Prog Fans Unite!

Long time prog fan here... I grew up listening to early Genesis, ELP, Yes, King Crimson, Jethro Tull, etc. It carried into the 90s for the second golden age (Marillion, Dream Theater, Spock's Beard, echolyn,, etc.) Now it seems that prog is more infused into other styles, which is great too... bands like Porcupine Tree, Elbow, Radiohead, and Mastodon are carrying the torch into the edges of the mainstream. I do feel like full-blown prog is in a bit of a slump now though... yes, there are some good new bands, but none of them seem as fresh and exciting as the ones that emerged in the 90s (and especially the 70s). Maybe if it skips a decade (80s and 00s), we're due for another great decade ahead!

Interesting question: what is the best prog band that released their first album in the 21st century?

VertigoAge said:

Interesting question: what is the best prog band that released their first album in the 21st century?

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Pagan's Mind

VertigoAge said:

Interesting question: what is the best prog band that released their first album in the 21st century?

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Hmmm...can this go as far back as change of the century...like, 1999?
If so...3 are awesome.

If not...Coheed and Cambria (first album in 2002). They are rather varied, not just pure prog...but very heavily influenced by early prog rock for sure as well.

Anyway.
I love prog rock. Modern as well as more "classic" examples.

I'd say 3 could count here... they really weren't known until the 00's. I have to say, I've seen them twice live and they were much more exciting than I find them to be on CD.

VertigoAge said:

I'd say 3 could count here... they really weren't known until the 00's. I have to say, I've seen them twice live and they were much more exciting than I find them to be on CD.

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They got, like, no recognition until fairly recently (Prog nation of...what? Two years ago now? Three?), but they did come out with a full album in '99. Man, I wish I could see them sometime, would be awesome.

VertigoAge said:

Interesting question: what is the best prog band that released their first album in the 21st century?

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Nice question.

I went though my CD collection and came up with the following prog bands (and a few who are perhaps borderline) who I think released their first album this century, although I might be wrong in one or two cases.

Touchstone
Mars Volta
Breathing Space
Voyager
Unitopia
Theocracy
The Reasoning
The Decemberists
Proto-Kaw
Darwin's Radio
Coheed and Cambria
The Dear Hunter
Frost
Thrice
The Treat
Caamora
Abigail's Ghost
Kino
Blackfield
Orphan Project
Pure Reason Revolution

I'm not sure which one I would classify as the best though. Perhaps Theocracy or the Reasoning.

I've head almost all of those bands, but none of them is as fresh and interesting (to me) as Dream Theater was in the early 90s or, say, Spock's Beard in the late 90s. Frost might be the closest in terms of potential, but they haven't done much with it. I'd love to hear a band that really invents a unique sound (that doesn't annoy me like Mars Volta )

I view Blackfield (along with other super-group spin-offs like Transatlantic and OSI) to still have their origins in earlier decades.

VertigoAge said:

(that doesn't annoy me like Mars Volta )

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I love the Mars Volta. Surprised I didn't think of them when you asked the question. Oh well, throw my name in the lot that likes them too. lol

VertigoAge said:

I've head almost all of those bands, but none of them is as fresh and interesting (to me)

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And there lies a slight problem with your argument. You may not find some bands fresh and interesting, but other people do.

I think there still is innovation going on in prog, but it's tending to come from bands whose roots lie with alternative music more than the traditional prog influences. That's not to say that the new crop of bands can't be influenced by the likes of Yes and Genesis, but it's not as prominent an influence. It's a bit of a vague definition, but I would put bands like the Mars Volta, Coheed and Cambria, Muse and Thrice into this category.

I view Blackfield (along with other super-group spin-offs like Transatlantic and OSI) to still have their origins in earlier decades.

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I stuck Blackfield in there because they met your criterion of their first album having been released in the 21st century (Proto-Kaw too ), but I do agree with you do some extent as far as them having their origins in earlier decades. However, that combination of musicians only released material this century and so how much different are they from a band who had been together for 10 years before recording anything?

Citanul said:

And there lies a slight problem with your argument. You may not find some bands fresh and interesting, but other people do.

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Yes, of course it's subjective. I still think that one of the best prog bands of all time is echolyn, and they've never gone above fringe status. The point was more about "the next big thing" in prog.

As we've both said, it's now moving more into prog/alternative, and progressive has become almost a stigma that bands are desperately trying to avoid as soon as they smell the mainstream. That's one thing I appreciate about Neal Morse... he never shied away from the prog label.

If I were to answer my own question, the band that released my favorite albums of the decade was Porcupine Tree, but of course they started in the 90s. Muse would be up there for me (first album in '99, but close enough).

But I'm going to go out on a limb and say Elbow, though I've just discovered them a little more than a year ago. They have a truly unique sound that is unlike anything I've heard... it doesn't instantly grab you, but like any great prog, the layers come out after many repeated listens. Their Abbey Road live recording of the Seldom Seen Kid album with an orchestra and chorus was amazing... I think that sealed the deal for me.

