What are your top 10 Personal favorite PROGRESSIVE/TECHNICAL METAL albums?

Question

and why?

Anything from Gojira's "from Mars to Sirius" to Dream Theater to Mastadon to Atheist to newer Iron Maiden and beyond. Tech Death like Necrophagist and Psycroptic to Prog Death to Prog Power to Classic Prog... as long as it's Metal, it's all good.

MQ2: Top 5 favorite Prog/Tech Metal bands and why?
(List your favorite track from each?)

BQ- Do you prefer the scripted, structured precision of Tech Metal (aka Cyptopsy, Necrophagist and early Obscura), or the more freewheeling style of jazz influenced Prog Metal (Atheist, Cynic, etc) or something in between?

BQ2: Fave Prog Metal album of 2010?
(still waiting on the new Agalloch before I 100% commit, especially since Atheist let me down. That is gonna sting for a while.)

Answer 1

Let's see... leaving out "post-metal", and in no particular order:

Gorguts - 'Obscura' took the disonance and chaos of death metal to a new level, destroying all expectations of the genre, without once leaving it. This may be the pinnacle of death metal for me.

Gojira - 'From Mars to Sirius' Heavy, progressive, emotionally powerful,socially aware. What more could you ask for in metal?

Opeth - 'Morningrise' I just prefer Opeth's early, more Scandinavian approach.

Cormorant - 'Metazoa' Just a great album all-around. Very tastefully done, nothing seems out of place. Very well-written lyrics and delivery.

Agalloch - 'The Mantle' Beautifully dismal.

Enslaved - 'Below the Lights' probably the best work (so far) of one of the better progressive metal bands out there.

Lykathea Aflame - 'Elvenefris' Nothing this brutal has ever sounded this euphoric.

Meshuggah - 'Chaosphere' tech metal that you can actually headbang to.

Dark Suns - 'Swanlike' underapreciated death/doom gem

Decapitated - 'Organic Hallucinosis' same reason as Chaosphere. I find their more rhythmically-oriennted approach to tech death much more appealing than most "tweedle dee" tech death bands



MQ2:

Agalloch - I can't really decide. I listen to it all as a full album anyway.

Enslaved - "...As Fire Swept Clean the Earth"

Cormorant - "Sky Burial"

Gojira - "Backbone"

Opeth - "The Drapery Falls"



BQ: something else. I like some jazziness, but I also like bands that can do other things, like atmospherics, folk, post-rock influence. Though it doesn't apply to to many of these, aside from Agalloch, I like to see metal bands throw in some electronic influence.



BQ2: I guess it's got to be the new Enslaved





edit: Cynic's 'Traced in Air' should probably be on the list. Maybe kick out Dark Suns?

Answer 2

If it were up to me the differences between the 3 would be more defined/ But you know what, I'm so tired about wondering and debating what counts as prog, tech, or jazz-fusion that I'm just gonna consider all 3 to be prog, for the sake of this question.



1. Nevermore - This Godless Endeavor

2. Death - Sound of Perseverance

3. Opeth - Morningrise

4. Nevermore - Dead Heart in a Dead World

5. Blotted Science - The Machinations of Dementia

6. Cynic - Focus

7. Dream Theater - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

8. Queensryche - Rage For Order

9. Animals as Leaders - Animals as Leaders

10. Obscura - Cosmogenesis (although I predict that it'll slowly creep up to my top 5, as it gets better every time I hear it)



I also kind of dig The Black Mages, but seeing as how they're a Japanese cover band of Final Fantasy songs (even though they have FF composer Nobuo Uematsu on keyboards) I don't feel as if it's a valid entry

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87e5qQnVerI

But still worth checking out regardless of if you're a nerd or not



MQ2: Nevermore (cuz of Loomis' playing and Dane's lyrics), Death (cuz Chuck), Black Mages (cuz Nerd), Opeth (cuz Akerfeldt) and anything Jarzombek cuz of Jarzombek



BQ2: The Obsidian Conspiracy, even though it's in my bottom 3 Nevermore albums (they've never had a bad one)

Answer 3

Best Technical Death Metal Bands

Answer 4

1. Confessor - Condemned

2. Between the Buried and Me - Colors

3. Portal - Swarth

4. Protest the Hero - Kezia

5. Mastodon - Leviathan

6. Toxik - World Circus

7. Watchtower - Energetic Disassembly

8. Death - Overactive Imagination

9. Spastic Ink - Ink Complete

10. Coroner - Punishment for Decadence



MQ2: Confessor (most unique band of all time, completely unrivaled, not only because they're the only band in whatever genre they are but because they're the best band in Metal. Period.)

