Modern Prog

Hey, what goes around comes around. Supposedly hung, drawn, and quartered by punk, progressive rock — once seen as dinosaur — refused to call it quits, and was given an injection of fresh blood by the likes of Tennessee's Glass Hammer and the U.K.'s innovative Porcupine Tree throughout the '90s. Behold: modern prog.

Prog rock's bold push into the 21st century is being spearheaded by the Mars Volta, the collective tag for Cedric Bixler and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (supported by various friends), who have given us the classic and superbly titled modern-prog tracks "Eunuch Provocateur" and "Inertiatic ESP." Their work is a furnace of rock creativity.

You simply can't deny the poetic ambition of modern prog. What radio DJ in the world could ever deny him- or herself the opportunity of introducing "Lycanthrope" by Thinking Plague or "Aquaplane" by Overseer? These bands will take your appreciation of rock to another level — maybe another dimension. Check out the electronica of Pyrolator.

At its best, modern progressive rock does exactly what it says on the label — it moves rock forward by experimenting with concept, sound, and scale. The running time for each of the tracks in our playlist is way above the average; you just can't rush the artists — Frogg Cafe, Vox Tempus, and the highly percussive Pat Mastelotto (of King Crimson) — who take time to express their visions. These tracks are the vintage wine to punk's frothing lager, and they only get better with time.