History Main / ProgressiveMetal

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. 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/BlackSabbath, Music/DeepPurple, Music/{{Rainbow}}, and Music/{{Scorpions}}), as well as prog acts with heavier songs (particularly Music/KingCrimson, Music/{{Rush}} and Music/{{Hawkwind}}), 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 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/{{Metallica}}: ''...And Justice For All'' (1988), also listed as prog metal on Wikipedia, had several tracks that ran for almost ten minutes, but even before then, ''Music/RideTheLightning'' (1984) and ''Music/MasterOfPuppets'' (1986) had several tracks with multiple segments that ran for seven or eight minutes

* Music/{{Exotype}} (GenreBusting example combined with {{Metalcore}}, NuMetal, {{Deathcore}}, {{Djent}}, [[{{Dubstep}} Brostep]], {{Industrial}}, Glitch, {{Trance}}, and whatever else)

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness:
** Varies wildly up and down the scale; it can go anywhere from a low 6 to 10. It can usually be found near on the scale to its non progressive equivalent.
** Neo Classical Metal is often found from between 5-8

** Music/VanDerGraafGenerator are a strange case in that they manage to be as heavy as many progressive metal bands (reaching an 8 on the MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness at the heaviest parts of all three songs on ''Pawn Hearts'' [1971], for example) without using electric guitars much. This is accomplished in large part through the central role of brass instruments and organ (which, under the right circumstances, can have a heaviness similar to that of guitars) and Peter Hammill's ''intense'' MetalScream.

* Creator/NobuoUematsu with his bands The Black Mages and Earthbound Papas

** Music/{{Yes}}' live material, most notably the live performance of "The Fish (Schindleria praematurus)" on ''Yessongs'' (recorded 1972, released 1973), could sometimes have the power and intensity of heavy metal. As for their studio efforts, their otherwise divisive 1980 album ''Drama'' features heavier riffing from Steve Howe than had ever before, particularly on the opening track "Machine Messiah", a song which [[Music/DreamTheater Mike Portnoy]] cited as an influence.

* Music/RiversOfNihil (also TechnicalDeathMetal, though they lean ''much'' more heavily towards prog circa ''Where Owls Know My Name'')

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. 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/BlackSabbath, Music/DeepPurple, Music/{{Rainbow}}, and Music/{{Scorpions}}), as well as prog acts with heavier songs (particularly Music/KingCrimson and Music/{{Rush}}), 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 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.