Progressive metal is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral or quasi-classical compositions of the latter.
Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. He won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. His fingerpicking and flatpicking skills, as well as his knowledge of traditional American music, were highly regarded. Blind from a young age, he performed publicly both in a dance band and solo, as well as for over 15 years with his son, guitarist Merle Watson, until Merle's death in 1985 in an accident on the family farm.
Camel are an English progressive rock band formed in Guildford, Surrey, in 1971. Led by guitarist Andrew Latimer, they have released fourteen studio albums and fourteen singles, plus numerous live albums and DVDs. Without achieving mass popularity, the band gained a cult following in the 1970s with albums such as Mirage (1974) and The Snow Goose (1975). They moved into a jazzier, more commercial direction in the early 1980s, but then went on an extended hiatus. Since 1991 the band has been independent, releasing albums on their own label.
Renaissance are an English progressive rock band, best known for their 1978 UK top 10 hit "Northern Lights" and progressive rock classics like "Carpet of the Sun", "Mother Russia", and "Ashes Are Burning". They developed a unique sound, combining a female lead vocal with a fusion of classical, folk, rock, and jazz influences. Characteristic elements of the Renaissance sound are Annie Haslam's wide vocal range, prominent piano accompaniment, orchestral arrangements and vocal harmonies.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (NGDB) is an American country rock band formed in 1966. The group has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California. Between 1976 and 1981, the band performed and recorded as the Dirt Band.
Blackwater Park is the fifth studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth. It was released on March 12, 2001, in Europe and a day later in North America through Music for Nations and Koch Records. The album marks the first collaboration between Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson and the band, as Wilson had been brought in to produce the album. This contributed to a shift in Opeth's musical style. The songs "The Drapery Falls" and "Still Day Beneath the Sun" were released as singles.
My Arms, Your Hearse is the third studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth, released in August 1998. It was the band's first album to be released simultaneously in Europe, through Candlelight Records, and in the United States, through Century Black.
The Strawbs are an English rock band founded in 1964 as the Strawberry Hill Boys. The band started out as a bluegrass group, but eventually moved on to other styles such as folk rock and progressive rock.
Styx is the debut album by American rock band Styx. It was released in 1972.
Damnation is the seventh studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth. It was released on 22 April 2003, five months after Deliverance, which was recorded at the same time. Damnation is the last Opeth album to date to be produced by Steven Wilson although he did mix two future albums, Heritage and Pale Communion. Mikael Åkerfeldt dedicated both albums{{which albums?}} to his grandmother, who died in a car accident during the time the albums were being recorded.
The Albion Band, also known as The Albion Country Band, The Albion Dance Band, and The Albion Christmas Band, is a British folk rock band, originally brought together and led by musician Ashley Hutchings. An important grouping in the genre, it has contained or been associated with a large proportion of major English folk performers in its long and fluid history.
Slapp Happy is a studio album by German/British avant-pop group Slapp Happy, recorded at Virgin Records' Manor Studio in 1974.
First Utterance is the debut album of the progressive folk band Comus. It was released in 1971, with the opening song "Diana" being released as a single.
Magic Carpet was a pioneering British psychedelic folk band of musicians that first appeared in the early 1970s.
To Keep from Crying is the second album by progressive folk band Comus, released in 1974. It featured a notably different lineup from their other releases, with the violin/viola and woodwind spots replaced by keyboards and a conventional drum kit. The album's content has also been noted as sounding more mainstream than their earlier work, which centred more in conventional progressive rock and folk.
Medieval folk rock, medieval rock or medieval folk is a musical subgenre that emerged in the early 1970s in England and Germany which combined elements of early music with rock music. It grew out of the British folk rock and progressive folk movements of the late 1960s. Despite the name, the term was used indiscriminately to categorise performers who incorporated elements of medieval, renaissance and baroque music into their work and sometimes to describe groups who used few, or no, electric instruments. This subgenre reached its height towards the middle of the 1970s when it achieved some mainstream success in Britain, but within a few years most groups had either disbanded, or were absorbed into the wider movements of progressive folk and progressive rock. Nevertheless, the genre had a considerable impact within progressive rock where early music, and medievalism in general, was a major influence and through that in the development of heavy metal. More recently medieval folk rock has revived in popularity along with other forms of medieval inspired music such as Dark Wave orientated neo-Medieval music and medieval metal.
In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall is the third live album and video by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth. The DVD was recorded on 5 April 2010. It was released on 20 September 2010 in Europe and on 21 September 2010 in the rest of the world. The concert was part of the band's Evolution XX: An Opeth Anthology tour, made in celebration of their 20th anniversary, and was the fourth show of the tour, filmed at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London, UK.
The Bastard is the first album by the American progressive/heavy metal band Hammers of Misfortune, released in 2001.
Heritage is the tenth studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth. It was released on 13 September 2011 through Roadrunner Records. The album was recorded in early 2011 at Atlantis Studios in Stockholm and produced by Mikael Åkerfeldt, engineered by Janne Hansson, and mixed by Steven Wilson. It takes on more of a progressive rock sound, something the band had wanted to do for some time. It is a stark contrast to the progressive death metal sounds of their past albums.
"My Friend the Sun" is a song by the British rock band Family. It was written by Roger Chapman and Charlie Whitney for the band's 1972 album Bandstand. The single did not make the UK Singles Chart.
