Metal is a curious thing, a world which values extreme forms of expression but which often doesn’t value diversity of expression. So many metal classics are albums that establish the conventions of a particular sub-genre, which will later ossify into something many people view as inviolable. Not this record.
Tag: Progressive Metal
Fear Inoculum (2019) by Tool
Tool goes Rush (circa late ’70s/early ’80s)!
Gutter Ballet (1989) by Savatage
I find myself stuck with a lot of progressive metal, especially ’90s progressive metal. I often find that it’s either too metal for the description – not a bad thing in and of itself – or too proggy and not metal enough. Apparently I’m nitpicky about this but I believe there is a happy medium …
Still Life (1999) by Opeth
Guys, I think I don’t like Opeth.
Chaosphere (1998) by Meshuggah
I listen to every record I review a bare minimum of three times (but rarely more than that unless I own the album and have heard it before). But every so often I listen to a record three times and I’m pretty sure I need to listen to it more to figure it out. This …
Focus (1993) by Cynic
Most of the time, when I encounter “progressive death metal” (which this sounds like to me, but which it isn’t categorized as on RYM), I think “this isn’t very progressive.” It usually sounds like more ambitious death metal, but it doesn’t sound very proggy. Well, not so here. If there is one thing this record …
My Arms, Your Hearse (1998) by Opeth
This is the first Opeth record I’ve ever heard. I thought I had listened to one of their more recent ones a few years ago, but I must have confused them with another one-word, two-syllable metal band. I’ve of course heard of Opeth but I guess I just never got around to listening to them …
Undertow (1993) by Tool
I have come at Tool backwards from the very beginning of when I started listening to them: The first time I ever listened to a full album was 10,000 Days. When I discovered I liked them I got Lateralus. Then once I finally discovered I liked Lateralus, I got Aenima. This is relevant (for my …
The Divine Wings of Tragedy (1997) by Symphony X
Dream Theater remains the only prog metal band I’ve listened to on the progressive side of the spectrum. And I can’t help but hearing their (massive) influence here, for good or ill. (This includes at least one reference in the lyrics to the only Dream Theater album I know well, and I’m sure there are …