What Are the 10 Most Essential Infinite Songs?
I for one am curious to see what the rest of the members have to say about this. I was recently scrolling through r/ProgMetal and read up on their list of the Hall of Fame songs that are barred from sharing; presumably because most of those who listen to progressive metal have heard them numerous times before. The usual suspects all have songs on that list: Dream Theater, Opeth, Tool, Devin Townsend, Meshuggah. But I feel like their list is more of a "best of" list for certain bands that fall into this category.
I know most Prog metal musicians/fans are more into the album instead of song mentality, but how do you reel someone into a genre littered with 10+ minute tracks, and then tell them "the album makes a lot more sense"? So the rules are quite simple:
1. 10 songs; all must have some sort of Infinite affiliation.
2. This is NOT limited to just progressive metal. Post-Metal/Avant-Garde/Djent are all applicable.
3. Remember that this is a general list for someone who has zero/little experience with high brow, progressive/technical music. They can be metal fans from other subgenres.
I have a general idea for what I would include, but cannot round out the bottom of the list. I'll think it through and post my thoughts later.
Here's what I think would be the list of top 10 essential Infinite songs:
1. Dream Theater - "Pull Me Under"
2. Opeth - "The Drapery Falls"
3. Tool - "Fear Inoculum"
4. Devin Townsend - "Earth Day"
5. Meshuggah - "Future Breed Machine"
6. Mastodon - "Oblivion"
7. Queensryche - "Eyes of a Stranger"
8. Fates Warning - "The Ivory Gate of Dreams"
9. Voivod - "Experiment"
10. Leprous - "White"
Yeah I know the rules say I can include post-metal/avant-garde metal/djent, but all the Infinite essentials I believe happen to reside in progressive metal. I like this kind of thread, I might do something similar in my other clans.
This is my best effort at the more important songs from The Infinite for me personally:
01. Boris - "Feedbacker, Part 2" (from "Boris At Last -Feedbacker-" (2003)
02. Rosetta - "Au Pays Natal" (from "The Galilean Satellites", 2005)
03. Neurosis - "To Crawl Under One's Skin" (from "Souls At Zero", 1992)
04. Isis - "Backlit" (from "Panopticon", 2004)
05. Oranssi Pazuzu - "Ilmestys" (from "Mestarin kynsi", 2020)
06. Leprous - "Contaminate Me (Live)" (from "Live At Rockefeller Music Hall", 2016)
07. Lucid Planet - "On The Way" (from "Lucid Planet II", 2020)
08. Mastodon - "Blood & Thunder" (from "Leviathan", 2004)
09. Tool - "Schism" (from "Lateralus", 2001)
10. Cynic - "Celestial Voyage" (from "Focus", 1993)
Cool list, Daniel! I probably would've added the Rosetta, Neurosis, and Isis tracks into my list if I wasn't thinking so much about progressive metal.
I do enjoy these kind of exercises, but this is probably not what you are looking for Saxy, as I am not as steeped in The Infinite as some other members so I can only provide a list of tracks that I personally think merit inclusion. As to whether any are truly essential, I'm afraid I can't say, but these are the tracks that I enjoy most.
1. Opeth - "Deliverance" (from "Deliverance" 2006)
2. Venenum - "Trance of Death - Part III: There Are Other Worlds..." (from "Trance of Death" 2017)
3. Oranssi Pazuzu - "Vasemman käden hierarkia" (from "Värähtelijä" 2016)
4. Enslaved - "Roots of the Mountain" from "RIITIIR" 2012)
5. Ne Obliviscaris - "Forget Not" (from "Portal of I" 2012)
6. Persefone - "Seed: Core and Persefone" (from "Core"2006)
7. Altesia - "Reminiscence" (from "Paragon Circus" 2019)
8. Blood Incantation - "Awakening From the Dream of Existence to the Multidimensional Nature of Our Reality (Mirror of the Soul)" (from "Hidden History of the Human Race" 2019)
9. Queensrÿche - "Operation: Mindcrime" (from "Operation: Mindcrime" 1988)
10. Ihsahn "Scarab" (from "angL" 2008)
Cool list, Sonny! ARRG, I forgot about Enslaved, Ne Obliviscaris, and Persefone! The songs from those bands would've been great additions to my list. That's OK, I think what makes my songs in the list essential is how they're recognized as part of the albums that have shaped up progressive metal's respective forms, and I focused on that aspect too much to think of the lesser-known underrated releases. Nevermind, my list still seems agreeable.
