The Prog Thread

[ZepFloyd94]

Any progressive rock fans in the house?

If so, this is the thread for you!

My favorite prog bands
Pink Floyd
Emerson, Lake & Palmer/Powell
The Alan Parsons Project (and for that matter, Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson's solo careers)
Electric Light Orchestra (debateable, but whatever)
Dream Theater
Genesis-The Peter Gabriel Years
Rush
Styx

Other favorite bands that dabbled with elements of prog
The Beatles (Sgt. Pepper and the Abbey Road medley)
Led Zeppelin (Houses of the Holy sounds really proggy at times. Especially Rain Song and No Quarter)
The Who (The Who Sell Out and their 3 rock operas)
Green Day (American Idiot, 21st Century Breakdown)
Queen (their first two albums)
Eagles (Desperado and, to a lesser extent, Hotel California)

What are you favorite prog bands?

 

[TheProdigalStunna]

I personally think the term itself is kind of vague and nebulous, since I've seen it used to describe everything from Jazz Fusion to Krautrock to Post-Rock. That being said, many of my favorite bands can fall into this category. Basically, its come to mean any Rock music that deviates from the more orthodox form.

In terms of the more "traditional" forms of Progressive Rock, my personal favorite is Peter Gabriel-era Genesis. I grew up on it, and I don't think I'll ever grow out of it. Another one of my favorites is Van Der Graaf Generator. They are a real love-it or hate-it kind of band, but as a sucker for sax, organ, and bombastic vocals I love it. Specifically this song:

What might be my favorite band of all time, though, also could be considered Progressive Rock: Can. Particularly the Damo Suzuki "trilogy" of albums, which I'd honestly say are all perfect from beginning to end. If you ever wanted to know everything I love in music, those three albums are the perfect example. Hypnotic rhythms, solos full of feeling, and boundlessly creative in terms of instrumentation and sound.

 

[100 Whole Bepis]

I think my avatar and title should speak for themselves here. Took me a while to decide my absolute favourite but Gabriel-era Genesis it is. Selling England By the Pound is mind-blowingly good from beginning to end. Great themes, great music, great lyrics, great.... everything. Edges just over Foxtrot because I'm not the biggest fan of Get 'Em Out by Friday (though Can-Utility and the Coastliners and Supper's Ready are two of my favourite songs period). But overall I just adore the style the band had in those years. All the voices and wordplay. So brilliant.

Other than that, I like pretty much all the bands mentioned in the thread so far, the "dabblers" included. I don't see Yes mentioned here, but I like them a lot too. I'm still not convinced that Jon Anderson isn't some kind of undying celestial being because I swear to god his vocal quality has not changed since the band started. Close to the Edge is a pretty close runner-up to favourite album for me. Hell, I even think most of their "later" stuff was pretty good, though I don't listen to it as much as I used to.

 

[Plushy]

I personally think the term itself is kind of vague and nebulous, since I've seen it used to describe everything from Jazz Fusion to Krautrock to Post-Rock. That being said, many of my favorite bands can fall into this category. Basically, its come to mean any Rock music that deviates from the more orthodox form.

This is the problem with music in general, is not enough to said "I like X genre" because of all the branches, in-middle styles and fusions in existence. Some of the "classical" bands I like are King Crimson ("Islands" <3), Comus, Genesis (specially "The lamb lies down on Broadway"), Electric Light Orchestra, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Gentle Giant. To be honest I don't like Pink Floyd too much.

Not so old school bands with prog styles I like:
Ayreon

Spoiler

Kaipa and Ritual

Spoiler

Cast

Spoiler

Fish

Spoiler

The mars volta

Spoiler

and the list goes on

 

[AnOminous]

I find it interesting nobody's mentioned The Decemberists, who have a pretty broad prog streak, particularly in lengthy pieces like this.

 

[Abethedemon]

My favorite prog band

 

[Yog-Spergoth]

I'm a big fan of the Mars Volta, Genesis, Dream Theater, Rush, and King Crimson, but I think my favorite prog (technically art prog, if that genre means anything to anyone) is Tool. They just have a very deep sound, and I love just going through their albums and seeing all of the theory tricks that they play. They are simply amazing.

 

[_blank_]

Oh sweet, we have a Prog-Rock thread!

Well, I suppose my first introduction with prog was when I was introduced to Genesis before I was even in school. I grew up listening to their 80s and 90s music, and as much as I love the early Genesis albums now, I will admit to having a soft spot for their more radio-friendly fare as well. When I got into middle-school, I had stumbled into the Peter Gabriel era of Genesis and fell in love with Foxtrot, Selling England by the Pound, and Trespass (even if only for The Knife which a beastly song).

