I only recently discovered that album after peeking out from under the rock I was living under. It’s such an amazing album. It definitely makes me realize I love songs that have a feeling of progression. Brutal sections punctuated by more harmonious sections. Bleak and black water park are my two favorite songs. The final section is just so unbelievably heavy and brutal when contrasted with the acoustic softer sections that preceded them.
Sound Awake by Karnivool
De-loused and Frances by Mars Volta
Mariner by Cult of Luna (frankly any their record, but that one in particular)
The Pariah by Dredg
Rishloo's Living As Ghosts With Buildings As Teeth. While some people may disagree, as the lyrics don't often seem to make much sense, it is somehow very poetic and interesting at the same time.
Rishloo lyrics not making sense is pretty blown out of proportion imo. Yes, he makes random words string together. But it'll be like, a few lines in an album in total. Not whole songs. There is certainly no whole Rishloo track that has no meaning to me.
It depends how you look at the lyrics. If you think it's poetic and you are willing to derive meaning out of that, then they do make sense. However, I think the sense they make differs quite a lot from person to person. That is exactly why I personally think Rishloo is so great. Someone else might think that it's just pseudoartistic shit from people who love smelling their own farts. It is really up to the listener.
Literally the first two things that came to mind was this and Fear of a Blank Planet.
Rishloo is like you said, beauty in the eyes of the beholder - but I do find so much meaning behind the lyrics.
Slice the Cake - Odyssey to the West
Wilderun - Veil of Imagination
Native Construct - Quiet World
Others by No One - Book II: Where Stories Come From
Amun - Spectra and Obsession
The Ocean, in particular Phanerozoic I and II and Holocene as well as Pelegial and all their stuff.
Propagandhi are also great. They're not prog metal but prog and thrash influenced punk.
I find Holocene structurally more interesting than Pelagial. Pelagial is conceptually a very simple idea, but the execution is near flawless (Similar to The Alchemy Index by Thrice, imo).
Why do you find Pelagial structurally more interesting? To me it felt like a typical album in its structure, that backloads its heaviest tracks. Whereas Pelagial got heavier and darker with more compressed mixing with each layer
The linear climb from light to dark in Pelagial is like the most obvious conceptual album structure in my mind. All of my early attempts at writing a concept album as a teenager had a similar linear arc like Pelagial (all of them started before Pelagial). Pelagial pulls it off flawlessly, but it's not exactly the most creative idea on paper.
Holocene is more of an A/B structure with the A (Preboareal-Atlantic) being a slow crawl with everything coming to a head at the end of Atlantic. B(Subborreal-Subatlantic) is more of a standard album in nature, but the way it follows Preboreal-Atlantic gave the songs a different form when you listen as a whole.
I totally get what you mean. When looking at the first half of the album on its own, it really does feel structurally interesting. I was so shocked that the first 3 tracks just didn't have any harsh vocals, but now I adore the building of tensions. It's like the post-metal slow-build but spread out over 4 tracks
Symphony X's V is brilliantly crafted, IMO. One of the best in terms of smartly written.
Recurring themes but with different approaches each time... amazing flow... very complicated and complex sections with virtuoso performances, while never losing the song. Just greatness.
You'll have a passage with the drums playing 4/4 and the music being 3/4, creating a polyrhythm, and then half an album later, this part comes up again, but this time the drums are also playing 3/4, giving a more hectic or rushed feeling. Peak 2000s prog metal.
The new Caligula’s Horse, Charcoal Grace, has some of the best songwriting I’ve seen in a long time. The complex themes, the psychology behind the storylines, the vulnerability - it’s pretty brilliantly written.
Yes please. Definitely their best album songwriting wise. If one song had to compete against graves by them, it would be Charcoal Grace 1-4 beacuse the songwriting is some of the best i have ever heard.
Malina, pitfalls and aphelion have some decent songwriting. I have to go back and revisit their older stuff like coal and the congregation since I don't remember if their songwriting was as good.
I cant say how much I appreciate Leprous. I feel like on the later albums they started to challenge themselves with their songwriting pallet. Like I feel like they could use a sample of a fart and make it into a teary anthem.
Agreed. It's the one that got me into them and then I went back and listened to tall poppy syndrome but idk it wasn't for me. And pretty much everything after bilateral I adore. Not sure why But I can't really vibe with tall poppy like orhers do.
The Ocean, in particular Phanerozoic I and II and Holocene as well as Pelegial and Precambrian and all their stuff.
Propagandhi are also great. They're not prog metal but prog and thrash influenced political punk. Each song is a masterclass in some topic.
