43-412: Liquid Tension Experiment ( LTE ) is an American instrumental progressive metal supergroup founded by Mike Portnoy in 1997. The band initially released two albums, between 1998 and 1999. An extension of their second regular album, with the absence of John Petrucci was released in 2007 under the name "Liquid Trio Experiment". Active up until 1999, when Jordan Rudess formally joined Dream Theater,
86-439: A jazz influence, with extended solo sections that often feature "trading solos". Orphaned Land from Israel debuted as a melodic death-doom / melodic death metal band that fused middle eastern rhythms and melodies into their music with a progressive edge. The band knew they wanted to create a new subgenre of metal from the very beginning, a style they would dub " oriental metal ," and were always viewed as progressive due to
129-636: A "whole new musical experiment". Liquid Tension Experiment released a multi-disc boxed set of tour highlights from their 2008 tour, including complete shows from New York and Los Angeles on DVD and CD (the L.A. show also on Blu-ray), the Liquid Trio Experiment 2 recording from Chicago (q.v. below), and a disc of improvisations from other shows on the tour. The New York and Los Angeles shows were also released separately on CD or DVD, all through Dream Theater's official bootlegs website, YtseJam Records' subsidiary, Lazy Tomato Entertainment. During
172-691: A 40-minute concept album consisting of a single track, brought the band critical acclaim and was heralded as one of the first extreme-metal forays into a progressive rock-esque concept album, featuring death-metal vocals and heavily distorted guitars, with guest vocals and lead guitar from Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt . Dan Swanö produced Opeth's first release, Orchid (1995), which was unique for its combination of death metal vocals and instrumentation, melodic guitar harmonies, and acoustic passages, but it wasn't until their hallmark record Blackwater Park (2001) that they received critical acclaim. Steven Wilson , progressive rock icon and frontman of Porcupine Tree ,
215-569: A few examples of progressive metal bands who achieved commercial success. Soon after the rise of the genre's popularity, other thrash and death metal bands started to incorporate elements of progressive music in their work. Progressive metal, as a distinct musical style, was primarily advanced by members of the American heavy metal scene of the mid-1980s, particularly Queensrÿche , Savatage , Fates Warning , Watchtower and then later on, Dream Theater and Symphony X . It has since developed in
258-552: A few live shows in New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and London. Mike Portnoy had stated in numerous interviews (and on his web site FAQ ) that there would not be a third LTE album, as three of the four band members were also part of Dream Theater and the material would be too similar. In 2007 however, he said that a third release is possible, but that his problems with the Magna Carta label are more of an obstacle than getting
301-407: A fourth Liquid Tension Experiment album would probably not take another 20 years. Progressive metal Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal or prog ) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock , combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar -driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral or quasi-classical compositions of
344-566: A home in the growing U.S. thrash metal movement, influencing popular heavy metal bands like Megadeth , with its acclaimed album Rust in Peace (1990), together with Metallica and its famous album ...And Justice for All (1988). Among the other pioneering thrash metal bands, one of the most important is Canada's Voivod , with their complex and experimental style, full of psychedelic dissonances ( Dimension Hatröss , 1988; Nothingface , 1989). "Math-metal" pioneers Watchtower, from Texas, took
387-434: A key. At the end of playing "Universal Mind", he went off stage to talk to the tech crew to see if it could be fixed. In the meantime, the other three musicians on stage continued to play, improvising for what turned out to be the rest of the concert. Rudess was on the phone with Roland for most of the time, and finally realized the keyboard was unfixable in that time, so he came onstage and took Petrucci's guitar to jam with
430-484: A more direct and heavier approach than the well-established English progressive rock sound. 1984 brought full-length debut albums from American bands Queensrÿche from Washington state, and Fates Warning from Connecticut. Both expanded their music to include more progressive elements ( The Warning , 1984; The Spectre Within , 1985) – some through sound experimentation and compositional refinement, others through extremely complex structures and atypical riffs – up to
473-512: A more traditional progressive metal/rock band, devoid of extreme metal elements. Between the Buried and Me , who started as a more straightforward metalcore band, also began to incorporate both progressive metal and death metal into their music on their 2003 album The Silent Circus , a landmark album in the progressive metalcore genre. They would later add avant-garde elements as well on releases such as The Great Misdirect (2009). In
