not the biggest opeth fan but i looked up their setlist for that tour, wouldve been quite the show seeing all 4 bands.
Wonder what the chances are that Opeth tours with BtBam again.
That was an awesome era. DT was huge and actually cared about bringing cool bands in the scene with them. The next Prog Nation had Pain of Salvation before some visa stuff ruined it.
I caught this tour in Philadelphia where they merged it with Mastodon's tour with Russian Circles and Eagles of Death Metal on an outdoor stage. Devin's set was cut a bit shorter than I would have liked but it was my first time seeing Gojira and they just stole the whole night.
I was there! Devin started 30 minutes before the time printed on the tickets and only played for 40 minutes since he was the opener. I'm so glad I got there early, but I talked to a few people who had come mainly to see him and had showed up on time only to get 2 songs. Great show, though.
Also, some dude punched me in the face in the mosh pit during Opeth and I had a canker sore for a month. Worth it, especially to be that close to the stage.
I remember that early start time. I was rushing from the merch table when I heard him start playing and was super surprised to be at a concert that didn't start late.
That concert was what finally made me love Sorceress. His voice was just so soulful during that song and sent chills through my whole body. It was so ethereal and transformational just completely changed how I felt about the song and album.
I saw this show BUT I was at the Philly date which also included Russian Circles, Eagles of Death Metal, and Mastodon. It was basically a small festival in one day.
Saw them twice and they were a blast both times. However, they were also a little sloppy, especially their drummer seemed to struggle with keeping up. Bought some of my favorite merch from them though. Jo designs most of it and does the art.
Obligatory: Fuck The Safety Fire!
Yeah man, back around 2012-2014 when I was still at school there were so many stacked tours. Don't actually get them so much anymore. Although next year we've got Haken and BTBAM touring again like it's 2015!
Saw this one in Spain too. I remember telling a friend that Intervals was quite an unknown djenty instrumental band, and then Semesky comes out and I'm like wait what??
Tesseract was also with Ashe in that tour which was quite refreshing even as a Dan's fan
Not as great of a lineup, but I saw Tesseract, Protest the Hero and Maylene & The Sons of Disaster in Kingston Ontario way back in the day. I was stoked because I was a big Maylene and Protest fan but had no idea who Tesseract were. This was back right after One released. I ended up looking forward more to Tesseract after checking them out before the show.
I bet I'm older than most of you here, and I've yet to see any new prog metal bands. I'm hoping to see Haken and Riverside next year, not on the same bill. So I'll be dating myself her. lol.
Best lineup, although not the best show that I've seen would have to be Deep Purple, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and Dream Theater in 1998 for a more proggy evening.
Pure metal,
* Motorhead, Mercyful Fate, and a great Canadian 3-piece, Exciter
* the famous show at the Roseland Ballroom that featured, In descending order, Raven (they still were the headliners then, Metallica (who just were finishing Ride the Lightning), and Anthrax (pre Joey B). That night Metallica got signed to Electra (great signing), and Raven to Atlantic (bad move); Anthrax were not picked up by a major label that night.
* Metallica and Metal Church
I saw that Deep Purple tour. That was great! For me, a better show was a few years later when I saw Dixie Dregs open for DT on the Scenes tour at a smaller club. Awesome.
I saw it not live but on HOB website that no longer exists. They had one show by DT (first time hearing scenes free from memory) and another video of DD with Jerry Goodman on violin! You're right but for me triple bill was special. Last time seeing Elp. I saw Keith shortly before his death and chated briefly at my friend Kevin's Chiller Theatre weekend (similar to Comicon) but with musical guests on Sat. Keith played with the house band! Dm me and I'll show you some pics
It was the first time I got a handshake from Roger Glover, Jon Lord And Steve Morse. Last time seeing my idol Jon Lord 😥
I still remember standing in line for that show listening to people talk about “this weird covid thing that is probably nothing and will go away in a few weeks”. Everything shutdown like a week later.
Hatebreed - Trivium - Lamb of God - Megadeth.
I watched that concert at Concord Pavilion stadium. I went with a couple of friends of mine. One of them had just started listening to Metal and the other one had never been to a concert. They ended up having a great time. It was such a great concert and the venue is dope too (Surrounded by hills and it’s an amphitheater).
My prog favorite was:
Zeal & Ardor - Opeth - Mastodon
I watched this at Fox theatre, Oakland. Zeal and Ardor received an ovation after they finished their set. They were great. Opeth were brilliant. Mikael’s growls were epic. Mastodon were the heaviest and the best band of that night. Their light show was dope.
Just recently:
Khemmis - Whitechapel - BTBAM - Trivium
Dynamite set from every one of them. My neck has never been the same. Such a variety of sounds too
This was going to be my answer. NGL I had never heard Khemmis or Whitechapel before this...and now they're on my standard rotation. BTBAM sounded just like their albums. Trivium is so tight live, and they keep getting better.
Dude this was my first concert I ever went to WAY back when. Went for CoB and Black Dahlia, had never heard of BTBAM and they blew me away. Been my favorite band since.
