I take pride in being a simple man. I hate progressive metal with the same passion that I hate Quantum physics and for a similar reason too. Its just too complicated. Quantum physics is complicated to begin with,because all that science is really difficult. But on the other hand, progressive metal is complicated because we made it complicated and after a point all this complexity becomes deliberate and excessive. I already like my quantum physics better and this is exactly what progressive metal has done to the earth. This is what it has done to music. It has put the textbook edge to something that just gives me sheer joy. It has made geeks out of the freaks. As we all know that the freak shall inherit the earth, and I intend on keeping my share.
Back in the day when progressive rock (differentiate from progressive metal) evolved, we had bands like Pink Floyd, Jethro tull and Atomic Rooster. I love and worship these bands, because as progressive as they were, they maintained the end in sight, which is to make good music. When this purpose fails, all the unorthodox time signatures and "boutique" scales become pointless. Progressive metal is defined as being experimental. But every experiment should have an objective. If your objective is to make good music, then it is fine by me. But if your objective is to write a song in latin which when read backwards is the chinese national anthem, and is set to a scale in which the tuning of the strings are in a logarithmic progression and played on a time scale that is in fibonnacci series and with a lead solo by a monkey with a ukelele, I am sorry I am not the guinea pig for that experiment.
It is perfectly appreciable if a good song demands an unorthodox musical structure. Pink Floyd and Jethro tull have many good songs, a lot of them in simple time signatures and scales. But when the song demanded the use of an unorthodox method, they would use it bravely. The quality of the music is not indexed by its complexity. The way progressive metal has progressed, I feel like it is a direct disabuse of the power that complexity of musical structure affords you. I would like to restate the words of a certain wise music critic "Even three-chord-trash is sheer aural ecstasy if it is done the right way"
I dont completely hate progressive metal bands. Lot of their work is really excellent. The others I think they are like confused teenagers, they just need more direction and focus. However, what I do absolutely detest are progressive metal fans. Among self-proclaimed rock fans most are posers and pretenders, but with progressive metal fans all of them are. Here is the point that I dont get. Progressive metal is defined by its use of complicated and unconventional music structure. How can you like something just based on the fact that it is complicated? Why does complexity make something cool? If you like complicated stuff why are you working in a meth lab rather than in a rocket science lab?
An average progressive metal fan knows as much music as I know Yiddish. That screws up things even worse, because when a purported progressive metal fan tries to head-bang, he cant do it! That is because the time signature is so complex and our quintessential progressive metal fan is so musically challenged that he cant keep up to the rhythm. When you headbang, you go
with the rhythm. That is the first and only rule of headbanging. They cant follow the singing because its too tough and the lyrics are in Sanskrit, so eventually there is not one element in the song that they can actually relate to. They probably will relate better to the chattering of chimpanzees.
When I look at a progrssive metal song I would look at it with the sense of amusement with which I would look at a towering skyscraper. But a kicking good rock song is like the Eiffel tower or the pyramids or something like that, it is monumental. Which is why I think that I'll rather stick to the classics.
