Thanks for doing it. Ark is one of my favorite bands from the turn of the century and never once I have I considered them to be a religious band LOL. I guess @johnmacalusodrums could weigh in, but I don't think that's what they were going for here. I always thought the record was more about an alien invasion or something along those lines. The surviving band members are still making music (Jørn Lande, Tore Østby, and John Macaluso), just not together, which is a shame, but such is life. Saw them live on the same bill as Spiral Architect, if you can imagine that.
It's feel like Whitesnakes with steroid (Coverdale vocal style). The 2000s is the rise of technical prog metal movement: Ark, Spiral Architect, Spastic Ink, Aghora and else.
I was obsessed with their stuff for so long. Their first album was in fact a just demo recording that the label they signed with decided to release. Still excellent material. Would highly recommend more songs from them, like Resurrection, Absolute Zero, Mother Love, Just A Little, Singers At The World's Dawn... what really set them apart for me is drummer John Macaluso just going wild and making every groove way more interesting than otherwise would've been.
Yeah, this is my jam. Great combination of older prog metal styles (Queensryche, Fates Warning, Dream Theater etc.) and newer influences (Spiral Architect, djent, etc.). Love the riffage, vocals, and rhythmic twists throughout. Will definitely be checking these guys out soon. RE this being prog metal, it really helps if you start with some of the OG prog metal bands and move forward from there, as what you'll find is that prog metal started out as simply a more virtuosic, conceptual, artier take on 80s metal. You can even hear that evolution slowly happen if you start with classic heavy metal like Priest and Maiden and then listen to Queensryche and Fates Warning (or even Iron Maiden's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son) to hear how that evolution happened step-by-step. What happened in the 90s is that those influences got mixed with the various extreme metal sub-genres, especially hardcore, death metal, and black metal, and thus was born bands like Death, Meshuggah, Emperor, and all their various descendants. To those who grew up with with late-80s/early-90s prog metal it's the newer stuff that sounds like a sub-sub genre of prog metal rather than the old stuff not sounding like prog metal! As to whether this was innovative or iterative to its time, I would definitely say this was iterative even by the standards of prog metal of the late-90s/early-00s, but I do think it's done really well. The most traditional aspect are the vocals as they're definitely taken from the "bombastic" style of 80s metal vocals. The instrumental aspects are more contemporary for the time, though it's helpful to remember that Opeth and Meshuggah had already been around for a while (early 90s), so there isn't really anything here that's cutting edge. I simply put it in the category of "well-done iterative music."
This album is an absolute banger through and through. One of the final high watermarks for this style (which is a european style of prog/power). Harkens back - of course - to Conception. But through them, down the backwards history of Queensryche, Fates Warning, Iron Maiden, Rush... Dream Theater and onwards we are talking about a different style of prog metal carnival. The djent thing isn't really in the same lineage, hence what you are intuitively feeling. The Between the Buried And Me stuff is metalcore kids taking a counterinfluence from technical metal. Completely different path, and the original progressive metal style is actually a nearly vestigial path of evolution. The current conception of 'prog metal' as either 'extreme music pastiche' or 'rhythmic/meter distorted guitar fuckery and whiny emotional vocals' have completely subsumed the gravitas of the old style in the minds of younger generations of metalheads.
OMG I totally forgot about this band! Back then I listened to Burn the Sun and Just a Little a ton! The band sounds great, Jorn's voice is amazing. What a suggestion! A suggestion, also Scandinavian: Who's the Boss in The Factory, by Karmakanic! I
Call it classic (or first wave style) prog metal and relate it to the metal of the 80's (not 90's which would be where the more brutal forms started to take shape) Some really neat moments here although the core is the kind of prog metal I don't prefer (like with most of 80's metal). Lacking the "edge" of 70's prog and the modern prog metal that I prefer. Too much of a fancy train keeping good pace on the same track.
@@CriticalReactions Ha, ha... I'll do the coining and you just keep earning coins through your diligent and engaged work 🙂 (pretty sure that expression has been used by many before though, if not an "official" term)
First wave of prog metal was 80s: Queensryche, Fates Warning... This actually sounds somewhat like them -- very 80s metal sound, not the cold, mechanical sound metal adopted in the mid 90s (triggered drums??) -- but without the cheesy bombast we liked about it... the vocals, however, remind me of the crappier bands of the grunge era (Stone Temple Pilots etc.). Can't say I find it as detestable as modern prog-metal, but I never see the point in rehashing existing styles from the past.
@@greggerypeccary Yup! And I'm not a big fan of the "80's era prog-metal". I'm a 60's-70's prog guy who discovered (around 2005) that I also love that dark, brutal and exciting prog-metal which draws from the extreme metal. Kinda complements the old school prog, jazz, fusion and folk that I'll always love.
![ILLSLICK - WINTER IS COMING [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dwTMeM1zIhQ/mqdefault.jpg)
![Psychedelic Dervish - Black Metal Spiral [Full Album] @psydervish](/img/n.gif)
Jorn Lande is one of the best metal vocals i have heard, and both Ark albums are masterpieces: energy, rage, virtuosity, complexity
best prog band ever...best fretess in metal band ever...best voice...best songs.....amazing.....this magick elevates my spirit and soul
Thanks for doing it. Ark is one of my favorite bands from the turn of the century and never once I have I considered them to be a religious band LOL. I guess @johnmacalusodrums could weigh in, but I don't think that's what they were going for here. I always thought the record was more about an alien invasion or something along those lines. The surviving band members are still making music (Jørn Lande, Tore Østby, and John Macaluso), just not together, which is a shame, but such is life. Saw them live on the same bill as Spiral Architect, if you can imagine that.