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#1732794036974516-413: A new Liquid Tension Experiment reunion is possible, once all involved musicians find time for that. In May 2020, Jordan Rudess posted a video to the website Cameo stating, in response to a fan's question, that the prospect of Liquid Tension Experiment reuniting "looks very good", with the only barrier being the band members' schedules. On December 14, 2020, Levin, Portnoy, Rudess and Petrucci released
559-430: A non-linear fashion, with countless groups demonstrating innovations in personal ways. The origins of the genre date back to the very beginning of heavy metal / hard rock and progressive rock when some bands began to merge the two different approaches. 1960s pioneers King Crimson maintained their musical innovation while incorporating a harder approach, using dissonance and experimental tones, yet still maintaining
602-488: A relationship to the power chords of hard rock, with the main example being " 21st Century Schizoid Man ". Canadian trio Rush are widely recognized as bridging the gap between hard rock, English progressive rock, and pure heavy metal. Initially influenced by Led Zeppelin , they evolved to combine established progressive rock technique with blues-based power chords. Records such as 2112 (1976) showcased technical expertise and complex compositional skill while still utilizing
645-434: A series of posts on social media (pictures of themselves wearing surgical masks spelling out "LTE 3") teasing a third Liquid Tension Experiment album; a picture of the four of them together with the same masks was posted the following day. On December 17, 2020, it was formally announced that Liquid Tension Experiment 3 would be released by Inside Out Music on March 26, 2021. The album was ultimately released April 16, 2021;
688-603: A would-be double album. Their next release, Ghost Reveries , became an "instant classic," followed by Watershed , their last "heavy" album, both of which have had significant influence on the progressive metal genre, along with other "extreme metal" bands like Meshuggah . This style of progressive metal is often referred to as "extreme progressive metal," or "extreme prog," for short. Later bands who would play in this style are Ne Obliviscaris , Disillusion . Porcupine Tree would later be influenced by this style, and in particular from Opeth, while Opeth would subsequently switch to
731-449: Is eclecticism. In between the riffs, choruses, and solos typical of rock and metal songs, prog metal bands often include sections inspired by jazz , classical and Middle Eastern music , among others. Progressive metal is difficult to define specifically, since most bands labeled under the genre have considerably different musical influences when compared to each other. Similarly, bands such as Dream Theater , Planet X and Puya have
774-431: Is itself a reference to the band's photographer's habit of calling Mike Portnoy and Tony Levin "Chris and Kevin", even after being corrected several times. It is also a reference to the 1991 film Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey , the sequel to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure . The song "Jazz Odyssey" is a reference to the movie This Is Spinal Tap , in which Spinal Tap experiments with an improvisational song of
817-463: The 2010s, due to the rapid growth of djent led by bands such as Periphery and After the Burial , progressive metal saw an increased interest with a large number of newcomers to the genre. Some of the newer progressive metal bands that have gained popularity since the 2010s are Haken , Plini , Vola , and Caligula's Horse , among others. One of the hallmark musical qualities of progressive metal
860-577: The Electric Castle (1998) and The Human Equation (2004), performed by many different members of prominent metal bands. Pain of Salvation was always working towards a more or less unusual style, demonstrated by the eclecticism and anti-conformism found on One Hour by the Concrete Lake (1998), and BE (2004). Forerunners of a more experimental and alternative approach include Thought Industry , as seen in their album Mods Carve
903-534: The Pig: Assassins, Toads and God's Flesh (1993). Puerto Rican band Puya rose to prominence in the late '90s with their innovative fusion of jazz , salsa , and progressive metal, evident on their 1999 album Fundamental . Some of the first bands to pioneer the combination of progressive rock and extreme metal influences were Dan Swanö 's Edge of Sanity , and Opeth , both bands hailing from Sweden. In particular, Edge of Sanity's Crimson (1996),
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#1732794036974946-535: The Sun, Sierra , and Oceans of Slumber. Spontaneous Combustion (album) Spontaneous Combustion is an album by progressive metal group Liquid Trio Experiment , and is the result of the studio improvisations of Liquid Tension Experiment which occurred during John Petrucci 's hiatus, while he spent time with his wife while she was giving birth. The remaining trio of Mike Portnoy , Tony Levin and Jordan Rudess continued to make music during this period. It