Condemned, Alone, The Stain



Portal (Also very original, and they create such strong music. Their avant-garde sounds really push limits and defy laws of "music")

Illoomorpheme, The Swayy



Between the Buried and Me (Even though most of their work isn't amazing, Colors alone puts them in my top 5 prog Metal bands, because of how amazing it is)

Ants of the Sky, White Walls



Protest the Hero (I love random time signature changes and melodic guitar rifss and the singer/screamer does both extremely well)

Divinity Within, Bloodmeat



Toxik (awesome vocals and memorable riffs)

Think This, World Circus



BQ: Not really a fan of "jazz influenced" (tbh I usually don't hear much of the jazz influence) Metal whereas I love the ridiculously overdone time signature changes and how melodic Tech Metal is.



BQ2: Don't think I've heard any.

Answer 5

I'm probably gonna get some TD's for my answer but oh well, and im only putting in five albums cus i dont wanna type a whole lot



Veil of Maya - [id] (Progressive Death Metal/ Deathcore)



Really wicked sh*t, Marc Okubo has really proved his worth as a guitarist i find many of his riffs to be very heavy, technical and progressive just the way i like it. Many deathcore bands are known use your typical chugga chugga breakdown but no VOM thats what i also like about them their breakdowns are also quite technical (like the one in the song "mowgli" yeah very tasty).



My fave songs from [id] : Dark Passanger, Mowgli, The Higler, and Namaste.



The Faceless - Planetary Duality (Technical Death Metal/Progressive Death Metal)



Its so mindblowing that I cant really find the words to put it in,



Fave songs: Legion of the Serpent, Xenochrist, Planetary Duality (Pt.2)



Cynic - Focus (Progressive Death Metal/Jazz Fusion)



Very enjoyable, I loved the intense death metal passages just as much as the groovy jazz passages too. probably one of the best albums of that year.



My faves : Uroboric Forms, How Could I?, Veil of Maya, The Eagle Nature



Between the Buried and Me - Colors (Progressive Metal/Death Metal/Metalcore)



This was probably BTBAM's best album. amazing guitar work and technicality, intensity, melodies, it pretty much has everything i like.



My faves: Sun of Nothing, White Walls, Informal Gluttony



Opeth - Blackwater Park(Progressive Death Metal)



An escential prog death album. all i can really say is :O



Fave songs: The Funeral Portrait, Bleak, Dirge for November.



MQ: all of the above otherwise i wouldn't have put all that.



BQ: I kinda like jazz infleunced prog more but i dont really discriminate, just as long as the music is good.



BQ2: Not really sure i havent paid a whole lot of attention to the current events of prog metal lateley.



Edit: wow that killed like ten minutes

Answer 6

This shall be, most difficult



1 Opeth - Blackwater Park

-Tis Opeth's tour de force, Not a bad song on it. I sweeps effortlessly from the brutal, to the beautiful, to the sublime



2 Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime

-Simply the greatest Metal concept album, ever. Stellar songwriting, musicianship, and Geoff Tate's astounding vocals but this one solidly in at #2



3 Fate's Warning - Awaken The Guardian

-Progressive Metal is born, and what a birth. This album is still better than 90% of the Prog Metal released today.



4 King's X - Out Of The Silent Planet

-A total Sci Fi themed Prog Metal epic. If You've never heard it, do so by any means necessary.



5 Ayreon - Into The Electric Castle

-The very definition on a epic Prog concept album. With a cast of dozens of uber talented musicians.



