prog rock recommendations

[Strangelove]

i started listening to yes' 'fragile' and i was thinking about listening to more prog rock, and thought i would ask here for recommendations because i cba searching for myself right now

 

[Ⓐaron]

• Yes - The Yes Album, Close to the Edge, Yessongs, Relayer, Going for the One, Drama, and Keys to Ascension 1 & 2. Also Tales from Topographic Oceans if you're fine with albums that are around twenty minutes longer than they probably should have been.
• Genesis - everything from Nursery Cryme to Wind & Wuthering. Start with Foxtrot or Selling England
• King Crimson - everything. Probably worth starting with Discipline, Red, or In the Court of the Crimson King
• Magma - everything, but particularly the Live Trilogie, K.A., Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré, and Félicité Thösz (the last of which may be the best point of introduction)
• Univers Zero - everything, but particularly Heresie, 1313, Ceux du Dehors and Clivages
• Frank Zappa - most of his stuff. Where to begin depends a lot on taste. I'd recommend Hot Rats, Absolutely Free, or Läther depending on what you're looking for
• Captain Beefheart - most of his stuff. Trout Mask Replica is his best, followed by Lick My Decals Off, but either of these may not be the best place to start
• Ulver - Messe I.X-VI.X (they have a lot of other great stuff but it's debatable how much of it is prog)
• Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here, Animals, Dark Side of the Moon
• Änglagård - everything
• Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells, probably other stuff (I need to listen to more)
• The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium, Frances the Mute. Other albums are good too but those are the best.
• Il Balletto di Bronzo - Ys
• Premiata Forneria Marconi - first three Italian-language albums
• Banco del Mutuo Soccorso - first three Italian-language albums
• Le Orme - Collage, Uomo di pezza
• Brian Eno - first three albums, Before and After Science

If you want prog metal too I can probably double the length of this list. Anyway that's probably a fair kickoff selection. I may make another post later with stuff I left out.

 

[looneymoon]

seconding mars volta c:

also gonna throw in some rush, though their discography is kind of big and hard to get through. i would start with 'moving pictures' and '2112'

 

[Ⓐaron]

oh yeah I knew I was forgetting something obvious. Really everything they did from 2112 up to, idk, Grace Under Pressure is probably essential, and their recent stuff is great too. Make sure you get the remix of Vapor Trails though; the original sounds like shit (despite being a very good album).

 

[Ⓐaron]

oh, a few other artists

• Peter Gabriel solo stuff (first five albums and Up, probably)
• Kate Bush (not that familiar with her discography to recommend specific albums but she's quite good)
• Marillion (Misplaced Childhood is probably the best from the Fish era, and Brave or Marbles (make sure to get the two-disc version of this) from the Hogarth era, but they have a lot of good albums)
• Van der Graaf Generator (while most of their discography is great, Pawn Hearts and Godbluff are their two masterpieces)

 

[Strangelove]

i think i had a kate bush discography somewhere after deciding to listen to her back catalogue, but i don't think i really got around to it (along with a bunch of others when i was spurred to expand my musical experiences)

i am happy to try out some prog metal as well

 

[Ⓐaron]

How are you with harsh vocals? Because that will influence how extensive my list is.

 

[Strangelove]

like in death metal? i don't know what i feel about them, but that might be because i have never really given them much listening to make up my mind

 

[Ⓐaron]

Right. Listing stuff from each band in roughly the order you should explore it.

