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Psychedelic Paul 
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 Topic: Favourite Neo-Prog Band
Posted: October 06 2019 at 06:28 |
I included as many major Neo-Prog bands as I could in my poll, but my apologies if I omitted your favourite artist. Listed below is my A-Z guide to Neo-Prog artists. It's not intended as an all-inclusive, fully comprehensive guide. It's just a brief overview of the major artists in the Neo-Prog genre with the number of studio albums by each artist included in brackets. Abel Ganz (6) Amon Ra (2) Anathema (11) Anubis (5) Arena (9) Astra (2) Balloon Astronomy (1) Big Big Train (12) Bobel (1) Bruce Soord & Jonas Renkse (1) Colin Masson (4) Credo (3) Crippled Black Phoenix (10) Crystal Palace (8) Daal (7) Earthstone (1) Echolyn (9) Eurhybia (1) Explorers Club (2) Final Conflict (6) Fish (10) Five-O-One AM (1) The Flower Kings (13) Flying Colours (3) Frost* (3) Galahad (9) Gazpacho (10) Grace (4) Homesick for Space (2) Hostsonaten (8) IQ (12) Islands (4) It Bites (5) Izz (9) Jadis (9) John Wesley (7) Karmakanic (5) Light (1) Like Wendy (6) Magenta (7) Marillion (18) Mars Volta (6) Mick Pointer Band (1) Nad Sylvan (5) Naryan (1) This is a work in progress which promises to be quite a long list of Neo-Prog artists, so I'll be adding one letter of the alphabet to the list at a time. 
Edited by Psychedelic Paul - October 30 2019 at 15:25
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Manuel
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Posted: October 06 2019 at 07:27 |
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I voted It Bites. I don't think The Flower Kings, Spock's Beard and Transatlantic are neo prog though.
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chopper
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Posted: October 06 2019 at 07:44 |
 Manuel wrote:
I voted It Bites. I don't think The Flower Kings, Spock's Beard and Transatlantic are neo prog though. |
I agree, neither are Echolyn
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Mudpuppy64
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Posted: October 06 2019 at 07:48 |
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IQ and Pallas
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AFlowerKingCrimson
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Posted: October 06 2019 at 07:59 |
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No offense to the original poster but about half of these are not neo prog imo.
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TheH
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Posted: October 06 2019 at 08:15 |
I think you should inform yourself what Neo Prog is at all before. Astra: Heavy Psych Retro Space Rockers, what do you think is Neo Prog about them??? (they can't be further away)
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BrufordFreak
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Posted: October 06 2019 at 08:24 |
AFlowerKingCrimson wrote:
No offense to the original poster but about half of these are not neo prog imo. |
Agree BIG TIME!!!
It would seem, based upon this sample, that virtually every recent prog artist is a Neo Prog artist (which one could certainly make a case for)! I was expecting a list more conforming to that of PA's database (though I have disagreements with some of those assignations, as well).
P.S. My favorite Neo Prog bands are (in some kind of order): Collage Mystery Airbag Edison's Children Wobbler Nine Stones Close The Psychedelic Ensemble Believe Quidam Silhouette Magenta
though my favorite Neo Prog album is Tony Patterson's Equations of Meaning
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Drew Fisher
https://progisaliveandwell.blogspot.com/
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TCat
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Posted: October 06 2019 at 08:46 |
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Interesting that my three top favorites on this list are not neo-prog artists, but Porcupine Tree is at the top followed by Oceansize and Anathema. Just as well add Mars Volta to the top favs too.
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AFlowerKingCrimson
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Posted: October 06 2019 at 08:58 |
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I think maybe some people who are either new to prog or new(or newish) to new prog or the prog "underground" think neo prog just means anything after the 70's. I've seen other people think of it that way before also.
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Fischman
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Posted: October 06 2019 at 09:25 |
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My top 3 are also not neo prog
Spock's Beard
Transatlantic
Echolyn
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YESESIS
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Posted: October 06 2019 at 09:59 |
I like Marillion, but for me this is between Saga and Spock's Beard. I went with Saga as I REALLY like them and feel they are painfully underrated on here.
In the interest of full disclosure, there are a few *cough* several *hard cough* bands on this list that I haven't heard yet.
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King of Loss
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Posted: October 06 2019 at 10:21 |
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Some of these bands are not Neo-Prog at all, but from these that are Neo-Prog, there is no doubt that Fish-era Marillion is the best Neo-Prog!
