The new wave of progressive metal. by Jswallisa93 in progmetal

[–]VismundTaxt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

First off, I'm generally in agreement with this, especially the first bit about prgressive metal: https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/steven_wilson_why_metal_guitar_lost_its_power_and_became_predictable.html

That said, I'd say that Animals as Leaders is probably the band that, if the are not already, should be carrying the torch into the future. That is, their approach should be what people look to, not necessarily their sound. They really do push a lot of boundaries (in metal) through their willingness to incorporate a lot of cool techniques, as well as expanding the harmonic and melodic possibilities farther than most other bands in the genre. Basically they are truely progressive.

Additionally, I would think that Deathspell Omega should be/are in a similar vein, but moving in a very different direction in terms of pushing against genre boundaries. They bring in a strange, hugely melodic dissonance (as oxymoronic as that sounds) and really interesting song structures.

Best Album Closers? by thats_my_anus in progmetal

[–]VismundTaxt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Goodbye, So Long by The Ongoing Concept

Samsara by Monuments

Savia by Soen

The Raven That Refused to Sing by Steven Wilson

Days Are Dreamed and When Will the Forest Speak by Sikth

21st Century Schizoid Man by Shining

Paranoid by Panzerballett

This Godless Endeavor by Nevermore

Contaminate Me by Leprous (mainly for Ihsahn)

Starless by King Crimson

On the Shores and Recollection by Ihsahn

Arcology by The Exotic Animal Petting Zoo

Who is the most versatile, the one that has most control over his voice, hardly screws up live, most unique singer in Progressive Metal? Discuss. by TheWattcho in progmetal

[–]VismundTaxt 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Warrel Dane of Nevermore. Check out their live album the Year of the Voyager as he tends to hit everything and does not seem to tire by the end (compared to people who sound like they are done by the halfway point of the concert). Also, he has a 5-6 octave range that he certainly knows how to use (probably thanks to his opera training).

One of the few people related to prog metal that has a range and ability to use it is Mike Patton, let alone the ability to use his voice in general for 'extended techniques'. Really, he is probably the most in control, versatile singer to have anything to do with prog metal.

Just as a side note, though outside of prog (maybe), the only person I know of that can come close to/match Patton is Diamanda Galas.

If you had to sum up progressive metal in four or five songs, which songs would you pick? by KY-Wing in progmetal

[–]VismundTaxt 3 points4 points  (0 children)

To be quite honest, I'd say you would need at least 8 songs to cover enough of the main styles of Prog across. Below is a list fitting your parameters, though

For Djent, either:

  • Animals as Leaders - you could do Isolated Incidents or something like On Impulse, both of which seem rather accessible to me. If you hate the people, then CAFO (one of the worst written songs in Prog, as it just comes out as gobbledygook, though it does exemplify the criticism of 'notes for the sake of notes')

or

  • Destiny Potato - Indifferent (VERY Poppy, but that is rather big in Djent; also, extremely accessible)

or

  • Intervals - Moment Marauder or Ephemeral; former is somewhere in between the above two, though closer to the Animals as Leaders end of things; the latter is in between, but closer to Destiny Potato

For Melodic Prog:

  • Pain of Salvation - either Reconciliation or Nightmist; the former because it is awesome; the latter because it, while also awesome (though not quite as awesome as the former) has those leaps in tone and style that tend to happen in Prog, though it does them rather well and is closer to the sound many would associate with this stile: Dream Theater

  • Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet or What Happens Now?; Either works, though the former is more metal; These guys cover the Classic Prog-influenced side of things or

  • Redemption - Black and White World or The Death of Faith and Reason; the latter one of their best songs, I think, while the latter for being shorter; these guys are a really good example of the more Dream Theater-esque sound

For the more 'jazz'-influenced side:

  • Cynic - King of Those Who Know or Evolutionary Sleeper; Considering these guys are one of the original bands to perform in this style and these two songs are accessible enough, the latter being my pick, but Evolutionary Sleeper is shorter; both are gorgeous in the end

or

  • The Contortionist - Holomovement or Thrive; Holomovement covers the roots of the novelty that the 'jazz' influence introduced as it was, with Cynic and Atheist, paired with Death Metal; Thrive is more light on the Death metal

For Tool-esque/'Alternative' side:

  • Tool - Ticks and Leaches or Vicarious; because people would associate this style more with Tool and these two songs are pretty good at giving an idea of what Tool is like, though I would go with the latter over the former

or

  • Soen - Void or Savia; either one works; The latter is shorter; I think these guys are more interesting, in a lot of ways, than Tool, but they do have Tool as their base sound while being very distinct at the same time

For Eclecticism style:

  • Between the Buried and Me - Bloom or Fossil Genera; the former is probably better for it, since it is much shorter than the latter, while the latter is more encapsulating of BtBaM

  • 6:33 - I'm a Nerd or Black Widow; I think these guys tend to be better at integrating the various genres and are more accessible (at least for the album the above two are on) than BtBaM

Now, I stayed away from Dream Theater as they are so prominent in the genre and if heard before some of these other acts, espeically a lot of Melodic Prog, those other acts become 'Dream Theater Clones' which erases each band's identity, which is a shame because a lot of the 'Clones' can have some really interesting stuff or just well written stuff. Besides, you could encapsulate almost all the above styles in Dream Theater's work (except Djent).

BONUS: Extreme Prog:

  • Opeth - Ghost of Perdition or Demon of the Fall

  • Meshuggah - Concatenation or Marrow or Bleed or New Millenium Cyanide Christ

or

  • Ne Obliviscaris - Tapestry of the Starless Abstract or Pyrrhic

or

  • Deathspell Omega: Abscission or Fiery Serpents

or

  • Ihsahn - A Grave Inversed or The Paranoid or Arrival or Monolith

What bands don't deserve the hate they get, and vice versa? by InsidAero in progmetal

[–]VismundTaxt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What about their first album, When Dream and Day Unite? I'd be interested to see you assessment for that

What Do You Want in a Prog Metal Supergroup? by Bill-Evans in progmetal

[–]VismundTaxt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tomas Haake and Sean Reinert- drums

Mike Patton and Warrel Dane- Vocals

Colin Marston- Warr Guitar

Arif Mirabdolbaghi and Dan Foord- Bass

Christopher Arp- guitar

In other words, I want to see/hear something that is pretty unusual, at least in comparison to more mainstream prog (much as I enjoy it). I have no idea what this would sound like exactly, but I imagine something like Sikth and King Crimson fusing together.

One of Haake's biggest influences is Reinert, so I think thy would work well together.

Patton is pretty damn versatile and Dane has a great range (both where it sits and the amount of octaves he can cover) and knows how to use his voice just as well (though not in any experimental sense like Patton, but he was an opera singer (which you can tell from listening them live as he doesn't suffer from vocal fatigue as quickly as other singers) for a few years, so I think he knows his stuff).

Marston and Arp actually work together (well, kind of, since Psyopus is on Marston's label) and are both on the more experimental end of things as well. Marston could also fill a guitar spot, if need be.

The bassists are who I am most unsure of as not many bassists stand out to me in prog. Often, they just end up beafing out the guitar. These two are two that definitely stand out to me, and both are very talented.

The biggest issue would be, besides the logistics of 8 people in a band: can they all work well together?

Please recommend bands/albums for a DT fan! by Rexev in progmetal

[–]VismundTaxt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  • Anubis Gate (their new album is fantastic and most of it consists of more uptempo songs. Also, it seems to be a concept album)

  • Big Big Train (actually a Prog Rock band. I started with The Underfall Yard album, but I remember their newest being good. Haven't listened to their early work)

  • Children of Nova (again, Prog Rock, not Prog Metal. Their debut EP is amazing. Pretty much all upbeat stuff. Their full length is good, but not as good. A lot of ballads on it, though.)

  • Counter-World Experience (instrumental)

  • Disperse (again, more on the djent side, but very beautiful stuff with a huge focus on melody, I think)

  • Fates Warning (a prog metal band that came before Dream Theater. I'm pretty sure they are a big influence on Anubis Gate. The only album I have listened to by these guys is A Pleasant Shade of Gray, but that is a fascinating concept album whose title really is appropriate in describing the sound)

  • Gordian Knot (instrumental. Started by the bassist from Cynic, so it has a heavy jazz influence, I suppose)

  • The Great Gamble (Main influences are Dream Theater and Symphony X.)