• Agalloch - The Mantle; Marrow of the Spirit; Faustian Echoes (prog folk metal)
• Arcturus - everything; start with The Sham Mirrors or La Masquerade Infernale (prog/avant-garde metal; prog black metal on their early releases)
• Atheist - Start with Unquestionable Presence; all their stuff is good (prog death metal)
• Ayreon - The Human Equation (prog metal)
• Between the Buried and Me - Colors, The Parallax I & II, Alaska (really most of their stuff is good but these are probably the best) (prog death metal)
• Blut aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II (most of their stuff is good, but a lot of it probably won't appeal to everyone) (prog black metal)
• Cult of Luna - all their main albums; start with Salvation or Somewhere Along the Highway (prog/post-metal)
• Cynic - Traced in Air, Focus (prog death metal)
• Dark Angel - Time Does Not Heal (all their stuff is good but the further back you go the less it has to do with prog) (prog thrash metal)
• Death - Symbolic, The Sound of Perseverance; if you enjoy these, go back to the two albums before them too (prog death metal)
• Devin Townsend - Ziltoid the Omniscient is possibly the best starting place, but he has a lot of good stuff (prog death metal)
• Diabolical Masquerade - Death's Design (prog black metal)
• Dream Theater - are pretty hit and miss but some of their best stuff (Awake, Images & Words, A Change of Seasons, Scenes from a Memory in particular) is quite good (prog metal)
• Edge of Sanity - Crimson & Crimson II (prog death metal)
• Emperor - Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire & Demise (all their stuff is good but some of it has more to do with prog than others; Ihsahn's solo career is good too) (prog black metal)
• Enslaved - pretty much all of their stuff, although not all of it is particularly prog (Frost and Blodhemn aren't prog at all); Isa or Below the Lights may be the best starting place, though Mardraum remains my favourite (prog black metal)
• Gorguts - Colored Sands; Obscura (these are probably things you should check out later in your listening) (prog death metal)
• Green Carnation - Light of Day, Day of Darkness; The Acoustic Verses (as implied by the name, the latter of these is not metal) (prog metal)
• Isis - all their main albums; Panopticon may be the best entry point (prog/post-metal)
• Kayo Dot - Choirs of the Eye; Hubardo (all their stuff is good but those two are their masterpieces) (prog/avant-garde metal)
• Mastodon - Crack the Skye (the first three albums are good too) (prog sludge metal)
• maudlin of the Well - everything; start with Bath and Leaving Your Body Map, or Part the Second if you don't want metal. (I strongly recommend getting a vinyl rip of My Fruit PsychoBells because it sounds way better than the CD) (prog death metal)
• Megadeth - Rust in Peace (This is borderline, but nonetheless fairly proggy thrash; too bad Mustaine is such a shithead)
• Meshuggah - Catch Thirtythree; I (prog death metal)
• Metallica - Ride the Lightning through ...And Justice for All (As with Megadeth, this is a borderline case but essential to the history of the genre) (prog thrash metal)
• Mirrorthrone - Gangrene; Carriers of Dust (prog black metal)
• Moonsorrow - pretty much all their stuff; Kivenkantaja is probably the best starting place, but Verisäkeet through Tulimyrsky are the proggiest (prog black/folk metal)
• Nagelfar - Srontgorrth (if you like that get their other stuff too) (prog black metal)
• Ne Obliviscaris - everything (prog black metal)
• Negură Bunget - Om; 'n crugu bradului; Măiestrit (prog black metal)
• Neurosis - everything; the four-album span from Souls at Zero to Times of Grace may be the best work in their career, and the latter is probably the only album in their discography that is anything close to accessible (prog/post-metal)
• Nocte Obducta - Nektar Teil 1 & 2 (their other stuff is pretty good too) (prog black metal)
• Opeth - Blackwater Park; Still Life; My Arms, Your Hearse (prog death metal)
• Orphaned Land - Mabool (other stuff is also good) (prog folk/death metal)
• Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime (prog metal)
• Shining (Nor) - everything from In the Kingdom of Kitsch to Live Blackjazz at the bare minimum (Kingdom of Kitsch and Grindstone aren't really metal) (prog/avant-garde metal)
• Sigh - Imaginary Sonicscape; In Somniphobia; Scenario IV: Dread Dreams; Hail Horror Hail; Infidel Art (all their stuff is good though) (prog/avant-garde black metal)
• Tiamat - Wildhoney (prog death/doom metal)
• Tool - Lateralus; Ænima (most of their stuff is good too) (prog metal)
• Watchtower - both albums (prog thrash metal)
• Wintersun - Time I (the s/t is good too but has less to do with prog) (prog death metal)

There, that's probably a fair kickoff selection.

