No clear cut definition exists as to just what exactly is meant by the terms "progressive music," "progressive rock," or "progressive metal."  To get a true sense of what these terms mean, one must take into consideration all the sub-genres, properties, styles, characteristics, and all the other abstract qualities that surround it.

Such an effort would be remiss, however, if I didn't state clearly that which I think progressive music IS NOT. For my own part, I happen to think that way too much emphasis is placed on the idea that the "progressive" adjective suggests, or even requires, that the genre's music be some sort of ever-evolving entity. I believe this notion to be laughable. I feel that the title "progressive" is no more than a descriptive term by which to classify music with certain qualities, not an instruction that obligates the music to a strict sense of development. In truth, it is more accurate in my mind to attribute the origin of the term "progressive" to that of "music that has progressed beyond that of conventional music" rather than "music that is continually progressing". So, while I certainly have no desire for a stagnant, repetitve prog rock scene, I think it is considerably off the mark, excessively broad, and perhaps overly idealistic, to cling to the ideal that "progressive" music implies constant change.

Progressive Properties

To begin, I will list and define some of the general characteristics of progressive music:
  1) Longer songs
  2) Time changes
  3) More complex instrumentation / Superior vocals
  4) More complex conceptual ideas / Heightened lyrical content

1) Longer songs - Generally speaking, prog bands have a tendency to create very long ("epic") songs, generally a combination of greater lyrical content and some very lengthy instrumental passages. More often than not, these songs will break away from the traditional verse/chorus song structure and will be broken up into different parts or movements (though usually not divided into separate tracks on the CD, itself). This creates something along the lines of an orchestral suite or an album within an album. For example, Rush's 2112 as an album does not really hold to any one concept, but the 20 minute, multi-part title track is a song that plays like an album. Generally, I'd say most songs by prog bands are somewhere between 5 - 10 min long, with average song durations being in the ballpark of 7 minutes or so. The extreme cases -- like the example above -- can be 20 minutes or more.

2) Time changes - One element that can dub a band "progressive" is the time change or odd-beat characteristic. I'm not going to pretend to know everything about this, but there is a noticeable difference between the structure of songs with really common beats (like 4/4) and those that use diverse and complicated rhythms and/or switch between beats (like 7/4, 11/8, 9/4, free-time, etc...). Many prog bands have very talented drummers and are able to put it all together very nicely. Yet, at first, many (myself included) may find certain bands or albums hard to "get into." This usually stems from songs less than conventional song structures that take a little work to follow along with. Within a few listens, though, it usually clicks.

3) More complex instrumentation / Superior vocals - The instrumentation is another element that will separate ordinary rock/metal from progressive rock/metal. Commonly, one will find some type of piano, keyboard, and/or synthesizer among a prog band's repetoire. Also, one may find strings (violins, cellos, etc), flute, timpano, and other more peculiar instruments mixed in with the guitar and drum setup typically found in rock and metal to produce the "progressive" sound. To an extent, progressive music will tend to have a more classical influence than would your typical, blues-based rock music. This powerful and beautiful mix of rock and symphonic elements was my initial draw to prog music. Furthermore, there is a certain higher standard of talent set by many progressive artists. Countless prog musicians could be considered virtuosos at their respective positions, usually with both passion and technical ability. There is essentially NO three-chord song in the world of prog (sure there's "June" by Spock's Beard and Marillion's "After Me," but....)
    Another emblematic aspect of prog music is the incredible range and singing ability of many of the genre's vocalists. Sure, prog bands put a very large emphasis on the music, but more often than not you'll see wonderful vocals in front of the music. Emotional Broadway-style displays, Multi-part counterpoint vocal melodies, and other layered vocal arrangements and choirs not only deliver a message, but also enhance the music, and becoming part of it.

4) More complex conceptual ideas / Heightened lyrical content - Not unrelated to the first property on the list, prog bands -- for the most part -- seem to undertake massive projects in developing ideas in their songs and albums. As a rule, lyrics in progressive music tends to be of a more sophisticated and intellectual nature -- sometimes fantasy based, sometimes pure original fiction, and sometimes dealing with heartfelt human emotion. No matter what the case, like true poets, usually these ideas are not blatantly brought out to the forefront. Instead they are set back - not really hidden, but not always completely obvious, either -- waiting to be discovered (and duly interpreted) by the listener. A somewhat common element of progressive music is the "concept album" (or "rock-opera"), which is basically a storyline or theme-based work in which the individual songs on an album all relate to one another to either directly recount a story or to immerse the listener into a more abstract experience.

