Best Progressive Death Metal Bands
Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990 by David Isberg, who invited Mikael Åkerfeldt into the band as a bassist. Isberg ended up leaving the band, which led to Åkerfeldt becoming the band's vocalist, guitarist, principal songwriter, and driving force... read more Masters of this subgenre. A lot has been expressed about their greatness, and my opinion won't make much of a difference. I'm not at all mad that they have switched their genre, because objectively they still sound great.
Opeth pre-"Heritage" will always and forever be my favorite band. No other band has such great swings between clean vocals and growls. "Ghost Reveries" and "Blackwater Park" are simply the greatest albums of all time in my opinion. But all their other albums were masterpieces too.
The new Opeth, though, is not my cup of tea at all.
Death was an American death metal band formed in 1983 by Chuck Schuldiner. Death is considered to be one of the most influential bands in heavy metal and a pioneering force in death metal. Its debut album, Scream Bloody Gore, has been widely regarded as the first death metal record, while the band's... read more Late-era Death (since the Human album) is definitely progressive death metal and the best of its kind in my opinion. Human, Individual Thought Patterns, Symbolic, and The Sound of Perseverance are superb albums, and not many bands reach this class!
First off, how is Death not #1 since they basically made the genre? Second, The Sound of Perseverance and Symbolic are the best reasons they should be in the top slot. Opeth is great and all, but Death tops all.
No one tops them. They made death metal and evolved it into something bigger since "Human."
Gojira is a progressive metal band from Bayonne, France. The band was known as Godzilla until 2001. Gojira is composed of Joe Duplantier on vocals and rhythm guitar, his brother Mario Duplantier on drums, Christian Andreu on lead guitar, and Jean-Michel Labadie on bass. The songwriting and passion put into their albums are astonishing. Awesome band!
Atheist is a progressive/technical death metal band from Florida, founded in 1984 by drummer Steve Flynn and singer/guitarist Kelly Shaefer. Incredible avant-garde/progressive death metal band. Not as melodic as Edge of Sanity or Opeth, but much more progressive!
Their sound is an excellent mixture of jazz, progressive metal, and many death metal elements.
Unquestionable Presence was a true masterpiece, and Piece of Time was almost equally incredible! Their later albums are not as superb, but still good in my opinion.
The best ever prog death band, the fathers of the genre.
Edge of Sanity was a Swedish progressive death metal band that, alongside Opeth, is commonly regarded as being the first to fuse extreme metal styles like death and black metal with progressive rock. Their sound is often described as "Progressive Melodic Death Metal". Dan Swanö is a legend! Everything his hands touch becomes magical. Edge of Sanity, with Dan Swanö as songwriter and vocalist, made epic albums!
Only their debut was a bit weak, and the two albums where Dan didn't write all the songs (Cryptic and Infernal) weren't that great.
Nevertheless, the two Crimson albums and Purgatory Afterglow are progressive melodic death masterpieces!
Caustic Euphony is a proggy blackened death metal monster from the Boston area. The sound is so dark compared to lots of these bands. It's atmospheric and has a different vibe than any of these bands. Atmospheric, dark, sinister, creepy, epic, and technical, with jazzy moments. Definitely worth checking out!
I like it. A very dark and ugly, sinister sound. The choirs are scary as hell. The vocals are very good, with growls and cleans that sound good. For the most part, the production is good as well.
In Mourning is a progressive melodic death metal band from Falun, Sweden. They are currently signed to Agonia Records. A really underrated band. Check out their album The Weight of Oceans.
Be'lakor is an Australian melodic death metal band from Melbourne, Victoria. The band's name originates from the character Be'lakor the Dark Master, in the Warhammer Fantasy game setting. After Opeth and Edge of Sanity, Be'Lakor is my favorite progressive death metal band. Listen to "Countless Skies," and you will understand what this band can do!
Persefone is an Andorran progressive melodic death metal band formed in October 2001. The band's name is derived from Persephone, a figure in Greek Mythology. When I found "Mind as Universe," I dug deeper into their releases and found a gold mine. They showed me the way into progressive metal and concept albums. There is no such thing as a bad album by Persefone.
This is a one-of-a-kind band that should literally be in the top 5! "Spiritual Migration" is an absolute gem of an album! The word "underrated" is extremely underrated for this band. These guys should get more spotlight throughout the world.
