Initially, progressive metal bands fell into two camps,
the first being bands who incorporated quirky time signatures and
atypical riffing into metal, and the (related) second being metal
bands strongly influenced by 70's progressive rock bands such as
Yes, Genesis, and ELP.
Watchtower and
Thought Industry
are two excellent examples of the first group,
while Dream Theater
remains the most well-known of the latter group,
as well as the single band most fans point to first when
referring to progressive metal.
In later years, melodic progressive metal bands have blossomed,
many of them not quite as technically oriented as the genre
originally defined.
Indeed, a lot of these bands can be best described as some
mixture of Dream Theater,
Queensryche, and
Fates Warning, which indeed places these three bands
as major innovators in the field.
On the extreme end of progressive metal is
technical metal, where the musicianship and songwriting variance is
placed at an even higher premium.
This is demonstrated by bands such as
Cynic and
Spiral Architect.
