest appeals of metal.

This  , They played Bebop-Tango like it was nothing and is extremely difficult , in fact i am learning that piece right now :)

Starhammer wrote: harmonium.ro wrote: I think that if you plug out the distortion and other such effect, the metal bands' sound would be a highly unimpressive thin sound. The music bands like Meshuggah or Behold... actually play isn't particularly impressive, it's the wall of sound they create by distortion that sounds impressive. If we'd plug such distorsion to Magma, Yes' "Sound Chaser" or even "light" fusion like Return To Forever, the mindblowing cacophonic mess that would ensue would put metal bands to shame. IMO, of course... I can't prove this, it may be just fabulation. The tightness in Meshuggah has nothing to do with tone/effects/etc. These guys can play (and memorize) polyrhythmic stuff in a way that is not human! Magma is not that tight; in fact, they're quite loose because they improvise a lot; their music is quite flexible.

That just goes to show that you haven't seen them. They're incredibly tight and not at all improvisation-based. If you compare concerts from 2010 to concerts from 2007 you see that every note is in the exact sample place a few years after. Many fans are not happy with this actually. Also, as Vander is a control freak, nothing happens on stage unless he has planned it. They might have been loose and improvisational in the past, probably in the 70s, but they have changed almost completely. That is why I was using the present tense when I mentioned them, not the past tense.

RE Meshuggah, I guess you didn't understand my point. I didn't say they don't play impressive polyrhythms. But they're just drums, bass and guitars. If you add to that two keyboards, a vibraphone and a choir you're going to need MORE tightness to make it work together (assuming that the music has the same complexity). That's Magma.


Edited by harmonium.ro - December 10 2010 at 15:41

I'm not a huge Dream Theater fan, but when I heard Octavarium, it went right to the top of my "tight" list. [Bruce Hornsby does some of the loosest "tightness" I'm aware of.]

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