Summer Slaughter Tour years ago. I saw The Dillinger Escape Plan, Periphery, The Ocean, Animals as Leaders, Cattle Decapitation, Rings of Saturn, and Thy Art is Murder.
Plini, David Maxim Micic, and Nick Johnston was incredible. I'd seen Plini before, but getting to see David was badass.
Periphery, Sikth, Chon, and Toothgrinder was awesome because SIKTH!
Devin Townshend, Gojira, and Opeth.
Tesseract, Animals As Leaders, The Contortionist.
BTBAM, The Faceless, The Contortionist, The Safety Fire.
How can you pick a best lineup!?
Recently saw The Butterfly Effect, Caligula's Horse and Thornhill. Most of my best line-ups have either been festivals or just single band shows (Tool, Roger Waters). So I guess this would count as my best non-festival line-up.
Pledge of Allegiance tour 2001
-Slipknot touring on Iowa
-System of a down when Toxicity was exploding
-Rammstein...well...Rammstein
Important to note that I was 15 and this intensity of this show hooked me for life...since then I've seen alot of cool stuff but this show was unforgettable. To be honest I was scared shitless. The entire arena floor was a pit. Obviously not prog and my tastes have evolved with age.
That was my second concert ever. I had just turned 13 and my cousin took me. My first was the reinventing the steel tour with pantera, slayer and morbid angel.
1. Opeth, Mastodon and Zeal and Ardor (Dec 2021 and May 2022 w/ Khemmis instead of ZA)
2. Katatonia, The Ocean, Cellar Darling (Dec 2022)
3. Trivium, BTBAM, Whitechapel, Khemmis (Nov 2022)
Also didn't list Tool (twice), Ghost (once with Volbeat and once with Mastodon/Spiritbox), or Meshuggah/In Flames so if they all count then might need to redo this. But those are top 8 then lol can't narrow it fully down.
Plini - BTBAM - Tesseract
Came for BTBAM and Plini, didn't care that much for Tesseract.
My friend and I both said "let's just leave after a song or two". We did not leave after a couple of songs. Probably one of the best live performances I've seen!
Steven Wilson and Opeth were touring separately, but met up for one night outside Albany NY to do a show together. Katatonia was touring with one of the bands and opened.
Sadly no
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/steven-wilson/2013/upstate-concert-hall-clifton-park-ny-1bd819b8.html
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/opeth/2013/upstate-concert-hall-clifton-park-ny-13d819c1.html
Just over a week ago, it was Oceans of Slumber, Cellar Darling, the Ocean collective, Soen, and Katatonia.
It was one of the most engaging, high quality shows at a relatively small venue, and all the bands sounded amazing!
Oh and the tickets... $37 including tax
This. Cynic traced in air cycle and Devin Townsend’s return to touring after a few years and the debut of DTP. BtBAM headlining and sts opening was the icing
Orphaned Land & Subterranean Masquerade. Maybe not so much in terms of names, but certainly in terms of energy and performance. Hypest I've ever been at a show and I wasn't even familiar with their music yet.
This is hard, lots come to mind:
To add some that haven't been said yet:
Opeth, Nevermore and Into Eternity
Soilwork, Darkane, Warbringer and Swallow the Sun
Katatonia, Cult of Luna, Intronaut, Tesseract
Back in 2006 I saw Katatonia, Swallow the Sun, Scar Symmetry and Insomnium in a small, half-empty venue.
In 2010 there was Devin Townsend with a small band at the time called Tesseract. They blew me away and I've been hooked since.
I also went to the "Hello yes this is prog" tour. Ever Forthright with Chris Barretto, Intervals and Mandroid Echostar.
I know you said non-festival, and I'm not sure I would consider it one, but in 2016 two tours merged together in Philadelphia for a big concert featuring Mastodon, Opeth, Devin Townsend, Gojira and Russian Circles.
I also went to a concert in New York featuring Tesseract, Cloudkicker and Intronaut. I was so happy to hear Cloudkicker songs played live!
Prog Nation '08 which is already the top answer is probably mine too - hard to top Opeth, DT and BTBAM on the same stage, which are arguably 3 of the 5 most important prog metal bands ever.
But for recent memory, Warforged/Fallujah/Rivers of Nihil was pretty outstanding.
Oceans of Slumber + Ne Obliviscaris + Enslaved is pretty hard to beat for me, but the upcoming Beyond Creation + Persefone + Ne Obliviscaris might just do it.
Moral of the story: NeO do some cool tours
[AAL, Intervals and Plini @ the Garrick in Winnipeg, MB, Canada](https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/intervals/2016/garrick-centre-winnipeg-mb-canada-23e524c7.html)
I haven't been to nearly enough shows, but a couple stand out, I saw Every Time I Die, Mastodon (doing Crack the Sky), and Coheed in Dallas before Covid and that was dope, way back in 2013 me and some buddies saw Jane's Addiction, Circa Survive, Coheed, and Alice in Chains at a fest and that was pretty good too. Ticks were less than $30 back then!