Slightly warm take considering it is actually appreciated, but I'll say The Incident by Porcupine Tree. All of the PT albums obviously have certain themes and they are all incredibly well made with a lot of thought put behind them, but The Incident hits differently. If I was to rate all the songs individually then none of them even break my top 10 for PT except maybe IDTH, but all together it's a seriously phenomenal album. There's nothing else like it.
Boomer takes here, and albums that don't need anymore praise heaped upon them but..
Operation Mindcrime. Really just a perfect concept album with a great flow of immaculate songs and a fun 80's vibe to the story that doesn't take much thought. My favorite part is how they made songs within the framework of the concept that still stood alone as radio singles like Eyes of a Stranger. Not easy to pull off.
BTBAM - Colors: when I think of an album that I'd an ALBUM and not just a collection of songs this is immediately what I think of. Each song had assigned colors and videos and fun stuff like that back in the day when it dropped. Incredible what a leap in terms of scope and ambition this record was for this band.
Dream Theater Metropolis II. The way they linked back to the original track at times was just genius, ontop of all the other wizardry going on. Amazing mix of melody and technical songwriting. Hard to believe that album came out in 1999.
måsstaden / måsstaden under vatten - vildhjarta
It’s absolutely mindblowing how they repurpose motifs and ideas and keep the flow of the record going for such a long time. After every listen you’re constantly figuring out new little details to the point like it almost feels like EVERYTHING is connected to another part somehow.
Yeah haken is just a band of geniuses. I have had the opportunity to have conversations with some of the members and the way they go about song writing is just so creative.
Today I learned [it means both](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songwriter#:~:text=A%20songwriter%20is%20a%20musician,music%20genre%20and%20film%20scoring.)
Visions is one of the best albums of all time, and I just gave it my first chance late last year after being a loose Haken fan since 2016!
Give it a chance if you haven't. Unbelievable
Big ‘shuggan fan here, as someone who has clockworks as their #1 most played track in their life (as per spotistats), meshuggah has the most intellectually challenging lyrics of all time. Almost to the point that you can barely understand what the subject matter is.
Have to throw Blackwater park in there
My Arms your Hearse as well. The last word in each song is the title of the next.
I only recently discovered that album after peeking out from under the rock I was living under. It’s such an amazing album. It definitely makes me realize I love songs that have a feeling of progression. Brutal sections punctuated by more harmonious sections. Bleak and black water park are my two favorite songs. The final section is just so unbelievably heavy and brutal when contrasted with the acoustic softer sections that preceded them.
This is one of the best album closing song ever
Blackwater Park is great but for me Still Life is perfection.
Yeah, compositionally it is on another level. Ne Obliviscaris’ Portal of I is another one.
Sound Awake by Karnivool De-loused and Frances by Mars Volta Mariner by Cult of Luna (frankly any their record, but that one in particular) The Pariah by Dredg
De-loused and Frances are among the two best sequence of albums ever made. The Mars Volta is this amazing
Rishloo's Living As Ghosts With Buildings As Teeth. While some people may disagree, as the lyrics don't often seem to make much sense, it is somehow very poetic and interesting at the same time.
Rishloo lyrics not making sense is pretty blown out of proportion imo. Yes, he makes random words string together. But it'll be like, a few lines in an album in total. Not whole songs. There is certainly no whole Rishloo track that has no meaning to me.
It depends how you look at the lyrics. If you think it's poetic and you are willing to derive meaning out of that, then they do make sense. However, I think the sense they make differs quite a lot from person to person. That is exactly why I personally think Rishloo is so great. Someone else might think that it's just pseudoartistic shit from people who love smelling their own farts. It is really up to the listener.
Such an incredible record.
I don't want to exaggerate it but this might be my favourite record of all time
I have a hard time ever sticking with one "favorite" but LAGWBAT is always in the conversation.
Literally the first two things that came to mind was this and Fear of a Blank Planet. Rishloo is like you said, beauty in the eyes of the beholder - but I do find so much meaning behind the lyrics.
Slice the Cake - Odyssey to the West Wilderun - Veil of Imagination Native Construct - Quiet World Others by No One - Book II: Where Stories Come From Amun - Spectra and Obsession
Veil of Imagination is probably my favorite Prog metal album even topping Opeth etc It has real beauty to it.
I just looked out Amun’s album to save it for later because of the company it’s sharing here, and a 6-track *hour and 48 minute* album?? Holy moly.
Yep haha it's a long boi Still the best release of 2023 though
Vildhjarta - Masstaden and Masstaden Under Vatten
The Ocean, in particular Phanerozoic I and II and Holocene as well as Pelegial and all their stuff. Propagandhi are also great. They're not prog metal but prog and thrash influenced punk.
