[atlantaprog] Re: Prog metal

Allen Welty-Green wrote:

...just doesn't do much for me! The new Progression includes a sampler from Inside Out with a lot of prog metal on it (Symphony X, Derek Sherinian, etc.) and I keep listening to it, hoping I'll develop a taste for it, but it just ain't happening. The things that bug me about the genre are things like massive wall-of-distortion guitars on virtually every track, overly strained vocals, keyboards (when present) generally limited to background colors (hey, I'm, a keyboardist! What can I say?), massive wall-of-distortion guitars on virtually every track, wailing how-many-notes-can-I-squeeze-into-a-measure solos (did I mention massive wall-of-distortion guitars on virtually every track?)

Now that I've stirred some of you up, let me say that I am not putting it down as a genre, and I respect the players immensely. It's just generally not to my taste. Maybe some of you prog-metal heads out there can enlighten me?

If you haven't already, you should check out Niacin. That is bassist Billy Sheehan's fusion band. Not a single electric guitar in sight. Bass, drums, and keys (hammond B-3 mostly I think). When you think of Billy Sheehan you don't normally think of fusion, but they are really good. Being a guitar player wanting (NEEDING) to hear guitar in my fusion records, and still liking them, should say something about them. THeir CDs are either put out by guitar9 (www.guitar9.com) or Magna Carta (www.magnacarta.com I believe). I can't remember which, but there should be audio samples on the site. THe audio may or may not do them justice. I have only heard a few songs off of the CD on my XM radio, but I also heard a live Niacin show on my XM and that was absolutely killer!

Alex F/Brain21


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