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.
Spock's Beard is an American progressive rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1992 by brothers Neal and Alan Morse (guitars), John Ballard (bass), and Nick D'Virgilio (drums). Ballard was replaced by Dave Meros before the release of their debut album, The Light (1995), and Ryo Okumoto (keyboards) joined soon after. Neal Morse left the band following the release of their sixth album, Snow (2002), and D'Virgilio took over as the band's frontman. In 2011, D'Virgilio also left and was replaced by Jimmy Keegan (drums) and Ted Leonard, from Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep (2013) onwards. As of 2024, the band have released thirteen studio albums and numerous live recordings.
Images and Words is the second studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released on July 7, 1992, through Atco Records. It is the first Dream Theater release to feature James LaBrie on vocals. Since its release, the album has maintained its position as the band's most commercially successful studio album, and the song "Pull Me Under" has the distinction of being the only Top 10 hit the band has had to date. This particular song has also had more recent success as it has appeared in the 2008 video game Guitar Hero World Tour.
"Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" is a song by Canadian rock band Klaatu, originally released in 1976 on their first album 3:47 EST. The song was played to open night-time transmission of the pirate radio station Radio Caroline. The year following its release, American soft rock duo the Carpenters covered the song, using a crew of 160 musicians. The Carpenters' version reached the top 10 in the UK and Canada, and charted at number 1 in Ireland.
Octopus is the fourth studio album by British progressive rock band Gentle Giant, released in 1972. It was the band's last album with founding member Phil Shulman and the first with new drummer John Weathers, who would remain with the band until their dissolution in 1980. Octopus remains a highly regarded example of the progressive rock genre and is generally considered to represent the start of the band's peak period.
Tim Bowness is an English singer and songwriter primarily known for his work as part of the band No-Man, a long-term project formed in 1987 with Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson.
IZZ is a New York-based progressive rock band. Its music is inspired by such classic progressive groups as Genesis, Yes, King Crimson, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and Renaissance and is often infused with pop hooks à la The Beatles. The band's name comes from the nickname of baseball relief pitcher Jason Isringhausen, who was once on the New York Mets, a team favored by John Galgano.
Eldorado is the fourth studio album by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in the United States in September 1974 by United Artists Records and in the United Kingdom in October 1974 by Warner Bros. Records.
David Readman is an English singer best known as the vocalist of hard rock band Pink Cream 69 and former vocalist of progressive metal band Adagio. He released a solo album in 2007 and was part of German guitarist Alex Beyrodt's band Voodoo Circle, from 2008 to 2016, returning in 2020.
Serenity is an Austrian symphonic power metal band, originally formed back in 2001. They became a more stable group with a consistent line-up in 2004, when it also began using more progressive and power influences than earlier. They have defined their genre with more melodic and symphonic metal elements.
Shining Line is the name of an international Album-oriented rock project born from a collaboration between the Italian musicians Pierpaolo Monti and Amos Monti. They have worked with legendary producer Alessandro Del Vecchio, as well as Italian guitar players Marco "Dandy" D'Andrea and Mario Percudani. The band has also recorded with session musicians Erik Martensson, Robin Beck, Harry Hess, Mikael Erlandsson, Michael Voss, Michael Bormann, and Vinny Burns, amongst others.
Pierpaolo Monti is an Italian drummer, songwriter and producer born in Italy. He is the founding member, main songwriter and mastermind behind the AOR all star projects Shining Line and Charming Grace.
Isla de Muerta is the twelfth studio album by the melodic hard rock band Ten, released on 20 May 2015 by Rocktopia Records. The album is named after the mythical "Island of the Dead" from pirate legend. The album's cover was illustrated by Gaetano Di Falco. The band has released two singles from the album, for "Tell Me What to Do" and "This Love".
Gianluca Firmo is an Italian singer, songwriter and keyboard player. Firmo was also the main guitar player and songwriter on Room Experience, an international melodic rock project featuring David Readman.
Davide Barbieri is an Italian singer, keyboardist and producer born in Italy. He is the founding member, main songwriter and mastermind of the Italian melodic hard-rock band Wheels Of Fire and the founding member, singer and songwriter behind the AOR all star project Charming Grace.
Folklore is the ninth studio album by English progressive rock band Big Big Train. Released on 27 May 2016, it was recorded at English Electric Studios, produced by Big Big Train, and mixed and mastered at Aubitt Studios by Rob Aubrey. It is the first studio album to feature Rachel Hall and then-Beardfish lead vocalist Rikard Sjöblom as official members.
Battlefield – The Rocktopia Records Collection is the fifth compilation album released by the melodic hard rock band Ten, which consists of tracks from all the Rocktopia Records releases, namely Albion, Isla De Muerta and The Dragon And Saint George EP.
Alessandro Del Vecchio is an Italian multi-instrumentalist, singer, record producer and songwriter. He is a current member of hard and heavy bands Edge of Forever, Hardline, Jørn Lande and Vanden Plas.
Life is the sixth album by American-Italian hard rock band Hardline. It was released on April 26, 2019 and was produced by Italian multi-instrumentalist Alessandro Del Vecchio via Neapolitan label Frontiers Records with the single Page of Your Life. This is the first album with Italian musicians Mario Percudani on guitar & Marco Di Salvia on drums respectively instead of Josh Ramos and Francesco Jovino.
The Bruised Romantic Glee Club is the fifth solo album by English musician Jakko M. Jakszyk. it was his first release in 9 years since 1997s The Road to Ballina and first since the breakup of the 21st Century Schizoid Band, a band featuring former members of early lineups of the progressive rock band King Crimson. Jakszyk was the only member who previously hadn't been a member of the band though he did join the band when they reformed in 2013. Due to Jakszyk's membership of the Schizoid band, the album features members of the band.