6 Crimson Glory - Crimson Glory

A singer named Midnight that could peel the paint job from the moon, searing guitars, sci fi war and supernatural themes. What more can You ask of a Prog Metal album?



7 Opeth - Morningrise

-Almost as good as Blackwater Park, with one song better than anything from that album.



8 Watchtower - Control and Resistance

-Progressive Thrash with crazy time signature changes. It's awesome.



9 Queenryche - Empire

-Not quite as cohesive as Mindcrime, Empire however has better individual songs. The best actually of their career



10 Nevermore - Dead Heart In A Dead World

-The most perfect synthesis of Jeff Loomis' shredding guitars and Warrel Dane's amazing vocals



MA2:



1 Opeth, they appeal to me the most.

"Hex Omega"

2 Queensryche, Geoff Tate is God

"Queen of the Reich"

3 King's X, they're musically amazing

"Out Of The Silent Planet"

4 Crimson Glory. they're like a hybrid of Prog and Power Metal

"Starchamber"

5 Fate's Warning, they're were wicked brutal for the 80s\

"Guardian"



BA: Prog Metal. Basically Prog with Metal woven into it is my fave.



BA2: Maiden's Final Frontier

Answer 7

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Answer 8

before I answer this Q I'll answer the Q you sent in the email:

yes, yes I have



Zigoku Quartet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtN7vWQ81XE

Gonin-Ish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRrXUZ8AxiE&feature=related

Gargoyle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTJlnOdcDQY&feature=related





MQ (assuming Avant-Garde is grouped in with this):

1 - Adagio - Archangels in Black

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9u9Rvq-ojs

2 - Scenes From Hell - Sigh (also to be listed above)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8SPdERJiN8

3 - Incurable Tragedy - Into Eternity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6shbMTB9Lk

4 - Unexpect - In A Flesh Aquarium

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMSzH0CuXtk

5 - Quo Vadis - Defiant Imagination

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5ciJcksiEU

6 - MyndSnare - Conditioned: Human

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhGVcVkeDXw

7 - Hevein - Sound Over Matter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTrvEhYzfEE

8 - 旋律の地獄遊戯 - Zigoku Quartet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omalOQ3uUAA&feature=related

9 - Triosphere - Onwards

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_PiH8whx2g

10 - Trigger the Bloodshed - Degenerate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLuZpuW9GfM



MQ2:

1 - Adagio

They have insanely epic symphonic elements, and one hell of a vocalist... how could I not like them?



2 - Into Eternity

They're a bit of a combo between progressive, technical, and melodic death, with (IMO) the best singer in metal, and each of the musicians are incredibly talented.



3 - Sigh

Japanese Avant-Garde metal (done right) combined with symphonic black metal, with one of the vocalists being a hot Japanese chick. Everything is pretty much perfect about them.



4 - Unexpect

Another Avant-Garde band done right. like I say below, they have the whole 'circus from hell' thing going on.



5 - Quo Vadis

all the band members are beasts at their instruments, including the vocalist. they can put together Tech death that is not the least bit boring.



BQ - it honestly depends on the band. both genres can be really awesome, or INCREDIBLY boring IMO (such as Necrophagist, Brain Drill, Dream Theater, Opeth, ect.) that's right I think those bands are for the most part are boring. anyone who doesn't like it, can write me an angry letter and shove it up their... well you get the point.



I like a good avant-garde band too, but a lot of them sound like a jumbled mess. It's hard to find a band that can pull it off, and when there is one, they sound like a circus from hell (awesome)



BQ2 - Scenes From Hell - Sigh... and if avant-garde isn't supposed to be counted in this, 旋律の地獄遊戯 - Zigoku Quartet



BQ3 - nah, Trog Metal sounds great

Answer 9

This Site Might Help You.



RE:

What are your top 10 Personal favorite PROGRESSIVE/TECHNICAL METAL albums?

and why?



Anything from Gojira's "from Mars to Sirius" to Dream Theater to Mastadon to Atheist to newer Iron Maiden and beyond. Tech Death like Necrophagist and Psycroptic to Prog Death to Prog Power to Classic Prog... as long as it's Metal, it's all good.



MQ2: Top 5...