Fantastic reaction video of a superb song. Love it.
It's feel like Whitesnakes with steroid (Coverdale vocal style). The 2000s is the rise of technical prog metal movement: Ark, Spiral Architect, Spastic Ink, Aghora and else.
Aghora is one love, especially second album. it's incredible
I was obsessed with their stuff for so long. Their first album was in fact a just demo recording that the label they signed with decided to release. Still excellent material. Would highly recommend more songs from them, like Resurrection, Absolute Zero, Mother Love, Just A Little, Singers At The World's Dawn... what really set them apart for me is drummer John Macaluso just going wild and making every groove way more interesting than otherwise would've been.
Yeah, this is my jam. Great combination of older prog metal styles (Queensryche, Fates Warning, Dream Theater etc.) and newer influences (Spiral Architect, djent, etc.). Love the riffage, vocals, and rhythmic twists throughout. Will definitely be checking these guys out soon. RE this being prog metal, it really helps if you start with some of the OG prog metal bands and move forward from there, as what you'll find is that prog metal started out as simply a more virtuosic, conceptual, artier take on 80s metal. You can even hear that evolution slowly happen if you start with classic heavy metal like Priest and Maiden and then listen to Queensryche and Fates Warning (or even Iron Maiden's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son) to hear how that evolution happened step-by-step. What happened in the 90s is that those influences got mixed with the various extreme metal sub-genres, especially hardcore, death metal, and black metal, and thus was born bands like Death, Meshuggah, Emperor, and all their various descendants. To those who grew up with with late-80s/early-90s prog metal it's the newer stuff that sounds like a sub-sub genre of prog metal rather than the old stuff not sounding like prog metal!
As to whether this was innovative or iterative to its time, I would definitely say this was iterative even by the standards of prog metal of the late-90s/early-00s, but I do think it's done really well. The most traditional aspect are the vocals as they're definitely taken from the "bombastic" style of 80s metal vocals. The instrumental aspects are more contemporary for the time, though it's helpful to remember that Opeth and Meshuggah had already been around for a while (early 90s), so there isn't really anything here that's cutting edge. I simply put it in the category of "well-done iterative music."
I'd like to be able to click "follow" for your comments but I guess I'll just have to keep finding them manually 😉
@@progperljungman8218 Haha, thanks! Well, Bryan isn't super-inundated with comments so mine usually aren't hard to find! :)
@@jonathanhenderson9422 Yeah, whish more from the community would check in frequently to add & support...
"Torn" from the same album next please 🤘
This album is an absolute banger through and through. One of the final high watermarks for this style (which is a european style of prog/power). Harkens back - of course - to Conception. But through them, down the backwards history of Queensryche, Fates Warning, Iron Maiden, Rush... Dream Theater and onwards we are talking about a different style of prog metal carnival. The djent thing isn't really in the same lineage, hence what you are intuitively feeling. The Between the Buried And Me stuff is metalcore kids taking a counterinfluence from technical metal. Completely different path, and the original progressive metal style is actually a nearly vestigial path of evolution. The current conception of 'prog metal' as either 'extreme music pastiche' or 'rhythmic/meter distorted guitar fuckery and whiny emotional vocals' have completely subsumed the gravitas of the old style in the minds of younger generations of metalheads.
So I love the vocals on this...but at the same time goddamn he sounds like Matt Berry sometimes lol
One of the best album ever made
Jorn kills it, as usual.
OMG I totally forgot about this band! Back then I listened to Burn the Sun and Just a Little a ton! The band sounds great, Jorn's voice is amazing. What a suggestion!
A suggestion, also Scandinavian: Who's the Boss in The Factory, by Karmakanic! I
Too bad the Ark was a band for such a short stint. Burn the Sun album is still amazing and ranks in my top list.
#Esoteric
Call it classic (or first wave style) prog metal and relate it to the metal of the 80's (not 90's which would be where the more brutal forms started to take shape) Some really neat moments here although the core is the kind of prog metal I don't prefer (like with most of 80's metal). Lacking the "edge" of 70's prog and the modern prog metal that I prefer. Too much of a fancy train keeping good pace on the same track.
I like the idea of First Wave Prog Metal. I might start using that phrase. If it takes off don't let me forget that you were the one who coined it 😄
@@CriticalReactions Ha, ha... I'll do the coining and you just keep earning coins through your diligent and engaged work 🙂 (pretty sure that expression has been used by many before though, if not an "official" term)
First wave of prog metal was 80s: Queensryche, Fates Warning...
This actually sounds somewhat like them -- very 80s metal sound, not the cold, mechanical sound metal adopted in the mid 90s (triggered drums??) -- but without the cheesy bombast we liked about it... the vocals, however, remind me of the crappier bands of the grunge era (Stone Temple Pilots etc.).
Can't say I find it as detestable as modern prog-metal, but I never see the point in rehashing existing styles from the past.
@@greggerypeccary Yup! And I'm not a big fan of the "80's era prog-metal". I'm a 60's-70's prog guy who discovered (around 2005) that I also love that dark, brutal and exciting prog-metal which draws from the extreme metal. Kinda complements the old school prog, jazz, fusion and folk that I'll always love.