When I was about to graduate high school, I was introduced to Jethro Tull's Aqualung album, and that damn thing changed my life. Where Genesis was a very technical and very precise sounding band, Jethro Tull was brusque and coarse in all the right ways. They were probably also responsible for leading me into listening more heavier bands like Black Sabbath and Deep Purple as I left home for the first time. Favorite Jethro Tull albums have to be Aqualung, A Passion Play, This Was, and Minstrel in the Gallery.

During college, I had a few passing affairs with other prog-bands: Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Electric Light Orchestra, Supertramp stand out. I occasionally go back to listen to some Rush or Yes.

Once out of college, I came across another band, one that seems to have fallen through the cracks, Uriah Heep. They're one of those prog-bands that still exists to this day, but very much has a niche following and unfortunately never seemed to have gotten the attention they really deserve, but they're a favorite of mine. Favorite albums include Salisbury, Demons & Wizards, and although I just recently started listening to the full album, Abominog is growing on me quickly.

From there, I suppose I also want to include a special mention to Blind Guardian. They technically fall within the Symphonic Metal genre, but they are still rife with prog influences. They also just released Beyond the Red Mirror which is a gloriously bombastic concept album and I highly recommend it.

 

[ZepFloyd94]

When I was about to graduate high school, I was introduced to Jethro Tull's Aqualung album, and that damn thing changed my life. Where Genesis was a very technical and very precise sounding band, Jethro Tull was brusque and coarse in all the right ways. They were probably also responsible for leading me into listening more heavier bands like Black Sabbath and Deep Purple as I left home for the first time.

Fun fact. For a very, VERY, brief moment, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi was a member of Jethro Tull. This was when Black Sabbath was just getting started in England. He left after he didn't felt happy with the way the band worked and soon returned to co-create heavy metal with Black Sabbath

 

[_blank_]

Fun fact. For a very, VERY, brief moment, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi was a member of Jethro Tull. This was when Black Sabbath was just getting started in England. He left after he didn't felt happy with the way the band worked and soon returned to co-create heavy metal with Black Sabbath

Yep, and thank goodness for that. I really don't want to imagine a world that never had Black Sabbath.

Bonus video- Tony playing pretend guitar:

 

[KingGeedorah]

One of the best...

 

[geodestro]

Not sure whether these guys count as prog, I've heard them referred to as prog, psych, and just plain krautrock. Either way Grobschnitt is awesome and deserves more recognition.

 

[spaps]

I'm really loving this album. Too bad the CD costs 65 dollars.

 

[Ariel]

I have the full album on vinyl

 

[Pickle Inspector]

I love Prog Rock/metal too so here are three bands not mentioned in the thread so far which I like:

Gryphon:

Spoiler

Star One (Kind of cheating since it's a side project of Arjen Anthony Lucassen/Ayreon):

Spoiler

Magnum:

Spoiler

 

[Gamerabreath]

No Gentle Giant?

 

[Cid Highwind]

Any progressive rock fans in the house?

If so, this is the thread for you!

My favorite prog bands
Pink Floyd
Emerson, Lake & Palmer/Powell
The Alan Parsons Project (and for that matter, Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson's solo careers)
Electric Light Orchestra (debateable, but whatever)
Dream Theater
Genesis-The Peter Gabriel Years
Rush
Styx

Supertramp is great, especially the first album before they settled on the "classic" line up. Very psychedelic.

Alan Parsons project is a favorite of mine. Once again, their first album is a masterpiece. All Edgar Allan Poe based. The tom tom that starts the drum beat in Fall of the House of Usher sounds just like the dead woman knocking.

I recently watched a video of Asia live from about 2 years ago. Steve Howe looks like a skeleton but he can still seriously play. I know most prog fans hate what those bands did in the early 80s but I always thought Asia's first album got a perfect balance between proggy musicianship and pop accessibility.

 

[Tomboy]

Prog rock is my favorite genre. Yes, Kansas, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Supertramp, Rush, Jethro Tull, ELO, Camel, Gentle Giant, Pendragon, Styx, Alan Parsons Project...I can go on. My favorite song is "And You and I" by Yes.

I like Genesis, but the Peter Gabriel years. Moody Blues had some good prog stuff as well as their more British Invasion era stuff.

 

[AnOminous]

I like Genesis, but the Peter Gabriel years. Moody Blues had some good prog stuff as well as their more British Invasion era stuff.

I also prefer Peter Gabriel's solo work. I could tell the protagonist of American Psycho was bullshitting and either didn't kill as many people as he claimed or, perhaps, not anyone at all, when he effusively praised Phil Collins's solo career at great length while describing Gabriel's as "lame," among other things. Not even a psycho could believe that.

I also like ELO, but more their bouncy, cheery stuff like Mr. Blue Sky.

 

[LiveFromNS]

Yes, Moody Blues, EL&P, Hawkwind, Floyd, Rush are def big favs of mine. Few others I am quite sure would make the list too.