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I am also a fan of prog; mainly I criticized the reviewer's opinion on Tool, and in general, certain statements are probably the result, as someone mentioned above, of the enthusiasm for the band one loves. If you read Actingout's resentful messages, you can notice the kind of attitude you’re talking about, but it's nothing offensive or bothersome, after all, regardless of who is making similar remarks. In the end, they're all subjective opinions; if someone is annoyed, they can just leave the page. It's a bit of a cliché argument, but that's how it is...

@actingout: I haven't offended or mocked Stipe; it doesn’t seem like I’ve ever done that... Also, no one has anything against technical musicians; Meshuggah have a technical background superior to Symphony X, but they are much more original and "modern," if I may use the term. According to the meaning you attribute to prog, compositions with distinct multiple parts would qualify, whereas in my opinion, suites like The Divine Wings of Tragedy are nothing but collages of several songs/instrumental sections... @Larrok, I also prefer math rock over sludge, which is gradually making its way into the compositions of Neurosis. Thanks for the advice; I'll make sure to get them. In conclusion, I don't see all this hostility that Actingout demonstrates in these discussions; everyone expresses their preferred opinion, and a few over-the-top comments are in the spirit of the site!

terrible beast in the first sentences: the production on the Megadeth records is crap!!!

@Larrok: but are Isis similar to Neurosis? What do you recommend I start listening to? What do you think of Steve Von Till's band?
@Stipe: today's musical ignorance makes people believe that prog (or Art Rock) is now viewed as a hodgepodge of instrumental parts stuck together to dilute and extend the duration of a piece... congratulations! So, is the latest Iron Maiden album prog? Prog, as I understand it, is PROGRESSIVE music, so Faust are prog, King Crimson are prog (Kansas are not!), and among current bands, I absolutely consider groups like Tool, Meshuggah, and Neurosis to be in the prog spirit. Symphony X, for me, only does power metal for wannabes; they are like bands such as Angra and Blind Guardian, which, even if they make slightly different music, are driven by the same spirit and share the same attitude.

I wrote badly in the comment above, pardon.

@Larrok: but are Isis similar to Neurosis? What do you recommend I start listening to? What do you think of Steve Von Till's band?
@Stipe: today's musical ignorance makes people believe that prog (or Art Rock) is now viewed as a hodgepodge of instrumental parts stuck together to dilute and extend the duration of a piece... congratulations! So, is the latest Iron Maiden album prog? Prog, as I understand it, is PROGRESSIVE music, so Faust are prog, King Crimson are prog (Kansas are not!), and among current bands, I absolutely consider groups like Tool, Meshuggah, and Neurosis to be in the prog spirit. Symphony X, for me, only does power metal for wannabes; they are like bands such as Angra and Blind Guardian, which, even if they make slightly different music, are driven by the same spirit and share the same attitude.

To me, Stratovarius don't even exist, they are painfully poor, just like Blind Guardian. The neoclassical solos of Symphony X, especially from the latest album, are annoying and truly senseless; maybe it's just me, and anyway, Malmsteen may be a show-off (in fact, I hate him), but this trend is largely thanks to him, so the others are nothing but mere epigones. A neoclassical guitarist with a bit of good taste, at least in the '90s, was John Petrucci, who now annoys everyone with his meaningless little scales like all the others. The aggravating factor for these guys is, in my opinion, the way they present themselves on stage, really gaudy; they seem more redundant than their music, which I think is excessively "aggressive" towards the audience, I don't know if I'm making myself clear...

I saw them at Gods Of Metal, and they struck me as a bunch of show-offs dedicated to extreme virtuosity, completely aimless, not to mention the fact that they played at an ridiculous volume (I and everyone in the front row had our hands on our ears...) that made it impossible to distinguish the sounds and transitions. Michael Romeo suffers from the same obscure affliction as the latest Petrucci and Malmsteen; he just fires off highly technical tapping solos that often lack sense and taste, which is generally missing in most of the band’s compositions... And you can’t compare them to Tool; there’s a chasm between them, who cares if Symphony X is more technical! And lastly, tell me where you heard the jazz/fusion parts; to me, this just sounds like over-hyped power metal that’s rather bland... (mind you, I own Odissey, The Divine Wings Of Tragedy, and the latest one, so don’t tell me I say this because I don’t know them...) Other than that, the review is written well, but you got carried away by enthusiasm.

AHAHAHAH

thank you lux :-)