Progressive Metal

This week on “Into the Pit: A Metal Blog” we will be discussing progressive metal.

This genre takes the raw aggression of metal and combines it with the complex instrumental technicality and unique song arrangements that are usually found in progressive rock hmusic.

Progressive metal began in the 1980s and has been generally known as an underground metal subgenre despite the fact that certain bands such as Dream Theater, Fates Warning, and Queensryche have received commercial success. Those three bands each strongly differ from each other musically, which shows the flexibility of the progressive metal label.

Progressive metal has always been known for being a diverse subgenre of heavy metal. Most progressive metal bands around today are constantly testing the subgenre’s limits. Many bands even combine progressive metal with other subgenres. For example, the band Nevermore combines progressive metal with thrash metal in order to form a hybrid subgenre known as progressive thrash metal. Other bands further experiment by combining progressive metal with genres of music that aren’t even related to heavy metal--usually jazz fusion. Cynic, Atheist, and Pestilence are three very notable progressive death metal bands who take strong jazz fusion influences.

It is important to note how the major players within the subgenre created names for themselves. Dream Theater is one of the most notable progressive metal bands and are still successful today. Dream Theater started to receive an immense amount of attention after they released Images and Words in 1992. Their single, “Pull Me Under,” is one of the most successful progressive metal songs of all time.

Dream Theater’s style is very straightforward because it draws very heavily from traditional progressive rock music. The band is notable for consisting of highly skillful musicians who have brought attention to the band through their highly technical performances. Recently, the band experienced a major line-up change. Their highly acclaimed drummer, Mike Portnoy, who was one of the founding members of the group, experienced an uneasy split from the band, despite his years of devotion to the group. He has since been replaced by Mike Mangini, who has been a well-received replacement by fans and critics alike.

Queensryche is another very important progressive metal band, known for being one of the most melodic bands within the subgenre. The band started putting out material in the early 1980s, but they didn’t truly rise to success until the release of Operation Mindcrime in 1988. Operation Mindcrime is a notable album because it is one of the very first progressive metal concept albums. Ever since the album came out, the band has become a fairly household name in hard rock and heavy metal music.

Fates Warning is also a particularly notable progressive metal band; however they were much less successful than Dream Theater and Queensryche. The band’s most successful album was No Exit, which was released in 1988. Fates Warning was very important in the development of progressive metal though, being one of the earliest examples of combining more extreme subgenres with traditional progressive metal. They served as an influence for the increased underground popularity of that trend, and are recognized in the heavy metal community for their influence.

Today progressive metal has a very devoted fanbase within the heavy metal music scene. Besides the major pioneers, some of the most popular progressive metal acts that are around today include Opeth, Porcupine Tree, Between the Buried and Me, Devin Townsend, Symphony X, and Nevermore.