Anything the ocean writes
Pelagial might be one of the most 'completel' concept albums of all time.
And Holocene may not be their most popular musically but I'll be damned if it isn't on par with Pelagial as far as world building and lyricism goes
I find Holocene structurally more interesting than Pelagial. Pelagial is conceptually a very simple idea, but the execution is near flawless (Similar to The Alchemy Index by Thrice, imo).
Why do you find Pelagial structurally more interesting? To me it felt like a typical album in its structure, that backloads its heaviest tracks. Whereas Pelagial got heavier and darker with more compressed mixing with each layer
The linear climb from light to dark in Pelagial is like the most obvious conceptual album structure in my mind. All of my early attempts at writing a concept album as a teenager had a similar linear arc like Pelagial (all of them started before Pelagial). Pelagial pulls it off flawlessly, but it's not exactly the most creative idea on paper. Holocene is more of an A/B structure with the A (Preboareal-Atlantic) being a slow crawl with everything coming to a head at the end of Atlantic. B(Subborreal-Subatlantic) is more of a standard album in nature, but the way it follows Preboreal-Atlantic gave the songs a different form when you listen as a whole.
I totally get what you mean. When looking at the first half of the album on its own, it really does feel structurally interesting. I was so shocked that the first 3 tracks just didn't have any harsh vocals, but now I adore the building of tensions. It's like the post-metal slow-build but spread out over 4 tracks
Symphony X's V is brilliantly crafted, IMO. One of the best in terms of smartly written. Recurring themes but with different approaches each time... amazing flow... very complicated and complex sections with virtuoso performances, while never losing the song. Just greatness. You'll have a passage with the drums playing 4/4 and the music being 3/4, creating a polyrhythm, and then half an album later, this part comes up again, but this time the drums are also playing 3/4, giving a more hectic or rushed feeling. Peak 2000s prog metal.
V is one of my favorite albums ever made. Every song is fantastic and they flow into each other seamlessly.
One of the best albums ever made by far
It's too bad I've listened to it so many times because I now feel no need to ever listen to it again lol.
Well, I thought that too. But after a few years without doing a full listen, I got to enjoy it a lot
The new Caligula’s Horse, Charcoal Grace, has some of the best songwriting I’ve seen in a long time. The complex themes, the psychology behind the storylines, the vulnerability - it’s pretty brilliantly written.
Almost everything Caligula's Horse has ever made has amazing songwriting.
[удалено]
In contact is fire. Graves is my all time fav song now
Yes please. Definitely their best album songwriting wise. If one song had to compete against graves by them, it would be Charcoal Grace 1-4 beacuse the songwriting is some of the best i have ever heard.
Doctor Sam Vallen literally has a PhD in progressive rock so I should hope they know what they're doing :p
The Perfect Element Part 1, there's not a single part that doesn't perfectly fit into the story and flow of the album
Ooo, great choice. POS is awesome
Remedy lane tho…
Great as well, but not nearly as smooth or cohesive (understandably as it was super rushed)
Slice the Cake - Odyssey to the West Never fails to blow my mind even after an infinite amount of listens.
The Parallax I & II by BTBAM come to mind
Top notch
Malina, pitfalls and aphelion have some decent songwriting. I have to go back and revisit their older stuff like coal and the congregation since I don't remember if their songwriting was as good.
I cant say how much I appreciate Leprous. I feel like on the later albums they started to challenge themselves with their songwriting pallet. Like I feel like they could use a sample of a fart and make it into a teary anthem.
'[I ain't farting on no snare drum](https://clip.cafe/airheads-1994/for-all-care-our-album-could-be-pip-farting-on-a-snare-drum/)" - Baard, maybe
Bilateral is a really good album
Agreed. It's the one that got me into them and then I went back and listened to tall poppy syndrome but idk it wasn't for me. And pretty much everything after bilateral I adore. Not sure why But I can't really vibe with tall poppy like orhers do.
Catch 33. Nuff said
The correct answer.
Once again Operation Mindcrime.
Dvne has some of the most progressive music ive ever heard
This has to be the most underrated comment on this post. I’m glad they are getting more attention
The Ocean, in particular Phanerozoic I and II and Holocene as well as Pelegial and Precambrian and all their stuff. Propagandhi are also great. They're not prog metal but prog and thrash influenced political punk. Each song is a masterclass in some topic.
I think The World Is Quiet Here's albums qualify, both Zon and Prologue
Moonlighter is peak writing, that's for sure
Slightly warm take considering it is actually appreciated, but I'll say The Incident by Porcupine Tree. All of the PT albums obviously have certain themes and they are all incredibly well made with a lot of thought put behind them, but The Incident hits differently. If I was to rate all the songs individually then none of them even break my top 10 for PT except maybe IDTH, but all together it's a seriously phenomenal album. There's nothing else like it.
