Prog music, some good stuff, any suggestions?

I have been a longtime fan of the band Porcupine Tree, who I have always felt waxed the definition Prog alternative rock......oh heck whatever prog style you want to classify them. Anyhow, I have found a few bands to add to the list that are great but was hoping to get those of you who like it to add some bands for me to check out.

I am not into death metal vocals, but there are some bands that can add the growling voice at points that emphasis the music, however not a permanent voice, I like real singing. A great example would be Old Dead Tree, they got it right. Also older bands like King Crimson, and Uriah Heep are good, but I cant get into all the stuff, and the funky stuff I am not into but love the melodic or epic moments of rock that are played.

Here are some of the bands that are Prog (or what I call Prog) that I love

Porcupine Tree (my favorite)
Green Carnation
Mars Volta
Coheed and Cambria (well sort of prog)
Demians
Dead Soul Tribe
Swans
Antimatter
Dream Theater

Hmm cant think of any more at the moment, but I know I have more to list. Please feel free to add anything that you think is great!

Thanks

Crippled Black Phoenix

I'm really picky about prog but bands I like:

Royal Hunt
Shadow Gallery
Adagio (early albums featured Pink Cream 69 singer David Readman; later albums add occasional guest "growls".)

Check out Spock's Beard

Pagan's Mind
Future's End
Balance of Power

I'll second Balance of Power.

Add Pyramaze and Communic to my list.

I would check out:

Anekdoten
Aspera
Black Bonzo
Circus Maximus
Echoes
Haken
Hangar
Kingfisher Sky
Leprous
Moon Safari
Myrath
Pantommind
Pathosray
Povertys No Crime
Red Circuit
Threshold
Votchi
Wyzards

tohostudios wrote:

I'll second Balance of Power.

Add Pyramaze and Communic to my list.

I'll second Pyramaze, Lance King is one of the best prog singers around.

mez. If you're into Porcupine Tree then you definitely need to add some Opeth to your collection.

Start with Damnation (all clean vocals), then maybe jump into Watershed (their most recent) to hear their modern progressive style.

Steven Wilson from PT has produced 3 of their albums and is schedule to mix the next one.

Wow thanks all for the suggestions! I will look into these.

Detuned, I have heard good things on Opeth, and I know that SW is pretty close to those guys and digs the music they play. I will check them out.

I heard rumors that SW and the lead singer of Opeth are making an album for 2011. No idea what it is called.

Porcupine Tree is my favorite band!

if ya wanna see some old crap, check out Fm

thejokeriv wrote:

Check out Spock's Beard

+1

For old stuff, definitely Gentle Giant and Camel

mez wrote:

I heard rumors that SW and the lead singer of Opeth are making an album for 2011. No idea what it is called.

Porcupine Tree is my favorite band!

1. Yes, that project album between Mikael & Steven is supposed to happen this year.

2. PT is my favorite band too. Opeth is second...close to being a tie.

QuothTheRaven wrote:

For old stuff, definitely Gentle Giant and Camel

King Crimson (In The Court, In The Wake Of Poseidon, Lizard, Islands, Lark's Tongue, Starless & Bible Black, Red)
Camel (Mirage, The Snow Goose, Moonmadness)
Nektar (A Tab In The Ocean, Sunday Night At The Roundhouse, Remember The Future, Recycled)

Based on the bands mez listed, I don't see him getting into stuff like Pyramaze, Adagio and Shadow Gallery...

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

Based on the bands mez listed, I don't see him getting into stuff like Pyramaze, Adagio and Shadow Gallery...

I agree. Sounds like he's looking for more prog-ROCK, as opposed to prog-metal. I know I'm kinda that way.

I'm just really starting to dip my toes into the whole progressive genre, but I'm definatley leaning more towards the rock side ot it over metal. Prog-rock seems to have more variety to it. The prog-metal stuff all sounds too samey to me, just slight variations on whatever Dream Theater is doing.

So throw me a few prog-rock recommendations too while you're at it.

James B. wrote:

if ya wanna see some old crap, check out Fm

FM - Black Noise, Headroom, Surveillance and City Of Fear.

Spocks Beard - classic 90s Gentle Giant, Yes and Beatles inspired band: The Light, Beware Of Darkness, Day For Night, The Kindness of Strangers and V.

Transatlantic - Pete from Marillion, Mike ex-Dream Theater, Roine From The Flower Kings and Neal from Spocks Beard Three GREAT albums.

Marillion - anything from Script For A Jesters Tear(The Fish era) to Afraid Of Sunlight(The Steve Hogarth era) a band that is a reference point for 80s neo prog. many later bands influenced by them

Twelfth Night - another early 80s neo prog band that is a little quirky.

Pallas - Early 80s Saga-ish neo prog with Sentinel being very dramatic.

Ad Infinitum - A GREAT late 90s band with one self-titled album that tips its hat to Genesis and Yes

Threshold - A Progmetal band that is not a DT clone or tries to be.

Echolyn - any one of thier albums is a winner... They go from the neo prog sound of early Marillion to a more Gentle Giant sound.

