Math Metal , Math Rock , Prog Metal : Search & Destroy/Classic Or Dud?

I think it's because they made the mistake of collaborating with Mike Patton, but to be honest, Calculating Infinity just seems like...well, like they're doing calculations in their heads instead of asking the crucial question, "How can we rock the fucking ceiling off this place?"

nobody has mentioned philly band dyssrythmia(i probably spelled that wrong). i don't really care for the album, too noodly or zappa-ish for me, but they belong on this thread.

Death "Individual Thought Patterns" (their most interesting and best one)
Pestilence "Testimony Of The Ancients" (less weirdness-for-the-sake-of-it than "Spheres" and better songs = their best)

I remember I used to like Rhadamantys and Hybernoid circa 1993 but I don't have any of their albums anymore.

Whoever recomended 'We Are The Romans' by Botch is talking sense. You should also check out Converge, Envy, Isis and Neurosis in that style. I guess you could say they all have elements of math and/or progressive metal/hardcore.

And don't forget the mind-boggling obvious: Tool.

Have you even HEARD A Sun That Never Sets?

Both bands would be the same genre, whatever that is, but I think they have taken different paths, especially in arranging out the rhythms.

Neurosis is space age neolithic music, they sound futuristic and very old at the same time.

I'll have to investigate this Cult of Luna.

If anyone ever re-makes 2001: A Space Odyssey, Neurosis should do the soundtrack.

I didn't even know Candiria were still around, but they either just played or are just about to play NYC. I don't care, though.

Mei played me Gorguts the other day and I was very taken with it, I'm getting me some of that

When is the new Isis due?

I've been listening to the new Necrophagist disc quite a bit, because I'm gonna review it for the Cleveland Scene, and this means I've also been listening to Pestilence's Testimony Of The Ancients and Death's Individual Thought Patterns a lot, too. Both of those are better than the Necrophagist disc.

I went looking for Cynic's Focus at the record store today, but couldn't find it. They did have both albums by Gordian Knot, the bassist's new band, though. Are those any good? Lots of 70s prog folks (Bill Bruford, Tony Levin, some others) on 'em.

I need to get that Gorguts twofer myself, those two albums are amongst my favorites of early 90s brutal dumbass-metal.
The new Necrophagist is getting a ludicrous amount of hype... How is it compared to earlier material? I always found Necrophagist to be pretty boring, so I hadn't really considered the possibility that this one might be worth checking out.

Obscura's still one of the be-all end-all metal albums, to me.

I just noticed that I accidentally dissed Ripping Corpse in my old post there. Ripping Corpse is GREAT! Pre-Dim Mak dumb brutal death with that nice techish fling to it that makes the rabbits wiggle their noses and ears. Vomiting Corpses on the other hand...

Despite not really liking them myself, I'll add another search: Axis Of Perdition. Takes that whole "cyber-black metal" trend of the late 90s into really brutal territory. Think Emperor turned into slightly rusty, but nonetheless precise and smelly, spaceships of mass debunnification. Not to be mistaken for the rather great Axis Of Advance and their Voivod-goes-black metal schtick.
Anaal Nathrakh might deserve a mention while we're in this territory.

Some might dig on Misanthrope too.... Lots of fancy doodiddling in a black metal framework that nonetheless recalls Iron Maiden far, far too much. Their fanbase doesn't seem too big, and I can't count myself as part of it either, but those that get into it seem to all get rabid.

For those of you more into the ol' thrash thing (mainly the moshy Anthrax side) Forced Entry's Uncertain Future's worth mentioning. Maybe not quite as proggy as this thread might be for, but what the hey...
I need to just step away from this thread and pretend it never appeared, as I fear I'll come back to it every 6 months for the rest of my life (eventually to say that metal suxxx and u shuld all listn 2 SHAKTI instddd dudz rulz like fuzen but acustik!)
yeah, sleep... good... night

The most recent Flying Luttenbachers disc, The Void, is their most guitar-heavy in awhile. And now Mick Barr's joined the band! He'll be with 'em whenever they tour the US, and he'll be on the next CD, whenever that comes out. Weasel Walter + Mick Barr = my head exploding.

has anyone heard the album "Five Minutes" by Bowl Ethereal? it was offered free if you signed up for their email list a year or two ago...it's the Honor Role/Breadwinner/Loincloth dude but anyway it's kind of brilliant, this incredibly complex, knotty math metal but there's five songs of exactly (to the second) 1 minute each.

math metal is kind of made for 1 minute songs

Good thread. I haven't listened to much of this stuff in years. Need to catch up.

Not heard it m@tt but id like to

Bowl Ethereal (kept misreading it as Bowel) are pretty good. As much as I like a good wallow in riffs it's refreshing to hear that kind of thing being done with such brevity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT8mSZBJzJA

Confessor rules hope that's ok with you

In fact I kinda wonder if Meshuggah were fans of Condemned, the guitars-as-percussives, proggy weird time signature thing wasn't exactly common at the time.

My wife has started listening to music again. After being in a long phase of "just whatever's on the radio", she has emerged as a fan of the more progressive and melodic strains of metal. Mostly a lot of progressive metalcore - stuff like Northlane and Erra.

Today she asked me to find something similar to Ne Obliviscaris, so I guess progressive metal with a violin or other strings. Any thoughts?

Also, she's interested in newer metal and can always suss out when I try to slip her some album I thought was cool for a month 15 years ago or something.

I know I've pushed them in a couple places, but maybe the last Caligula's Horse album? Very melodic, melancholic prog metal with some djenty bits.

Totally different from most of these bands but I can't quite fit them on the Power Metal thread: Fate's Warning. Been listening to Awaken The Guardian and I like some songs a lot so far. I'm not sure it goes especially far in any direction, mostly sounds like 80s metal to me before I can think of a subgenre. There was a brilliant prog list on youtube years ago that featured their album No Exit, so maybe that is their prog highlight?

"Guardian" is an absolutely stunning song, the rest I'm still chewing on but that song is a justified classic.

Love the shonky cover art of their first album.
https://www.discogs.com/Fates-Warning-Night-On-Br%C3%B6cken/master/150629

"Karen's been asleep forever I know she hears me
She has so much to say, the machine sparks
Her eggshell mind a tear streams from her face
Into my hand, to my heart"

It's a fun album. Anyone got Fate's Warning experiences?

Mike Portnoy in the sleeve notes regards them as the first true prog metal band.

Really enjoying Watchtower's Control And Resistance. Feels more substantially prog than a lot of bands tagged as prog metal. Crazy vocals are great.

A shame they didn't do more stuff. Anyone like the reunion stuff? Are there any related bands worth checking out? One of them is called Retarded Elf.

Confessor seems promising but I don't think there's an original member connection there

Confessor are GREAT.

Seems like Watchtower vocalist Alan Tecchio has been in the most bands of all the members

I might have a look at his other bands someday, I really like him and the way he says "reason" as "REASAHAAAWWWN". Sleeve notes say he was tiring of the super high vocals so maybe he sings very differently in other bands.

My common complaint about prog metal and modern prog in general is that they don't bring much prog but Watchtower really deserve the label

Tecchio is back with Watchtower, wonder what his voice sounds like now?