Progressive metal

Progressive metal (in English progressive metal, or prog metal) is a musical genre that fuses progressive rock and metal in any of its variants, such as thrash metal, death metal, among others.

Features

Progressive metal includes the guitars and harshness of heavy metal, combined with the rhythmic characteristics and influences of progressive rock, distinguished by its frequent time changes and drum patterns.

The base here is progressive rock, which is why it is common for some bands (especially from the less heavy part like Dream Theater on their first albums) to oscillate on the dividing line between progressive rock and progressive metal. The elements that are present are frequent changes of time signature and different types of amalgamations, music mode, improvisations, great technique on the part of the musicians, the progressive appearance of instruments, complex bass lines, etc.

Beginnings

The antecedents of its origin can be found in the band Rush (which in the long run would be one of the biggest influences), who mixed progressive rock and hard rock on their albums A Farewell to Kings (1977) and Hemispheres (1978). King Crimson, on his albums The Court of the Crimson King (1969), Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1973) and Red (1974) showed a more aggressive sound. However, the first group to manage to mix heaviness with progressiveness in an effective and balanced way was the band Short-lived German Night Sun, active from 1970 to 1973, released their only record Mournin' in 1972, in which the progressiveness of King Crimson applied to the riffs dense and dark of Black Sabbath.

Queensrÿche, pioneers of progressive metal in the 80s.

But it was in the 1980s that the genre emerged as such. In 1985 Watchtower recorded Energetic Disassembly, an album full of time changes and complex passages, together with a technique beyond the usual. It is perhaps the first album to make an amalgamation between progressive and The hardest metal of the time. Meanwhile, Fates Warning started out as a heavy metal band influenced by Iron Maiden, but little by little they would move towards progressive with the album Awaken the Guardian in 1986, although finally he would polish and define his style with the album No Exit in 1988, and Perfect Symmetry, in 1989.

Queensrÿche, another pioneering band, released the concept album Operation: Mindcrime in 1988, which was a bestseller, peaking at number 58 in the UK. Later, in 1990 Queensrÿche released the album Empire and the single Silent Lucidity, which became a huge hit on MTV. In the early 1990s progressive metal achieved one of its greatest successes (both musically and commercially) with the Dream Theater album Images and Words which sold millions of copies. Worldwide.

Development

After this success, other progressive metal bands appeared, such as Shadow Gallery with their eponymous debut album, and the Danish Royal Hunt with Land of Broken Hearts (both albums released in 1992), who were influenced by neoclassical and symphonic metal. Later Symphony X released the album The Divine Wings of Tragedy, which positioned them by mixing power metal with metal progressive.

It is also worth mentioning the case of the Spanish Avalanch, who began as a power metal band but since the release of the album Los poetas ha muerto acquired a more progressive, combining heavy metal with modern rock, alternative metal and to some extent pop.

Dream Theater, one of the first and most famous bands metal progressive, in Rio de Janeiro, 2006.

More bands are appearing, like Pain of Salvation, Ayreon and Andromeda.

In parallel, other variants of heavy metal are adding progressive elements. Watchtower was the first to do it with thrash metal, with a greater technique than usual.

The Canadian band Voivod approaches the style with Killing Technology, from 1987, and which would advance with Dimension Hatröss the following year. Toxik followed suit with Think This in 1989. Mekong Delta began with chaotic and dissonant thash metal on their self-titled debut album (1987), but were influenced by classical music. on their later albums. Nevermore appeared mixing thrash metal, groove metal and prog metal on their album The Politics of Ecstasy in 1996.

Subgenres

Like many of the heavy metal subgenres, progressive metal could be divided into a large number of subgenres, mainly because bands from other styles incorporated progressive elements. in its sound.

Opeth, band metal progressive with influences of death metal, in the Apollo Room, 2008.

Also in thrash metal, progressive thrash metal style bands appear. The first of these is Watchtower, with its only two albums: Energetic Disassembly (1985) and Control and Resistance (1987). You can also mention Voivod, Toxik, Mekong Delta, Coroner (who also incorporate classical music), and Nevermore, with a more groove sound.

Opeth, Edge Of Sanity, Gojira, and Necrophagist have mixed progressive metal with death metal influences, albeit in a variety of ways. Cynic, Pestilence, and Atheist also incorporated jazz fusion. Wolverine also started out as a death metal band with their first EP Fervent Dream (1999), but they quickly became more progressive, eliminating the death metal traits. /i> from his first album on The Window Purpose (2001).

Cases apart are, on the one hand, the band Tool, who were influenced by metal and progressive rock, more specifically by King Crimson. They created a sound in which they combined the tabla and other Indian percussion supported by their drummer Danny Carey, they went on to a progressive metal on their album Lateralus (2001) and 10,000 Days (2006). On the other hand, the band Mastodon is characterized by a mixture of sludge metal and progressive metal.

Pain of Salvation, at the rock festival in Sweden, 2008.