Neo-progressive
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Neo-progressive (or neo-prog) is a sub-genre of rock music, a form of progressive rock developed and briefly popular in the 1980s, although it lives on today.
Neo-progressive was an effort to fuse the complex structures and sounds of progressive rock of the 1970s (e.g., Genesis and King Crimson) to 1980s pop music.
Early neo-prog was marked by sophisticated lyrics and often dark themes. While the accessibility of neo-prog by the mainstream is debatable, the form did generally seem more radio-friendly, with shorter tracks, than earlier progressive rock. Nonetheless, neo-prog never achieved the heights of popular success that bands like Yes did.
The early notable neo-prog albums included Script For a Jester's Tear (1983) by Marillion, The Wake (1985) by IQ, and The Sentinel (1984) by Pallas.
Marillion is almost certainly the most popular neo-prog band, peaking in popularity with their albums Misplaced Childhood (1985) and Clutching at Straws (1987). Following this peak, neo-prog declined as a genre, although these three pioneering bands are still active as of 2004, and several newer groups have worked in the same space in the 1990s and 2000s.
Neo-prog is often criticised as lacking originality, even by such artists as Robert John Godfrey of The Enid, whose own band has sometimes been promoted by neo-prog fans:
“I generally dislike neo-prog simply because most of it isn’t progressive at all. A general lack of talent, charm and musical ability dogs these silly bands. It is the main reason this genre of music has become the laughing stock of popular music and it pisses me off. I could just as well have been talking about Marillion as Pendragon – it is not personal. - They are both as bad as each other. No sex – no romance – no charisma - no power – no imagination - no surprises – no adventures in harmony or rhythm – it is just cut-and-paste from a box of well worn progressions, presets and riffs.” [1] (http://www.progrock.homestead.com/RobertJohnGodfreyInterview.html)
Other neo-progrssive artists include: