IQ are a British neo-progressive rock band founded by Mike Holmes and Martin Orford in 1981 following the dissolution of their original band The Lens. Although the band have never enjoyed major commercial success and had several lineup changes, IQ have built up a loyal following over the years and are still active as of 2020, currently with the original recording line-up. In 2011, IQ performed a series of concerts in the UK and Europe celebrating their 30th anniversary.
Aisles is a six-piece progressive rock band originally from Santiago, Chile. The group was formed in 2001 by brothers Germán (guitar) and Luis Vergara (keyboards), and childhood friend Rodrigo Sepúlveda (guitar). Later on, it expanded to include lead singer Sebastián Vergara and Alejandro Meléndez (keyboards). Drummer Felipe Candia and bassist Daniel Baird-Kerr joined the band in 2007 and 2011 respectively.
Pendragon are an English neo-progressive rock band established in 1978 in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England, as Zeus Pendragon by guitarist and vocalist Nick Barrett. The word Zeus was dropped before the band started recording, as the members decided it was too long to look good on a T-shirt. There were a few personnel changes in the early days, but since 1986 the lineup has remained relatively stable and the band were still active as of 2020.
Goblin is an Italian progressive rock band known for their soundtrack work. They frequently collaborate with Dario Argento, most notably creating soundtracks for Profondo Rosso in 1975 and Suspiria in 1977. CD re-releases of their soundtracks 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.
Illusion were a British progressive rock band formed in 1977. They released two albums, Out of the Mist (1977) and Illusion (1978) on Island Records, before folding in 1979. A third release titled Enchanted Caress was released in 1990.
A.C.T is a Swedish progressive rock band formed in 1995 under the name ‘Fairyland’, in Malmö. The band has been through several personnel changes; with the current line-up featuring Herman Saming (vocals), Ola Andersson (guitar), Jerry Sahlin (keyboards), Peter Asp (bass) and Thomas Lejon (drums).
Bacamarte is a Brazilian symphonic/progressive rock band originally formed in 1974 by three school friends, although, because of their ages, they soon disbanded. In 1977 Neto reformed Bacamarte with a new set of musicians and it was this line-up that in 1978 recorded Bacamarte's opus Depois do Fim. Neto was wary of the then popular disco scene and decided that he would withhold the tape and release it at a more suitable time. After being persuaded by a friend in 1982 he submitted the tape to a local radio station; the album itself was then released in early 1983. A second album was released in 1999 from material recorded in the 1980s; this album, Sete Cidades is largely considered a Mario Neto solo work and features only Neto and keyboardist Robério Molinari. However, the original line up decided to join again for a series of shows, and are working together from time to time using the moniker Bacamarte.
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. .
Raintime is an Italian progressive / power metal band, founded in 1999. The band was initially significantly inspired by Dream Theater, and as such composed songs which leaned towards the progressive metal genre. They then recorded an instrumental demo entitled Jump in the Past.
Wobbler is a Norwegian progressive rock band formed in 1999.
Cynic is an American progressive metal band formed in Miami, Florida in 1987 which incorporates elements of progressive rock, alternative rock, and extreme metal. Their first album, Focus, released on September 14, 1993, is widely regarded as a landmark release of the progressive metal genre. Cynic disbanded in 1994, but they reunited in 2006 and released their second album on November 17, 2008. Traced in Air was released through French label Season of Mist, followed up by an EP titled Re-Traced on May 18, 2010 and an EP titled Carbon-Based Anatomy on November 11, 2011. Their third studio album, Kindly Bent to Free Us, was released on February 14, 2014. In December 2017, after two years of an uncertain future, Reinert confirmed his split from Cynic, leaving Masvidal as the only remaining original member left. Reinert died at the age of 48 on January 24, 2020. Malone died at the age of 50 eleven months later.
Big Big Train are an English progressive rock band formed in Bournemouth in 1990. The current line-up consists of band founder Greg Spawton, along with Nick D'Virgilio, David Longdon, and Rikard Sjöblom. Robin Armstrong joined the group for live performances in 2019. Until 2009, the band were active as a predominantly-studio project led by Spawton and co-founder Andy Poole, who departed the band in 2018, with changing line-ups and guest musicians. They have released twelve studio albums and three EPs.
Nosound is an English/Italian alternative rock band that started in 2002 by Giancarlo Erra. The band is noted for playing music in several different genres including alternative rock, post rock, electronic and ambient music.
Johan Reinholdz is a progressive metal artist best known for his work with the Swedish progressive metal band Andromeda, Swedish death metal band NonExist and the melodic death metal band Skyfire. He composed Andromeda's debut album, Extension of the Wish. He has also released four more studio albums with Andromeda and one live-album. In 2004 he joined Skyfire on Esoteric in 2009. Since early 2017 he plays with Dark Tranquillity, going from live member to full time member in 2020, replacing original guitarist Martin Henriksson.
Cea Serin is a progressive metal band that was formed in 1997 by bassist/singer/keyboardist J. Lamm.
Thought Chamber is an American progressive metal supergroup formed in 2006. The band was formed by guitarist Michael Harris and vocalist Ted Leonard of Enchant. The band's first full-length album, "Angular Perceptions" was released in 2007 on progressive label InsideOut and received critical acclaim, including Honorable Mention from drum legend Mike Portnoy in his Top 10 Albums of 2007. Thought Chamber released their second full-length opus, a concept album entitled "Psykerion", in 2013 featuring founding members, guitarist Michael Harris and vocalist Ted Leonard, along with new drummer Mike Haid, bassist Jeff Plant, and keyboardist Bill Jenkins (Enchant). Progressive Metal web site, Grande Rock, voted "Psykerion" Best Album of 2013, and voted "Transcend" Best Song of 2013. In early 2014, Mike Portnoy invited Thought Chamber vocalist, Ted Leonard, to tour with his progressive band, Transatlantic, to fill in for Daniel Gildenlöw who was recovering from unexpected health issues. Ted also performed with Transatlantic, and Spock's Beard in Feb 2014 on the Progressive Nation at Sea cruise. In March 2014, InsideOut Music released the first-ever Thought Chamber video, "Transcend" which was filmed in Dallas, TX in September 2013.
Sky Architect is a progressive rock band based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Their debut album, Excavations of the Mind, was released in 2010 from ProgRock Records. The drummer and backing vocalist, Christiaan Bruin, is also known for his solo project "Chris". They are currently signed to FREIA Music.
Profusion is an Italian progressive rock band based in Siena and founded in 2002. Their music is distributed by Progressive Promotion Records.
Wuthering Heights is a Danish heavy metal band, with a somewhat eclectic musical style which falls in somewhere between progressive, folk, and power metal. The band is considered a Danish entity, although a number of Swedish musicians are associated with it.
Ulysses is a German progressive rock band from the early 1990s with an international line-up. They were part of a colourful scene of new bands, labels and magazines that emerged in Germany at that time. Musically, they were less influenced by the German "Krautrock" phenomenon but initially oriented strongly towards the second generation of British progressive rock bands. Hegarty & Halliwell would have classified them as part of third wave of progressive rock bands, who can also be described as a second generation of neo-progressive bands. So one might not wonder that most reviewers heard similarities to Marillion, Galahad and Änglagård in their music which is characterised by a strong emphasis on melodies and the integration of folkloristic elements, abrupt changes of moods and partly complex and ever changing arrangements often moving towards a climax.
