Progressive metal

Progressive metal is a genre of heavy metal music which shares traits with progressive rock including use of complex compositional structures, odd

Progressive metal is a genre of heavy metal music which shares traits with progressive rock including use of complex compositional structures, odd time signatures, and intricate instrumental playing. The high level of musical proficiency is often combined with a lyrical counterpart in the form of epic textual concepts, resulting in lengthy songs and concept albums. As a result of these factors, progressive metal is rarely heard on mainstream radio and video programs.

The origins of progressive metal can be traced back to progressive rock acts of the 1960s and 1970s such as Yes, Queen , Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Genesis and Rush. However, progressive metal did not develop into a genre of its own until the mid-1980s. Although bands such as Rainbow posess many qualities of progressive metal and had experimented with the fusion of metal and classical styles, the genre was not a defined one at the time, such bands prior to the breakout of the genre are generally classified as heavy metal. Acts such as Fates Warning, Queensrÿche, and Dream Theater took elements of these progressive rock groups – primarily the instrumentation and compositional structure of songs – and merged them with heavy metal characteristics attributed to bands like Metallica, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Death, Megadeth, Voivod and Iron Maiden. The result could be described as a progressive rock mentality with heavy metal sounds. One group, often overlooked, is Uriah Heep of Birmingham, England. Though they began as blues-based heavy-metal, the progressive elements they created have carried on to these other great bands.