Progressive metal

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Progressive metal
Stylistic origins:	Progressive rock, Heavy metal, Jazz fusion, New wave
Cultural origins:	1970s, United States, Great Britain, Canada
Typical instruments:	Electric guitar - Bass guitar - Drums & Percussions - Keyboards
Mainstream popularity:	Popular among heavy metal and progressive rock fans <tr><th align="center" bgcolor="#BB0022" colspan=2 valign="top">Other topics</th></tr><tr><td align=center colspan="2" valign="top">Timeline of heavy metal</td></tr>

Progressive metal is a genre of heavy metal music which shares traits with progressive rock including use of complex compositional structures, odd time signatures, and intricate instrumental playing. The high level of musical proficiency is often combined with a lyrical counterpart in the form of epic textual concepts, resulting in lengthy songs and concept albums. As a result of these factors, progressive metal is rarely heard on mainstream radio and video programs.

1 History
2 Diversity
3 Influential and important artists
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

The origins of progressive metal can be traced back to progressive rock acts of the 1960s and 1970s such as Yes, Seranading Sarah, Queen<ref>Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. allmusic ((( Queen > Biography))). allmusic. Retrieved on 2006-05-18.</ref> , Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Genesis and Rush. However, progressive metal did not develop into a genre of its own until the mid-1980s. Although bands such as Rainbow possess many qualities of progressive metal and had experimented with the fusion of metal and classical styles, the genre was not a defined one at the time, such bands prior to the breakout of the genre are generally classified as heavy metal. Acts such as Fates Warning, Queensrÿche, and Dream Theater took elements of these progressive rock groups – primarily the instrumentation and compositional structure of songs – and merged them with heavy metal characteristics attributed to bands like Metallica, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Death, Megadeth, Voivod and Iron Maiden. The result could be described as a progressive rock mentality with heavy metal sounds. One group, often overlooked, is Uriah Heep of Birmingham, England. Though they began as blues-based heavy-metal, the progressive elements they created have carried on to these other, more well-known bands.

The genre received mainstream exposure in the early 1990s when Queensrÿche's "Silent Lucidity" (from 1990's Empire) became a radio and MTV hit. It was not a typical progressive metal song, but nonetheless it opened Queensrÿche's music to a whole new legion of fans, which in turn had an effect on the popularity of other progressive metal bands of the time. In 1993, Dream Theater's Pull Me Under (from 1992's Images and Words) became popular on radio and MTV. It is a more typical progressive metal song than "Silent Lucidity", but still more accurately described as straight heavy metal.

Bands who emerged in the 1990s, such as Pain of Salvation, Opeth, Ayreon, Tool, and Symphony X each inadverently re-invented the wheel with their styles, straying from the traditional sounds of Dream Theater and Fates Warning into their own signature sound. Pain of Salvation and Opeth drew heavily on more obscure 70s prog acts for their influence, Tool took elements from bands like King Crimson and mixing it with alternative rock influences, Ayreon stayed with the traditional Prog Metal themes, but mixing with Rock Opera influences to make a unique result, while Symphony X married progressive elements to Power metal, bridging the gap between the two subgenres.

Also important to the development of progressive metal was a greater emphasis on the technical aspects metal that arose almost simultaneously in the 80's,. At the forefront were bands like Watchtower, Atheist and Cynic, all of three of whom displayed incredible complexity in their song structures and virtuosity in their instrumental work. These bands by and large stood apart from the standard definition of progressive metal. Atheist and Cynic, despite their role in incorporating jazz elements were invariably placed amidst the Death Metal camp, due to their usage of growled vocals.

Currently progressive metal stands on the principle of using all the past traits associated with it. While many bands still look back to other rock bands for inspiration, progressive metal's pioneer bands are now often cited as influences amongst this newest generation. Bands like Sun Caged and Circus Maximus showcase a heavy influence derived from both traditional progressive metal and several of the first wave of 1990s bands. Bands like Dark Suns or Conscience look to the influences of Opeth, Pain of Salvation and Anathema to find their own interesting sound.

[edit] Diversity

Progressive metal can be broken down into countless sub-genres corresponding to certain other styles of music that have influenced progressive metal groups. For example, two bands that are commonly identified as progressive metal, King's X and Opeth, are at opposite ends of the sonic spectrum to one another. King's X are greatly influenced by softer mainstream rock and, in fact contributed to the growth of grunge influencing bands like Pearl Jam, whose bassist Jeff Ament once said, "King's X invented grunge". Opeth's growling vocals and heavy guitars (liberally intermixed with gothic-evocative acoustic passages) often see them cited as death metal, yet Mikael Åkerfeldt refers to Yes and Camel as major influences in the style of their music.

Classical and symphonic music have also had a significant impact on sections of the progressive metal genre, with bands such as Devin Townsend, Symphony X and Shadow Gallery fusing traditional progressive metal with a complexity and grandeur usually found in classical compositions. Similarly, bands such as Amorphis, Liquid Tension Experiment and Planet X have a jazz influence, with extended solo sections that often feature "trading solos". Furthermore, Liquid Tension Experiment exhibits an improvisational element that is rare in heavy metal, usually a very structured genre. Another important band, Cynic, fused progressive metal, death metal, and jazz/fusion in a very diverse and unique work known as Focus. Devin Townsend have a more Ambient inflences in the atmosphere of his music. Similarly, Tool exhibits a dark, haunting atmosphere with unique guitar and drums rythym thatcan be seen as influenced from earlier Progressive Metal Bands such as King Crimson and heavy Metal bands such as Led Zeppelin. Iron Maiden's recent output has also being classed as progressive metal.

[edit] Influential and important artists

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Heavy metal
Black metal - Classic metal - Death metal - Doom metal - Folk metal - Glam metal - Gothic metal - Grindcore - Industrial metal - Neo-classical metal - Nu metal - Power metal - Progressive metal - Speed metal - Symphonic metal - Thrash metal
Regional scenes
Scandinavian death metal - New Wave of British Heavy Metal - Bay Area thrash metal
Other topics
Fashion - Bands - Umlaut