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Psychedelic Paul
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Posted: October 06 2019 at 11:03 |
There's been some healthy debate on this thread over what constitutes a genuine Neo-Prog band, and that's half the fun of being a member of ProgArchives, where differing opinions are always welcome. From my own personal point of view, I generally think of Neo-Prog (or new prog) as any Progressive Rock band that formed from the early 1980's onwards, following the classic era of Prog-Rock during the 1970's. I'm not exactly new to the world of Prog-Rock - I'm 60 years old and I've been buying albums since the early 1970's. More recently, I worked as chief music editor for 3 years for the independently-run You Tube Music website, where it was part of my job to decide which genre an artist belonged in. The site no longer exists, having run out of funding in 2015, but I've now built up my own personal Artists & Albums database, with over 16,000 artists and over 80,000 album covers. Below is ProgArchives definition of Neo-Prog:- "Neo-Progressive rock (more commonly "Neo-Prog") is a subgenre of Progressive Rock that originally was used to describe artists strongly influenced by the classic symphonic prog bands that flourished during the 1970s. At the beginning of the neo-prog movement, the primary influence was early to mid-70's Genesis. Debate over when Neo-Prog actually came into being often takes place, with some asserting it began with Marillion's Script for a Jester's Tear in 1983. Others contend it began with Twelfth Night at the dawn of the 80s, while some even suggest the popular symphonic prog band Genesis gave rise to Neo-Prog with their 1976 album, A Trick of the Tail."
Edited by Psychedelic Paul - October 06 2019 at 11:06
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verslibre
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Posted: October 06 2019 at 11:33 |
chopper wrote:
Manuel wrote:
I voted It Bites. I don't think The Flower Kings, Spock's Beard and Transatlantic are neo prog though. |
I agree, neither are Echolyn
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Neither are Astra, Saga and Solstice.
And especially not The Mars Volta.
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AFlowerKingCrimson
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Posted: October 06 2019 at 11:58 |
Psychedelic Paul wrote:
There's been some healthy debate on this thread over what constitutes a genuine Neo-Prog band, and that's half the fun of being a member of ProgArchives, where differing opinions are always welcome. From my own personal point of view, I generally think of Neo-Prog (or new prog) as any Progressive Rock band that formed from the early 1980's onwards, following the classic era of Prog-Rock during the 1970's. I'm not exactly new to the world of Prog-Rock - I'm 60 years old and I've been buying albums since the early 1970's. More recently, I worked as chief music editor for 3 years for the independently-run You Tube Music website, where it was part of my job to decide which genre an artist belonged in. The site no longer exists, having run out of funding in 2015, but I've now built up my own personal Artists & Albums database, with over 16,000 artists and over 80,000 album covers. Below is ProgArchives definition of Neo-Prog:- "Neo-Progressive rock (more commonly "Neo-Prog") is a subgenre of Progressive Rock that originally was used to describe artists strongly influenced by the classic symphonic prog bands that flourished during the 1970s. At the beginning of the neo-prog movement, the primary influence was early to mid-70's Genesis. Debate over when Neo-Prog actually came into being often takes place, with some asserting it began with Marillion's Script for a Jester's Tear in 1983. Others contend it began with Twelfth Night at the dawn of the 80s, while some even suggest the popular symphonic prog band Genesis gave rise to Neo-Prog with their 1976 album, A Trick of the Tail."
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You're certainly entitled to view things the way you want to. However, I personally go by both the progarchives and wikipedia definition of neo prog. I would never view a band like djam karet or ozric tentacles or any band who is avant gardish or non symphonic derived as neo but I guess we all use the term in different ways. Some people use the term progressive rock in a very literal way too but I don't. If I did then jazz would always have to change and progress and so would every other genre. For me it's just a sound and the same thing with neo as opposed to a time frame. I agree that our differences are what make this place interesting.
Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - October 06 2019 at 11:58
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Logan
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Posted: October 06 2019 at 12:00 |
Nomenclature is the bane of the archivist. ^^ At PA and RYM we have a band called Solstice that is classified as Neo-Prog and one classified as JRF (there are is also a Doom Metal and Death metal Soltice not in PA). Wikipedia also classifies that Solstice as Neo-Prog. If not all Neo-Prog or Neo-Prog related, I think at least the majority of these have similarities to Neo-Prog and would be likely to appeal to similar audiences -- those more into melodic rock/ AOR/ and/or arena rock. Bands like Guapo and Non Credo would be more out of place on this list than bands like Spock's Beard and The Tangent, but actually might not be that out of place with a band like The Mars Volta (have heard some call TMV Neo-Prog before). Some have used Neo-Prog just as a temporal descriptor. When I first started really delving into Prog back in the early 200s, many were using Neo-Prog in a rather different way. Allmusic for instance, which uses the definition...
| The Neo-Progressive subgenre of progressive rock grew out of a movement in the early 1980s by a number of U.K.-based bands that focused on music that was deeper than new wave, both instrumentally and lyrically. The premier band of the genre was Marillion, who went from lengthy club tours to the top of the charts within a few years and dropped from popular favor almost as fast. Neo-Prog bands are generally influenced by early Genesis, Camel, and to a lesser extent, Van der Graf Generator and Pink Floyd. The music holds a much more lush sound than general rock, but lacks the sophistication of truly symphonic progressive bands like Yes or Camel. Instrumentally, the bands tend to be characterized by a "noodling" approach that focuses on dynamic solos, and at its best, neo-prog lyrics are deep, insightful, and acerbic. Whether neo-prog is diluted progressive or adventurous pop depends on the point of view of the listener -- most progressive rock listeners are likely to find the genre dull and unchallenging, while fans of AOR will find the mix more interesting than most rock bands. Although all of the major bands are still producing albums, the classic era of neo-prog effectively ended when vocalist Fish left Marillion in 1987. |
... Allmusic does put Spock's Beard, Echolyn, Transatlantic and The Flower Kings, as well as Dream Theater and Porcupine Tree stylistically in the Neo-Prog camp, and this has seemed more acceptable to me from people before than it seems to be to many now. We can't all agree on what is Prog, or its limits, either. Anyway, just wanted to add a different take, no vote from me as this list is very much not my taste.