Good lists. I appreciate Sonny's list since it really plays into the last of my stipulations about getting into Prog while already being a metal fan. The inclusion of heavier, extreme metal divisions like Oranssi Pazuzu and Blood Incantation are a nice touch. But the inclusion of the Ihsahn track at the end makes a lot of sense!
I think in general, putting this kind of a list together for the Infinite clan is much harder than any other genre due to extended runtime, which is where Sonny's list could push a few people away. I think Andi's list is probably the closest to how I would put a list together, but with some slight alterations. It would probably look like this:
1. Dream Theater - Pull Me Under
2. Queensryche - Eyes of a Stranger
3. Tool - Schism
4. Mastodon - Blood and Thunder
5. Opeth - Face of Melinda
6. Devin Townsend - Deadhead
7. ISIS - So Did We
8. Agalloch - Not Unlike the Waves
9. Leprous - The Price
10. Animals As Leaders - Physical Education
Good lists. I appreciate Sonny's list since it really plays into the last of my stipulations about getting into Prog while already being a metal fan. The inclusion of heavier, extreme metal divisions like Oranssi Pazuzu and Blood Incantation are a nice touch. But the inclusion of the Ihsahn track at the end makes a lot of sense!
I think in general, putting this kind of a list together for the Infinite clan is much harder than any other genre due to extended runtime, which is where Sonny's list could push a few people away. I think Andi's list is probably the closest to how I would put a list together, but with some slight alterations. It would probably look like this:
1. Dream Theater - Pull Me Under
2. Queensryche - Eyes of a Stranger
3. Tool - Schism
4. Mastodon - Blood and Thunder
5. Opeth - Face of Melinda
6. Devin Townsend - Deadhead
7. ISIS - So Did We
8. Agalloch - Not Unlike the Waves
9. Leprous - The Price
10. Animals As Leaders - Physical Education
Actually Saxy, I discovered prog at the same time as I discovered metal, around the mid-seventies when my two favourite bands were Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd (well three really, as I was a Zeppelin nut too, but they are irrelevant to this conversation). These were quickly followed by Yes, Jethro Tull, Judas Priest, Motorhead and Tangerine Dream as I expanded my listening. I have been a huge prog rock fan ever since, including a number of lesser-known seventies outfits and a number of neo-prog bands like Marillion, Magenta, Galahad and of course Porcupine Tree and Riverside. I even like Opeth's last few albums! I did have an issue with what I perceived to be prog metal though as I thought it all had to sound like Dream Theater a band of whom I am not the biggest fan and although I had been a fan of Opeth for a number of years I believed them to be an exception. Obviously, especially since joining Metal Academy, my ignorance has been dispelled and I have found many interesting prog metal albums through monthly features, playlists and forum posts. I would almost now venture that if I were to claim a fourth clan at some point it may well be The Infinite as the other possibilities i.e. The Guardians or Horde have too many sub-genres I don't enjoy much. In truth I would have to say that I probably prefer extreme prog metal to it's more traditional counterpart, but I have still found several straight-up prog metal albums to enjoy in recent times.
Also, in defence of my selected tracks extended runtimes, I've always been a sucker for really long prog tracks. Thick as a Brick, Close to the Edge, Karn Evil 9, Supper's Ready and Echoes are just a few of my favourite prog rock tracks so tracks like those from Venenum, Blood Incantation and Opeth's Deliverance will always find me an easy target. That said, they still have to be damn good though and length ain't necessarily a guarantee of quality.