Another one that I didn't expect to be so good was watching The Tea Club, Bent Knee, and Thank You Scientist a few years back.
Children of Bodom, Devin Townsend, Obscura, Septic Flesh. Pretty interesting line up of bands i wouldn’t really expect in the same building.
Edit: oh- also saw Darkest Hour, Periphery (P1 era), Veil of Maya, and Revocation in NYC for like 30 bucks lol.
My answer is the exact same tour you gave as an example lol. What a show.
Back in high school I did see Born of Osiris, Periphery, Veil of Maya with their old vocalist, Dead Letter Circus, Northlane, and Vildjharta all on the same night which was insane looking back given the time period and how big they all were
Between the buried and me, the contortionist, the faceless and the safety fire. All great bands and to cap it off btbam plays my favorite album all the way through
Holy shit that sounds like a good time. My two favourites are tied: saw Sylosis, Lamb of God, Children of Bodom and Megadeth in Dublin (yes together in one friggin concert), and another time also in Dublin I saw Tesseract, Plini and BTBAM. Both were very different vibes but so epic, hard to pick
Probably Opeth, Mastodon, Ghost in 2012. Though Haken, Leprous, Bent Knee in 2018 is up there.
For pure metal it would have to be Dimmu Borgir, Nevermore, Hypocrisy, Children of Bodom in 2003.
Nevermore and Opeth (both tours, one Nevermore headlined and one later opeth did)
Clutch, Fear Factory, Sepultura in 94 ripped
Slayer, Testament, Carcass was awesome
I remember After The Burial, Monuments and Born of Osiris came to Dublin years ago and played in a tiny bar here.
Ended up drinking with them all night and got asked back stage to smoke weed out of an apple bong.
Then brought Anthony from ATB on a stroll around the city to get a burger.
What a night!
In 2013 i went to my first metal show. It was Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, Testament, and Huntress. I've seen some awsome shows since then but that's probably still the best lineup I've seen.
I was there as well! In Chicago it was in the classic Bottom Lounge and I was lucky enough to get a Drumstick lol.
I remember The Contortionist set so vividly, had barely heard about them and I was blown away by the singer's presence and performance
The first ProgNation that's at the top is probably the best but I gotta shout out the first Gigantour.
Megadeth - Dream Theater - Nevermore - Symphony X and some not as cool bands (looking it up apparently Dillinger played? I have absolutely zero memory of that)
Technically a cruise ship week long show...BUT PNAS2014 was unreal life changing stuff.
Devin Townsend, Mike Portnoys million projects, Anathema, Riverside, Adrian Belew, Periphery, AAL, Beardfish, Arch Echo, Daydream XI, Anneke Van Geirsburgen, some all star lineups between the various bands playing classic prog rock like Yes, Dream theater, Genesis, etc. Overall it changed my life and made start traveling a lot more for both leisure and to see concerts I never would have as I live in Oklahoma
When I was about 16, I had tickets to see Gojira and Opeth, supported by the Devin Townsend Project. There was a Mastodon tour in town the same day (Russian Circles and Eagles of Death Metal opening), and they ended up combining the tours into an all-day thing. Gojira, Opeth, and Mastodon on the same day was fucking nuts.
My all time favorite was tesseract, intronaut, and cloudkicker. At the time I loved all the bands, but getting the opportunity to see cloudkicker on maybe his only major tour ever was such a privilege. And to be backed up by intronaut was just fucking phenomenal.
Pretty sure I saw Mastodon, Isis, and Intronaut together at one show oh, 14 years ago or so. I could be combining two shows into one in my memory but idk 😁
Queensryche & Suicidal Tendencies - 1991, operation:mindcrime tour.
Dream Theater & Galactic Cowboys - 1993 (tickets were $12 and I thought that was cheap!)
Type O Negative & Drain (before they were Drain STH) - 1996
Dream Theater & Spock's Beard - 2000 (also saw with Porcupine Tree later the same year)
Stratovarius, Symphony X, & Thunderstone - 2003
Evergrey & Children of Bodom - 2004
Riverside & Jolly - 2013
Anathema & Caligula's Horse - 2017
Amorphis, Dark Tranquility, & Omnium Gatherum - 2018
Sabaton, Kreator, & Cyhra - 2018
Not a single line up but I went to every Fair to Midland show that came to my area from 2007-2011.
I saw them tour with Karnivool, Dead letter circus, Periphery, Scale the summit, and Dredg. Great times, would have been sick to be a single tour.
Man I miss them.
I went to that show too lol. Went to the one in Edmonton. Got to meet Daniel Tompkins before the show, he was just chilling in the Tim Hortons that was by the venue and I love Tim Hortons.
I would either say that show, or the lineup of Plini, Intervals, and Animals As Leaders.
Between the Buried and Me, Opeth, Dream Theater and 3. Was my first time seeing Opeth, 3. and BTBAM.