And the Categories Are...?

There are many sub-genres related to the world of progressive music that you'll stumble across. This list of terms will most certainly not be a complete list of prog music types. This is basically just a rundown of some of the genre-related terms I may use in this text or in my reviews.

  1) Progressive rock & Progressive metal
  2) Symphonic rock
  3) Neo-prog
  4) Art-rock
  5) Technical Metal
  6) Neo-classical & Power Metal
  7) Fusion, Experimental, Broadway metal & Opera metal, Houston-scene rock, Prog-pop, Doom, AOR

1) Progressive rock & Progressive metal - These are the two major divisions of progressive music from which many other categories can be sub-classified. Basically, prog metal will combine elements of heavy metal (such as heavily distorted guitars and fast rhythms) with some or all of those prog traits outlined in the above section, while prog rock combines a less "edgy" (rock / hard rock) sound with those aforementioned characteristics.

2) Symphonic rock - A relitively easy one, symphonic rock lumps together those bands that seem to draw heavily from incorporating orchestral and classical influences into their music. This term is generally seen attached to 70s progressive bands, though it would not be out of the question to label some of today's bands as such. Still, many of the less progressive metal bands that incorporate symphonic elements will less arguably fall into the category of "power metal" (see below).

3) Neo-prog - This term I saw for the first time being used to describe the sound of the band Marillion. Generally, neo-prog acts have a very identifiable, keyboard driven sound that to my ears seems to have originated with old Genesis. Marillion carried this torch in the 80s, with bands like IQ, Saga, and Arena being the biggest names in neo-prog currently.

4) Art-rock - Here is a term I've see get kicked around a little in prog conversations. In my mind, "art" is just used primarily as a substitute for "progressive" in most contexts. That said, this term also seems carry a bit of a tone-downed connotation. That is, many times when a band is being described in this manner, the writer seems to have reservations abount classifying the band as a full fledged prog band. For me, this term has taken on the meaning of "prog-lite."

5) Technical Metal - A term used to describe certain bands that play an especially complex and skilled style of heavy metal music. These bands usually write songs soley for the sake of showcasing musicians' abilities and expressing creatively and experimentally with music. Often this goes so far as to mean completely abandoning the idea of memorable or emotional song-writing in pursuit of creating stunningly complex material.

6) Neo-classical & Power Metal - For the most part, these two go hand in hand. Neo-classical is actually a sub-genre under power metal, and, as its name suggests, describes bands whose sound is a modern-classical sound. Speedy guitar riffs and solos that may sound more like Mozart or Paganini set the stage, while violins, harpsichords, and choirs give a very convincingly classical edge to the music. Among the most "popular " bands of this nature are Symphony X and Stratovarius. Power metal refers to the genre that speed metal evolved into as bands like Helloween introduced more of a melodic flair and greater variety into the genre. The sound is not necessarily more "powerful" or "louder" in any way, but power metal bands usually have catchier, more anthem-like songs with more fantasy-based subject matter and really strong choruses. Song structure is sometimes crescendo'ed around these choruses thus creating a more theatrical, dramatic, and/or emotionally "powerful" sound. This can be quite distinct from progressive metal -- many power metal bands are not really progressive at all, though when they employ symphonic instrumentation or operatic choral effects -- even odd time signatures -- lines between power and progressive metal can become blurred. The bands Symphony X and Angra, for instance.

7) Fusion, Experimental, Broadway metal & Opera metal, Houston-scene rock, Prog-pop, Doom, AOR - The list goes on and on and on. As you can see, Progressive Music can be a very broad term. In time I hope to touch on each of these categories.

Who is progressive?

You may be wondering just what kinds of popular, more mainstream bands may be considered progressive. Some bands that have achieved certain levels of mainstream success will always be debated as to whether or not they should indeed be considered truly progressive. Bands such as Rush, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Yes, and ELP (Emerson, Lake, and Palmer), Queen, and Alan Parsons Project are some of the more well-known names in prog. Since their time (the 1970's was the height of prog's place in society) progressive music has kind of fallen into obscurity. Bands who have begun to lead a new, mostly underground revival of prog into some degree of media exposure have been Marillion, Fates Warning, Queensryche, Savatage, and (more recently) Dream Theater and Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

The Progressive Ego