Watchtower - Energetic Disassembly Subgenre(s): Progressive Metal
Score: 70
Year: 1985
My Rank in Year as of this listen: 31st
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This album seems to get a lot of love and ink, mostly because many credit it as being the first progressive metal album. While it is rightfully classified as progressive metal, I'm going to call it a more specific progressive thrash as thrash is very clearly the type of metal underlying the introduction of the progressive elements, mostly expressed in the rhythm section. In fact, the group sounds more like Flotsam and Jetsam than any prog or other prog metal group I can think of. It does get problematic for me though as the vocalist seems determined to out-Priest Rob Halford and the constant shrieks punctuating lines similarly throughout the album gets tiresome. So, fine music which can technically be called progressive but is more thrash-ish than anything somewhat marred by a vocal style that desperately cries out for more variety, let alone any nuance. I give it props for tyring, and for being the progenitor of a great genre and rank it accordingly, even if I don't totally love it.
Nice review! The drumming alone is worth the price of admission.
I think it's more Prog Metal than Thrash personally.
Definitely worthy of the hype it gets although I agree the vocals make it a tough slog at times.
FischmanRockMonster, JazzMeister, Bluesboy,ClassicalMasterProfile Land of Enchantment
Shub-Niggurath - Les morts vont vite Subgenre(s): Zeuhl
Score: 75
Year: 1986
My Rank in Year as of this listen: 34th
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While this is classified as Zeuhl and really isn't metal, I'm going to call it "Doom-prog." Fascinating stuff this is. It has those Zeuhl hallmarks and not so much of the distorted guitar chords of doom, it certainly has a doom attitude. Slow, low key, plodding but doing so relentlessly, as a gradually approaching chaos you are incapable of escaping. Making this all the more interesting is the almost operatic female vocals and the instrumental color added by the trombone. Now there's a farily common instrument that is still rather uncommon in prog, but it plays a most prominent part here. Add to that a fuzzed out downtuned bass, and you've got quite a foundation for some seriously sludgy prog, but again sludgy prog nicely contrasted by the hauntingly beautiful female vocals. If you're looking for a dark, medieval vibe in a unique prog package, this should fit the bill nicely.
Last edited by Fischman on 08/07/2025 01:52; edited 1 time in total
FischmanRockMonster, JazzMeister, Bluesboy,ClassicalMasterProfile Land of Enchantment
Mr. Sirius - Barren Dream Subgenre(s): Canterbury Scene
Score: 85
Year: 1987
My Rank in Year as of this listen: 5th
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1987 was actually a pretty big music year for me. Had I heard this album back in the day, I daresay I would have liked 1987 even more!
This is as lovely a female fronted, symphonic prog influenced bit of Canterbury Scene music one could ever hope to hear. The vocals range from sweet to haunting and the often acoustic music creates amazing mood and often bursts into dynamic electric awesomeness. There are plenty of time changes and beats that go off kilter, but without destroying the overall pastoral vibe. Quite an achievement. This is a solid top shelf keeper and definitely helps keep my faith in the 80s!
The 80s are considered by many to be a sort of musical black hole, a cultural and artistic wasteland of sorts. While much of my favorite music comes from the 80s, its mostly squarely in the hard rock and heavy metal realms. Back at the time, I had no exposure to the very broad world of prog; I was just familiar with the big names and there I would have agreed with the general view of the decade as it applied to prog as far as I knew. I had no use for 90215; Floyd's glory days were well behind, Tull was clearly in decline, and Genesis would never be great without Hackett.
But is it really all that gloomy? It's time I start looking into that! Thanks to the internet age, I've already discovered many great prog acts from the 70s that I missed back in the day, so let's checkout the 80s, specifically second tier or obscure bands not big enough to be on the radar of a music fan without ready access to that niche.
That in mind, my next 10 prog listens will be one per 80s year in chronological order, focusing on bands I currently know little of.
Now I'm not honestly expecting to unearth my next Gentle Giant or Premiata Forneria Marconi, but I have high hopes for some exciting new discoveries along the way.
Nice project! Personally I think the 80s rule, BUT I think you're right about how the 80s is viewed for Prog music in particular. I'll definitely check a bunch of these out even though I'm not the biggest prog head.
Midas - Beyond the Clean Air Subgenre(s): Symphonic Prog
Score: 85
Year: 1988
My Rank in Year as of this listen: 7th
I failed to mention yesterday that Mr. Sirius hail from Japan. By pure random chance, today's artist is also Japanese. Come to think of it, when I stumbled upon Pazzo Fanfano di Musica a while back, despite the very Italian name, they are also from Japan. It seems the late 80s saw a major prog revival in Japan. Not so much as they got their own genre named after them like the Italians did with Rock Progressivo Italiano in the early 70s, but still a major movement. Since hitting the last album, I have stumbled across a good number of other late 80s Japanese prog acts, as well as having one recommended to me. This is exciting. What's also cool is Sirius was Canterbury, Midas is Symphonic Prog, and the aforementioned Pazzo was playing some folk prog on the album I checked out. So this Japanese wave of prog is all over the genre, not a bunch of copycats all chasing the same trend. I'm loving the diversity of late 80s Japanese prog.
