Progressive Rock

Most music I listen to at least by some definition falls under the blanket term "Progressive Rock". Progressive Rock is can be defined by many features. One of the most distinct features is a fondness for concept albums. Concept albums are albums where the songs are united to form a common theme or where the songs unite to form a story quite often featuring elements science-fiction or fantasy. Another feature of progressive rock is the use of irregular time signatures. The first time I realized that I really liked this type of music was when I first heard YYZ by Rush.

Up until that point most of the music I had listened to was fairly simple rock with the standard 4/4 timing and your typical verse-chorus-verse structure. This song however blew me away. I was amazed that a three man band could sound that good. The turning point for me was probably after I bought the album 2112(A concept album about a totalitarian society). I saw it on sale at Best Buy for 5.99 and was like I like Rush it's cheap I can't go wrong so I bought it. The way I felt after I listened to that CD can only be described as flabbergasted. I didn't know bands could play 20 minute songs. Most bands I had listened to up to that point could barely keep a 5 minute song sounding fresh. But in 2112 rush kept you guessing as to which direction the song would go next. After buying that CD (along with Sting's Greatest Hits, which ended up getting two and a half play-throughs) I decided I had to find more artists like this. I ended up listening to Dream Theater a band that's sound has been described as a combination of Iron Maiden and Rush. Dream Theater may possibly be one of the most technically proficient bands in the world. There may be more talented individuals, but as far as groups go it doesn't get more talented than Dream Theater. This band barely has any songs less than 10 minutes long and these songs are filled to the edge with amazing riffs and relentless drumming.

I wanted to see this band so bad that when they didn't stop in Dallas for a tour me and a couple friends literally drove across the country to see them play. 2112 was my gateway drug and it introduced me to a whole new genre of music. There isn't a whole lot of pure progressive rock now, but there are many bands that have progressive elements. The main ones I listen to are The Mars Volta, Coheed and Cambria and Porcupine Tree. The Mars Volta is totally unpredictable and uses irregular time signatures more than any band I know.
Coheed and Cambria has been classified as many things but what marks them as progressive is their use of concept albums. Their first four CDs were all concept albums that were all part of one story and their latest CD a prequel to this story.
Porcupine Tree is kind of like a modern version of prog-rock pioneers Pink Floyd. To be honest I never really got into Pink Floyd, but every Porcupine Tree Cd has been pretty good, with the exception of their first CD.

I hope the videos I have posted have effectively illustrated how diverse progreeive rock really is.