Progressive metal (often shortened toprog metal) is a broad fusion music genre meldingheavy metal andprogressive rock, combining the loud aggression[1] and amplified distortedguitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral or quasi-classical compositions of the latter.
The music typically showcases the extreme technical proficiency of the performers and usually uses unorthodoxharmonies as well as complex rhythms with frequentmeter changes and intensesyncopation. The polyrhythmic aspects are especially emphasized in thedjent subgenre.[1]
Progressive metal, as a distinct musical style, was primarily advanced by members of the American heavy metal scene of the mid-1980s, particularlyQueensrÿche,Savatage,Fates Warning,Watchtower and then later on,Dream Theater andSymphony X. It has since developed in a non-linear fashion, with countless groups demonstrating innovations in personal ways.[4][5]
The origins of the genre date back to the very beginning ofheavy metal/hard rock andprogressive rock when some bands began to merge the two different approaches. 1960s pioneersKing Crimson maintained their musical innovation while incorporating a harder approach, using dissonance and experimental tones, yet still maintaining a relationship to the power chords of hard rock, with the main example being "21st Century Schizoid Man".[6] Canadian trioRush is widely recognized as bridging the gap between hard rock, English progressive rock, and pure heavy metal. Initially influenced byLed Zeppelin, they evolved to combine established progressive rock technique with blues-based power chords. Records such as2112 (1976) showcased technical expertise and complex compositional skill while still utilizing a more direct and heavier approach than the well-established English progressive rock sound.[7]
Dream Theater live in 2015
1984 brought full-length debut albums from American bandsQueensrÿche[8] from Washington state, andFates Warning[9] from Connecticut. Both expanded their music to include more progressive elements (The Warning, 1984;The Spectre Within, 1985) – some through sound experimentation and compositional refinement, others through extremely complex structures and atypical riffs – up to the two seminal works in 1986:Rage for Order andAwaken the Guardian.[10][11] In the following years the two bands, while following different paths – more basic and simple the first, more articulate and complex the latter — explore and expand the technical refinement and sonic finesse of their music, continuing to lay the foundations of the genre with important works such asOperation: Mindcrime (1988) by Queensrÿche,[12] andPerfect Symmetry (1989) by Fates Warning.[13]
The major US bands that contribute to further delineating and developing the genre arePsychotic Waltz andDream Theater.[citation needed]The former, with an approach halfway in between Watchtower and Fates Warning, producedA Social Grace (1990), melding their signature sound with the psychedelicInto the Everflow (1992),[32] while the latter explored the legacy of the bands that preceded them while advancing their personal style withWhen Dream and Day Unite (1989). Both albums focused on keyboards and band members' instrumental skills. As for Dream Theater, their efforts resulted in two fundamental albums, which helped institutionalize classic progressive metal —Images and Words (1992) andAwake (1994).[33]King's X, who emerged from aChristian rock background, incorporated their sound with influences of hard rock, metal, progressive rock,funk,soul and bands fromThe Beatles toU2 on their early albums — particularly their first three albums,Out of the Silent Planet (1988),Gretchen Goes to Nebraska (1989) andFaith Hope Love (1990) — before leaning more towards analternative andgrunge-inspired hard rock sound on their later output, including the highly-successfulDogman (1994).[34][35][36] Other hard rock bands from this era that experimented with influences of progressive music into their sound includeEurope,[37][38]The Cult,[39]Winger,[40]Living Colour,[41]Mr. Big,[42] andExtreme.[43]
Among European pioneers of the genre are Germany'sSieges Even, who, starting out of technical thrash stylistically significant to Watchtower, explored the more technical and angular side of progressive metal withThe Art of Navigating by the Stars (2005).[44] Swiss bandCoroner, formed by roadies ofCeltic Frost, have also been credited as pioneers of the style of technical thrash metal. They released a string of influential albums through the late 1980s and early 1990s, includingPunishment for Decadence (1988),No More Color (1989) andMental Vortex (1991), the latter two "etched Coroner's name onto the walls of the progressive metal hall of fame."[45]
Puerto Rican bandPuya rose to prominence in the late 1990s with their innovative fusion ofjazz,salsa, and progressive metal, evident on their 1999 albumFundamental.[50]