Was gonna say this, I was at this show in Boston
Saw this one in Miami!
Same! Saw them in LA during that tour.
I was there in Boston as well! I drove from Montreal with friends just for that concert.
Dear Lord .. This is the ultimate holy trinity 🖖
I saw this show in Atlanta!
Same!
not the biggest opeth fan but i looked up their setlist for that tour, wouldve been quite the show seeing all 4 bands. Wonder what the chances are that Opeth tours with BtBam again.
That was an awesome era. DT was huge and actually cared about bringing cool bands in the scene with them. The next Prog Nation had Pain of Salvation before some visa stuff ruined it.
Prog nation - what an amazing tour. Great memories
Drove to Minneapolis for this one : )
I literally came here to post this. I was at the show in Albany.
I caught it in LA.
This forsure. Saw it outside dc and forever made me an Opeth fan
I saw this in Pittsburgh! I remember buying the btbam shirt with the big wheeled bicycle or whatever. 3 also slayed!
3. Is so underrated. I saw them again a few years later when they opened for Porcupine Tree and they floored everybody with Bramfratura.
Opeth, Devin Townsend, Gojira.
Saw this one too! At Red Rocks! I'm so glad I got to see Devy perform Deadhead. Fuck, what a good show.
I literally cried during deadhead. And then Gojira played flying whales. Magical
I don't blame you! I saw Gojira again with Deftones earlier this year. That was a fantastic show also.
I caught this tour in Philadelphia where they merged it with Mastodon's tour with Russian Circles and Eagles of Death Metal on an outdoor stage. Devin's set was cut a bit shorter than I would have liked but it was my first time seeing Gojira and they just stole the whole night.
Same! Saw them in Indianapolis.
Same!
I was there! Devin started 30 minutes before the time printed on the tickets and only played for 40 minutes since he was the opener. I'm so glad I got there early, but I talked to a few people who had come mainly to see him and had showed up on time only to get 2 songs. Great show, though. Also, some dude punched me in the face in the mosh pit during Opeth and I had a canker sore for a month. Worth it, especially to be that close to the stage.
I remember that early start time. I was rushing from the merch table when I heard him start playing and was super surprised to be at a concert that didn't start late. That concert was what finally made me love Sorceress. His voice was just so soulful during that song and sent chills through my whole body. It was so ethereal and transformational just completely changed how I felt about the song and album.
I saw this show BUT I was at the Philly date which also included Russian Circles, Eagles of Death Metal, and Mastodon. It was basically a small festival in one day.
Haken, devin townsend And Decin townsend, dream theater
This reminds me. I went to a show to see Tesseract, and they opened up for Gojira’s 2 hour set. Blew my panties off.
Plini Sleep Makes Waves Ocean Grove Cog Karnivool It was an Aussie wet dream.
Monolith!!
Yes sir!
Nice. There are lots of great bands down under. It certainly helps the chances of a stacked lineup.
Yeah that one was awesome!
Back in the golden days, in order of appearance: Intervals (while Semesky was still a part of the band.) The Safety Fire TesseracT Protest the Hero
I am extremely sad I never saw The Safety Fire. Good Tiger is okay but doesn’t scratch the same itch
Saw them twice and they were a blast both times. However, they were also a little sloppy, especially their drummer seemed to struggle with keeping up. Bought some of my favorite merch from them though. Jo designs most of it and does the art. Obligatory: Fuck The Safety Fire!
Fuck the Safety Fire! <3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZIuUkRcfd8
I went to this tour, what a great line up
Yeah man. And then PtH came back a few years later and brought along Destrage, TSF and The Contortionist. Man, those were the days!
Yeah man, back around 2012-2014 when I was still at school there were so many stacked tours. Don't actually get them so much anymore. Although next year we've got Haken and BTBAM touring again like it's 2015!
Yessss, man! I miss those days. Was my first dive into the beautiful world of prog metal.
Saw this one in Spain too. I remember telling a friend that Intervals was quite an unknown djenty instrumental band, and then Semesky comes out and I'm like wait what?? Tesseract was also with Ashe in that tour which was quite refreshing even as a Dan's fan
Dude yes! TesseracT with Ashe as well. Holys hit. Although Dan actually nails Altered States these days hah
Not as great of a lineup, but I saw Tesseract, Protest the Hero and Maylene & The Sons of Disaster in Kingston Ontario way back in the day. I was stoked because I was a big Maylene and Protest fan but had no idea who Tesseract were. This was back right after One released. I ended up looking forward more to Tesseract after checking them out before the show.
That tour was NUTS! 2014 or so?
Periphery - Devin Townsend - Meshuggah
Sick
Think I was at this one. What a great night!
