"Essential Progressive Metal Albums

Essential Progressive Metal Albums

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Progressive metal has evolved from its '70s/'80s rock roots to a wide-ranging and established genre.   It has also infiltrated other genres, with many bands in death, black, folk and other styles incorporating elements of progressive metal.    Veterans like Dream Theater and Fates Warning set the bar high, with modern bands such as Between The Buried And Me carrying the mantle for the younger generation.  We've put together a list of progressive metal albums that give a good overview for those exploring the genre.  It is not meant to be a comprehensive and all-inclusive list, just a starting point to delve into the genre.

"2013 Best Heavy Metal DVDs

2013 Best Heavy Metal DVDs

In addition to albums, we also review heavy metal DVDs. There were a lot of good ones released in 2013. Some excellent ones that just missed making our list include Dio - Finding The Sacred Heart: Live In Philly 1986 and Devin Townsend - The Retinal Circus. Here are our choices for the five best metal DVDs of 2013.

"The linguistics of Death Metal, and how to translate common English phrases into the Dark Lord's Tongue

The linguistics of Death Metal, and how to translate common English phrases into the Dark Lord's Tongue

The Black Metal band "Code." Photo: Shutterstock.

"Iron Maiden Tracks Down Pirates…. And Gives Them Concerts

Iron Maiden Tracks Down Pirates…. And Gives Them Concerts

Over the past several years numerous studies have shown that on average file-sharers spend more money on legal purchases, including concert tickets and merchandise.

"Iron Maiden makes millions by touring countries where their music is most pirated

Iron Maiden makes millions by touring countries where their music is most pirated

Iron Maiden hired a BitTorrent analytics company called Musicmetric to determine where piracy of their music was highest, then scheduled tours of those countries. They made millions touring Central and South America. Iron Maiden LLP has outperformed the UK music sector as a whole and was named one of the "1000 Companies That Inspire Britain" by the London Stock Exchange.

"Metal Christmas: Ten Christmas Songs That Are Actually Pretty Good. No Really.

Metal Christmas: Ten Christmas Songs That Are Actually Pretty Good. No Really.

Ho Ho NO

"Top 20 Heavy Metal Viral Videos of 2013

Top 20 Heavy Metal Viral Videos of 2013 What do we consider a viral video? A video which isn't necessarily a music video, usually created by a fan, and either makes us laugh or impresses us with talent displayed in the video. We've come across many of these sorts of videos in 2013, but wanted to pick the best of the best for

"Black Metal School Desk Drawings Now Considered Art

Black Metal School Desk Drawings Now Considered Art Remember all the shitty things you used to draw on your desk at school? We've all done it, and there always used to be that one kid that was really good at it. You were jealous of him too. Now we've got Artist Humberto Casas Junca taking his love of black metal and artistic representation

"International Society Of Heavy Metal Studies...

International Society Of Heavy Metal Studies (ISMMS) Is Amazingly A Real Thing From what I can gather now that my mind has been sufficiently exploded by the sheer amazement that this is a serious project that exists, the ISMMS is a collective that researches all types metal music and creates an academic discipline out of it. Holy friggin' crap! Above is a video of Dr. Karl Spracklen, a […]

"Heavy Metal Music and the Communal Experience Conference

Heavy Metal Music and the Communal Experience Conference

It is common to hear metal fans and musicians talk about the "metal community". This concept, which is widely used when referencing metal music, encompasses multiple levels of complexity that are seldom addressed in academic endeavors. When examined in detail, it raises more questions than answers. 

"MEGADETH's Dave Mustaine Is NOT A Republican!

MEGADETH's Dave Mustaine Is NOT A Republican!

Dave Mustaine has had a relatively good year in terms of no bad PR. Looking back at our coverage of his lunacy, the only truly mind-boggling thing that he said this year was that he did not believe in evolution. Of course, there was that whole time last year when he said he wanted to

"Metallica Play Antarctica

Metallica Play Antarctica (Photos Inside)

PENGUIN FAMILEEEH

Metallica successfully crossed their “new frontier” on Saturday when they played in 

"Orson Welles Records Two Songs with the 1980s Heavy-Metal Band Manowar

Orson Welles Records Two Songs with the 1980s Heavy-Metal Band Manowar

Heavy metal music enjoyed the pleasures of excess in the 1980s, an era when, if you believe certain biographers, writer-actor-auteur Orson Welles did the very same. Though some describe the life of the man who made Citizen Kane as having by then fallen into a final period of great decadence...

"2013's Best Heavy Metal Albums

2013's Best Heavy Metal Albums As the year winds down, it's time to pick the best metal albums released in 2013. It will take a few years to get a better perspective, but at first glance the elite albums of this year stack up pretty favorably with recent years. Choosing which 20 albums make the list is always a challenging proposition, but the one at the top was an easy choice. Check out our list of 2013's best metal albums and comment on what you think the year's top releases were.

