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Progressive rock

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CygnusXS said:
In a similar vein is a band called Canvas Solaris. Except that their sound is a lot more metal focused.

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So far, I've only heard this album as I haven't been able to locate the others, but it's pretty solid.
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Eh, I don't like them at all. I don't think they really know what they're doing. I have this album, and there's one nice track on it that I like, the rest is gibberish.
 
hectorse said:
So care to contribute instead of being a stupid troll?

I am listening right now to Gordian Knot! Been on my backlog for quite some time, and it's that kind of instrumental math prog rock, the one that dwells strictly with music by rhythm numbers.

Pretty awesome

gordian_knot.jpg
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Telling the truth isn't trolling, my good friend. Plus I already posted my contributions, you should you know....read the thread.

Check out:

Maudlin of the Well

The Mars Volta

Caribou

Rx Bandits (punk influenced prog rock)

The Mahavishnu Orchestra

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (check out "Cryptomnesia", "Se Dice Bisonte, No Bufalo", "An Apocalypse Inside of an Orange")

If you're into anything progressive, you should check these bands out.
 
agrajag said:
Eh, I don't like them at all. I don't think they really know what they're doing. I have this album, and there's one nice track on it that I like, the rest is gibberish.
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My opinion was based on a single spin. I definitely need to hear more before I would actually recommend them or anything, but there were definitely some parts that grabbed me.

TalonsOfJustice said:
Telling the truth isn't trolling, my good friend. Plus I already posted my contributions, you should you know....read the thread.

Check out:

The Mars Volta

If you're into anything progressive, you should check these bands out.
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I don't want to start anything, but Mars Volta annoys me. They mix their music poorly and the combination of the grinding guitars with Omar's shrill voice is just grating. Interesting ideas, especially in the first two albums, but hard to sit through on repeat listenings. Amputechture was just downright bad.
 
CygnusXS said:
My opinion was based on a single spin. I definitely need to hear more before I would actually recommend them or anything, but there were definitely some parts that grabbed me.


I don't want to start anything, but Mars Volta annoys me. They mix their music poorly and the combination of the grinding guitars with Omar's shrill voice is just grating. Interesting ideas, especially in the first two albums, but hard to sit through on repeat listenings. Amputechture was just downright bad.
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Cedric may have a high ranged voice, but I love that high register of singing.

The music is pretty much organized chaos, but I personally think their music is amazing. There are various influences, from Latin to Punk to Psychedelic Funk, in just about all of their songs (except the shit excuse of an album Octahedron) and theres so much layering that repeat listenings are almost different everytime.

Some people don't like their chaotic sound, some people think it's the best thing ever created. But that chaos is what I like about them.

BTW If anyone likes Math Rock, check out Tera Melos. I'm not too hot on that genre, but Tera Melos does have some good stuff under their belt. Their singer is terrible imo, but the music is pretty straight.
 
A band I believe any appreciator of progressive music must check out is Indukti.

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S.U.S.A.R. is one of my favorite albums ever. It has the kind of songs that slowly build to poundingly heavy climaxes. I think at certain times it sounds like King Crimson, at times like Tool. But due to its unusual instrumentation it definitely has its own voice. The guitars play a strictly rythmic and harmonic role, while the lead instrument is violin. The their violinist Ewa plays it works so well with the music, it completely alters your idea of what the instrument should sound like. The way she plays it makes it seem like an instrument very well suited for heavy music.

Here's a live recording of what I think is their flagship piece Freder, which showcases all of those qualities.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIlFs3EqBM4

And here's a short review of the album I wrote a couple of years ago (it's pretty poorly written, but will give you a gist of what to expect):

http://www.treehouseofdeath.com/?p=263
 
The problem with the new DT record is Mike's insistence to make the band into something they are not. The controversial section towards the end of ANTR would have been great if Labrie just sang his normal melodic vocals like usual. Instead it comes off as just awkward. I like the songs okay but really it's another reason why the band should hire a producer next time around. They just need some critical feedback, especially in the lyrics department, which has gotten out of hand (and I think many will agree, they are just BAD).

As a colorful alternative I totally recommend Labrie's 2005 record Elements of Persuasion, Redemption's next CD or Vangough's Manikin Parade. Of course there's a lot of other good stuff but I just think DT needs to stop trying to both please their fans and be mainstream at the same time.
 
