Neo-progressive rock
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Neo-progressive rock (or often shortened to neo-prog) is a sub-genre of rock music, a form of progressive rock developed and popular in the 1980s, although it lives on today.
Neo-progressive was an effort to fuse the complex structures and sounds of progressive rock of the 1970s (e.g., Genesis and King Crimson) to 1980s pop music. Genesis have been a particularly important influence on a number of neo-prog bands.
Early neo-prog was marked by sophisticated lyrics and often dark themes. While the accessibility of neo-prog by the mainstream is debatable, the form did generally seem more radio-friendly, with shorter tracks, than earlier progressive rock. Nonetheless, neo-prog never achieved the heights of popular success that bands like Yes did.
The early notable neo-prog albums included Script for a Jester's Tear (1983) by Marillion, The Wake (1985) by IQ, and The Sentinel (1984) by Pallas.
Marillion is almost certainly the most popular neo-prog band, peaking in popularity with their albums Misplaced Childhood (1985) and Clutching at Straws (1987). Following this peak, neo-prog declined as a mainstream genre, although these three pioneering bands are still active as of 2004, and several newer groups have worked in the same space in the 1990s and 2000s.
By some fans of progressive rock, neo-prog is criticised for lacking originality compared to other progressive rock - even by such artists as Robert John Godfrey of The Enid [1], whose own band has sometimes been promoted by neo-prog fans.
Despite criticisms, neo-prog still draws a significant fan base and albums are consistently released. One of the biggest labels for neo prog is Inside Out [2]. According to the Progressive Archives website [3], the most popular neo prog artists are Marillion, IQ, Arena and Pendragon. News about neo progressive rock bands is given regularly on The Dutch Progressive Rock website [4].