Absolutely should be higher. Possibly handicapped for exposure simply by being from an unknown place.
Cynic is an American band which incorporates elements of progressive, experimental, alternative, and heavy metal. Founded in Miami, Florida. Founding members Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert publicly revealed their homosexuality in May 2014, a move that was broadly supported by the heavy metal community... read more Even among Opeth and other big names, and only showing hints of death metal in their first two records (mainly the first), these guys play in a higher league.
Ne Obliviscaris (Latin for "forget not") are an extreme progressive metal band from Melbourne, Australia, formed in 2003. These Aussie giants are masters of composition and playing extreme and beautifully melodic music in harmony! Surprisingly underrated band!
A clear and distinct focus on delivering absolutely beautiful melodies. This is music.
How is this band not right next to Opeth already?
Between the Buried and Me is an American progressive metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina. Formed in 2000, the band consists of Tommy Giles Rogers, Jr. Legit one of the best in this genre, hands down. Colors is an absolute masterpiece. How are you even on this page if you haven't heard this album?
Obscura is a technical/progressive death metal band from Germany, founded in 2002. The band became prominent when members of Necrophagist and Pestilence joined Steffen Kummerer to release the critically acclaimed second full-length album, Cosmogenesis. The band was named after the Gorguts album Obscura... read more Interesting progressive/technical death metal band from Germany. Definitely good stuff!
If you want to get into tech death, I recommend this band to start with. It's not the very best in my opinion, but their sound is very catchy and easier to listen to than, for example, Martyr. They don't get as complex as other bands, as well.
Gorod is a technical death metal band from Bordeaux, France. They formed in 1997 under the name Gorgasm releasing their debut album Neurotripsicks on Deadsun Records in 2004. They changed their name to Gorod in 2005 to avoid confusion with an American band also called Gorgasm, re-releasing their debut... read more Such an amazing combination of extreme attitude and musical prowess, but with great hooks and an impeccable sense of style.
My personal favorites are Leading Visions (10/10) and A Maze of Recycled Creeds (10/10). The first is slightly more song-oriented, while the latter showcases their playing skills more, but I love them both equally.
Bottom line: They make good songs. Check them out today!
High-class progressive/technical death metal hailing from France. Leading Vision is one of my all-time favorite albums!
The Faceless is an American technical death metal band from the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Started as a technical deathcore band, but turned into one of the best progressive/technical death metal acts. I'd recommend Planetary Duality to everyone who likes tech death.
Devin Townsend Project was a Canadian progressive metal band founded in 2008 and another venture of Devin Townsend, considered separate from the material released as Devin Townsend.Incorporating saxophone in death metal? Next-level prog.
Extremely talented, plus one of the best death growlers in the entire death metal industry.
Pestilence is a death metal band from the Netherlands founded in 1986. They are known for incorporating jazz and fusion elements into their music. They started as a great thrash metal band, then became one of the most prestigious old-school death metal acts, and then turned into an "okay" progressive death metal/jazz fusion band in my opinion.
I liked their previous sound more. I think the new sound isn't bad, but not great either.
Oni is a Canadian progressive/djent metal band formed in 2014. In 2016 they released their debut album - Ironshore.Lyrical themes: Abstract Themes, Celestial Beings, Ancient Civilization, Space, Philosophy
They became known to a wider international audience by accompanying the Finnish... read more
Katatonia is a Swedish metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström. The band has released nine studio albums spanning the course of three decades, and their tenth studio album, The Fall of Hearts was released on May 20, 2016. For Funerals to Come EP is what I consider to be their best. Authentic and unique, Jonas is severely underrated for his extreme vocals. This is where they surpass peers and friends Opeth in every way.
Martyr is a Canadian death metal band from Trois-Rivières, Québec, founded in 1994 by brothers Daniel and François Mongrain. Awesome progressive/technical death metal band. I really dig their stuff, especially the "Warp Zone" album.
Beyond Creation is a Canadian technical death metal band from Montreal, Quebec. They are currently signed to Season of Mist records. This Canadian band has just taken metal to a higher instrumental level.
They have recorded real masterpieces.
Akercocke are an English progressive blackened death metal band from London, England, formed in 1997 by Jason Mendonca and David Gray.