Endow said:
Are there any prog rock fans around these parts? What are your favorite prog rock bands and what new bands have caught your attention?




PS: I'm using the broadest definition possible of the term progressive rock here so...
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Porcupine Tree <3
 
PT is a little too stoner for me, kind of like tool. And I'm about ready for Mike to move on from his Opeth addiction. He always does this where he apes a bunch of shit from bands he loves (remember the Stockholm Syndrome song on Octovarium?).
 
Fenix said:
Whaaaaaaaaaat?! Awesome, I'll grab it after work monday when I get my dad's birthday gift. Hopefully J&R has it in stock.
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It's spectacular. But not available outside of Poland yet. Hits the US on July 28, 2009. Europe gets it on the 6th of July.
 
Ceres said:
It's spectacular. But not available outside of Poland yet. Hits the US on July 28, 2009. Europe gets it on the 6th of July.
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Aw nuts. Wiki said it had released worldwide as of June 19th.
 
evilromero said:
PT is a little too stoner for me, kind of like tool. And I'm about ready for Mike to move on from his Opeth addiction. He always does this where he apes a bunch of shit from bands he loves (remember the Stockholm Syndrome song on Octovarium?).
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No but that sounds awesome. What's the song called?
 
That's one phat sound on the keyboards

or what about the U2 song on octavarium?

Edit: HOLY CRAP

I just realized that The Best of Times is dedicated to Mike's Dad! It gives the song a ton more of meaning.
 
hectorse said:
That's one phat sound on the keyboards

or what about the U2 song on octavarium?

Edit: HOLY CRAP

I just realized that The Best of Times is dedicated to Mike's Dad! It gives the song a ton more of meaning.
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Yup...he passed away recently I think. I also saw someone mention somewhere that the name "Dream Theater" was his idea, after the band had to change their name from "Majesty".
 
if only DT would have a singer who is not a pain to listen to... :(
how is the new record? i just bought i yesterday as a gift for a friend...
 
sankt-Antonio said:
if only DT would have a singer who is not a pain to listen to... :(
how is the new record? i just bought i yesterday as a gift for a friend...
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Best DT album since metropolis pt.2 for sure.
 
sankt-Antonio said:
if only DT would have a singer who is not a pain to listen to... :(
how is the new record? i just bought i yesterday as a gift for a friend...
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Problem is Mike wants the singing to be increasingly heavy, which Labrie is not suited for. He sounds like Mustaine when he tries.

Also, the Best of Times= The Spirit of Radio? Maybe? I love the Count of Tuscany but another obvious Rush-inspired song, with a few elements of Yes and Pink Floyd thrown in for good measure. But like all DT albums it doesn't disappoint but it also doesn't stand out as anything truly great like I&W, which to its own credit stood on the shoulders of DT's influences as well but was executed with a little more tact.
 
Did anybody read the story behind Count of Tuscany?

It's based off a true story a few years ago from Petrucci. He was in Tuscany and actually met a count that owned a historic estate where they locked soldiers in barrels(way in the past obviously). As he was at the counts place he was increasingly fearing for his life.

In retrospect, its kind of silly to think Petrucci as big as he is, would be getting frightened, but damn read the lyrics and I could see why he'd get a bit upset over it.

A Nightmare to Remember is also about when Petrucci was supposedly in a car accident when he was younger.

Great album which gets better with repeat listens. :D
 
Lionheart1827 said:
Did anybody read the story behind Count of Tuscany?

It's based off a true story a few years ago from Petrucci. He was in Tuscany and actually met a count that owned a historic estate where they locked soldiers in barrels to make wine(way in the past obviously). As he was at the counts place he was increasingly fearing for his life.

In retrospect, its kind of silly to think Petrucci as big as he is, would be getting frightened, but damn read the lyrics and I could see why he'd get a bit upset over it.

A Nightmare to Remember is also about when Petrucci was supposedly in a car accident when he was younger.