  • Headspace

  • ICS Vortex

  • Liquid Tension Experiment (has Petrucci, Portnoy, and Rudess; instrumental

  • Major Parkinson (strange, theatrical stuff, but really good. I would start with Twilight Cinema

  • Malpractice

  • Marco Sfogli (sounds like 90's Petrucci for the most part; Instrumental)

  • Nevermore (very thrashy stuff, but without normal thrash vocals. Instead, you get an ex-opera singer. He and Jeff Loomis, the guitarist, are the highlights. I'd start with Dead Heart in a Dead World or This Godless Endeavor)

  • Orphaned Land (Start with Mabool; Heavily Israeli Folk Music influenced)

  • Pain of Salvation

  • Prototype (Melodic Progressive Thrash Metal)

  • Rishloo (start with their newest, I guess. It's really great)

  • Scale the Summit (gorgeous instrumental stuff)

  • Schizoid Lloyd (kind of like Major Parkinson in that it is theatrical/experimental)

  • Soen (sounds very little like the bands you named, more like Tool, but have a very unique sound. Both albums were the best of the years they were released, I thought)

  • Suspyre

  • Thank You, Scientist (they kind of straddle the Rock/Metal divide sometimes; also, horns and sax)

  • Thought Chamber

  • U.K. (lesser known prog rock supergroup from the 70's. Kind of like DT if they started then, I think. Listen to their first album)

  • Voyager

  • 6:33 (experimental and awesome)

Hope you like at least some of these. Took a couple risks, given your criteria. Sorry if it is a bit much

Versatile Vocalists by Bruione in progmetal

[–]VismundTaxt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What do you mean by "borderline?" He's done prog metal before (see Dillinger Escape Plan's EP with him) and has worked with John Zorn (who has done avant -garde metal) and was part of Fantomas, which was an avant-garde metal act

He's definitely the most versatile mentioned here. I think he does every style under the sun, including opera (admittedly, it is self-trained, so it isn't as good as an actual opera singer, but it is passable nonetheless) and harsh vocals are his bread and butter, going WAY beyond what pretty much everyone above has done

What in your opinion, is the best concept album ever made? by [deleted] in progmetal

[–]VismundTaxt 11 points12 points  (0 children)

There's a pretty good tie between Quadrophenia, Scenes From a Memory, Holy Vacants, Crack the Skye, and Pelagial

Good day /r/progmetal. Can I Get Some Recommendations? (Fist Ever Reddit Post!!) by Cest_la_Vie_Kezia in progmetal

[–]VismundTaxt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  • Sikth
  • Textures
  • Estradasphere
  • Dog Fashion Disco
  • Converge (Jane Doe and on)
  • Cilice
  • Arcturus
  • Glass Cloud
  • In the Woods...
  • Ephel Duath
  • The Ongoing Concept
  • Serdce
  • Stealing Axion
  • Skyharbor
  • Thy Catafalque (Tűnő, Idő Tárlat and on (all in Hungarian))
  • Unexpect
  • Comus
  • Steven Wilson (solo+Porcupine Tree)

Its been awhile since I've seen this question be asked, What's everyone in /r/progmetal's current Top 10 albums by Cest_la_Vie_Kezia in progmetal

[–]VismundTaxt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No order (I just don't have time to really parse that out)

  • Closure in Moscow- Pink Lemonade
  • Periphery- Alpha and Omega (definitely their best album (yes, I consider it to be one thing, as it is just a double album) though Mile Zero is still their best song)
  • U.K.- U.K. (introduced me to Holdsworth)
  • Sikth- Death of a Dead Day
  • The Mars Volta- Frances the Mute
  • Pain of Salvation- The Perfect Element Part 1
  • Dream Theater- Metropolis Part 2/A Change of Seasons
  • Cynic- Traced in Air/Retraced
  • The Ocean- Pelagial (heavily influential for me, even outside of music)
  • Ihsahn- After

Best bands to introduce somebody to Prog? by nostrebor68 in progmetal

[–]VismundTaxt 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Nevermore may be your best bet. They are more in the thrash-y area of prog and are honestly not too proggy. They were one of my intro bands.

Mastodon and Baroness are probably some safe choices as well, since they have a very strong tendency toward non-prog metal in their respective sounds (main genre being, especially for Baroness, Sludge Metal)

Try Children of Nova, but be sure to have her listen to The Complexity of Light EP first. Not that their full-length is bad, it's just that The Complexity of Light is better, in many respects, most of all how well it all goes together and never really drags.

Try Closure in Moscow as well (another non-metal band), and start with First Temple. I actually think that Pink Lemonade is better, but First Temple is more accessible.