989-475: The band members together to record. A situation that had to do with the company that released the Liquid Drum Theater VHS tape using video footage of Liquid Tension Experiment in the studio without getting the required permission of Magna Carta. Mike Portnoy came back to Magna Carta in 2007 to release Liquid Trio Experiment's "Spontaneous Combustion" Sessions. Several songs and riffs from
1032-404: The band reunited in 2008 for a series of live shows. A live album with the absence of Jordan Rudess (mostly) was released in 2009 under the name "Liquid Trio Experiment 2", as were three live albums and two videos featuring the complete band. They regrouped once again in 2020 to record a third studio album featuring all band members, which was released on April 16, 2021. Liquid Tension Experiment
1075-579: The band. Petrucci took Levin's bass, and Levin joined in on Chapman Stick . Toward the end of the show, Charlie Benante from the band Anthrax came and played drums while Portnoy played bass. This entire improvised concert was released in 2009 as When the Keyboard Breaks: Live in Chicago . On July 19, 2012, at Dream Theater's second show on Huntington NY, Tony Levin joined Petrucci, Rudess and Mike Mangini (Dream Theater's drummer at
1118-685: The concept of time-changes to a new level, combining thrash metal, syncopation and prog in their albums Energetic Disassembly (1985) and Control and Resistance (1989), giving rise to an extremely technical approach based on the rhythmic deconstruction typical in jazz fusion . This same direction in prog metal would be later integrated into death metal by bands such as Atheist ( Unquestionable Presence , 1991), which would become known as technical death metal or progressive death metal . Bands which also explored fusion-inspired prog metal include most notably Death and Cynic . The major US bands that contribute to further delineating and developing
1161-480: The delay was due to printing errors by the manufacturer. A video for the song "The Passage of Time" was released on January 22, 2021. This was followed up by a video for the song "Beating the Odds" on February 26, 2021, and then by a video for the song "Hypersonic" on March 24, 2021. In an interview for Revolver magazine , Portnoy revealed the group had signed a two-album deal with InsideOut, and humorously added that
1204-525: The djent movement, Dream Theater having been one of the earliest progressive metal bands to incorporate seven-stringed guitars into their music. Proyecto Eskhata, a Spanish band, has received much press coverage in Spain for its fusion of progressive rock and rap metal , which journalists have described as "progressive rap metal". Progressive doom is a fusion genre that combines elements of progressive metal and doom metal . Bands include King Goat, Below
1247-731: The genre are Psychotic Waltz and Dream Theater . The former, with an approach halfway in between Watchtower and Fates Warning, produced A Social Grace (1990), melding their signature sound with the psychedelic Into the Everflow (1992), while the latter explored the legacy of the bands that preceded them while advancing their personal style with When Dream and Day Unite (1989). Both albums focused on keyboards and band members' instrumental skills. As for Dream Theater, their efforts resulted in two fundamental albums, which helped institutionalize classic progressive metal — Images and Words (1992) and Awake (1994). Among European pioneers of
1290-580: The genre are Germany's Sieges Even , who, starting out of technical thrash stylistically significant to Watchtower, explored the more technical and angular side of progressive metal with The Art of Navigating by the Stars (2005). Among the bands of the late 1990s who brought innovation to the genre are the Dutch Ayreon (a project by Arjen Anthony Lucassen ) and Swedes Pain of Salvation . Ayreon focused on theatrical and melodramatic rock operas Into
1333-451: The guitar was Dimebag Darrell , but he was unable to join because of conflicting schedules. Two other primary choices, Steve Morse (formerly of Dixie Dregs and Kansas , at that time of Deep Purple ) and Jim Matheos ( Fates Warning ) were also unavailable. Portnoy then turned to fellow Dream Theater member John Petrucci to fill the position (despite initially wanting to keep the project completely separate from Dream Theater). The combo
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1376-606: The late 2000s, bands such as Periphery, Tesseract , Animals as Leaders and Vildhjarta popularized the "djent" style of progressive metal in a sound originally developed by Meshuggah . It is characterized by high- attack , palm-muted, syncopated riffs (often incorporating polymeters ), as well as use of extended-range guitars. Extended-range guitars also feature in other forms of progressive metal; artists including Dream Theater, Devin Townsend , Dir En Grey , and Ne Obliviscaris have used seven-string guitars without being part of
1419-550: The latter. The music typically showcases the extreme technical proficiency of the performers and usually uses unorthodox harmonies as well as complex rhythms with frequent meter changes and intense syncopation . The rhythmic aspects are especially emphasized in the djent subgenre. Although the genre emerged towards the late-1980s, it was not until the 1990s that progressive metal achieved widespread success. Watchtower , Queensrÿche , Dream Theater , Tool , Symphony X , Shadow Gallery , King's X , and Fates Warning are