 

[SoulReaper]

Aaron mentioned a lot I would have mentioned, however I'm sure there's still room for moar

Some moar essential classic Prog,
Camel - First four albums
Caravan - If I could Do It All Over Again, In The Land Of Grey & Pink and For girls who grow plump in the Night
Gentle Giant - First 6 albums
Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick, Aqualung, Song From The Woods
Gong - Angels Egg and You
Soft Machine - Third
Hatfield & The North - Both albums
Focus - Moving Waves and Hamburger Concerto
Supersister - Present For Nancy
Bubu - Anabelas
Comus - First Utterance

No Prog Metal fan could do without

Fates Warning - Awaken The Guardian and The Spectre Within
Queenstyche - The Warning and Operation Mindcrime
Crimson Glory - Crimson Glory and Transcedence
Mekong Delta - The Music Of Eric Zann
Heir Apparent - Graceful Inheritance

Some of the heavier side of 70's prog besides Rush,
Atomic Rooster - Death Walks Behind You
Captain Beyond - Captain Beyond
Groundhogs - Split

 

[Ⓐaron]

I don't know why I forgot Jethro Tull, Soft Machine or Comus :< I'll throw in a few others as well:

• A Forest of Stars - eveything; Opportunistic Thieves of Spring may be their best (prog black metal)
• Akercocke - Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone; Choronzon; Antichrist; The Goat of Mendes (prog death/black metal)
• Apotheosis - Farthest from the Sun (prog black metal)
• The Chasm - Farseeing the Paranormal Abysm (prog death metal; all their stuff is good but this album is probably the proggiest)
• Cobalt - Gin; Eater of Birds (prog black metal)
• Darkestrah - Epos; Sary Oy (prog black metal; all their stuff is good, but as with some other artists I've listed, some has more to do with prog than others)
• Faith No More - Angel Dust; The Real Thing; other albums (prog/alternative rock)
• The Fall of Troy - Phantom on the Horizon (progressive rock/post-hardcore; most other records they've released have progressively less to do with prog to the point where there is basically no prog on their final record)
• Fen - most of their stuff is good; Malediction Fields or Epoch are probably the best starting places
• Finsterforst - ...zum Tode hin; Rastlos (prog black/folk metal)
• Iron Maiden - Powerslave; Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (nwobhm with some fairly strong prog influence on the releases I listed)
• Krallice - Krallice (prog black metal)
• Lux Occulta - My Guardian Anger, The Mother and the Enemy (prog black metal)
• Lykathea Aflame - Elvenefris (prog death metal)
• The Moody Blues - the seven-album stretch they did starting with Days of Future Passed, which is generally considered to be their masterpiece (prog rock)
• Mr. Bungle - everything (unclassifiable)
• Njiqahdda - The Path of Liberation from Birth and Death (prog black metal)
• Peccatum - Lost in Reverie (prog/avant-garde metal)
• Petrychor - everything (prog black metal)
• Todd Rundgren/Utopia - Todd Rundgren's Utopia; Initiation; Todd; A Wizard, a True Star (prog rock)
• Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock (this is really post-rock but it's probably proggy enough to belong on this list)
• Weakling - Dead as Dreams (prog black metal)
• The Who - Quadrophenia (prog rock, a borderline case; most of their other stuff doesn't have much to do with prog)
• Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom (prog rock)
• Wyrd - first four albums (prog black/folk metal)

I could probably still add a huge number of additional metal bands with strong prog influence but I'm trying to keep this to stuff that won't be intimidating to people who haven't listened to lots of metal (though I already listed Gorguts). This means that some essential prog metal like Deathspell Omega and Timeghoul hasn't been listed. Because I listed so many bands and recordings, I may also compile a primer on what among the stuff I've listed is most accessible if people are interested.

 

[SoulReaper]

Come on, most of those artists on that list aren't prog at all. Prog fans usually try to fit every single fucking band they like somehow in the prog category. Like Metallica or Black Sabbath or fucking Radiohead.

 

[Ⓐaron]

Almost every artist in my last post has a page on ProgArchives except Akercocke, Wyrd, Finsterforst, Njiqahdda, Darkestrah, Apotheosis, and Petrychor, I think. *shrug* In the case of the latter three I'd be surprised if people on PA even knew who they were. Granted, some of the others (Iron Maiden, the Who) are on as "prog-related" or "proto-prog", as is the case with a few of the others in my previous post (Metallica).

 

[SoulReaper]

Progarchives is exactly what I was aiming at with progfans trying to fit every band they like in the prog mould. Hell, they have a whole team of dedicated autists to decide what's prog or not and if there's any doubt, there's always the 'prog-related' section indeed. *cough* Metallica is there because they would've influenced Dream Theater, so they must be prog! Anything slightly experimental and different must be prog! Post Rock is like totally progressive even though 90% simply rip off GY!BE. Yeah it's like Metal-Archives in reverse who reject lots of Grindcore bands and bands who have in their ears too many non metal influences.

