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Description of Progressive Metal

 
As the promise of Progressive Rock dwindled in the '80s and the complexity of Heavy Metal increased, the two met to create a sound both complicated and brutal. The Seattle-based Metal group Queensryche's 1988 concept album Operation: Mindcrime set the standard for this complex form of Heavy Metal with its orchestration (from composer Michael Kamen), its constantly shifting musical structures, and its singular plot spanning the entire album. Progressive Metal bands tend to sound very unlike each other, each exploring different territory, from the labyrinthine, Rush-like adventures of Cynic to the Industrial despair of Voivod.
 

Top Progressive Metal Tracks

 
Play Track Artist Price
1. I Don't Care Apocalyptica
$1.29
2. Through The Fire And Flames Dragonforce
$1.29
3. More Than Words Extreme
$1.29
4. Epic Faith No More
$1.29
5. Oblivion Mastodon
$0.99
6. Pull Me Under Dream Theater
$0.99
7. I'm Not Jesus Apocalyptica
$0.99
8. Silent Lucidity Queensryche
$1.29
9. More Than Words Extreme
$1.29
10. A Nightmare To Remember Dream Theater
11. Angels Within Temptation
$0.99
12. A Rite Of Passage Dream Theater
$1.29
13. Stupid Girl Cold
$0.99
14. Wither Dream Theater
$1.29
15. I Don't Care Apocalyptica
$1.29
16. What Have You Done (Feat. Keith Caputo) Within Temptation
$1.29
17. Divinations Mastodon
$0.99
18. Falling To Pieces Faith No More
$0.99
19. Blood And Thunder Mastodon
$0.99
20. The Count Of Tuscany Dream Theater
21. A Nightmare To Remember Dream Theater
22. The Shattered Fortress Dream Theater
23. Nothing Else Matters Apocalyptica
$0.99
24. Intro/The Weight Tool
$0.99
25. Whitewash Buckethead
$1.29
26. MidLife Crisis Faith No More
$0.99
27. The Best Of Times Dream Theater
28. Epic Faith No More
$1.29
29. Revolution Deathsquad Dragonforce
$1.29
30. Easy Faith No More
$0.99
31. Heroes of Our Time Dragonforce
$0.99
32. Hole Hearted Extreme
$0.99
33. Quintessence Mastodon
$0.99
34. Through The Fire and Flames Dragonforce
$1.29
35. Worlds Collide Apocalyptica
$0.99
36. The Howling Within Temptation
$1.29
37. The Czar: Usurper/Escape/Martyr/Spiral Mastodon
38. Panic Attack (Album Version) Dream Theater
$0.99
39. Jet City Woman Queensryche
$1.29
40. Crack The Skye Mastodon
$0.99
41. I'm Not Jesus Apocalyptica
$0.99
42. More Than Words Extreme
$1.29
43. The Last Baron Mastodon
44. Stand My Ground Within Temptation
$1.29
45. Memories Within Temptation
$0.99
46. Fractured Tool
$0.99
47. A Different Kind Of Pain Cold
$0.99
48. Ghost Of Karelia Mastodon
$0.99
49. Lay Down Priestess
$0.99
50. Soothsayer (dedicated to Aunt Suzie) Buckethead
$0.99
 

Progressive Metal Key Albums

 
Empire
$9.99
Gretchen Goes To Nebraska
$8.99
Hall Of The Mountain King
$8.99
Images And Words
$9.99
Monsters And Robots
$9.99

 

Filed Under

 
 

Progressive Metal Key Artists

 
Anacrusis

Anacrusis test the
boundaries of metal with
complex mathematical
equations, insane time
signatures and unpredicta...

Atheist

Starting out a thrash band in
the 1980s, Atheist evolved
into one of the most
adventurous progressive
metals working today.

Buckethead

In addition to Buckethead's
unorthodox solo funk metal
guitar albums, he also
contributes to high-profile
film scores.

Dream Theater

Spawned at the Berklee
College of Music in Boston,
MA, Dream Theater are the
world's premier progressive
metal outfit. The band wa...

Fates Warning

Formed in the early 1980s,
Fates Warning were among
the first bands to fuse
elements of Yes and Rush in
metal.

King's X

King's X have been
confusing people with a
progressive, omnivorous
form of metal since they
first appeared in 1988. Th...

Mastodon

Mastodon play a constantly
shape-shifting hybrid of
prog metal and sludge metal
-- complex and heavy. The
quartet formed in Atlanta,...

Queensryche

A long-standing Metal band,
Queensryche are best
rememebered for their
melodramatic vocal style
and complex guitar work....

Rainbow

The band wasn't the first to
feature Ronnie James Dio
singing about fairies, elves
and dragons, but it was one
of the best. Metal guitar g...

Savatage

Influenced early by the
New Wave of British Heavy
Metal, Savatage went far
beyond the genre. They
eventually worked thrash...

Thought Industry

Thought Industry
specialized in industrialized
heavy metal before moving
in a more straight-up prog
rock direction.

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