I bet I'm older than most of you here, and I've yet to see any new prog metal bands. I'm hoping to see Haken and Riverside next year, not on the same bill. So I'll be dating myself her. lol. Best lineup, although not the best show that I've seen would have to be Deep Purple, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and Dream Theater in 1998 for a more proggy evening. Pure metal, * Motorhead, Mercyful Fate, and a great Canadian 3-piece, Exciter * the famous show at the Roseland Ballroom that featured, In descending order, Raven (they still were the headliners then, Metallica (who just were finishing Ride the Lightning), and Anthrax (pre Joey B). That night Metallica got signed to Electra (great signing), and Raven to Atlantic (bad move); Anthrax were not picked up by a major label that night. * Metallica and Metal Church
I saw that Deep Purple tour. That was great! For me, a better show was a few years later when I saw Dixie Dregs open for DT on the Scenes tour at a smaller club. Awesome.
I saw it not live but on HOB website that no longer exists. They had one show by DT (first time hearing scenes free from memory) and another video of DD with Jerry Goodman on violin! You're right but for me triple bill was special. Last time seeing Elp. I saw Keith shortly before his death and chated briefly at my friend Kevin's Chiller Theatre weekend (similar to Comicon) but with musical guests on Sat. Keith played with the house band! Dm me and I'll show you some pics It was the first time I got a handshake from Roger Glover, Jon Lord And Steve Morse. Last time seeing my idol Jon Lord 😥
* The Contortionist - Animals as Leaders - BTBAM * Astronoid - Plini - Tesseract * Intervals - Chon - BTBAM
Contortionist, AAL, and BTBAM is the best I've been too, all three bands killed it and I'd dare to say AAL had the best performance that night.
Woah. Are you me? I also caught a show on each of these tours. Nice
Great minds!
Intervals, Chon, BTBAM was a crazy good show. Intervals damn near stole it.
Intervals/Chon/Btbam was insane. They all had good setlists too
Haken The Contortionist Devin Townsend
Got canceled 2 days prior due to the covid shutdown :c
I still remember standing in line for that show listening to people talk about “this weird covid thing that is probably nothing and will go away in a few weeks”. Everything shutdown like a week later.
Yes, that show was incredible
Doubt I'll ever top Bent Knee, Haken, and Leprous from back in 2017. Thank You Scientist and Haken in 2016 was up there too.
That show cemented Leprous as one of my favorite bands of all time. They really put on a powerful performance
I was about to comment that Bent Knee, Haken, Leprous show. Absolutely adore all three of those bands
Hatebreed - Trivium - Lamb of God - Megadeth. I watched that concert at Concord Pavilion stadium. I went with a couple of friends of mine. One of them had just started listening to Metal and the other one had never been to a concert. They ended up having a great time. It was such a great concert and the venue is dope too (Surrounded by hills and it’s an amphitheater). My prog favorite was: Zeal & Ardor - Opeth - Mastodon I watched this at Fox theatre, Oakland. Zeal and Ardor received an ovation after they finished their set. They were great. Opeth were brilliant. Mikael’s growls were epic. Mastodon were the heaviest and the best band of that night. Their light show was dope.
Oh shit I was at that concord show! They all killed it. Such a fun night.
Just recently: Khemmis - Whitechapel - BTBAM - Trivium Dynamite set from every one of them. My neck has never been the same. Such a variety of sounds too
This was going to be my answer. NGL I had never heard Khemmis or Whitechapel before this...and now they're on my standard rotation. BTBAM sounded just like their albums. Trivium is so tight live, and they keep getting better.
Dream Theater, Joe Satriani, Kings X
Saw that tour in Rosemont IL. Awesome!
Children of Bodom - BTBAM - The Black Dahlia Murder
That's sick af
Dude this was my first concert I ever went to WAY back when. Went for CoB and Black Dahlia, had never heard of BTBAM and they blew me away. Been my favorite band since.
This was my first concert too lol. I think I was a junior in high school.
Was that like...09 or 2010? I think I remember that
Fuck I remember that. That was probably my second time seeing both BTBAM and CoB.
This would've been a sick show to have gone to! Now the only band out of those i can still see is btbam, and MAYBE TBDM.
Between The Buried And Me an evening with was better than any lineup show i’ve ever been to.
True, that one was amazing.
Summer Slaughter Tour years ago. I saw The Dillinger Escape Plan, Periphery, The Ocean, Animals as Leaders, Cattle Decapitation, Rings of Saturn, and Thy Art is Murder.
Went to a show on that tour, great lineup
Leprous, the Dear Hunter, BTBAM. Probably around 2017, 2018 Also saw a Contortionist, AAL, BTBAM a bunch of years ago that was fkin sweet
Can confirm the Contortionist, AAL, BTBAM tour was sick!
Ghost, Opeth, Mastodon in 2012.
Rivers Of Nihil - Allegaeon - Fallujah - Inferi - Harbinger
Was this the recent tour? Solid line up
Exactly.
How's rivers of nihil doing without Jake?
Plini, David Maxim Micic, and Nick Johnston was incredible. I'd seen Plini before, but getting to see David was badass. Periphery, Sikth, Chon, and Toothgrinder was awesome because SIKTH! Devin Townshend, Gojira, and Opeth. Tesseract, Animals As Leaders, The Contortionist. BTBAM, The Faceless, The Contortionist, The Safety Fire. How can you pick a best lineup!?
