Your way in
Symphonic prog 1970
Orchestral arrangements transposed onto Hammond organ and Moog. Roger Dean cover art included.
- Heaviness
- 3
- Speed
- 5
- Melody
- 8
- Where from
- UK / Italy
- Tempo
- 70-150 bpm
- Song length
- 6-20 min
- Written about
- Myth and epic narrative, Science fiction, War and civilisation, Concept albums with an argument
- Vocals
- Sung
Why this one
| You said | Symphonic prog | Match | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| No words at all When someone is singing, what should come out? | clean | 80% | ×3 |
| Light How much weight do you want behind it? | 3 out of 10 | 90% | ×2 |
| A steady walk What pace? | 5 out of 10 | 100% | ×2 |
| Somewhere else entirely What should the words be about? | Myth and epic narrative, Science fiction, War and civilisation, Concept albums with an argument | 100% | ×1 |
| Weighted mean | 90% | ||
Ranked over all 150 genres in the encyclopedia, on the 4 answers you gave, weighted vocals 3, heaviness 2, pace 2, about 1 out of 8. Symphonic prog leads the next by 5 points. Where two genres score the same the broader one wins, because a genre with subgenres under it is somewhere to carry on from and a leaf is a full stop.
Five records, in this order
- 1Start one step outside
King Crimson, In the Court of the Crimson King 1969
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King. The first track tells you everything.
- 2The one to put on first
Yes, Yes 1969
Yes - Close to the Edge. The title track runs eighteen minutes and wastes none of them.
- 3Then
- 4Then
- 5Then
The first is the entry point for Progressive rock, one step outside, so the second record has something to be heard against. After it come Symphonic prog's essential records in the order the encyclopedia lists them. Every one of these has a page here with links out to somewhere it can be played.
If that is not it
-
Krautrock 85%
A tireless motorik beat, studio improvisation and a refusal of the chorus. It shaped post-punk, post-rock and electronic music.
4 steps from Symphonic prog, meeting it only at Rock.
The way into Krautrock -
Surf rock 85%
Instrumental, drenched in tank reverb, with fast tremolo picking. The sound of the Californian coast, later recycled by punk and by Tarantino.
4 steps from Symphonic prog, meeting it only at Rock.
The way into Surf rock
Not simply the second and third of the ranking: those are almost always near neighbours of the first, which is three names for one suggestion. An alternate has to sit at least 4 steps through the tree from the headline and from the other alternate, which is the same floor the "sounds like this, but isn't" panel uses.
What your answers ruled out
- No words at all put 33 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Black metal, Death metal, Grindcore. Worth 3 of 8.
- Light put 12 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Death metal, Brutal death metal, Sludge metal. Worth 2 of 8.
- Somewhere else entirely put 106 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Punk rock, Hardcore punk, Alternative rock. Worth 1 of 8.
Counted as genres scoring 20% or less on that answer alone. A recommendation that only shows what it chose is hiding half of what it did.