The Heart of the Prog/Power Movement
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GaetanL
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by GaetanL » Sun Oct 20, 2019 1:45 pm
introclaus wrote: ↑Sun Oct 20, 2019 6:32 am
This thread got me thinking ... where’s the line between “prog rock”, “progressive hard rock” and “neo-prog”?
Example: I’ve seen Knight Area and Enchant mentioned a few times in this thread. To me they are “progressive hard rock”.
introclaus wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2019 8:14 pm
Chris R wrote:To me Blueprint is essential in the neoprog scene.
Yup - it’s a masterpiece within the genre!
I got you!
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introclaus
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by introclaus » Sun Oct 20, 2019 2:11 pm
GaetanL wrote: ↑Sun Oct 20, 2019 1:45 pm
introclaus wrote: ↑Sun Oct 20, 2019 6:32 am
This thread got me thinking ... where’s the line between “prog rock”, “progressive hard rock” and “neo-prog”?
Example: I’ve seen Knight Area and Enchant mentioned a few times in this thread. To me they are “progressive hard rock”.
introclaus wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2019 8:14 pm
Chris R wrote:To me Blueprint is essential in the neoprog scene.
Yup - it’s a masterpiece within the genre!
I got you!
Hahaha, you sure did
"Blueprint..." is a splendid album, and there's a ton of Rothery-worship on it, but other than that it's more "metal" than what is normal within the neo-prog genre. I'd place it in the "progressive hard rock" genre (even if Larry doesn't agree there's a such haha).
Claus Jensen
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introclaus
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by introclaus » Sun Oct 20, 2019 2:15 pm
GaetanL wrote: ↑Sun Oct 20, 2019 1:19 pm
"Neo" just means "New", so the door is opened for a lot of things...
Right, but as a genre it (to me at least) refer to the new wave of British prog bands from the early 80's such as Marillion, Pendragon, IQ, Jadis, etc. that all took their musical inspiration from Genesis/Camel and gave it a more "modern" spin.
"Prog" also just means "progressive", but that doesn't mean that all prog-metal bands are progressive
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introclaus
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by introclaus » Sun Oct 20, 2019 2:45 pm
LarryD wrote: ↑Sun Oct 20, 2019 10:01 am
....... but one band stands out to me that no one ever talks about anymore, if ever.... and that band is ARAGON.
That was such a cool band - it was like having Bon Scott singing in front of a Neo-Prog band, something I'd never heard before given the softer, more English style vocals of that era......that band was such an anomaly.
Interesting ... I'm not hearing the "Bon Scott" comparison (although it's a Aussie band *lol*), but Les Dougan does have a bit more of a rough voice than you'd typically except from the genre. Musically though they were 110% Marillion worship - right down to the silly facepaint that Fish used to sport on the album shows.
I know you prefer the debut album from Aragon, but the only one I've kept is "Mouse" which I believe is their 3rd disc out of five or six albums.
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LarryD
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by LarryD » Sun Oct 20, 2019 4:55 pm
"Blueprint..." is a splendid album, and there's a ton of Rothery-worship on it, but other than that it's more "metal" than what is normal within the neo-prog genre. I'd place it in the "progressive hard rock" genre (even if Larry doesn't agree there's a such haha).
***I agree with everything you said except the part about that genre not existing ........
Back in the day - I would describe "Blueprint" as prog rock ala Rush-lite.
I think the hard rock moniker here would describe the heaviness of the disc, not the style ..... but that's just me ......
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LarryD
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by LarryD » Sun Oct 20, 2019 5:00 pm
Interesting ... I'm not hearing the "Bon Scott" comparison (although it's a Aussie band *lol*), but Les Dougan does have a bit more of a rough voice than you'd typically except from the genre. Musically though they were 110% Marillion worship - right down to the silly facepaint that Fish used to sport on the album shows.
I know you prefer the debut album from Aragon, but the only one I've kept is "Mouse" which I believe is their 3rd disc out of five or six albums.