For now, we're just talking about Midas. Their Beyond the Clean Air album is another joyous discovery. This is symphonic prog very much in the vein of early Genesis. But the real clincher for them is the violin. Eigo Utoh, who also serves as vocalist, plays a very expressive electric violin which serves as the main melody album throughout. While the instrument may have classical origins, there's never any doubt this is a progressive rock album. Utoh is a master of melody and extracts a most expressive tone to match, carrying the melodic weight of the album with aplomb. If you know anybody who thinks violin doesn't belong in rock, have them give this a listen.
This is another excellent album, and if the 80s are a worthy decade for prog, we definitely owe the Japanese a huge thanks for helping make that so.
Last edited by Fischman on 08/07/2025 01:55; edited 1 time in total
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Devil Doll - The Girl Who Was ... Death Subgenre(s): Heavy Prog
Score: 70
Year: 1989
My Rank in Year as of this listen: 42nd
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Well, Halloween came a month early with this one
.... positively macabre! This is definitely an album tou don't want to meet alone in a dark alley at Night.
The vocals are more spoken as from a character than sung. This is more like progressive musical theater than progressive rock. Relentlessly heavy and relentlessly dark; if you're in the mood, it can be intriguing and exciting.... if not, you won't last very long.
FischmanRockMonster, JazzMeister, Bluesboy,ClassicalMasterProfile Land of Enchantment
Ain Soph - A Story of Mysterious Forest Subgenre(s): Fusion, Canterbury Scene
Score: 80
Year: 1980
My Rank in Year as of this listen: 14th
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Outer Limits - The Scene of Pale Blue Subgenre(s): Symphonic Prog
Score: 75
Year: 1987
My Rank in Year as of this listen: 23rd
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I had originally planned on wrapping up my tour of prog in the 80s with the 1989 entry. But along the way, I became intrigued with this Japanese prog movement. Most of all, I wanted to check out the Ain Soph recommendation. But I also stumbled upon a group called Outer Limits that I also wasn't going to leave behind.
The Ain Soph proved to be an excellent recommendation. This is an exciting meeting of jazz rock fusion and Canterbury with a little symphonic prog thrown in. The album kicks off with some very Mahavishnu McLaughlin guitar indicating pure fusion, but then the Canterbury Scene makes its way in and the result is both unique and impressive while being eminently listenable. The 19-minute title cut is one of those superb prog epics. I think this album is an amazing musical accomplishment.
With the Outer Limits album, we shift from fusion to symphonic prog with just a hint of arena rock. This is another Japanese prog album with violin, but rather than the more symphonic sound, it a rather Kansas-like employment of the instrument, which i like very much. Combine this with some early Genesis-like composition and Camel-ish melodic sensibility, and this album has a lot going for it. Holding it back a little is that those compositions aren't as masterful as Genesis, some questionable vocals,, and some now problematic engineering, including some very 80s sounding drums. Still, a really cool album overall and good enough to make me want to hear more of this group.
In the end, I've very much enjoyed my tour through the decade considered to be a dearth period for prog and it indeed goes to show that there is no shortage of silver linings even in the darkest of musical clouds.
Last edited by Fischman on 08/07/2025 01:57; edited 2 times in total
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Animals as Leaders - The Madness of Many Subgenre(s): Progressive/Technical Metal
Score: 75
Year: 2016
My Rank in Year as of this listen: 9th
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So let's get this out of the way up front: if I was to try to convince a prog metal skeptic that the genre isn't just artless wankery, this is not the album I would choose to try to convince them otherwise. The compositions aren't all that deep and the serve just well enough to link all those athletic licks together.
Now with all that said, I really like this album. The musicianship is truly stunning. Lead guitarist Tosin Abasi is clearly in the most elite of upper echelon circles as a technical wizard on the fretboard. Think an even more technical/extreme Satriani. But where Satriani's music suffers from a rather mundane and unimaginative rhythm section, Animals as Leaders drummer Matthew Garstka is both technical and creative. Better yet is the intricate interweaving of those impressive guitar and drum parts, making the whole even greater than the sum of its already impressive parts.
And there's just enough melody tucked away here to round out the technical wizardry and hold my interest.
Last edited by Fischman on 10/14/2023 18:31; edited 1 time in total
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