Some of the first bands to pioneer the combination of progressive rock and extreme metal influences wereDan Swanö'sEdge of Sanity, andOpeth,[citation needed] both bands hailing from Sweden. In particular, Edge of Sanity'sCrimson (1996), a 40-minute concept album consisting of a single track, brought the band critical acclaim and was heralded as one of the first extreme-metal forays into a progressive rock-esque concept album,[citation needed] featuring death-metal vocals and heavily distorted guitars, with guest vocals and lead guitar from Opeth'sMikael Åkerfeldt. Dan Swanö produced Opeth's first release,Orchid (1995), which was unique for its combination ofdeath metal vocals and instrumentation, melodic guitar harmonies, and acoustic passages, but it wasn't until their hallmark recordBlackwater Park (2001) that they received critical acclaim.Steven Wilson, progressive rock icon and frontman ofPorcupine Tree, was given a copy of Opeth's prior recordStill Life (1999) from a friend, and, after listening, noted that the experimental music he had been after had drifted intoextreme metal. Being mutual fans of each other's work, Steven ended up co-producingBlackwater Park along with Opeth's frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt, and would go on to co-produceDeliverance (2002) andDamnation (2003), together a would-be double album.[citation needed] Their next release,Ghost Reveries, became an "instant classic," followed byWatershed, their last "heavy" album, both of which have had significant influence on the progressive metal genre,[51][52] along with other "extreme metal" bands likeMeshuggah. This style of progressive metal is often referred to as "extreme progressive metal," or "extreme prog," for short.[53] Later bands who would play in this style areNe Obliviscaris,Disillusion.[54][55] Porcupine Tree would later be influenced by this style, and in particular from Opeth, while Opeth would subsequently switch to a more traditional progressive metal/rock band, devoid of extreme metal elements.[52]
In the 2010s, due to the rapid growth ofdjent led by bands such asPeriphery andAfter the Burial,[59] progressive metal saw an increased interest with a large number of newcomers to the genre. Some of the newer progressive metal bands that have gained popularity since the 2010s areHaken,Plini,Vola, andCaligula's Horse, among others.[60]
One of the hallmark musical qualities of progressive metal is eclecticism. In between the riffs, choruses, and solos typical of rock and metal songs, prog metal bands often include sections inspired byjazz,classical andMiddle Eastern music, among others. Progressive metal is difficult to define specifically, since most bands labeled under the genre have considerably different musical influences when compared to each other.[61]
Similarly, bands such asDream Theater,Planet X andPuya[62] have ajazz influence, with extended solo sections that often feature "trading solos".
Orphaned Land fromIsrael debuted as amelodic death-doom/melodic death metal band that fused middle eastern rhythms and melodies into their music with a progressive edge. The band knew they wanted to create a new subgenre of metal from the very beginning, a style they would dub "oriental metal," and were always viewed as progressive due to the nature of the middle eastern elements of their music, which is known for using time signatures that are uncommon in thewest, expansive song structures, andmicrotones. As their career developed, they would later play in a more traditional progressive metal style, comparable to Opeth, Symphony X, and the like, while maintaining their "oriental" edge.[63][64][65][66] Steven Wilson, who lived in Israel for some time playing inBlackfield, found Ophaned Land to be "something special" after listening toMabool and, would end up producing and engineeringThe Never Ending Way of ORWarriOR.[67][68]
Orphaned Land live in 2019
In the late 2000s, bands such as Periphery,Tesseract,Animals as Leaders andVildhjarta popularized the "djent" style of progressive metal in a sound originally developed byMeshuggah. It is characterized by high-attack, palm-muted, syncopated riffs (often incorporatingpolymeters), as well as use of extended-range guitars.[69] Extended-range guitars also feature in other forms of progressive metal; artists including Dream Theater,Devin Townsend,Dir En Grey, and Ne Obliviscaris have usedseven-string guitars without being part of the djent movement, Dream Theater having been one of the earliest progressive metal bands to incorporate seven-stringed guitars into their music.[citation needed]
Proyecto Eskhata, a Spanish band, has received much press coverage in Spain for its fusion of progressive rock andrap metal, which journalists have described as "progressive rap metal".[70][71][72][73]
Progressive doom is a fusion genre that combines elements of progressive metal anddoom metal.[74] Bands include King Goat,[74] Below the Sun,[75]Sierra,[76] and Oceans of Slumber.[77]
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