***I've read many articles over the years comparing Les Dougan to Bon Scott, but we all hear different things and I'm good with that ...... in the end, he had one of the more unique voices in the genre...... I've kept all of the Aragon discs -- probably because they were one of the most unique sounding bands even if they did worship Marillion, ( who didn't at the time ), but because they were so rare to begin with ...... yes I like the debut the best - but so weird they releases so many discs that were either shorter than most discs, or just plain EPs....... I got all of my Aragon discs from Ken, although Erik Welty gave me one or two ..... but at the time Ken and maybe one other vendor were selling Aragon discs - they just weren't that plentiful, or popular depending on how you look at it ...... during this time period was the best of the Neo-prog genre and when it thrived the most......
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introclaus
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by introclaus » Sun Oct 20, 2019 5:32 pm
LarryD wrote: ↑Sun Oct 20, 2019 4:55 pm
"Blueprint..." is a splendid album, and there's a ton of Rothery-worship on it, but other than that it's more "metal" than what is normal within the neo-prog genre. I'd place it in the "progressive hard rock" genre (even if Larry doesn't agree there's a such haha).
***I agree with everything you said except the part about that genre not existing ........
Back in the day - I would describe "Blueprint" as prog rock ala Rush-lite.
I think the hard rock moniker here would describe the heaviness of the disc, not the style ..... but that's just me ......
Yes, there's definitely more "Rush styles prog rock" than "Marillion neo-prog" to the disc (aside from the clear Rothery guitar worship). The review that made me buy it said "
Rush meets Metallica"
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LarryD
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by LarryD » Sun Oct 20, 2019 5:34 pm
Speaking of Aragon - they are offering their 2-CD concept disc "MOUSE" for free .............check it out ...............
http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum ... TID=120722
Gaetan - jump on this asap if it's still available for free ............
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introclaus
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by introclaus » Sun Oct 20, 2019 5:40 pm
Interesting ... I'm noticing that some of the songs have a different title than on the original album AND there's an extra 5 songs here that weren't on the original either.
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GaetanL
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by GaetanL » Sun Oct 20, 2019 5:43 pm
Now playing on bandcamp...
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LarryD
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by LarryD » Tue Oct 22, 2019 2:50 pm
GaetanL wrote: ↑Sun Oct 20, 2019 5:43 pm
Now playing on bandcamp...
****What did you think Gaetan ?? Mouse isn't my fav from them, even though tt's a concept disc ...... but it gives you an idea of what they sound like .......
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GaetanL
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by GaetanL » Tue Oct 22, 2019 6:06 pm
LarryD wrote: ↑Tue Oct 22, 2019 2:50 pm
GaetanL wrote: ↑Sun Oct 20, 2019 5:43 pm
Now playing on bandcamp...
****What did you think Gaetan ?? Mouse isn't my fav from them, even though tt's a concept disc ...... but it gives you an idea of what they sound like .......
I will revisit but not now. My next neo-prog band on the radar is Clepsydra. They have a new one out called "The Gap"...
To you the best Aragon album is the debut "Don't Bring The Rain", right?
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LarryD
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by LarryD » Wed Oct 23, 2019 7:25 am
I will revisit but not now. My next neo-prog band on the radar is Clepsydra. They have a new one out called "The Gap"...
'
*** Very good Neo-Prog band from either Sweden or Switzerland, I forget ..... the singer had a pretty good accent, but I didn't care at the time ......
To you the best Aragon album is the debut "Don't Bring The Rain", right?
*** Yes that is correct ...... check your private messages when you get a chance ..........
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GaetanL
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by GaetanL » Mon Jan 20, 2020 8:26 pm
LarryD wrote: ↑Wed Oct 23, 2019 7:25 am
I will revisit but not now. My next neo-prog band on the radar is Clepsydra. They have a new one out called "The Gap"...
'
*** Very good Neo-Prog band from either Sweden or Switzerland, I forget ..... the singer had a pretty good accent, but I didn't care at the time ......
I now heard all the albums from Clepsydra including the 2019 release "The Gap". The band is from Switzerland.
I think "Very Good" is the right qualification as you said Larry. They could not be all great like Landmarq...
They sound pretty much like Marillion / IQ but the singer sings higher.
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GaetanL
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by GaetanL » Wed Jul 01, 2020 7:16 pm
introclaus wrote: ↑Sun Oct 20, 2019 5:40 pm
Interesting ... I'm noticing that some of the songs have a different title than on the original album AND there's an extra 5 songs here that weren't on the original either.
I got the 2 CD edition of "Mouse". It's actually 6 extra songs. In 1992, they released "The Meeting" EP which is actually Act 5 of "Mouse". There was pressure to release an album, so they released "The Meeting" before finishing writing the 8 Acts of "Mouse". In 1995, they released "Mouse" without Act 5 "The Meeting". In 1999, they released the 2 CD edition of "Mouse" which include Act 5 "The Meeting" (the 6 extra songs). Act 5 "The Meeting" is excellent and the best Act of "Mouse".
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LarryD
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by LarryD » Wed Jul 01, 2020 8:08 pm
I got the 2 CD edition of "Mouse". It's actually 6 extra songs. In 1992, they released "The Meeting" EP which is actually Act 5 of "Mouse". There was pressure to release an album, so they released "The Meeting" before finishing writing the 8 Acts of "Mouse". In 1995, they released "Mouse" without Act 5 "The Meeting". In 1999, they released the 2 CD edition of "Mouse" which include Act 5 "The Meeting" (the 6 extra songs). Act 5 "The Meeting" is excellent and the best Act of "Mouse".
***As confusing as this sounds, I follow ....... I had The Meeting when it first came out, and I agree it's the best part of Mouse. When Mouse came out, I got the versiob without The Meeting. So I'm backwards. I have the 1-CD version and The Meeting EP.
Btw - stay clear of their last disc, Mr. Angel. I thought it was horrible.
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GaetanL
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by GaetanL » Wed Jul 01, 2020 8:13 pm
LarryD wrote: ↑Wed Jul 01, 2020 8:08 pm
Btw - stay clear of their last disc, Mr. Angel. I thought it was horrible.
They have another album after "Mr. Angel" named "The Angels Tear" released in 2004. It''s a return to their prog sound and it is better than "Mr. Angel" which was not really prog or very little.
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The Watcher
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by The Watcher » Fri Jul 03, 2020 5:04 pm
I am currently really getting into the new Glass Hammer album Dreaming City. This is a fantastic new release from them. It also got me into their back catalog. Highly recommended is The Inconsolable Secret and Shadowlands. I guess this isn't neo-prog...it's more classic progrock, but man it is really some good stuff! The Watcher out!!!
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GaetanL
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by GaetanL » Sat Jun 19, 2021 2:13 pm
My favorite albums are the second one "Children" (1995) and the last one "From The Silence" (2014). To me these 2 albums are between very good and excellent.
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outprogged42
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by outprogged42 » Sat Jul 17, 2021 3:42 pm
I would highly recommend:
Greylevel - Hypostatic Union (Canada): extremely melancholic and downbeat, very much like old Porcupine Tree with some IQ thrown in. It holds some very bittersweet memories for me and I couldn't keep the disc, however it's a pretty amazing example of this style of music done right.
Quidam - Alone Together (Poland): also very melancholic, a bit more lush and diverse instrumentally. Not really too much like Riverside, though with Maciej Meller as the guitarist there will be comparisons. More of a Genesis influence with a very forlorn darkness typical of this region, at least on the albums I have heard. The albums with the original singer seem to be lighter-sounding.
Mystery has been suggested, but I'd point out the last three albums as quite terrific. Delusion Rain was VERY high on my 2015 AOTY list.
Also look into Koi - not sure quite if they qualify as Neo, maybe heavy prog, but I think Neo fans will like it because of its similarities in songwriting style.
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GaetanL
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by GaetanL » Fri Aug 27, 2021 6:42 pm
I heard all their albums. "Arkana" released in 1992 is a really good neo-prog album! So far I seem to not care much for all the other albums... In 2020, they released a new album after 20 years. They turned metal... Folkloric Progressive Power Metal if we could say...