Being a bit of a progressive head and overall music lover, I thought I would share some gems that I have discovered on my journey into looking for fresh interesting material for my ears.
We have all heard Pink Floyd, Genesis, Marillion but what of these newer bands?
Do any of them carry the true flag of quality that the older bands have.
For the past several years I have listening to the material of some newer bands.
Some of these are still current and some have already gone their separate ways, but all have left behind their music.
Not all the songs below can be classed as progressive, but they all have some kind of link to that genre.
I find quite often that I like just one or two songs from a band or artist only. I am going to recommend you listen to these picks.
Kino – Picture
My Pick: “All You See”
Worth a listen: “Losers Day Parade”
I listened to Picture several times and apart from the two songs mentioned, it really didn’t click. Until recently this band were another has been but have recently reformed and an album is due soon.
‘All You See’ starts off quite ballad like, but turns into a rip roaring ballad with a great Marillion like solo half way through.
Anathema – We're Here Because We're Here
My Pick: “A Simple Mistake”
Worth a listen: “Thin Air”, “Hindsight”
Anathema have gone through many changes from the Doom metal phase to where they are now. Around halfway through their current career they added a female vocalist (Lee Douglas) who changed their sound somewhat for the better.
This is a band I really like and they have many more songs from different albums that I could have chosen besides the mentioned picks. I may do a separate article at a later stage.
‘A Simple Mistake’ is a song of two parts. The first being quite airy and ethereal, the second being quite heavy and driven. A fantastic song which weighs in around 7 minutes.
Biffy Clyro - Blackened Sky
My Pick: “Kill the Old, Torture Their Young”
Not a band you would associate with progressive music really?
I would agree if you looked at the current repertoire of songs, but Biffy’s first three albums were full of changing tempos, odd time signatures and music that is synonymous with progressive music, albeit quite a big heaver at times.
My personal preference of these three albums is ‘The Vertigo of Bliss’, in my mind a masterpiece. However I have picked a nugget from their debut album for this article which would probably have been more appropriate for ‘The Vertigo of Bliss’.
Don’t judge Biffy Clyro on the foundation of ‘Mountains’ or ‘Many of Horror’, they had quite a different sound once.
‘Kill the Old, Torture Their Young ‘ is quite manic for the first 40 seconds, but bear with it as it turns into quite a beautiful heavy ballad sung partly in falsetto, and ends with something that sounds like ‘One’ from Metallica.
Karnivool – Sound Awake
My Pick - "All I Know"
Worth a listen: “Simple Boy”
Karnivool are an Australian band that many have recommended to me. I started listening to ‘Sound Awake’ but the only song that struck a chord was "All I Know". Even this one had to be played several times before it really registered, however I really do like this song now.
"All I Know” in typical progressive fashion, changes halfway through and mutates into something else with chimes of what it once was. Listen 3-4 times before judging.
Reuben - In Nothing We Trust
My Pick - "Suffocation of the Soul"
After exhausting the Biffy discography several years ago, I was looking for another band with a similar sound and found Reuben. I would describe them as an unrefined early Biffy with a harder sound but with those same crazy time signature changes and offbeat rhythms.
I think most fans of this band would advocate their debut album, ‘Racecar is Racecar Backwards’. However my recommendation is from their final album before they stopped.
"Suffocation of the Soul" is an intoxicating song that gets more manic as it progresses, I would say the first 5 minutes are great until it turns into scream fest. However, those minutes make it worthy of making my list.
Blackfield – Blackfield
My Pick – “Pain”
Worth a listen: “Blackfield”
For many, Blackfield will strike a chord of ‘Steven Wilson’ who is effectively half the band and arguably the driving force. Being a huge fan of Mr Wilson I love a lot of the Blackfield back catalogue and this is just a snippet from the debut album, imaginatively named ‘Blackfield’.
“Pain” is my pick from the “Blackfield” album and is an Aviv Geffen contribution; the other fifty percent of the band. It is a typically melancholy affair with sweeping string sounds and a great guitar outro.
I would not call it a progressive song however, or Blackfield a progressive band. This is rather the ‘pop melancholy’ arm of Steven Wilson.
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