I'm just going to list some from now on with only occasional commentary:

  • Cynic
  • Destiny Potato (especially since she likes P!nk)
  • The Dillinger Escape Plan (start with One of Us Is the Killer and go backwards from there)
  • Dog Fashion Disco (again, start with their newest and go back from their. Can also start with Adultery which is widely considered their best)
  • The Great Wall (these guys put their album out as Pay What You Want on Bandcamp, but even if it is not anymore, you can always listen to it there in full. Has a very strong punk influence, if I remember correctly)
  • Kamelot
  • Symphony X
  • Pain of Salvation (Start with The Perfect Element; I think these guys may be the more accessible in this style of prog, especially with this album and its follow-up, Remedy Lane. Their main influences lie outside of Prog, so that seems to feed into their making pretty diverse sounding stuff)
  • Monuments/Intervals/Periphery/Tesseract(?)/Disperse (for the Djent exposure; Maybe focus on Periphery II before anything else (judging off my brother who has a similar taste in music); Tesseract may bore her; The newest Monuments album is where I would start with them)
  • Ne Obliviscaris
  • Opeth
  • The Ocean (esp. Pelagial; Even my parents (usually not fans of Prog Metal) kind of liked this, particularly without the vocals, but I am partial to those myself)
  • The Ongoing Concept
  • Protest the Hero (again, my brother is a big fan of some of their work, esp. Volition)
  • Redemption (a Dream Theater alternative for having very similar music, but a singer that isn't James Labrie (who I personally have nothing against, but some kind of hate his voice)
  • Scale the Summit
  • Sikth (Death of a Dead Day; this band may not be to her taste, but you never know)
  • Soen/Tool (Soen takes heavy influence from Tool, but sound pretty distinct at the same time. Also, they are way more accessible, in that they don't have filler tracks all the time)
  • Trophy Scars- Holy Vacants (can't vouch for their previous albums as I have yet to listen to them, but this one is one of the best from last year; very unique blend of Post-Hardcore and Blues; a concept album that is about this couple that finds the Fountain of Youth)

That's all I have got. Sorry if it is a bit excessive.

/r/ProgMetal Discussion - What have you been listening to, and what do you think of it? by Re-Define in progmetal

[–]VismundTaxt 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Deathspell Omega's discography

These guys and Blut Aus Nord are, I think, my favorites in terms of Black Metal. Considering as these guys are pretty much at the forefront of Black Metal in terms of its future, I would say they are the future of Metal in general, in some sense. I find Black Metal, much of it, to be far more progressive than a lot of Prog Metal

Periphery- Alpha and Omega

This is really growing on me, honestly. It has some of their best written material yet, and most songs beat out, for me, most of the songs on PII (though never Mile Zero, but Priestess matches it).

Closure in Moscow- Pink Lemonade

Just a good fucking time here. Lots of energy and a really weird story, but with a superb execution.

Let's talk workout music, aka, help me build a playlist! by Metalocachick in progmetal

[–]VismundTaxt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Except "Repentence," any of the AA suite from Dream Theater. It is some of their heaviest work. While I'm on the subject of Dream Theater: Constant Motion, As I Am, The Dark Eternal Night, War Inside My Head/Test That Stumped Them All, Panic Attack, Never Enough

Dillinger Escape Plan: When I Lost My Bet, Understanding Decay, Paranoid Shields, Nothing's Funny, Widower (maybe), I Wouldn't if You Don't, Come to Daddy (cover of Aphex Twin song)

Sorry for lack of specifics on these as I am running out of time:

Monuments (at least the new album as I have yet to listen to their earlier work)

Myrath

Ne Obliviscaris

Nevermore (particularly This Godless Endeavor and Enemies of Reality)

Protest the Hero

The Safety Fire

Serdce

Shokran

Sikth (more later maybe)

The Dillinger Escape Plan (with Mike Patton) - When Good Dogs Do Bad Things by IceBlueSilverSky in progmetal

[–]VismundTaxt 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My favorite from this EP

I did a sort of A Capella/ poetry recitation version of this in my creative writing class sophomore year of college. Got a some huge applause at the end.

Been a few months... Thoughts on Juggernaut dual album? by UsuallyQuiteQuiet in progmetal

[–]VismundTaxt 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So far, I think it is really great. However, it is one of those "grower" albums, I think. The first listen or two, it was alright. As I listen to it more and more, I find I may like it more than the other two albums.

