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Wow guys, I must say thank you for sharing all this with all of us and it's really interesting the similarities and stuff between us. I seriously gotta check out A LOT of bands after all of them you metnioned. Thanks so much for taking time to reply and letting us in on your history to rock, metal, or even punk. You impressed a 14 year old guy :P. Big feat at my age. Thanks again guys and happy rocking! By the way, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
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I also listen to Dream Theater. There's some great melodies and lyrics in their music in addition to their skills with an instrument.
Not too bad. Have you heard any King Crimson albums? There is a group who has changed personnel and styles many times over many decades, but one constant is very creative instrumentals. Probably a little too creative for most people... some tracks have a kind of "we just threw together some random noises and recorded it" feel, while others are pretty standard rock songs.
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I suggest you all check out Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush if you're into more experimental stuff, his early style was close to Jimi Hendrix, and later he developed his own unique style mixing rock, blues and, heavy and progressive rock. Back in the 80's he was known as the fastest guitarist in the world, who never resorted to the "widdly-widdly" style. That's not his trademark though, he has this unique way of using the pick, while normal people use it downwards from the low E to high E string, he plays upwards from the actual strings, while it does cause the scratching noise for most mortals who try that, he manages to make it sound really superb, and on his live recordins he makes some really interesting compositions by it. Especially on "Double Live" album with "Electric reflections revisited", "Juggernaut" which was the worlds first speed metal song, even when that concept wasn't even known back then and my own favorite "Poppy" which is over 10 minute instrumental.
-Borlag
www.Euro-RPG.com
"war is not about who is right, it is about who is left..."
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12-24-2003, 02:23 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-24-2003, 02:27 PM by TriggerHappy.)
Not really a "fan" of Metallica, though there are some tracks i like quite a bit.
Progressive metal is my cup of tea:
Dream Theater: "Metropolis Part 2: Scenes from a Memory" is my favourite. This album was my awakening to the fact that prog was stil very much alive in the late 1990s. It pretty much remains my favourite prog-metal album.
It's followed closely in quality by "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" (especially the first CD). The just released "Train of Though" is closer to traditional metal than to prog, but tracks 4 - last are very, very good nontheless.
Symphony X: every album after and including "The Divine Wings of Tragedy" is just great, with their latest one ("The Odyssey") being their best, imo.
Pain of Salvation: the already mentioned here "Remedy Lane" is wonderful. Their previous albums are, however, merely decent.
King Crimson: If you haven't heard "THRAK" (imo their best album in their 34 year career), you haven't heard progressive metal. The title track needs to be heard to be believed :) These guys are making their best music 1995 - *now*, and they started in 1969 (when they basically began the progressive movement)! Talk about staying power.
Arena: A U.K. band. They arent strictly metal, but they are "on the edge" with their last two albums ("Immortal?" and "Contagion"). Their entire studio catalog is very, very good stuff (though their second album "Pride" is abit weak in places but stil contains amasing tracks, such as "Empire of a Thousand Days").
Taal: French band. Metal meets Fusion. Their first album is merely OK. But, their second album "Skymind" is simply mindblowing.
EDIT: Dear god, how could i have forgotten the excellent progressive instrumental metal supergroup Liquid Tension Experiment. Incidentally, three guys from Dream Theater (all except the vocalist) are in it. Both of their CDs (Vol 1&2) are a must have for any fan of exceptional instrumental metal.
Those would be the "great" of the scene. Others that aren't quite "great" but are stil very good:
Höyry-Kone (Steam Engine). Finnish prog-metal group. I have their "Huono parturi" and "Hyönteisiä voi rakastaa" albums. Both are quite good. Don't know about the rest.
Opeth: Progressive death metal :D . You either get them, or you don't. Most people don't :) Their last three albums are more "accessible", less "death" and more "progressive" metal, which is why i guess they're my favourite from their catalog.
Therion: Swedish prog-metal. Their best album, imo, is "Vovin". The others are good too, but not quite at the same level.
The Gathering: "How to Measure a Planet" is very nice. Weak in places, but overall is a pleasant listen. Don't have any of their other albums (yet).
Devil Doll: Really weird but fascinating stuff. Not really sure *why* it's classified as death metal, as there's very little of the typical metal fare. Must be cause of the voice of the "vocalist". "The Sacriligium of Fatal Arms" and "Dies Irae" are the best.
Now ofcourse there's a whole lot of other groups that are amasing, but aren't "metal" strictly. Some are "on the edge" or only in some of their tracks on some of the albums (such as "After Crying", their latest album "Show" has tracks that are basically melodic metal, even though the band itself is classified as "fusion"). But this is a thread about strictly metal, so i'll shut up now :)
P.S.
I woudn't call Tool *progressive* metal. They're maybe 25% prog, at best. That said, i like "Lateralus" that my Tool fanatic friend lent me, though i stil wouldn't call myself a fan.
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...imo, is:
http://centurymedia.com/index2.htm
They also have some full length audio and video samples.