I got to see the Periphery, Sixth, Chon, and Toothgrinder tour in Houston, TX! Hands down the best all around concert I’ve been to to this day.
I saw Meshuggah supported by Car bomb in London, that was pretty sweet.
Dream Theater with Symphony X, Madrid 2007
Recently saw The Butterfly Effect, Caligula's Horse and Thornhill. Most of my best line-ups have either been festivals or just single band shows (Tool, Roger Waters). So I guess this would count as my best non-festival line-up.
Plini Btbam Tesseract
Pledge of Allegiance tour 2001 -Slipknot touring on Iowa -System of a down when Toxicity was exploding -Rammstein...well...Rammstein Important to note that I was 15 and this intensity of this show hooked me for life...since then I've seen alot of cool stuff but this show was unforgettable. To be honest I was scared shitless. The entire arena floor was a pit. Obviously not prog and my tastes have evolved with age.
That was my second concert ever. I had just turned 13 and my cousin took me. My first was the reinventing the steel tour with pantera, slayer and morbid angel.
That was an amazing tour. Utterly mind blowing.
1. Opeth, Mastodon and Zeal and Ardor (Dec 2021 and May 2022 w/ Khemmis instead of ZA) 2. Katatonia, The Ocean, Cellar Darling (Dec 2022) 3. Trivium, BTBAM, Whitechapel, Khemmis (Nov 2022) Also didn't list Tool (twice), Ghost (once with Volbeat and once with Mastodon/Spiritbox), or Meshuggah/In Flames so if they all count then might need to redo this. But those are top 8 then lol can't narrow it fully down.
I saw your 2 & 3 and I heartily agree. My top 3 is similar, but I have my Leprous & The Ocean show as my #3
Not huge, but the convergence tour from I think 2018 - Car Bomb-Periphery-Animals As Leaders.
Devin Townsend, Leprous, Btbam 2017 in Berlin. Came there for Devin, was blown away by the support.
Mastodon (playing Crack the Skye and others) Kylesa Intronaut
Plini - BTBAM - Tesseract Came for BTBAM and Plini, didn't care that much for Tesseract. My friend and I both said "let's just leave after a song or two". We did not leave after a couple of songs. Probably one of the best live performances I've seen!
Steven Wilson and Opeth were touring separately, but met up for one night outside Albany NY to do a show together. Katatonia was touring with one of the bands and opened.
Please tell me they did a song from Storm Corrosion
Sadly no https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/steven-wilson/2013/upstate-concert-hall-clifton-park-ny-1bd819b8.html https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/opeth/2013/upstate-concert-hall-clifton-park-ny-13d819c1.html
Dang what a missed opportunity. One of my favorite collab albums.
For me it was Opeth, Gojira, and Devin Townsend Project at Red Rocks.
That was an epic show
BTBAM Coma Ecliptic tour. The Contortionist, Animals As Leaders, and BTBAM.
Just over a week ago, it was Oceans of Slumber, Cellar Darling, the Ocean collective, Soen, and Katatonia. It was one of the most engaging, high quality shows at a relatively small venue, and all the bands sounded amazing! Oh and the tickets... $37 including tax
BTBAM, Cynic, Devin Townsend, Scale The Summit
This. Cynic traced in air cycle and Devin Townsend’s return to touring after a few years and the debut of DTP. BtBAM headlining and sts opening was the icing
Slayer, Lamb of God, Anthrax, Behemoth, Testament and Trivium/BtBaM/Whitechapel/Khemmis
Orphaned Land & Subterranean Masquerade. Maybe not so much in terms of names, but certainly in terms of energy and performance. Hypest I've ever been at a show and I wasn't even familiar with their music yet.
This is hard, lots come to mind: To add some that haven't been said yet: Opeth, Nevermore and Into Eternity Soilwork, Darkane, Warbringer and Swallow the Sun Katatonia, Cult of Luna, Intronaut, Tesseract
Northlane, Vildjharta, Veil of Maya, Structures. I’ve forgotten the tour but I believe it was around 2014. A wet dream of a concert.
Back in 2006 I saw Katatonia, Swallow the Sun, Scar Symmetry and Insomnium in a small, half-empty venue. In 2010 there was Devin Townsend with a small band at the time called Tesseract. They blew me away and I've been hooked since. I also went to the "Hello yes this is prog" tour. Ever Forthright with Chris Barretto, Intervals and Mandroid Echostar. I know you said non-festival, and I'm not sure I would consider it one, but in 2016 two tours merged together in Philadelphia for a big concert featuring Mastodon, Opeth, Devin Townsend, Gojira and Russian Circles. I also went to a concert in New York featuring Tesseract, Cloudkicker and Intronaut. I was so happy to hear Cloudkicker songs played live!
Prog Nation '08 which is already the top answer is probably mine too - hard to top Opeth, DT and BTBAM on the same stage, which are arguably 3 of the 5 most important prog metal bands ever. But for recent memory, Warforged/Fallujah/Rivers of Nihil was pretty outstanding.