Bigelf - If you like early Sabbath, Heep and The Pretty Things. You'll like them.

Anglagard
Anekdoten - Both are dark Mellotron-y bands that have played in other projects together

the Gathering - Mandylion and Nighttime Birds

70s Stuff:
Yes
Camel
Gentle Giant
Genesis
ELP
Jethro Tull
Pink Floyd
Kansas
Styx
Zazu
PFM - excellent 70s Italian Prog with a Genesis/King Crimson sound: Storia Di Un Minuto, Per Un Amico, L'isola Di Niente(these are in the Itailan) Photos Of Ghosts, World Became The World, Chocolate Kings and Jet Lag(which is pure Jazz/Fusion/Prog) are all in sung in English.

Alan Parsons Project - especially the first one Tales Of Mystery and Imagination
Ambrosia - the first two and a half albums and Road Island has some excellent stuff on it

UK - Members of Zappa, Yes/KingCrimson... you can't go wrong: UK(Bruford, Jobson, Wetton, Holdsworth) and Danger Money(Jobson, Wetton, Bozzio)

Saga - the first five are the best.

ELO - try ELO II for hardcore prog, but any of their stuff before Xanadu is good)

Strawbs - Rick Wakemans old band went from acoustic folk, electric folk, electric prog folk to full blown prog and back to rock. Here ar ethe prog albums: Grave New World, Bursting At The Seams, Hero And Heroine and Ghosts.

Renaissance - Prog with an orchestra: Prologue, Ashes Are Burning, Turn Of The Cards, Sheherazade.

Mainhorse - Patrick Moraz's former band before joining Yes.

Manfred Manns Earth Band has a few good albums

Sebastian Hardie is pretty cool

Journey - The first album

Moody Blues - Very good Progressive Rock/Pop

early 70s Proto-prog:
Cressida
Gracious
Gnidirilog


There is so much more....

chewie wrote:

Alan Parsons Project - Tales Of Mystery and Imagination

This is excellent!

Gentle Giant

Ozric Tentacles

Wow thanks guys for all these bands to look into.

BTW Chewie, got Bigelf album and indeed they are good. I got to see them play live this past May when they opened for Porcupine Tree. Actually even more impressive sounding live!

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

Based on the bands mez listed, I don't see him getting into stuff like Pyramaze, Adagio and Shadow Gallery...

I agree. Sounds like he's looking for more prog-ROCK, as opposed to prog-metal. I know I'm kinda that way.

I'm just really starting to dip my toes into the whole progressive genre, but I'm definatley leaning more towards the rock side ot it over metal. Prog-rock seems to have more variety to it. The prog-metal stuff all sounds too samey to me, just slight variations on whatever Dream Theater is doing.

So throw me a few prog-rock recommendations too while you're at it.

Indeed you guys are right, I do lean mostly towards stuff more Prog Rock than Prog metal, although i do enjoy Prog metal as well. I am not so big on the death metal growl voice, but the only genre I actually think it works well with is in Prog Metal.

Basically Porcupine Tree really nails what I love. I have found a band called Abigails Ghost that is a nice add, although they almost try to hard on sounding like PT. Also a band called RPWL that is a great Prog band who is about as Pink Floyd as you might be able to get nowadays.

Try,

Marillion - Marillion.com(1999) (a lot of the songs were produced and mixed by Steve Wilson)

Marillion - Marbles 2CD Edition(2004) it has the excellent "Ocean Cloud" on it.

They were changing direction into a more Radiohead-type Prog sound and with Wilson Producing and mixing they were going for a more modern(at the time 1999) sound which is a year before I started listening to PT.

Marbles is a good mix of prog and modern rock (PT & Radiohead) sounds, but definitely sounds like Marillion in the 2000s.

Chewie, I will check out Marillion, however do you recommend the stuff from 1999 on up?

What about the other albums they have released in the 2000's? I know nothing about this band, though I have heard the name since I was a teenage.

A couple other bands I love that are Prog is Riverside, and Oceansize. Incase anyone else is checking into this genre of music.

BTW Detuned, I picked up Damnation by Opeth, and loved it, but I got the Ghost Rivalries, and musically it is amazing but that growling voice was a bummer. I dont mind it a little but he did it through out the whole album. Is there other Opeth albums that fall more to the melodic voice and less growl? Cause Damnation is an instant masterpiece and vocally he has an amazing voice, even does the growl perfect but a bit to much for my tastes.

mez wrote:

Chewie, I will check out Marillion, however do you recommend the stuff from 1999 on up?

What about the other albums they have released in the 2000's? I know nothing about this band, though I have heard the name since I was a teenage.

A couple other bands I love that are Prog is Riverside, and Oceansize. Incase anyone else is checking into this genre of music.

BTW Detuned, I picked up Damnation by Opeth, and loved it, but I got the Ghost Rivalries, and musically it is amazing but that growling voice was a bummer. I dont mind it a little but he did it through out the whole album. Is there other Opeth albums that fall more to the melodic voice and less growl? Cause Damnation is an instant masterpiece and vocally he has an amazing voice, even does the growl perfect but a bit to much for my tastes.

Love Riverside. Great stuff!