Great album which gets better with repeat listens. :D
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The Count of Tuscany is silly as hell. It doesn't explain really why he would fear for his life. Great songs but damn, the lyrics definitely need some work.
 
evilromero said:
The Count of Tuscany is silly as hell. It doesn't explain really why he would fear for his life. Great songs but damn, the lyrics definitely need some work.
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I agree they are bit silly. However, after reading the lyrics a few times, I'm sure it was a combination of the guy telling him his brother was based off a "cannibal curator" and the strange life style at that place. Then when he got there he met this guy, went into the wine cellar and they were telling him they would stuff soldiers in barrels with wine.

Also the "saint dressed in royal clothes" fans are thinking its loosely based on this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Zita

I mean if I was pretty much alone with these people I'd probably get a bit freaked out. I'm hoping sometime Petrucci explains the story in more detail.

Aside from the lyrics, the music itself is beautiful in that song. To me it doesn't feel like 19 minutes, while a shorter song, Ministry of Lost Souls, seems twice as long as Count of tuscany.
 
evilromero said:
Problem is Mike wants the singing to be increasingly heavy, which Labrie is not suited for. He sounds like Mustaine when he tries.

Also, the Best of Times= The Spirit of Radio? Maybe? I love the Count of Tuscany but another obvious Rush-inspired song, with a few elements of Yes and Pink Floyd thrown in for good measure. But like all DT albums it doesn't disappoint but it also doesn't stand out as anything truly great like I&W, which to its own credit stood on the shoulders of DT's influences as well but was executed with a little more tact.
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The Best of Times = The spirit of the Radio is seriously splitting hairs

The riffs are kind of similar but other than that they are entirely different
 
Just thought I'd post this in here...

If you're around Western PA there's a Progressive Rock festival August 8-9. My friends father runs it, and it's really a lot of fun. This will be the second year of it happening. Bands were great last year so I expect no different this year.

3 Rivers Progressive Rock Festival: www.3rprogfest.com

Some of the bands this year:

IQ
King's X
It Bites
Crack The Sky
Glass Hammer
Phideaux
Singularity
Syzygy
Edensong
Persephone's Dream
 
Took me a bit to remember why I recall Persephone's Dream but it's because I know one of the singers as she's a regular ProgPower USA attendee.
 
Big Chief Crazy Cone said:
Just thought I'd post this in here...

If you're around Western PA there's a Progressive Rock festival August 8-9. My friends father runs it, and it's really a lot of fun. This will be the second year of it happening. Bands were great last year so I expect no different this year.

3 Rivers Progressive Rock Festival: www.3rprogfest.com

Some of the bands this year:

IQ
King's X
It Bites
Crack The Sky
Glass Hammer
Phideaux
Singularity
Syzygy
Edensong
Persephone's Dream
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Pretty awesome line-up.
 
evilromero said:
Problem is Mike wants the singing to be increasingly heavy, which Labrie is not suited for. He sounds like Mustaine when he tries.

Also, the Best of Times= The Spirit of Radio? Maybe? I love the Count of Tuscany but another obvious Rush-inspired song, with a few elements of Yes and Pink Floyd thrown in for good measure. But like all DT albums it doesn't disappoint but it also doesn't stand out as anything truly great like I&W, which to its own credit stood on the shoulders of DT's influences as well but was executed with a little more tact.
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I thought Labrie has been doing a pretty good job with the heavy vocals. He sounded good in Presence of Enemies Part II on Systematic Chaos and he sounds good in A Nightmare To Remember too.

And I really don't think the lyrics are bad. They're not great or anything but they certainly work well enough for the songs.
 
Best Dream Theater albums are Train of Thought, Images and Words and Six Degrees of Inner Turbulance. Train of Thought is by far the best and heaviest though, not a single bad song on the album.
 
Bumping this thread.

Anyone who has not listened to Riverside's Anno Domini High Definition must do so now.
You can hear the radio edit of one of the new songs on their myspace.
 
These are some of my favorite progressive rock (and one metal) -albums

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The best album by King Crimson in my opinion. Starless is definitely one of the best rock songs ever composed. The album is a solid six song masterpiece.

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The last album (by far) by the Crimsons was my first contact with the band and I just love the atmosphere of the album. It's unbelievable how much the band can change themselves during the years.

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The "odd bird" in the Opeth catalogue, but also a great album. Atmospheric songs influenced by many old school prog rock bands.