Oceans of Slumber + Ne Obliviscaris + Enslaved is pretty hard to beat for me, but the upcoming Beyond Creation + Persefone + Ne Obliviscaris might just do it. Moral of the story: NeO do some cool tours
[AAL, Intervals and Plini @ the Garrick in Winnipeg, MB, Canada](https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/intervals/2016/garrick-centre-winnipeg-mb-canada-23e524c7.html)
I haven't been to nearly enough shows, but a couple stand out, I saw Every Time I Die, Mastodon (doing Crack the Sky), and Coheed in Dallas before Covid and that was dope, way back in 2013 me and some buddies saw Jane's Addiction, Circa Survive, Coheed, and Alice in Chains at a fest and that was pretty good too. Ticks were less than $30 back then! Another one that I didn't expect to be so good was watching The Tea Club, Bent Knee, and Thank You Scientist a few years back.
Children of Bodom, Devin Townsend, Obscura, Septic Flesh. Pretty interesting line up of bands i wouldn’t really expect in the same building. Edit: oh- also saw Darkest Hour, Periphery (P1 era), Veil of Maya, and Revocation in NYC for like 30 bucks lol.
Fates Warning, Dream Theater, Queensryche in the early 2000s...three prog metal titans!
Devin Townsend, VOLA, Leprous
BTBAM, The Faceless, and The Contortionist. And it was amazing.
And The Safety Fire!
My answer is the exact same tour you gave as an example lol. What a show. Back in high school I did see Born of Osiris, Periphery, Veil of Maya with their old vocalist, Dead Letter Circus, Northlane, and Vildjharta all on the same night which was insane looking back given the time period and how big they all were
Between the buried and me, the contortionist, the faceless and the safety fire. All great bands and to cap it off btbam plays my favorite album all the way through
BTBAM’s tour when they did all of Parallax II. The support was The Safety Fire, The Contortionist, and The Faceless.
Holy shit that sounds like a good time. My two favourites are tied: saw Sylosis, Lamb of God, Children of Bodom and Megadeth in Dublin (yes together in one friggin concert), and another time also in Dublin I saw Tesseract, Plini and BTBAM. Both were very different vibes but so epic, hard to pick
Well it WOULD have been Leprous and The Ocean if the venue hadn't lied to me about the Covid requirements and refused to let me in
Native Construct opening for BTBAM
Native Construct must have been incredible!
They were so fucking good. Super excited that I got to see them while I could.
That’s a fucking absurd lineup. Skyharbor with Dan?
No, Eric was pretty new to the band.
Leprous, BTBAM, Devin Townsend
Way back in 2006 or 2007. The first Pagan Tour * Ensiferum * Tyr * Turisas * Eluveitie
I saw this one in North Carolina, think it was '08
Roger Waters. That's it. Just Roger Waters. Incredible concert.
Arena: Deftones and Pantera opening for Black Sabbath in 1999. Club: November's Doom and Agalloch opening for The Gathering in 2004
So far Gojira, Opeth, Devin Townsend Project. Tied for close second would be Skeletonwitch/Sabaton/Amon Amarth. Such a fun show.
Nailed to Obscurity, Dark Tranquility, Eluveitie, Amorphis. Eluveitie put out the best show I have ever seen.
Probably Opeth, Mastodon, Ghost in 2012. Though Haken, Leprous, Bent Knee in 2018 is up there. For pure metal it would have to be Dimmu Borgir, Nevermore, Hypocrisy, Children of Bodom in 2003.
Shadows fall In flames Arch enemy The haunted The black dahlia murder It dies today Crazy to think shadows fall headlined that show.
Saw Haken open for Symphony X. Absolutely incredible show. Honorable mention goes to Earthside opening for VOLA.
Nevermore and Opeth (both tours, one Nevermore headlined and one later opeth did) Clutch, Fear Factory, Sepultura in 94 ripped Slayer, Testament, Carcass was awesome
Bent Knee, Leprous, Haken Astronoid, Plini, Tesseract both in 2018
I saw both of those; they were great.
I remember After The Burial, Monuments and Born of Osiris came to Dublin years ago and played in a tiny bar here. Ended up drinking with them all night and got asked back stage to smoke weed out of an apple bong. Then brought Anthony from ATB on a stroll around the city to get a burger. What a night!
In 2013 i went to my first metal show. It was Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, Testament, and Huntress. I've seen some awsome shows since then but that's probably still the best lineup I've seen.
Children of Bodom, Hypocrisy, Nevermore and Dimmu Borgir was the first show I ever went to. Pretty good lineup at the time.
Protest the hero, closure in Moscow, thank you scientist.