 

[Ⓐaron]

Meh, I'd rather PA's approach than Metal Archives' approach which results in tons of metal bands not being listed.

 

[Ⓐaron]

speaking of which, Krautrock probably counts as prog too. So:

• Can - Monster Movie, Tago Mago, Ege Baymasi, Future Days
• Faust - Faust, probably other stuff as well
• Kraftwerk - Autobahn, Trans-Europe Express (although arguably by this point they no longer had anything to do with Krautrock)

I'm not that familiar with the genre. Prog Archives' overview probably is as good a place to go as any. Jochim also recommended some bands awhile back.

 

[SoulReaper]

Krautrock is very interesting music for prog music fansbut it's also very well liked by non prog music fans. (ranging from Dance music fans to Ambient fans to Indie Rock fans to Avant Garde fans) As the movement (it's not 'really' a genre, like grunge and shoegaze) You could name three bands of the 'genre' and they could sound totally diferent. But it's known for it's experimental, psychedelic attitude, which could range from repetitive "Motorik beats" on which they could get wildly experimental with layers of guitars and electronics, or do spacy psychedlic ambient freak outs that could go on for like hours. Or just plug in, Jam the shit out of their instruments while being on Shrooms or LSD.

 

[Fastphase1]

While it's debeatable should they to be mentioned, prog rock list is nothing without Pink Floyd. Ummagumma is the the most experimental and then there are the greats of the '70s: Meddle, The Dark Side of The Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall.

 

[M_Papeghin]

Anything by Neal Morse, The Flower Kings or Transatlantic

 

[Ⓐaron]

I've got nothing better to do right now so I'm going to list some of my best prog discoveries of the last few weeks/months

• Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom (I already listed this but I'm listing it again because it's probably top ten albums of all time material)
• Caravan - If I Could Do It Again, I'd Do It All Over You; In the Land of Grey and Pink; For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night
• Gentle Giant - first seven albums; Playing the Fool
• Hatfield and the North - s/t; The Rotters' Club
• Gong - Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy
• Camel - Mirage; The Snow Goose; Moonmadness
• Soft Machine - Third
• Mahavishnu Orchestra - The Inner Mounting Flame; Birds of Fire; The Lost Trident Sessions
• Harmonium - Si on avait besoin d'une cinquième saison

Pretty much all of these are somewhat lesser known acts so give them some support.

By the way, from Jethro Tull make sure not to skip A Passion Play or Minstrel in the Gallery. Both great albums in their own right, and frequently overlooked.

 

[SoulReaper]

Most of them where some of the first I got into discovering old school prog though, so I'm not sure....

Lately I've been gotten into High Tide (Heavy as fuck, '69 proto progmetal really ) Cressida (Very nice symhonic prog similar to The Moody Blues and Gabriel era Genesis) Birth Control (Heavy jazzy Krautrockers) Renaissance (Gorgeous female fronted sympho prog, perfect for the autumnal days) and National Health, basically the continuation of Hatfield And The North with a slight difference.

 

[Kermitu Kleric Katie]

I definitely recommend Pink Floyd. Definitely my favorite prog rock band. I highly recommend the albums The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and The Wall. As far as bands that weren't prog rock but dabbled in the genre a bit, The Beatles did a few prog rock songs towards the end of their span, with A Day in the Life, Happiness is a Warm Gun, and You Never Give Me Your Money probably being the best examples.

 

[vaderSW1]

I might recommend checking out the following:

Anathema "We're Here Because We're Here"
Anathema "Weather Systems"
Anathema "Distant Satellites"

Coheed and Cambria "The Second Stage Turbine Blade"
Coheed and Cambria "In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3"
Coheed and Cambria "Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Vol 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness"
Coheed and Cambria "Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Vol 2: No World For Tomorrow"
Coheed and Cambria "Year of the Black Rainbow"
Coheed and Cambria "The Afterman: Ascension"
Coheed and Cambria "The Afterman: Descension"

Dredg "Leitmotif"
Dredg "el cielo"
Dredg "Catch Without Arms"
Dredg "The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion"