History Main / ProgressiveMetal

* Music/KingCrimson (their heavier output in the 70's was a noticeable UrExample of the genre, which they fully embraced in the late 90's)

%%** Many of the proggier HardRock / ArenaRock and heavier ProgressiveRock bands of the 70s count to some extent as well- good examples are Music/UriahHeep and Music/{{Budgie}} (heavy enough to practically count as Metal, but still very progressive), Music/{{Kansas}} and Music/{{Styx}} (hard-rocking, proggy ArenaRock bands) and the aforementioned Music/{{Rush|Band}} and Music/KingCrimson (the latter of whom would come to fully embrace the genre in the late 90's), along with Music/JethroTull and more obscure bands like Music/{{Hawkwind}}, The Pink Fairies, Wishbone Ash, Atomic Rooster, High Tide, Epitaph and Blackwater Park (yup, the band Music/{{Opeth}} named their biggest album for). It helps that the boundaries between early HeavyMetal, HardRock, ProgressiveRock and ArenaRock were pretty fluid back then-- Metal as a whole was still an UnbuiltTrope at that point.

A subset of HeavyMetal which combines the musical intricacies of ProgressiveRock with the heavy, guitar/drum-driven sound of metal. Progressive Metal may also include more overt flavorings of Classical music, such as operatic vocals or symphonic arrangements; bands with modern classical leanings usually skew more towards AvantGardeMetal. As with other forms of metal, the lyrical themes tend to be DarkerAndEdgier compared to traditional prog, with more sophistication than other forms of hard rock. A concrete definition of progressive metal is hard to pin down, so the status of many bands as progressive metal can be ambiguous. Its roots trace all the way back to hard rock and early heavy metal acts who dabbled in progressive rock (namely Music/LedZeppelin, Music/BlackSabbath, Music/DeepPurple, Music/{{Rainbow}}, and Music/{{Scorpions|Band}}[[note]]as well as Uli Jon Roth's post-Scorpions work with Electric Sun[[/note]]), as well as prog acts with heavier songs (particularly Music/KingCrimson, Music/{{Rush|Band}}, Music/{{Hawkwind}}, Music/RogerWaters-era Music/PinkFloyd), and [[Music/KingDiamond Mercyful Fate]] and Music/IronMaiden were among the first acts to play traditional heavy metal with overt prog elements. Progressive metal itself is generally agreed to have solidified with Music/{{Queensryche}}, Music/{{Watchtower}}, Music/CrimsonGlory, Fates Warning, and Music/{{Voivod}}, while Music/{{Savatage}}'s burgeoning RockOpera-centric SignatureStyle and heavily showtune-influenced compositions also helped build the genre, though it is debatable whether they were a full example by the time that the others were making their mark.

* Music/{{Baroness}}

* Music/FaithNoMore (also FunkMetal and AlternativeMetal)

** ''Music/AndJusticeForAll1988''