Wow, thanks for the recommendations. :)
Drilnoth: There is some really energetic prog metal type stuff out there, like Ayreon. The most recent Ayreon album,
The Theory of Everything goes through a fair number of different moods but it can get pretty excited at times. It's also four 20-minute long songs. There's also a lot of instruments and tons of variation.
I've just listened to the entire album on youtube, and it's very very close to what I was looking for. It's indeed very varied, and as a bonus it also tells an interesting, engaging story that sent shivers down my back in some moments. I like that he uses almost a dozen voices.
I did listen to some progressive rock before (Yes for example), but it often seemed to favor high-pitched, whining voices that don't give me much. Ayreon's use of so many different voices removes that "flaw". Also, I always had the feeling that the more "progressive", or perhaps the more "avantgardist" rock became, the more it loses its connections to the wild, raw power that can be felt in (for example) Ritchie Blackmore's solos on "Made in Japan". And I
want that power. "The theory of Everything"
could be a bit wilder for my taste, but it also definitely exceeds other examples of prog rock that I heard, which were a bit too soft for me.
In any case, Ayreon is definitely a project I need to know more about. I'm currently watching a 150 minute "making of" about "The theory of Everything", and I think I'm positively smitten. ;) Statements like "I don't really like choruses so much, repeating things over and over", or "I think there are still people who like to just put their headphones on and be taken on a journey", exemplify an approach to music that I deemed lost (it's definitely lost in "popular" music, I think). The only thing that was weird was when he said "I wouldn't recommend to listen to all four epics in one go, because, you know, it might be too much, you might die or something" - when in fact my reaction to the music was "This was pretty good, but it could have used a bit more power, speed, and intensity at times". ;)
Drilnoth: Have you heard Green Carnation's
Light of Day, Day of Darkness?
I listened in a bit, but it seemed to have long passages with this gloomy, emotionless kind of singing that's typical for some kinds of metal, and that kind of drowns out the passion imho. But I never listened to the entire piece.
Drilnoth: Amplifier's
The Octopus also might be worth checking out.
Will do. :)
Drilnoth: Hopefully one or two of those may be of interest to you.
You bet! :)
It seems, btw, that I have to retract my statement about music having died in the 80s. But I _love_ how, on this forum, an off-handed remark like this triggers an elaborate recommendation of very specific works a mere 30 minutes after I listed an avalanche of criteria. Thanks! :)