"Remembering Dimebag Darrell, Who Died Tragically 9 Years Ago Today

Remembering Dimebag Darrell, Who Died Tragically 9 Years Ago Today It's crazy to think it's almost been a decade without "Dimebag" Darrell, one of the greatest shredders to ever live. Dime was taken from us nine years ago today, but his music still lives on stronger than ever. Let's take a moment to remember the greatness that was Dime

"Hellfest Basically Confirms The Best Lineup Ever

Hellfest Basically Confirms The Best Lineup Ever

This guy’s just the start…

France’s premier metal festival, Hellfest, has announced a stunner of a lineup for next yea

"Female Metal Journalists Turn it Around, Pick 50 Hottest Guys in Metal

Female Metal Journalists Turn it Around, Pick 50 Hottest Guys in Metal Every year, Revolver magazine does a "Hottest Chicks In Metal Hard Rock" issue and it always spurs a bit of controversy. The reasoning is simple: it sells copies of the magazine, so much so, that it's expanded into a yearly calendar. A few of the female metal fans in the scene took notice and decided hey,

"Five Finger Death Punch Interview

Five Finger Death Punch Interview

Having one top 5 album in a year is quite an accomplishment. Five Finger Death Punch have had two in 2013: The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell volumes 1 and 2. Drummer Jeremy Spencer fills us in on the selection process of the songs for the two albums, his favorite collaboration onVolume 1, their current European tour with Avenged Sevenfold, putting together a setlist, dealing with their increasing popularity and other topics.

"Heavy Metal Gift Guide 2013

Heavy Metal Gift Guide 2013

With the holiday shopping season upon us again, you may need some gift ideas for the heavy metal fan in your life

"Megadeth Interview

Megadeth Interview

Megadeth bassist David Ellefson lived the metal lifestyle and came through intact. He tells his story in My Life With Deth. The autobiography chronicles everything from his youth in Minnesota through the current day. Megadeth's beginnings and rise are covered, as is Ellefson's struggle with substance abuse and journey to sobriety. His faith is a strong component of his life and the book. I spoke with Ellefson about the process, how things have been since he rejoined Megadeth a few years ago, the reaction to band's latest album Super Collider and other topics.

"Slayer’s Tom Araya On Why There’ll Be No More Big 4 Shows

Slayer’s Tom Araya On Why There’ll Be No More Big 4 Shows Tom Araya: No More Big Four :( Slayer frontman Tom Araya doesn’t reckon we’ll be seeing any more Big 4 shows any time soon – and says it’s down to one particular band to sort it out.

"New Study Says Metalheads Don't Like Religion And Love Being Unique

New Study Says Metalheads Don't Like Religion And Love Being Unique

We've written about a few interesting sociological studies, like studies that show metal makes you happy, loud music makes you want to be intoxicated, and emo haircuts aka the cry-sheild will give you lazy eye, but this one takes the cake. Are you ready to basically read all about yourself? Or get really butthurt?

"25 Songs to Thrash to on National Metal Da

25 Songs to Thrash to on National Metal Day

While there's a time and place for moving ballads and soothing soft rock, sometimes you just need to thrash like a maniac to blister-inducing guitar shredding
Today is that day.
In honor of National Metal Day,

"Metalheads In Alaska Documentary

Metalheads In Alaska Documentary

A short PBS documentary titled I Am A Metalhead | INDIE ALASKA following a veteran and some young guns in the Alaskan metal scene.

HELL - 'Darkhangel' live at Bloodstock Festival 2013 (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

"Joel McIver Interview

Joel McIver Interview

When it comes to metal and hard rock books, there are a handful of authors that seem to write the vast majority of them. Joel McIver is one of those prolific writers, and has written some notable books over the years about artists including Metallica, Slayer, Machine Head, Randy Rhoads, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and many others. His latest collaboration is with Megadeth bassist Dave Ellefson on My Life With Deth. He also worked with Max Cavalera (Soulfly, ex-Sepultura) on My Bloody Roots, which will be published in early 2014. McIver fills us in on those two projects, several others he's currently working on, the future of print magazines, his favorite albums of 2013 and other topics.

"Slayer: Tom Araya Reveals Why Dave Lombardo Left

Slayer: Tom Araya Reveals Why Dave Lombardo Left

Tom Araya: prepping for a new Slayer album in 2014

Slayer frontman Tom Araya has shed some further light on the surprising departure of drummer Dave Lombardo earlier this year.

"METALLICA On Justin Bieber: "Are we Beliebers? Yes."

METALLICA On Justin Bieber: "Are we Beliebers? Yes."

The internet might just explode due to this story. Last week, we posted that video of Justin Bieber humming the solo to Metallica's "Fade To Black" and there was mass amounts of butthurt. Metallica themselves were interviewed recently, and I guess the story got back to the interviewer, because they asked Metallica about Bieber, and shocker… James Hetfield says: ...

"10 Metal Songs for Your Halloween Playlist

10 Metal Songs for Your Halloween Playlist

Heavy metal’s favorite holiday is tomorrow. Whether you’re putting together the soundtrack for a crazy party or just trying to get some songs together to make it through the day at work, it’s time to finalize your Halloween playlist. Of course you HAVE to have the Misfits on there, which is why we gave them 

Bad Religion - "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" (Full Album Stream)

"Halloween: The Top Ten Most Metal Horror Movie Icons Ever

Halloween: The Top Ten Most Metal Horror Movie Icons Ever

Pumpkin. Puuuuuumpkin.