Opeth_2005.jpg

When this album was released, it was a big disappointment (although Deliverance wasn't that mind blowing album), but the album grew in me in time and nowadays I think it's the most solid album by the Swedes. (almost wrote "the Swedish progressive death metal band, but I've never really thought of Opeth as a death metal act)

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I'm sure I've seen someone in NeoGAF mentioning this album somewhere, but not sure where and when. CMX is a Finnish progressive rock band that started off as a hardcore band. Nowadays they are one of the biggest bands in Finland and Talvikuningas is their latest epical album that consists of some Tool influences and even some hardcore bits. The language is Finnish so that may draw away many potential listeners.

porcupine-tree-signify.jpg

Propably not my favorite Porcupine Tree album, but it blew my mind after listening to In Absentia and Deadwing.
 
The new Dream Theater album is amazing, one of the best albums I've heard in a very long time.

And I get to see them in concert next month :D It just sucks that Pain of Salvation's label went bankrupt, because they were originally going to be on tour with them too. They were replaced with Scale the Summit and Bigelf, both of which I've never heard of and I highly doubt will be anything close to the awesomeness of music that PoS puts out.

Also, what the hell is up with America getting Arjen's new Guilt Machine project a month after everybody else? Really sucks for people who don't pirate.
 
EzLink said:
Also, what the hell is up with America getting Arjen's new Guilt Machine project a month after everybody else? Really sucks for people who don't pirate.
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We're lucky it's only a month after. US gets screwed so often with these releases. Not only with dates but also special editions. I'll probably be picking it up at PP anyway since at least one vendor will likely have the import on hand. I'd buy the signed special edition directly but conversion rates suck right now.
 
I have mixed feeling towards the new Dream Theater album. There are really only two songs I truly listen to on it, "The Shattered Fortress" and "The Count of Tuscany". "The Shattered Fortress" is a great song and great lyrics.

"The Count of Tuscany" on the other hand has some really laughable lyrics, such as "The finest wines, improved with age." :lol The way that they sing it doesn't help either.



And whoever recommended the Umphrey's McGee album - awesome! Got it last week and I'm really digging it.
 
I personally think that Black Clouds & Silver Linings is DT's best album since SFAM. I'd put it slightly above SDOIT, just because I don't really like disc #1 of that album as much as the second disc (with the 42 minutes long title track). It's miles better that ToT for me (I generally prefer DT when they're more melodic rather than just hard and edgy like on ToT), and also a bit better than Octavarium (though I love the title track on that album). Systematic Chaos was their weakest release in quite a few years for me, and BC&SL beats it easily.

I do agree, though, that the lyrics on BC&SL are mostly laughable (except for the ones written by Portnoy). At least this time around they're dealing with real-life stuff, unlike Systematic Chaos which mostly had pure fantasy lyrics about vampires and other dark stuff. In a weird way I actually like the lyrics of CoT, though. They're epic in a funny sort of way.

EDIT: I saw DT at Sweden Rock Festival i June, by the way, and it was of course awesome. The only song they played from BC&SL was "A Rite of Passage" (the album wasn't released yet at that time). This was the fifth time I saw them in concert, and the sixth time will be in Stockholm in September.
 
EzLink said:
The new Dream Theater album is amazing, one of the best albums I've heard in a very long time.

And I get to see them in concert next month :D It just sucks that Pain of Salvation's label went bankrupt, because they were originally going to be on tour with them too. They were replaced with Scale the Summit and Bigelf, both of which I've never heard of and I highly doubt will be anything close to the awesomeness of music that PoS puts out.

Also, what the hell is up with America getting Arjen's new Guilt Machine project a month after everybody else? Really sucks for people who don't pirate.
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Yeah I'm seeing them next month at Brookhaven ampitheater. I would keep an eye on Scale the Summit and Bigelf since they were selected by portnoy, they arent just some random band to fill the gap. The first two openers to DT's last american tour were actually pretty good so I dont think they will disappoint. :)

RoadHazard said:
I personally think that Black Clouds & Silver Linings is DT's best album since SFAM. I'd put it slightly above SDOIT, just because I don't really like disc #1 of that album as much as the second disc (with the 42 minutes long title track). It's miles better that ToT for me (I generally prefer DT when they're more melodic rather than just hard and edgy like on ToT), and also a bit better than Octavarium (though I love the title track on that album). Systematic Chaos was their weakest release in quite a few years for me, and BC&SL beats it easily.
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Although I loved octavarium as a song, the rest of the album was kind of boring to me. I liked Systematic Chaos way better than octavarium. BC&SL is awesome though. I&W is still my favorite album with Metropolis part 1 coming in as my favorite DT song.
 