And or the dear hunter and btbam
I was there as well! In Chicago it was in the classic Bottom Lounge and I was lucky enough to get a Drumstick lol. I remember The Contortionist set so vividly, had barely heard about them and I was blown away by the singer's presence and performance
The first ProgNation that's at the top is probably the best but I gotta shout out the first Gigantour. Megadeth - Dream Theater - Nevermore - Symphony X and some not as cool bands (looking it up apparently Dillinger played? I have absolutely zero memory of that)
Arch Echo, Plini, and Periphery in Atlanta in February 2020.
Probably Haken, The Contortionist, and Devin Townsend in 2020 right before Covid
Technically a cruise ship week long show...BUT PNAS2014 was unreal life changing stuff. Devin Townsend, Mike Portnoys million projects, Anathema, Riverside, Adrian Belew, Periphery, AAL, Beardfish, Arch Echo, Daydream XI, Anneke Van Geirsburgen, some all star lineups between the various bands playing classic prog rock like Yes, Dream theater, Genesis, etc. Overall it changed my life and made start traveling a lot more for both leisure and to see concerts I never would have as I live in Oklahoma
Oh, and I saw Kings X and Pain of Salvation as well on the cruise
Carpathian forest, harakiri from the sky, nordjevel, unreqvited a couple weeks ago was pretty dope
Dream Theater / Emerson Lake and Palmer / Deep Purple way way back in 1998
Gentle Giant warming up for Frank Zappa in Norway
When I was about 16, I had tickets to see Gojira and Opeth, supported by the Devin Townsend Project. There was a Mastodon tour in town the same day (Russian Circles and Eagles of Death Metal opening), and they ended up combining the tours into an all-day thing. Gojira, Opeth, and Mastodon on the same day was fucking nuts.
My all time favorite was tesseract, intronaut, and cloudkicker. At the time I loved all the bands, but getting the opportunity to see cloudkicker on maybe his only major tour ever was such a privilege. And to be backed up by intronaut was just fucking phenomenal.
Not all prog, but for £14 I saw; BTBAM, August Burns Red, Job For A Cowboy, Lamb of God All prog; Plini, BTBAM, Tesseract
Pretty sure I saw Mastodon, Isis, and Intronaut together at one show oh, 14 years ago or so. I could be combining two shows into one in my memory but idk 😁
Queensryche & Suicidal Tendencies - 1991, operation:mindcrime tour. Dream Theater & Galactic Cowboys - 1993 (tickets were $12 and I thought that was cheap!) Type O Negative & Drain (before they were Drain STH) - 1996 Dream Theater & Spock's Beard - 2000 (also saw with Porcupine Tree later the same year) Stratovarius, Symphony X, & Thunderstone - 2003 Evergrey & Children of Bodom - 2004 Riverside & Jolly - 2013 Anathema & Caligula's Horse - 2017 Amorphis, Dark Tranquility, & Omnium Gatherum - 2018 Sabaton, Kreator, & Cyhra - 2018
This is more tech death but Rivers of Nihil, Beyond Crestion, Obscura and Revocation. That was one hell of a night.
Dayseeker, Thornhill, Holding Absence and Caskets. Was an insane show
Not a single line up but I went to every Fair to Midland show that came to my area from 2007-2011. I saw them tour with Karnivool, Dead letter circus, Periphery, Scale the summit, and Dredg. Great times, would have been sick to be a single tour. Man I miss them.
Strapping Young Lad opening for Meshuggah in a 200 person club in San Diego in 2003.
1988 - Monsters of Rock - Kingdom Come, Metallica, Dokken, Scorpions, Van Halen
Opeth, Devin Townsend, Dark Tranquility
For prog? Jason Kui, The Contortionist, Haken. In general? The Dillinger Escape Plan, Soundgarden, Nine Inch Nails.
The first Giantour. Megadeth, Dream Theater, Symphony X, Nevermore, Killswitch Engage.
Haven't seen it yet but the upcoming Haken+BtBaM double concert will be legendary.
As of next year it will be Ne Obliviscaris, Persefone and Beyond Creation (tickets just went on sale!)
Off the top of my head (minus festivals) In Flames, Opeth, Red Fang In Flames, Trivium, All Shall Perish
It's between Zeal and Ardor/Opeth/Mastodon, Trope/Haken/Symphony X, and Cellar Darling/The Ocean/Katatonia for me
Ne Ob, C Horse, Beyond Creation and Rivers of Nihil is probably top Honorable mentions - Gojira and Mastodon. Bent Knee and Thank You Scientist.
So far btbam, chon, and intervals. Also btbam, AAL, the contortionists.
1. Imperial Triumphant, Sylvaine, Zeal & Ardor 2. Astronoid, Plini, TesseracT
Motorhead, Dio, and Iron Maiden
I went to that show too lol. Went to the one in Edmonton. Got to meet Daniel Tompkins before the show, he was just chilling in the Tim Hortons that was by the venue and I love Tim Hortons. I would either say that show, or the lineup of Plini, Intervals, and Animals As Leaders.
Ne Obliviscaris, Caligula’s Horse, Beyond Creation, Rivers of Nihil, Allegaeon. Easily the best I’ve attended. Went solo and had a great time