Well many of you may not be familiar with this kind of music but those of you who are, does progressive music inspire you to write? Does it play a big part of your writing process or are your imaginations conceived from prog music? I personally found a certain peace while listening to prog music, specifically octavarium. I feel enlightened with a new imagination when warming up with prog music. What are your thoughts on this?
I can't say that prog has inspired me to write anything in particular, but I often use it to colour my mood. I tend to get more out of music that is instrumental but a few vocalists manage to break through that barrier. I'm a big fan of Maynard James Keenan of Tool, but if I had to choose just one vocalist/lyricist it would have to be Fish, (AKA William Dick) Marillion's first. He can transport me where no one else can. I find it hard to put my finger on exactly why he does it for me. His lyrics are intelligent, poignant, and so amazingly syncopated to the musical accompaniment. I only had the pleasure of seeing him with Marillion once but he made a lasting impression. In all honesty, he makes me feel like I'm totally shit at making the best use of my vocabulary, my knowledge of music and particularly rhythm. A sample for those not familiar: Emerald Lies To be the prince of possession in the gallery of contempt Suffering your indiscreet discretions and you ask me to relent As you accumulate flirtations with the calculated calmness of the whore I am the harlequin - diamonded costume dripping shades of green I am the harlequin - sense strangers violate my sanctuary Prowl my dreams Plundering your diaries, I'll steal your thoughts Ravaging your letters, unearth your plots innocence To don the robes of Torquemada, resurrect the inquisition In that tortured subtle manner inflict questions within questions Looking in shades of green through shades of blue I trust you trust in me to mistrust you Through the Silk Cut haze to the smeared mascara A 40 watt sun on a courtroom drama And the coffee stains gather till the pale kimono Set the wedding rings dancing on the cold linoleum And accusations moths that circle on the light Char their wings and spiral senseless suicidal flight You packed your world within a suitcase, hot tears melt this icy palace Dissolve a crystal swallowed by the night Looking in shades of green through shades of blue Looking in shades of green through shades of blue And because I think it's necessary to see how the words and melody come together: So...let's say I was writing a piece where I had a couple on the verge of splitting up due to one partners jealousy; I might well play this beforehand to get my head in the right place.
Prog is an amazing genre, and many bands can be considered Prog, Nevermore are a big influence of mine while writing my current WIP Series The Master Swordsman Chronicles, the way their music flows can set the tone for what i need, and for calmer sections where they cannot fit, i find Dream Theater to be a good substitute. This is one of the particular Nevermore albums i listen to a lot.
Whenever I'm sick, I mean dying bedridden sick, I listen to Yes - Roundabout on repeat. I think I listen to it because so much is going on in the music that when I listen to it, I forget the terrible feeling I'm in.
Rush has been a source of inspiration for me for many years now. My first real piece of writing was actually based on the "characters" established in the song "Middletown Dreams." I'd say I'm a fairly casual prog fan. As far as the classics, I love Rush and Yes and like Genesis (though I don't necessarily seek them out). Other classics I tend to have an album or two but don't dig much beyond that...and it also depends on what you classify as "prog"...Moody Blues? Blue Oyster Cult? King Crimson? Jethro Tull? Pink Floyd? All have tendencies, but where's the line? I like some stuff from each. As far as modern prog, again I never know what's technically classified and what isn't. Porcupine Tree and Coheed & Cambria have been inspirations for some stuff. Muse a little less so. I'm not much of a prog metal fan, for the most part, so bands like Between the Buried and Me and Mastodon do very little for me. Dream Theater never really clicked for me, either. But inspirational music is definitely not limited to prog (though Rush is still probably the biggest one for me). Any good storytelling-songwriting works as inspiration...Counting Crows and Mark Knopfler/Dire Straits have directly influenced stories I've written. Essentially, music good.
I literally, like, love this song! and have to say I agree on the whole bassline thing, it is amazing! (no joke, i paused an episode of Criminal Minds to listen to this!
Chris Squire was one of the greats. Saw them with Jon Davison when they played through Close to the Edge, The Yes Album, and Going For the One all in one night. When they played "Awaken," I think it was, Squire came out with a triple-neck bass. Not double. Triple. RIP, man. Keep on rocking.
I enjoy Dream Theater. They are a Prog-Metal band. Constant Motion, and Forsaken are a couple of my faves (though they are a bit of their older songs). Check them out. I still listen to them even though they swapped out drummers.
it seems to be that a few of us are DT fans, @Annihilation mentioned Octavarium, are you looking forward to listening to their new album?
Any prog fans who haven't heard The Mars Volta should check them out. Frances the Mute is absolutely one of the best prog records I've heard. But it's not accessible music. It's quite the opposite.
Definitely an interesting band, though not one that ever really clicked with me. The first album was okay, Frances the Mute had a few cool moments, but beyond that I'm pretty much out. I did like one or two on Octahedron, though. Indeed. Also saw them twice with Benoit David, both headline acts, with Peter Frampton and Styx as the respective openers. Both times the openers were way better than expected, and probably better than Yes. Never got to see them with Jon Anderson. And, at this point, I highly doubt they'd tour without Chris Squire, so I'd guess the days of seeing them at all are over.
Oh yes, the astonishing looks amazing. When you think about it, DT are writers themselves! They even made characters, setting and stories for the album. I'm very excited to hear it.
Oh yes, frances the mute was a brilliant album. It's also a coincidence that it came out the same year as opeth's ghost reveries and dream theater's octavarium which are my two favorite prog albums.
Two other brilliant albums. I love all of DT's work, even Falling Into Infinity, which the band apparently loathes. Trial of Tears, IMO, is one of the band's finest moments. Can't wait for The Astonishing. I love Opeth's older stuff, especially Blackwater Park and Ghost Reveries. I have to be honest, though. I'm deeply inimpressed with their last two records. They've lost their identity. They used to combine Swedish acoustic and death metal. How clever was that? Now those elements are gone and what's left is formula '70's prog. Not impressed.
They haven't gone into concept territory since Six Degrees. I'm excited to see what they come up with. You know, DT has kind of an odd fan base. I hear stuff like this too often: "They haven't made a decent record since Scenes From a Memory." In which case, I have to wonder why these folks still follow them. Maybe a band that covers as much musical ground as DT has tends to alienate some folks. Or maybe it shows that DT fans are highly selective. Who knows.
I think a lot of bands get this fan treatment. I know Rush has all sorts of cliques: "Moving Pictures was the last good album" or "Everything after Grace Under Pressure sucks" or "They really jumped the shark with Roll the Bones." Essentially, pick an album and there's a sect that thinks it was the last good one. Except Roll the Bones. All True Fans (TM) know that one is utter shit (despite having at least 5-6 standout tracks...). Fan bases are often the best and worst groups of people at the exact same time.
I think BP is where their sound really evolved. But Morningrise has some wild prog, as does Still Life. I'm not wild about Deliverance or Damnation, though rabid Opeth fans seem in love with Damnation. It was a neat experiment that didn't last. Unfortunately, Heritage was the experiment that has lasted. Mikael seems to loathe metal now, as though it's beneath him. If it's not beneath Dream Theater, how is it beneath him? Anyway, I still appreciate their older stuff (and Watershed is good, too).