Edited by Logan - October 06 2019 at 12:05
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Psychedelic Paul
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Joined: September 16 2019
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Posted: October 06 2019 at 12:06 |
AFlowerKingCrimson wrote:
I think maybe some people who are either new to prog or new(or newish) to new prog or the prog "underground" think neo prog just means anything after the 70's. I've seen other people think of it that way before also. |
I'm not new to the world of prog, having been born in the 1950's, but my own personal view is that Neo-Prog generally applies to any Progressive Rock band formed after the 1970's. When putting this poll together, my thinking was it was better to include as many bands as possible associated with the Neo-Prog genre, rather than leave out an important band if it was debateable whether or not they belonged in the Neo-Prog category. If I'd missed any artists out because I was unsure whether they belonged in a Neo-Prog poll, then I can't edit them in later as an afterthought.
Edited by Psychedelic Paul - October 06 2019 at 12:29
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Psychedelic Paul
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Posted: October 06 2019 at 12:11 |
Logan wrote:
Nomenclature is the bane of the archivist.
^^ At PA and RYM we have a band called Solstice that is classified as Neo-Prog and one classified as JRF (there are is also a Doom Metal and Death metal Soltice not in PA). Wikipedia also classifies that Solstice as Neo-Prog.
If not all Neo-Prog or Neo-Prog related, I think at least the majority of these have similarities to Neo-Prog and would be likely to appeal to similar audiences -- those more into melodic rock/ AOR/ and/or arena rock. Bands like Guapo and Non Credo would be more out of place on this list than bands like Spock's Beard and The Tangent, but actually might not be that out of place with a band like The Mars Volta (have heard some call TMV Neo-Prog before). Some have used Neo-Prog just as a temporal descriptor.
When I first started really delving into Prog back in the early 200s, many were using Neo-Prog in a rather different way.
Allmusic for instance, which uses the definition...
| The Neo-Progressive subgenre of progressive rock grew out of a movement in the early 1980s by a number of U.K.-based bands that focused on music that was deeper than new wave, both instrumentally and lyrically. The premier band of the genre was Marillion, who went from lengthy club tours to the top of the charts within a few years and dropped from popular favor almost as fast. Neo-Prog bands are generally influenced by early Genesis, Camel, and to a lesser extent, Van der Graf Generator and Pink Floyd. The music holds a much more lush sound than general rock, but lacks the sophistication of truly symphonic progressive bands like Yes or Camel. Instrumentally, the bands tend to be characterized by a "noodling" approach that focuses on dynamic solos, and at its best, neo-prog lyrics are deep, insightful, and acerbic. Whether neo-prog is diluted progressive or adventurous pop depends on the point of view of the listener -- most progressive rock listeners are likely to find the genre dull and unchallenging, while fans of AOR will find the mix more interesting than most rock bands. Although all of the major bands are still producing albums, the classic era of neo-prog effectively ended when vocalist Fish left Marillion in 1987. |
... Allmusic does put Spock's Beard, Echolyn, Transatlantic and The Flower Kings, as well as Dream Theater and Porcupine Tree stylistically in the Neo-Prog camp, and this has seemed more acceptable to me from people before than it seems to be to many now. We can't all agree on what is Prog, or its limits, either.
Anyway, just wanted to add a different take, no vote from me as this list is very much not my taste. |
Thanks for your support, Logan. At least someone agrees with me. 
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Psychedelic Paul
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Posted: October 06 2019 at 12:15 |
You're certainly entitled to view things the way you want to. However, I personally go by both the progarchives and wikipedia definition of neo prog. I would never view a band like djam karet or ozric tentacles or any band who is avant gardish or non symphonic derived as neo but I guess we all use the term in different ways. Some people use the term progressive rock in a very literal way too but I don't. If I did then jazz would always have to change and progress and so would every other genre. For me it's just a sound and the same thing with neo as opposed to a time frame. I agree that our differences are what make this place interesting.
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I wouldn't classify Ozric Tentacles as Neo-Prog either. To me, they've always been a Space Rock band.
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someone_else
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Posted: October 06 2019 at 12:33 |
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Currently The Tangent, although they have little to do with Neo-Prog. It seems that the term "Neo-Prog" refers to a generation rather than a subgenre in this thread.
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Favourite Neo-Prog Band