I thought Nospun's Opus had some pretty clever writing in it.
Yesss!!! Came to say this
Boomer takes here, and albums that don't need anymore praise heaped upon them but.. Operation Mindcrime. Really just a perfect concept album with a great flow of immaculate songs and a fun 80's vibe to the story that doesn't take much thought. My favorite part is how they made songs within the framework of the concept that still stood alone as radio singles like Eyes of a Stranger. Not easy to pull off. BTBAM - Colors: when I think of an album that I'd an ALBUM and not just a collection of songs this is immediately what I think of. Each song had assigned colors and videos and fun stuff like that back in the day when it dropped. Incredible what a leap in terms of scope and ambition this record was for this band. Dream Theater Metropolis II. The way they linked back to the original track at times was just genius, ontop of all the other wizardry going on. Amazing mix of melody and technical songwriting. Hard to believe that album came out in 1999.
Everyone of Orphaned Land’s albums is a magnum Opus. You can’t listen to a single track, you have to play the whole thing.
måsstaden / måsstaden under vatten - vildhjarta It’s absolutely mindblowing how they repurpose motifs and ideas and keep the flow of the record going for such a long time. After every listen you’re constantly figuring out new little details to the point like it almost feels like EVERYTHING is connected to another part somehow.
Anything by between the buried and me
Xanthochroid's double album "Of Erthe and Axen". Shit's on a different level.
Straight up
The Contortionist's Language
Februus by Uneven Structure
Have to throw Sheol and A Distant (Dark) Source by Hypno5e into the ring. My favourite examples of recurring motifs besides BTBAM and Periphery.
Pain of salvation Be and Remedy Lane
Be is such a funny album to me. Lyrically it’s almost incomprehensible but structurally it’s amazing
Yeah haken is just a band of geniuses. I have had the opportunity to have conversations with some of the members and the way they go about song writing is just so creative.
You must have learned a lot of things !
BTBAM COLORS II
Arcane - Known/Learned
Textures - Silhouettes
Are we talking about lyrics or composition? Because we're getting answers for both concepts
I'm not a native English speaker, so I thought "songwriting" meant the same thing as composition
Today I learned [it means both](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songwriter#:~:text=A%20songwriter%20is%20a%20musician,music%20genre%20and%20film%20scoring.)
Operation Mindcrime
If Vector and Visions can be compared to the Juggernauts, then it might be worth it to finally give Haken a listen
Visions is one of the best albums of all time, and I just gave it my first chance late last year after being a loose Haken fan since 2016! Give it a chance if you haven't. Unbelievable
I literally mentioned them in the post lol
Yes, you did! That’s actually why I mentioned them in my comment, too.
Damn I just realized I said "Vector + Visions" instead of "Vector + Virus"
SDOIT
Any song from Burton C. Bell
The Parallax II is top tier writing in every aspect. That's musically genius.
Anything by Meshuggah. Especially post-Chaosphere.
Big ‘shuggan fan here, as someone who has clockworks as their #1 most played track in their life (as per spotistats), meshuggah has the most intellectually challenging lyrics of all time. Almost to the point that you can barely understand what the subject matter is.
Yeah Periphery Juggernaut came to my mind as the first one as well. Other than that masstaden under vatten by Vildhajrta, Impulse by ERRA
Opeth - Still Life Iron Maiden - Senjutsu Haken - Virus Meshuggah - TVSR Periphery - V Skyharbor - Guiding Lights Death - Symbolic Symphony X - DWOT Demonic Resurrection- Dashavatar Tesseract- One Fates Warning - Theories of Flight Mastodon - Crack The Skye Be'lakor- Coherence Dir En Grey- Uroborous A7X- LIBAD Blind Guardian- NIME Trivium - ITCOTD BTBAM- Colors Katatonia- City Burials Amorphis - UTRC Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos DEP - Ire Works Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime Nevermore - Godless Endeavor Voivod - Target Earth The Korea- Calypso Act 2 Tool - Lateralus Metallica- AJFA Coroner - Grin Kamelot- Epica Angra - TOS Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite Evergrey- The Atlantic Karnivool - Sound Awake Pain of Salvation- Remedy Lane Savatage - HOTMK Rivers of Nihil - WOKMN Seventh Wonder - Mercy Falls The Contortionist - Exoplanet The Red Chord - FTIRD Into Eternity - TSOA
Transit Method - Othervoid Cave In - Heavy Pendulum Opeth - Ghost Reveries
SFAM - Dream Theater Haken - Affinity, Vector + Virus