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Progressive Metal

 
 

Description of Progressive Metal

 
As the promise of Progressive Rock dwindled in the '80s and the complexity of Heavy Metal increased, the two met to create a sound both complicated and brutal. The Seattle-based Metal group Queensryche's 1988 concept album Operation: Mindcrime set the standard for this complex form of Heavy Metal with its orchestration (from composer Michael Kamen), its constantly shifting musical structures, and its singular plot spanning the entire album. Progressive Metal bands tend to sound very unlike each other, each exploring different territory, from the labyrinthine, Rush-like adventures of Cynic to the Industrial despair of Voivod.
 

Progressive Metal Key Tracks

 
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1. War Pigs Faith No More
2. 24 Hours Ago Savatage
3. Silent Lucidity Queensryche
4. The World Around Me King's X
5. Fake Healer Metal Church
6. Malice Endo
7. Beyond The Doors Of The Dark Savatage
8. Bridge Queensryche
9. Goldilox King's X
10. Pull Me Under Dream Theater
11. Whitewash Buckethead
 

Filed Under

 
Rock/Pop  >  Metal  >  Progressive Metal
 

Progressive Metal Key Artists

 
Atheist

Starting out a thrash band in
the 1980s, Atheist evolved
into one of the most
adventurous progressive
metals working today.

Buckethead

In addition to Buckethead's
unorthodox solo funk metal
guitar albums, he also
contributes to high-profile
film scores.

Dream Theater

Spawned at the Berklee
College of Music in Boston,
MA, Dream Theater are the
world's premier progressive
metal outfit. The band wa...

Fates Warning

Formed in the early 1980s,
Fates Warning were among
the first bands to fuse
elements of Yes and Rush in
metal.

King's X

King's X have been
confusing people with a
progressive, omnivorous
form of metal since they
first appeared in 1988. Th...

Mastodon

Mastodon play a constantly
shape-shifting hybrid of
prog metal and sludge metal
-- complex and heavy. The
quartet formed in Atlanta,...

Queensryche

A long-standing Metal band,
Queensryche are best
rememebered for their
melodramatic vocal style
and complex guitar work....

Rainbow

The band wasn't the first to
feature Ronnie James Dio
singing about fairies, elves
and dragons, but it was one
of the best. Metal guitar g...

Savatage

Influenced early by the
New Wave of British Heavy
Metal, Savatage went far
beyond the genre. They
eventually worked thrash...

Thought Industry

Thought Industry
specialized in industrialized
heavy metal before moving
in a more straight-up prog
rock direction.

Voivod

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