1462-709: The nature of the middle eastern elements of their music, which is known for using time signatures that are uncommon in the west , expansive song structures, and microtones . As their career developed, they would later play in a more traditional progressive metal style, comparable to Opeth, Symphony X, and the like, while maintaining their "oriental" edge. Steven Wilson, who lived in Israel for some time playing in Blackfield , found Ophaned Land to be "something special" after listening to Mabool and, would end up producing and engineering The Never Ending Way of ORWarriOR . In
1505-489: The project have been incorporated into Dream Theater's live performances, such as " Instrumedley " from Live at Budokan , which includes excerpts of the songs "Paradigm Shift" and "Universal Mind." On October 4, 2007, it was announced that LTE would headline NEARfest 2008 in June. On March 29, 2008, six Liquid Tension Experiment tour dates in June 2008 were announced to celebrate the bands 10 year anniversary as well to create
1548-400: The recording sessions for their second album, John Petrucci had to leave when his wife went into premature labor. During that period, the remaining members, who still had studio time booked, continued to write music in improvisation. On October 23, 2007, a compilation of jams from those sessions was released under the name of Liquid Trio Experiment . The album, called Spontaneous Combustion ,
1591-626: The time) onstage to perform "Paradigm Shift." Later in 2012, Portnoy performed "Acid Rain" live with PSMS, his band with Derek Sherinian , Tony MacAlpine and Billy Sheehan . They recorded a live DVD in Tokyo including the song. On February 10, 2017, Mike Portnoy and Tony Levin reunited on stage in Tampa, FL to perform Paradigm Shift, Acid Rain and Universal Mind. They were accompanied by members of progressive metal group Haken . In April 2019, both John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess announced that
1634-565: The two seminal works in 1986: Rage for Order and Awaken the Guardian . In the following years the two bands, while following different paths – more basic and simple the first, more articulate and complex the latter — explore and expand the technical refinement and sonic finesse of their music, continuing to lay the foundations of the genre with important works such as Operation: Mindcrime (1988) by Queensrÿche, and Perfect Symmetry (1989) by Fates Warning. Progressive metal also found
1677-748: Was formed as a side project to Dream Theater in 1997. Both Mike and John confirmed on the 5 Years in a Livetime DVD commentary, that Rudess was asked to join Dream Theater largely because of the success of Liquid Tension Experiment, and the chemistry of the three working together. Rudess had previously declined to join Dream Theater in 1994 and instead became a member of the Dixie Dregs , known for complex, "Southern fusion" instrumental music. Liquid Tension Experiment released two albums, Liquid Tension Experiment (1998) and Liquid Tension Experiment 2 (1999) on Magna Carta Records . They also played
1720-486: Was formed by Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy after Magna Carta gave him the green light for "whatever he wanted to do". Portnoy first invited keyboardist Jordan Rudess and progressive rock icon Tony Levin (bass, Chapman Stick ) of King Crimson and Peter Gabriel 's band to join him. Portnoy also had bassist Billy Sheehan and keyboardist Jens Johansson on his shortlist. In his second instructional video "Liquid Drum Theater", Portnoy said that his first choice for
1763-408: Was given a copy of Opeth's prior record Still Life (1999) from a friend, and, after listening, noted that the experimental music he had been after had drifted into extreme metal . Being mutual fans of each other's work, Steven ended up co-producing Blackwater Park along with Opeth's frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt, and would go on to co-produce Deliverance (2002) and Damnation (2003), together
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1806-558: Was recorded from Mike Portnoy's DATs of the sessions because the original master tapes disappeared before the mixing stage. A few songs from Liquid Tension Experiment 2 were spawned from these jam sessions, including "914", "Chewbacca", and "Liquid Dreams". The second incarnation of Liquid Trio Experiment happened unexpectedly while playing a concert in Chicago, IL on June 25, 2008. In the beginning of their set, Jordan Rudess' keyboard started playing two adjacent notes on every press of
1849-505: Was released on October 23, 2007. A few songs from Liquid Tension Experiment 2 were spawned from these jam sessions including "914", "Chewbacca", and "Liquid Dreams". The song "Chris & Kevin's Bogus Journey" is not a reference to Portnoy and Petrucci's former Dream Theater bandmates Chris Collins and Kevin Moore , but rather to the track on Liquid Tension Experiment's first album entitled "Chris & Kevin's Excellent Adventure", which
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