VertigoAge said:

As we've both said, it's now moving more into prog/alternative, and progressive has become almost a stigma that bands are desperately trying to avoid as soon as they smell the mainstream.

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I think that's partly because prog has certain negative connotations - being pretentious and over-the-top, overly with virtuosity, with lyrics about wizards and elves. While we prog fans know that's not the case, it's understandable why bands might want to avoid being associated with the term.

The term prog can also imply that the band has a certain sound, which is why bands might avoid the term. Marillion don't like being called prog because they no longer sound anything at all like they did when Fish was with them yet they feel that calling their music prog implies that they still do. While I disagree with them as I would still classify them as prog (even if I prefer their earlier stuff), their argument isn't without merit.

But I'm going to go out on a limb and say Elbow, though I've just discovered them a little more than a year ago. They have a truly unique sound that is unlike anything I've heard... it doesn't instantly grab you, but like any great prog, the layers come out after many repeated listens. Their Abbey Road live recording of the Seldom Seen Kid album with an orchestra and chorus was amazing... I think that sealed the deal for me.

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I've heard a lot of good things about Elbow but I've never got around to checking them out. I suppose it's because my tastes still lean towards the more traditional forms of the genre (my list of bands might have indicated that), and so I've tended to focus on those bands rather than the prog/alternative ones.

Ironically, Elbow uses the term on themselves. They're apparently on record as calling themselves, "prog without the solos". That's probably an apt description of much of the prog/alternative mixes of today. That said, I'm glad there are still some bands that embrace the widdly analog keyboard solo!

I've been a huge fan of Marillion. They were my favorite band in the 90s, but I'm really disappointed with their output overt he last 10 years. Marbles was brilliant, but everything else in the 00s was a huge let-down when compared to their peak (Misplaced Childhood through Afraid of Sunlight IMO). I'm still hoping that one more diamond-in-the-rough will come out of nowhere like Marbles did.

Glad to see there are a lot of Dream Theater fans here. Did anyone get to see the Progressive Nation 2009 tour? I have seen them ever since Metropolis 2000 but did not get to this time since the nearest show was in Chicago.

I saw DT on every tour from Images & Words up to Train of Thought. I think I've kind of cooled off to them lately. I saw one of their recent concert DVDs, and they still have it... I'm just too old to be going to see the same band 10 times.

VertigoAge said:

I saw DT on every tour from Images & Words up to Train of Thought. I think I've kind of cooled off to them lately. I saw one of their recent concert DVDs, and they still have it... I'm just too old to be going to see the same band 10 times.

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Yeah, I got started on them when my music theory teacher played Images and Words in class. Differently than most fans, however, I tend to like their Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence and after music the most.

VertigoAge said:

I've been a huge fan of Marillion. They were my favorite band in the 90s, but I'm really disappointed with their output overt he last 10 years. Marbles was brilliant, but everything else in the 00s was a huge let-down when compared to their peak (Misplaced Childhood through Afraid of Sunlight IMO). I'm still hoping that one more diamond-in-the-rough will come out of nowhere like Marbles did.

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That's pretty much the way I feel about Marillion as well. I've found their albums after Afraid of Sunlight very patchy - some good songs but also a lot that don't do anything for me. I can't criticise the band for doing what they want to do, but it's not really my thing and they've moved way down on my list of priorities (although not completely off, which is what's happened to Queensryche).

Tzaousios said:

Yeah, I got started on them when my music theory teacher played Images and Words in class. Differently than most fans, however, I tend to like their Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence and after music the most.

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I remember reading something which stated that Six Degrees tends to be a dividing line - some fans prefer the albums before it and some prefer the albums after. And if you think about it, the two discs of Six Degrees lean towards both their later sound (the first disc) and their earlier sound (the second disc). So you're kind of getting both eras of Dream Theater.

For me, I prefer their earlier work and I don't think the more recent albums have quite same magic as the likes of Images and Words and Awake. But they still remain phenomenal musicians and good songwriters, and they're still one of my favourites (even if Threshold have eclipsed them in that regard for me).

What about Kings X, and the Jelly Jam - thought they were both pretty good - also Transatlantic

oldrooster said:

What about Kings X, and the Jelly Jam - thought they were both pretty good - also Transatlantic

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I really like Transatlantic. Although I was not as impressed by their latest album, The Whirlwind, the first two were excellent. "All of the Above" from SMPTe is one of the better prog epics to have been written in recent memory!

King's X started with so much promise... then it seemed like they just lost their creative edge after Faith Hope Love. I know their later albums have many fans, but they never gelled for me. Jelly Jam was cool, but like most spin-offs, it doesn't measure up to the original bands. Transatlantic is almost an exception to that rule. I don't think their albums are as good as the best DT, Marillion, or Spock's Beard albums, but they are much better than the worst from those bands! The first OSI album is probably my favorite spin-off release, and one of my top picks for the last decade.