Did I start too high, and now everything else will seem mediocre?

 

Are Marillion and IQ the only good neo-prog bands?

 

Anyone else struggling with this genre?

 

 

 

 

I bought the Masquerade Overture, but sadly, no dice.

Frost

Kino

Satellite (both albums)

 

I think those are the best non-Marillion neo prog albums so far, along with the latest IQ releases.

 

I think Mitchell is the best possible alternative to Rothery these days. And that means a lot, to me at least. He's an excellent guitarist and composer and I really like his voice too (having not listened to The Urbane before the Kino encounter, I was surprised to hear how good he was).

 

I recommend TWELFTH NIGHT's "Fact and Fiction". It is a seminal neo album (1982) and it's ballsy enough to keep the neophyte's interest, at least for the first few tries. This band really rocks during the rockier sections; yo uwill also find some clear new wave-techno ingredients that show the time of its release. And last, but not least, a splendid closer: the anthem pacifist ballad 'Love Song', moving and well crafted.

 

In the more pompous side of neo you have CITIZEN CAIN - their first two albums are heavily GENESIS-influenced, the last two find them exploring a different, weirder direction within the boundaries of neo.

 

Any of these bands is ballsier and more complex than PENDRAGON, ABEL GANZ or PALLAS (not that I hate these bands, really, but I sort of understand why some prog fans don't get into them that easily).

 

   Kind regards.

 

 

 

 

Oh man....that was classic!!!!!

 

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Try Saens' Escaping from the Hands of God and Strangefish's Full Scale. There are other bands, but if you don't like Pendragon, I doubt you'll like Arena. Stll, try Immortal? or Contagion, as they're closer to prog metal than all other Arena releases. If you end up liking none of these albums, I'd like to give you some more choices, but I think you're better off sticking to IQ and Marillion.

 

I like Mariilion a lot, but that's only neo I have listened to.

 

Collage and Quidam.... the second one with female vocals... im not an expert in the genre, but believe me , both are great bands....

 

and for me... i dont like Pendragon at all

 

try also saens - hands of god

 

satellite

 

violet district

 

jadis - more than meets the eye

 

iluvatar - children

 

chandelier

 

 

 

i don't like the sound of basnie.

 

Yes you started too high, Marillion and IQ are amongst the best you can find, but there are numerous bands that are alike, and if you want similar sounding bands that's not hard to do, if you however want something unique within the Neo-prog style, that's a bit harder to do.

 

Best of the Bunch IMO:

 

Pendragon : Window Of Life, Masquerade overture, Not Of This World,

Arena: Pride, The Visitor, Contagion.

Clepsydra: More Grains of Sand, Hologram

Collage: Moonshine

Fish: Vigil in a wilderness of mirrors, Raingods with zippo's

Twelfth Night: Fact and Fiction

Discipline: Unfolded like staircase

Pallas: Beat The Drum

Landmarq: Solitary Witness

Shakary: Alya

 

I'd start with Aufklärung if I where you, for it has that typical itallian flavour added to there sympho sound, maybe Discipline will do also, more than the others it is inspired by Van Der Graaf Generator, which gives it some unique quality IMO. of course Arena and Pendragon needs to be listened too aswell.

 

another band that i like to mention is not regarded as neo-progressive, but I regard it as a neo-progressive band:

 

Echolyn: Mei and Suffocating the Bloom are both excellent, as is the rest of their material.

 

I agree with Arena. Magenta is okay too.

 

pablo el enterrador

 

clepsydra

 

sagrado coraçao da terra (a blend of neo & sympho)

 

casino (with the great Geoff Mann on vocals)

 

shadowland (the album 'ring of roses', if you want an alternatove to the fish-like voice, with a more roberth smith-like voice)

 

colin bass - an outcast of the island

 

martin orford (keyboardist for IQ, his solo album is really sublime)

 

Saga - heads or tales

 

Michael Sadler - clear (vocalist for SAGA)

 

IONA - beyond these shores (a blend of neo, pop and celtic folk)

 

 

 

It bites

 

Shaun Guerin

 

Mario Millo (Windchase, Sebastian Hardie)

 

Arena:  The Visitor, Contagion

Pallas:  The Cross and The Crucible, The Dreams of Men

Shaun Guerin:  The Epic Quality of Life

Citizen Cain:  Somewhere But Yesterday 

Strangefish:  Fortune Telling

 

These albums are classed as either Neo or Symphonic here, but I think they are all on the boundaries of the two sub-genres.  Also, If you have only Dark Matter by IQ, you might pick up Ever, and/or Tales from the Lush Attic.  If you lean towards a more metal sound, Arena or Pallas should fit the bill, while still having some symphonic elements.  Shaun Guerin and Citizen Cain are more Genesis-like, and Strangefish is unique, perhaps trending toward the Spock's Beard sound.

 

 

 

well said!!

I am so much obsessed with '70's prog (virtually of all kinds) that I can hardly find time to get into neo stuff..

Like lightbulb_son, however; I have a tendency towards those two bands anyway. I like Marillion (and absolutely Fish-era only) probably because they were among the first prog bands I started to listen...

about IQ, not so sure.... erm... maybe because they make so great music?

 

Who, me?

 

Oh........yeah......

 

SINISTER STREET — The Eve Of Innocence

Review by http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=2461 - stonebeard (Andrew)
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Neo-Prog Specialist

The Eve of Innocence is not a perticularly remarkable album. Sinister Street hasn't emerged from the 80s blazing new trails with an immediatly effective and emotive style. To the contrary, they've basically stuck with the same sound that so many Neo Progressive bands have worn to death. For a relative reference, the musical style on The Eve of Innocence is quite similar to Pendragon's The Jewel and the lesser-known (and not entirely without reason) Solitary Witness by Landmarq.

My main gripe with this album--and I hope this doesn't turn into a tirade--is that the music is very pop-oriented and saturated with cheesy nuances. Chances are, if you are prejudiced against Neo-Prog, or simply don't like what you've heard from the genre, hearing an album like The Eve of Innocence might've been the reason why. It's really a shame too, because honestly, there is a lot more to Neo-Prog than a pop song with crisp, unnaturally uplifting keyboard work and overly dramatic yet somewhat childish singing. All of those characteristics, however, lie in The Eve of Innocence, in varying degrees.

I feel, though, that the biggest fault in The Eve of Innocence is not the chessiness nor the thoroughly uniteresting vocals, but more the complete lack of effective production. I feel that this album would be far better if the production packed a bigger punch. As it is now, the songs just pass on by like a parade. But if there were a sense of urgency that some of the songs seem to demand, then the music would be much more interesting. If Sinister Street decided to re-record The Eve of Innocence with today's modern technology, I'd be eager to hear it for sure.

There are some good moments on The Eve of Innocence, but no songs that I enjoy entirely. These moments usually occur when the band takes a break from the prog-pop format and go for a bit of diversity, such as the slide bass and grand piano introduction of "A Prayer for the Dying," or the atmospheric parts of "Summit." But overall, The Eve of Innocence doesn't bring anything new to the table at all, and it basically falls flat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I specifically named this poll after that lol.

 

If we get to vote for 'Post of the Year' at year's end, you'll get my vote Empathy !!!