Progressive Rock/Metal

First band that comes to mind is Dream Theater. In general, I like it.

Other progressive bands that have some representation in my CD collection are:

I'm actually using this list to compile this - List of progressive metal artists - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

After Forever
Agalloch
Amorphis (They also qualify as melodic death metal too, among other genres.)
Andromeda (The one from Sweden. I didn't realize there were so many other bands with that as their name.)
Arcturus
Artension
Ayreon
Believer
Blind Guardian
Cacophony
Edenbridge
Enchant
Evergrey (One of my top 10 bands)
Fates Warning
Green Carnation
Iced Earth
Iron Maiden
Kamelot
Liquid Tension Experiment
Lost Horizon
Manticora
Mastodon (can't remember which CD of theirs I have, and I rarely if ever listen to it. ETA: It's Remission.)
Nevermore
OSI (Office of Strategic Influence)
Opeth (Blackwater Park)
Pain of Salvation (Remedy Lane)
Primus
Queensryche
Savatage
Spock's Beard
Star One
Stratovarius
Symphony X
Therion
Threshold
Tourniquet
Vanden Plas

Using this list for prog rock bands: List of progressive rock artists - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anathema
Ark
Asia
Coheed and Cambria (I think I do have one of their CD's floating around here somewhere...)
Deep Purple
Journey (amazingly enough, they're on that list up there ^^
Kansas
King Crimson
Marillion
Rainbow
Rush (one of my top 10 bands, easily)
Styx
The Gathering
Tool (Lateralus is the only one of theirs I own)
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Pink Floyd (Another one of my top 10 bands)
Yes

Lopolik said:

There are some Christian bands in this genre too, like Neal Morse, redemption, or shadow gallery.

Click to expand...

Here's a pretty good resource for Christian prog bands: http://www.spiritualprog.com/

Cool resource for Christian prog ^ Thanks!

If you're specifically looking for Christian prog/metal - I see these mentioned everywhere..but not yet here - but if you do a google search, you can find several songs

HB
Scandinavian Metal Praise

But, if you're looking for other more uncommon progressive bands, I'd suggest a couple of bands I work closely beside - Gone in April, and Märchenbilder

Dream Theater and Rush!

Despite being a punk rock musician (arguably seen as the antithesis to prog), progressive rock is my primary field of musical interest. I got into it through Yes' album 'Drama' and tumbled down the rabbit hole enough to a point where I'm listening to a handful of new prog releases every month.

I do have great respect for the titans of the "first wave" - mainly Yes and Genesis, but also Gentle Giant, Van Der Graaf Generator, Camel, the Italian bands (Goblin, PFM, Le Orme, etc.) and some Krautrock (Can, Neu!, Amon Duul II, Popul Vuh, etc.) - but I became most enamored with the neo-prog scene of the '80s: Marillion, IQ, Pendragon, Pallas, Twelfth Night...I really dig that stuff, and a lot of those bands, especially Marillion and IQ, have only gotten better with time and keep releasing amazing music. I'm also a massive fan of Cardiacs, they of the Zappa-esque punk/prog fusion, who just blow my mind on every one of their albums.

As far as modern stuff, Porcupine Tree ranks in my top 10 bands and I think Steven Wilson is a legitimate genius. Big Big Train, Anathema, Echolyn, Gazpacho, Anekdoten, Riverside, The Pineapple Thief, Haken and Sigur Ros are a good chunk of modern bands I adore, just to name a few off the top of my head. I listen to a lot of stuff on the Kscope and InsideOut labels. I've really never gotten too big into progressive metal (or metal in general), though I like bits of Pain of Salvation, Opeth and Dream Theater.

As far as Christianity goes, it's definitely a minority in prog, but there are a few good bands. As mentioned, Neal Morse is a master composer; sometimes he's a little too cheesy, but I don't mind his solo work, Spock's Beard or Transatlantic at all. Iona, though, makes absolutely beautiful music and I'd put them at the top of my list even if they're not overtly "rock", and Glass Hammer, when they do dwell on Christian themes, are pretty solid.

Lopolik said:

Also the band 'IQ' is not there, but I think they are Christian, I saw one of their live shows and the singer was kneeling..
Rush is a great band too.. Their lyrics are not necessarily about God, but they have a lot about love, and of course abstract lyrics.

Click to expand...

IQ is not at all a Christian band, and have no Christian themes in their music. Rush have a lot of songs about religion and faith (especially on 'Snakes & Arrows'), albeit through an agnostic/atheistic/skeptical perspective.

Lopolik said:

Pendragon, I know that band, I heard all their albums, and they do seem like Christians. The lyrics and all, seems a lot of Christian lyrics. Marillion is great, Fish era slightly better, but Hogarth is not bad either.

Click to expand...

Pendragon's Peter Gee is a Christian, but to the best of my knowledge, the other guys aren't. It's really not uncommon to hear a lot of spiritual lyrics in progressive rock, though it's actually less common to hear any that are explicitly Christian. In what I've listened to, most prog bands who incorporate spiritual themes into their music lean more towards new age than Christianity. As two examples, Yes' songs are loaded with spirituality and Hogarth-era Marillion have several songs about or referencing God, but neither Jon Anderson nor Steve Hogarth are Christians, they just have a varied assortment of spiritual beliefs.

However, when it comes to spiritual songs, I greatly prefer lyrics which are open to various interpretations than anything too specific because they tend to be more poetic and imaginative, and oftentimes when you interpret a song personally it can really help reflect on yourself thoughtfully and introspectively, rather than just listening to what someone else believes. I once read a very detailed analysis of Yes' 'Close to the Edge' album through a Christian perspective and I like it even more now looking at it that way, even though I'm sure the actual meaning behind the rather abstract lyrics isn't Christian at all.

If you're looking for Christian prog bands, this is a pretty good resource: http://www.cprogrock.com/

BookofMatt said:

Pendragon's Peter Gee is a Christian, but to the best of my knowledge, the other guys aren't.

Click to expand...

Peter Gee has released a few solo albums, one of which I think is a worship album, with the rest being prog.

Lopolik said:

Citanul - I see that you like the band Threshold. (You have a quote from their song 'The Art of Reason' ) Good band, I like them! Which is your favorite Threshold album ?

Click to expand...

I have signatures turned off, so I'd forgotten about that quote.

As for favourite album, that's a difficult one, but I'd probably go with Subsurface.

And did you know that keyboard player Richard West, who is the band's main lyric writer is a Christian (although I'm not sure about the other members of the band)?

Is Skillet one?