Neo prog - then and now

I can't remember the first Neo Prog album I ever listened to in full as it's too long ago now. Well, about three years ago anyway. I do remember the first Neo Prog CD I ever bought though, as that was only last year, and it's #26 on PA's Top 250 Neo Prog Albums list.  

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - January 29 2023 at 11:28

early neo-prog 1982 

Edited by Cristi - January 29 2023 at 11:56

I have a feeling IQ's Tales from the Lush Attic may have been the first Neo Prog album I ever listened to in full, seeing as IQ were the first Neo Prog band featured on my Prog Britannia blog around three years ago. 

Methinks that since the 80s the atmospheric backgrounds to NeoProg musics have become more lush. It must be in the underlying/domineering use of some effect like reverb or sustain. (My brother was the engineering master of our recordings so I am not as fluent in the lingua sonique.)

80’s Neo is on another level. Sorry. You can’t f**k with it. It is the best era.

I bought Marillion's Script 2CD remaster on August 1st, 2003. I lived in a small provincial Ukrainian town and I was 16. Literally not a single person could understand my obsession with this music, not even my dad, a huge Beatles/Urian Heep/Deep Purple fan, who taught me to play guitar (he was in pop/rock bands in Soviet times).

By 2003 I'd already written like coupla hundred songs (again, for nobody, just for myself), but only after hearing Script I decided I wanna be in music for real. It wasn't easy but now my main band has 167k monthly listeners on Spotify and one of my side-projects is literally an early Marillion clone, hehe:



Another favourite of mine genre-wise is Clive Nolan's Shadowland - Ring Of Roses is a masterpiece and MUST get a vinyl release!

progaardvark wrote: Marillion obviously led me to Arena, IQ, and Pendragon, and then to more obscure bands like Abraxas, Galleon, Flamborough Head, Tale Cue, Afterglow, Osiris, Cyan, Atria, Now, Egdon Heath, Cliffhanger, and East

hah, interestingly enough I discovered basically the same bands during my "must find more Script soundalikes"-phase in 2003-2006, thanks to PA as well. My discoveries included IQ, Arena, Pendragon, Abraxas, Galleon, Flamborough Head, Tale Cue also - plus Collage, Red Sand, Discipline., Simon Says, Rael, Shadowland, The Watch, Mangala Vallis, Landmarq, Grey Lady Down, Iluvatar, Like Wendy, Grace, Anubis, Credo, Comedy Of Errors, Twelfth Night, Aragon, Abel Ganz, Clepsydra, Pallas, Citizen Cain, Mindgames, Also Eden, Janison Edge, Lorien, Puppet Show, Strangefish, Quidam, The Fyreworks, Triangle, Twin Age etc.

There were also bands that I discovered and didn't quite enjoyed - Cyan, Casino, Galahad, Cliffhanger, Violet Disctrict, Gazpacho (Night is great tho), Sylvan, RPWL, Galadriel, Theatre/Moongarden, Satellite, La Tulipe Noire (Shattered Image is great tho), Jadis, Millenium, Ageness, The Vow, Harnakis, Arrakeen, Deyss, Metaphor - but hey, to each his own I guess

Nice stories, Gents

I have to say I owe a ton to PA for its dense data base, which rabbit holed the sh*t out of me.
For all that I discovered IQ and Arena while Fish Era Marillion are the bands that really agree with me the most.
Anyhow. This site has been amazing and with people like yourselves on here, have been a great help.

Marillion Script back then