I've never been too savvy when it comes to genres and such, so apologies if this doesn't fit the thread, but do any of you guys like Coheed and Cambria?
 
Neverender said:
I've never been too savvy when it comes to genres and such, so apologies if this doesn't fit the thread, but do any of you guys like Coheed and Cambria?
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I like a lot of their stuff. We're catching them when they open for Heaven and Hell next month. Will actually be my second time seeing them but the first was in 2003 before I'd ever heard of them and they played a 15 min set at a spring fling festival.
 
Has anyone heard of Karmakanic? It's a really great Swedish progressive rock band, formed by members from different bands (the main dude being Jonas Reingold, the bassist from The Flower Kings). Their two latest albums ("Wheel of Life" and "Who's the Boss In the Factory") are awesome. I really recommend them to anyone who likes music like The Flower Kings, but a little more "defined" and less "floaty" (if that makes any sense).
 
So I don't normally find a lot of prog rock that I can get into. But I started listening to this the other day:

cover_4657153062009.jpg


"Number 7" by Phideaux.

It's pretty much my album of the year thus far. I can't say a single bad thing about it. I liked Phideaux's previous album, Doomsday Afternoon, but I didn't find it "great" by any means. Number 7, however, is simply amazing. I'd recommend this album to ANYONE, not just prog fans.
 
Seraphis Cain said:
So I don't normally find a lot of prog rock that I can get into. But I started listening to this the other day:

cover_4657153062009.jpg


"Number 7" by Phideaux.

It's pretty much my album of the year thus far. I can't say a single bad thing about it. I liked Phideaux's previous album, Doomsday Afternoon, but I didn't find it "great" by any means. Number 7, however, is simply amazing. I'd recommend this album to ANYONE, not just prog fans.
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They released a new album?!

Must get.

As far as Dream Theater's latest, A Nightmare to Remember is definitely by favorite song. I just can't stand Wither. And the rest was good, just not awesomely great.
 
Having to dp makes me sad :( where are all the prog. rock gaf fans?

Anyway, just discovered Paul Cusick and his debut album (with Andy Edwards from Frost*/IQ/Kino making an appearance). Sounds a lot like Porcupine Tree, so I thought some of you would probably enjoy it.

http://music.paulcusick.co.uk/

You can stream the whole thing through that site. Not bad.

Also we were supposed to get a new Porcupine Tree song today, but it seems Roadrunner forgot about that. Bummer.
 
I'm just gonna pimp my stuff a bit here. I've had a few tracks finished for awhile but I decided part way through to release them all when it's done instead of each track at a time. There's a lot of prog influences there and some video game influences as well, check it out:

http://www.reverbnation.com/theclarity

It should be finished in 2-3 months and will be released in it's entirety for free.
 
aphoushole said:
I just bought King Crimson's first album and as someone who has never heard them before, I am not disappointed.
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Welcome to the wonderful world of KC. Now go out and buy Red and Lark's Tongues in Aspic right away.

On a side note, I know alot of you are PT fans. Has anyone listened to the preview for The Incident (their new album)? It sounds really good, as usual. I know the first disc is going to be one long 53 minute song or so but does anyone know if it will still contain tracks or you have to listen to it all in it's entirety?
 
I like Pink Floyd, King Black Acid (the best prog rock band I've ever heard, IMO), Explosions in the Sky, Liquid Tension Experiment, and An Endless Sporadic.
 
aphoushole said:
I just bought King Crimson's first album and as someone who has never heard them before, I am not disappointed.
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Good choice. The In the Court of the Crimson King and Epitaph are my favourite songs on that one. It's also my favourite KC album.
 
DieNgamers said:
Good choice. The In the Court of the Crimson King and Epitath are my favourite songs on that one. It's also my favourite KC album.
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Same, but the album is tied with Red for me. Starless is amazing.
 
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