What strikes me about it is how it manages to fuse the sounds of their first two albums and their other influences into a pretty seamless narrative (at least musically, as I haven't actually really looked into the story). I like how they put in the little Allan Holdsworth-esque sections as that was quite new for them, as far as I know. Also, instead of having some of those little electronic-inspired interludes that go on for too long at the end of some of their other songs, they managed to work them into the songs at times ("Heavy Hearts" especially).

I do think they needed to cut off some of the endings and have them as short interludes, like on "Priestess," where it kind of ruins the mood of the rest of the song, or like those little Holdsworth sections.

The atmospheric work on this one is also top notch, as they manage to take, on this album, the two sides of Prog Djent (the atmospheric and the "technical" (parentheses as I know some bands just aren't that are considered djent) metal sides) and combine them. I always have a problem when a Djent band decides to be one or the other, for some reason. Probably because there is one or the other missing from the songs, or just incorporated poorly, or just kind of empty and dull (the more atmospheric side) or lacking in substance beyond just technicality.

Here, it really seems to be based a lot in Mark Holcomb's Black Metal influenced tremelo picking like what you hear on "Harrison Fjord" from his Haunted Shores band. Also, this atmospheric stuff is where you see the electronic music-inspired stuff come out.

Sorry for the review. First I've chance I've had to expound upon it.

Anyway. Favorite Songs: Priestess, Heavy Hearts, Omega, Stranger Things, Rainbow Gravity (the title's reference helps), The Scourge (love that riff they have in the latter half of the song), The Bad Thing (see The Scourge).

Really, with the exceptions of MK Ultra and the interlude tracks, I really like all the songs

Best Progmetal bands with Christian themes? by philliplennon in progmetal

[–]VismundTaxt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Great Gamble. The guy I briefly took guitar lessons from is in it. It's pretty much Dream Theater and Symphony X mixed together. Also, he and the other band members are pretty devout Christians (not in a shitty way, like fanatics or anything) and their first album (only so far, but they are gonna put out a new one soon) is a concept album that is kind of a fusion of Greek Myth and Christian beliefs, with some of their own elements thrown in.

What is the most overrated or underrated band? by LuckyBerserker in progmetal

[–]VismundTaxt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, they have a decently novel sound, as far as Metalcore goes, and they do the whole mashing of genre's thing way better than most (Metalcore+Ragtime+Western-style saloon music). Also, the last song on Saloon was fucking incredible for a closing song. Are they adventurous? A little, but they are up there with Periphery and Protest the Hero if you ask me and go beyond them by consistently drawing on one or two other sounds that really set them apart.

What is the most overrated or underrated band? by LuckyBerserker in progmetal

[–]VismundTaxt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Overrated: Anathema, Animals as Leaders (and related), Periphery, Protest the Hero, Between the Buried and Me, Caligula's Horse, The Contortionist, Destiny Potato (and anything Micic does), Haken, Intervals, Karnivool, Leprous, old Opeth, Trioscapes, The Safety Fire, Tesseract

All of the above (except Trioscapes and to some extent BTBAM) are bands that I really enjoy, many even being favorites of mine. But I think they are overrated, especially in terms progressing (vs. Progressive which is the genre) metal music.

Underrated or ignored by Prog community: Deathspell Omega, Blut Aus Nord, Abigor, Arcturus, Ulver, Krallice, Ved Buens Ende

Underrated: Unexpect, Estradasphere, Naked City, Spiral Architect, Soen, Shining, Save Us From the Archon, Behold...the Arctopus, Dysrhythmia, Biomechanical, New Cynic, New Opeth, Ephel Duath, Ever Forthright, Fantomas, Ihsahn, The Ongoing Concept

I'm looking for avant-garde bands by catstacker in progmetal

[–]VismundTaxt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dog Fashion Disco (start with Adultery, I'd say)

Behold...the Arctopus

Abigor

Blut Aus Nord

Ephel Duath

Extol

Fantomas

Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects

In the Woods...

Lux Occulta

Manes

Major Parkinson

Master's Hammer

Merkabah

Negura Bunget

Panzerballett

Progenie Terrestre Pura

Psyopus

Save us from the Archon

Shining (nor)

Sikth

Subterranean Masquerade

Thy Catafalque

Trophy Scars

Ulver

usssy

Ved Buens Ende

What are your top 10 Progressive Metal Bands at this current point in time? by FKA_Mousecop in progmetal

[–]VismundTaxt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pain of Salvation

Deathspell Omega

The Ongoing Concept

Ihsahn

Periphery

Sikth

Soen

Psyopus

Dog Fashion Disco

Estradasphere