The Flower Kings are a Swedish progressive rock band formed in 1994 by guitarist and singer-songwriter Roine Stolt. The group began as Stolt's touring band to support his third solo album The Flower King. They continued performing after the tour and have gone on to become one of the most prolific studio recording units in progressive rock, having released over twenty hours of music spread across fifteen studio albums. Their music is similar to early symphonic progressive rock groups such as Yes, marked by sharp dynamic changes, polyrhythms, heavy bass, vocal harmonies, abstract and occasionally nonsensical lyrics, and extended song lengths.
War is an American funk/rock/soul band from Long Beach, California, known for several hit songs . Formed in 1969, War is a musical crossover band that fuses elements of rock, funk, jazz, Latin, rhythm and blues, psychedelia, and reggae. According to music writer Colin Larkin, their "potent fusion of funk, R&B, rock and Latin styles produced a progressive soul sound", while Martin C. Strong calls them "one of the fiercest progressive soul combos of the '70s". Their album The World Is a Ghetto was Billboard's best-selling album of 1973. The band transcended racial and cultural barriers with a multi-ethnic line-up. War was subject to many line-up changes over the course of its existence, leaving member Leroy "Lonnie" Jordan as the only original member in the current line-up; four other members created a new group called the Lowrider Band.
Iron Butterfly is an American rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1966. They are best known for the 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", providing a dramatic sound that led the way towards the development of hard rock and heavy metal music. Although their heyday was the late 1960s, the band has been reincarnated with various members with varying levels of success with no new recordings since 1975. Their second album, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (1968), remains a best-seller, and Iron Butterfly was the first group to receive an In-House platinum album award from Atlantic Records. Their music has found a significant impact on the international rock scenes, influencing numerous acts such as Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Rush, Alice Cooper, Mountain, Uriah Heep, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots and Queens of the Stone Age.
Ozric Tentacles are an English instrumental rock band, whose music incorporates elements from a diverse range of genres, including psychedelic rock, progressive rock, space rock, jazz fusion, electronic music, dub music, world music, and ambient music. Formed in Somerset in 1983, the band has released over 30 albums selling over a million copies worldwide despite never having signed to a major recording label. Throughout many line-up changes over the years, co-founder and guitarist Ed Wynne has remained the only original member of the band. The band is now credited as one of the major influences of the UK festival scene's re-emergence, becoming particularly associated with the Glastonbury Festival and their handmade series of cassette releases, mostly sold at gigs and through a fan club.
The Enid are a British progressive rock band founded by keyboardist and composer Robert John Godfrey. Godfrey received his main musical education from The Royal College of Music. He is previously known for his work with Barclay James Harvest, and as a recording artist on the Charisma label. In 2014, he won the Visionary Award for establishing an early fan based crowdfunding model to finance the band named The Stand.
Spectrum are an Australian progressive rock band which formed in April 1969 and broke up in April 1973. The original line-up was Mark Kennedy on drums, Lee Neale on organ (ex-Nineteen87), Bill Putt on bass guitar, and Mike Rudd on guitar and lead vocals. In August 1970 Kennedy was replaced by Ray Arnott on drums. These members also performed under the alter ego, Indelible Murtceps, from 1971 to 1973. Spectrum had a number-one hit, "I'll Be Gone", on the Go-Set National Top 60 singles chart. After Spectrum and Indelible Murtceps disbanded, Putt and Rudd formed Ariel. In 1999 the pair formed Spectrum Plays the Blues, which later trimmed their name back to Spectrum. On 7 August 2013 Bill Putt died, after a heart attack.
Utopia was an American rock band formed in 1973 by Todd Rundgren. During its first three years, the group was a progressive rock band with a somewhat fluid membership known as Todd Rundgren's Utopia. Most of the members in this early incarnation also played on Rundgren's solo albums of the period up to 1975. By 1976, the group was known simply as Utopia and featured a stable quartet of Rundgren, Kasim Sulton, Roger Powell and John "Willie" Wilcox. This version of the group gradually abandoned progressive rock for more straightforward rock and pop.
Goblin is an Italian progressive rock band known for their film scores. They frequently collaborate with Dario Argento, most notably creating the scores for Profondo Rosso in 1975 and Suspiria in 1977. Because their collaborator Dario Argento specializes in creating horror, suspense and slasher/giallo genre movies, scores made by Goblin in these movies often had eerie and ominous tones. CD re-releases of their scores have performed well, especially in Germany and Japan. Goblin returned with a series of live concerts in Europe in 2009 and in North America in 2013.
Apocalypse is a progressive rock band from Brazil that plays symphonic rock with strong electronic keyboard orientation.
"The Carpet Crawlers" is a song by the English progressive rock band Genesis, recorded for their sixth studio album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks wrote most of the music, with the help of Peter Gabriel. Lyrically, the song tells the section of the album's story whereby Rael, the lead character, finds himself in a red carpeted corridor surrounded by kneeling people slowly crawling towards a wooden door. Rael dashes by them towards the door and goes through it. Behind the door is a table with a candlelit feast on it, and behind that, a spiral staircase that leads upwards out of sight.
Litfiba was an Italian rock band formed in Florence, Italy, in early 1980.
Presto Ballet is a progressive rock band founded by Metal Church guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof. Their sound is highly reminiscent of 1970s prog rock, as the band was founded chiefly as a tribute to classic progressive bands such as Yes and Kansas.
Fruupp were a 1970s progressive rock band, which originated in Belfast, Northern Ireland, but developed a fan base in Great Britain. They were relatively popular, particularly on the student scene and as a supporting act, opening for such bands as Genesis, Queen, and King Crimson.
Alphataurus is an Italian progressive rock band from the Milan area. Under the original lineup Alphataurus released only one album, Alphataurus, dated 1973, at the peak of the European progressive rock wave. The album was generally well received, and work on a second album started, but due to "a string of personal events" the band split up in 1973. The band is named after Aldebaran, the brightest star in the Taurus constellation.
Thinking Plague is an American avant-garde progressive rock group founded in 1982 by guitarist/composer Mike Johnson and bass guitarist/drummer Bob Drake. Based in Denver, Colorado, the band has been active off and on since 1982, taking on a number of musicians over the years. They have made seven studio albums between 1984 and 2017, and released one live album recorded at NEARfest in 2000.
Sebastian Hardie were Australia's first symphonic rock band. They formed in Sydney in 1967 as Sebastian Hardie Blues Band but dropped the 'Blues Band' reference when they became pop-oriented. By 1973 they developed a more progressive rock style, and later performed as Windchase, but disbanded in 1977. An early member of Sebastian Hardie was Jon English, who starred as Judas Iscariot in the Australian version of the stage musical Jesus Christ Superstar in 1972, he subsequently had a solo career as a singer, actor and playwright. A later member, Mario Millo became a multi-award winner for his television and movie music.
Yearning was an atmospheric doom metal band from Finland. During its career the band released five studio albums and one demo, the latter being released while the band was still called Flegeton.
Khallice is a Brazilian progressive metal act in founded in 1994. The band's founder Marcelo Barbosa (guitars) is the owner of GTR, a large guitar institute in Brasília, and currently is a member of Angra and Almah.
Dean Fasano was the lead singer of the bands Message and Prophet.
The Gilbert's Feed Band (GFB) is a Portuguese alternative and crossover rock band. The band is known for their acrobatic performances, musical fusion and burlesque attitude. The band's attitude and lyrics are associated to radical sports. Their shows feature acrobatic acts and surprises like flips, acrobatic jumps, explosions, radical wheels and unicycles. The band call their musical style "Strambolic Circus Sound".