"It’s Official: Metallica To Play Antarctica

It’s Official: Metallica To Play Antarctica

What?

Metallica have announced the much-speculated news that they’ll be making another bit of history by playing Antarctica this December. Although the way they’re doing it is not exactly, um, straightforward

"5 Horror Movies with Very Metal Cameos

5 Horror Movies with Very Metal Cameos

There’s only a few more days ‘til Halloween, and, for many metalheads, this is the time of year when custom horror movie marathons are assembled.  Everybody watches the classics like Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, or Friday the 13th, but it doesn’t hurt to throw in a few obscure movies, too.  Don’t be surprised, 

"Warbringer Interview

Warbringer Interview

California thrashers Warbringer have had a lot of different members during their lifespan. Their latest album IV: Empires Collapse is the first for bassist Ben Mottsman and guitarist Jeff Potts

"Metallica’s Kirk Hammett: “iTunes And Streaming Has Destroyed Music”

Metallica’s Kirk Hammett: “iTunes And Streaming Has Destroyed Music”

Kirk Hammett: Fired up

Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett has poured more fuel on the never ending internet vs music debate, suggesting that his buddy Lars may have been pretty on the money with the infamous Napster debate back in 2000.

"Reinventing Metal: The True Story Of Pantera... Book Review

Reinventing Metal: The True Story Of Pantera... Book Review

Pantera's career is chronicled in Neil Daniels' latest book Reinventing Metal: The True Story of Pantera and the Tragically Short Life of Dimebag Darrell. Daniels spoke with several former band members along with those close to the group for a thorough look at both their musical endeavors and personal relationships.  The band's compelling and tragic story is told very well by Daniels.

"Trivium Interview

Trivium Interview

Trivium's latest album is Vengeance Falls, which was produced by Disturbed/Device frontman David Draiman. Before a recent concert in New York, I sat down with guitarist Corey Beaulieu and bassist Paolo Gregoletto for a conversation about the new album, working with Draiman, the current state of the music industry, upcoming tour plans and other subjects.

"Varg Vikernes To Be Tried For ‘Inciting Racial Hatred And Exalting War Crimes’

Varg Vikernes To Be Tried For ‘Inciting Racial Hatred And Exalting War Crimes’

Varg Vikernes

Controversial black metal artist Varg Vikernes is to stand trial in France on charges of inciting racial hatred and exalting war crimes on the Internet.

"Alter Bridge: “We Don’t Care About Fitting Formats”

Alter Bridge: “We Don’t Care About Fitting Formats”

Alter Bridge: taking over the UK in October

We chat to Alter Bridge in our immense current issue, out now, about amazing new album Fortress and the band’s unbelievable rise to being one of the biggest rock ‘n’ roll bands in the world today.

"5 Horror Movies Made Better with Metal

5 Horror Movies Made Better with Metal

Metal and horror go together like chocolate and peanut butter.  They both represent the alluring countercultures of their entertainment niches, and, for whatever reason, there are those of us who need to dabble in forbidden delights that some people avoid or never even discover.  When it comes to horror movies, a well-placed metal song may .

"Documentary on the Mozambique Metal Scene

Documentary on the Mozambique Metal Scene Looks Awesome!

When the idea of a metal scene is brought up, we hardly think of countries that don't receive big tours or aren't brought up in conversations in general. Filmographer Leslie Bornstein isn't one of those people and looked into the idea of the metal scene in Mozambique; the results, named Terra Pesada, are amazing. Bornstein 

"Ereb Altor Interview

Ereb Altor Interview

Ereb Altor are the Swedish band made up of members of Isole. The Bathory-influenced group's latest album is Fire Meets Ice.We caught up with the band's vocalist/guitarist/bassist/keyboardist Mats, who tells us about the new album, the response to it so far, upcoming tour plans and other subjects.

"Metal Music Studies - call for papers

Metal Music Studies - call for papers

Metal Music Studies is explicitly multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary: embracing both musicological research and music theory about metal music, and social scientific and humanistic research about metal music as a genre.  We are interested in original papers on metal music. We aim to receive contributions from researchers and theorists aligned with the subject field of metal music studies, but also researchers and theorists from other disciplines who feel that their interest in a form of popular music marginalizes them from the core debates in their discipline.

"Red Fang Stream New Album ‘Whales And Leeches’ For Free

Red Fang Stream New Album ‘Whales And Leeches’ For Free

Red Fang: bringing the riffs to a town near you

Oregon riff monsters Red Fang are streaming their brand new album in full!

"Lemmy On Recent Health Worries: “It Was Nothing. I’m Over It.”

Lemmy On Recent Health Worries: “It Was Nothing. I’m Over It.”

Lemmy: Living Legend (and Golden God winner!)

Motörhead icon Lemmy has been typically nonchalant about his recent health issues, insisting that we’ve all been worrying about nothing.