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Saturday, September 20, 2014

Scandinavian Prog Rock Bands That Are Worth Checking Out

By Kerri Stout


Prog rock still remains a popular form of rock music with many fans the world over. Some of the best bands in this genre are the Scandinavian prog rock bands. Progressive rock started life in the late 60s with the Beatles Sergeant Pepper' and the psychedelic noodling of early Pink Floyd. Pink Floyd went on to dominate the progressive rock scene in the 1970s along with other bands, such as Yes and Genesis.

Sweden's Beardfish are well worth taking a listen too. Similar to Genesis and Yes the band bring progressive rock to the modern day. They formed in 2001 and have had several different musicians com and go. The band's fist album is called Fran En Plats Du Ej Kan Se, which was released in 2003 to great success.

Another great Swedish progressive rock band are The Flower Kings. The band formed in August 1994 by veteran guitarist Roine Stolt. The band have produced 11 acclaimed albums in their lifetime. The band is influenced by jazz and blues music and are characterized by their use of sharp dynamic changes, polyrhythms, heavy bass, vocal harmonies, abstract lyrics, and extended songs.

Magic Pie from Norway have a contemporary sound that is merged with the 1970s. The band has interesting lyrics, strong melodies, sparkling guitar riffs, powerful vocal arrangements, classic 1970s organ sounds and tight bass and drums. Magic Pie's music is both soft and gentle or hard and heavy. They formed in 2005 and have three albums. There next album is due in 2014 so check it out!

An usual but highly exciting band are Finland's Apocalyptica. Instead of bass, drums, guitars and keyboards, there are three cello players and a drummer to create a unique kind of progressive heavy metal. They began their career as a Metallica covers band on cellos, but soon began creating their own exciting music. All of the band's cellists are classical trained.

Another Finnish prog rock band is Spacefolk who create beautiful and exciting music that blends folk music with space rock. They use many instruments, including violin, didgeridoo, cello, mandolin, marimba, sitar and vibraphone, as well as guitar, bass and drums. They formed in 1999 and have created eight albums in their successful career. The band has remained on an independent record label and have achieved cult status among progressive rock fans the world over.

Kingston wall are another successful band from Finland. There music can be compared to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix. Eastern themes are combined with spacey psychedelic rock and they remain a cult favorite with fans of the genre. They have released three albums, a number of remix albums and a live DVD.

Moon Safari from Sweden have a symphonic instrumental sound that incorporates complex vocal harmonies. These harmonies are an important part of their sound and as well as guitars, bass and drums some of their best songs are performed acapella. They experiment with unusual time signatures too and many of their songs exceed 10 minutes in length. The band won the ninth annual Independent Music Awards Vox Pop vote for their Album "In the Countryside". This band is definitely one to check out if you haven't already.




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