Any Djent/Prog metal fans here?

[Dylan Tower]

I recently have been really into bands like periphery, animals as leaders, wage war, etc. I was just wondering if there was anyone on here who liked that kinda thing. I would love to pick your brain about songwriting for that genre since it seems a little more intensive than say thrash

 

[Chris Robertson]

I enjoy that Genre alot, loved Periphery since the beginning but I dont have a 7 or 8 string so not easy to really get into that style.

 

[Filip Tomiša]

Same here

 

[Ed Seith]

I’ve been a big fan of Periphery for a number of years, but the style of play is so far removed from what I spent decades doing that trying to learn a lot of it is an exercise in frustration. Add to that the constantly shifting tunings and the extended ranges, and it’s just not worth it for me. As I listen, elements of the style are subconsciously infused in my writing, but that’s about where it stops for me, and I’m good with that.
The basic elements of songwriting structure don’t change – there’s still verse, chorus, bridge, etc. Guys like Misha tend to not write from theory (he claims he doesn’t know any), and with alternate tunings abound, that makes it harder to transcribe and figure stuff out. They do a lot of very busy licks, and odd-time rhythms.
It’s great stuff, but very advanced in non-traditional ways. It’s a different kind of progressive, for sure.

 

[Syn Gates]

One of my favorite bands of all time is Meshuggah and my two fav records of theirs are “Chaosphere” and “Destroy, Erase, Improve”. The main songwriter and lead guitarist Fredrik Thordendal is as brilliant as it gets. He’s one of my top 6 fav guitarists and I feel bad that I hardly ever mention him amongst my other heros. The music is as heavy and complex as it gets and his solos sound like metal Allan Holdsworth over djent magic. It’s fucking insane!!

 

[Filip Tomiša]

Listen to Tosin Abasi then!! Djent, jazz master with incredible guitar techniques

 

[Noah Berends]

Djent, metalcore, and prog metal are my three favorite subgenres. As far as djent goes, you can’t beat Animals as Leaders, Periphery, Meshuggah, and Wage War. I had a point in time about a year and a half ago where I started listening to some smaller name djent bands and found some really good stuff. VOLA is a Danish band, they’re a mix of Djent and prog metal, and their guitarist, Asger Mygind, hands down has the best tone I’ve ever heard on a 7 string guitar. It’s so punchy yet so distinct. A Sense of Gravity has an amazing vocalist. Make Them Suffer is really great for djent more on the metalcore side, and of course I love Oceans Ate Alaska.

 

[idssdi]

I am not really that much of a metal guy. I do really like proggy stuff like Dream Theater, Yes and Rush also some Rainbow stuff is very progressive. If you are into proggy stuff I would also recommend checking out the song The odyssey by Symphony X it is a 23 minute long masterpiece! I have never really been that much djent(I don’t even know when something djents)

 

[Ed Seith]

@Ids, you probably wouldn’t care much for the Djent. It’s got a lot of cookie-monster vocals. This is, to me, perhaps the catchiest djent tune out there, from Periphery’s second album. This is one of the singles, Scarlet. I gotta say, I really love this song.

 

[idssdi]

I listened to the song and even though I’m really impressed with his playing as a listener im not really a fan I listened to this version btw https://youtu.be/OH4shnEiIkM
Just to give a small sample of stuff i’ve been really enjoying lately. I still buy cds(yes I’m old school and I bought 4 new ones today namely:
The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
Prince – 1999
B.B. King – Live At The Apollo
Otis Redding – the Dock of The Bay(Definitive Collection)
I know none of it is really prog but weirdly enough I felt like putting it out there(which means I’m a bit drunk right now)

 

[Daniel Sobota]

One word: Opeth
Syn, if you haven’t ever listened to them, I’m telling you man, Mikael Åkerfeldt is going to become your new hero. His songwriting is probably the best in modern metal. The way Opeth are able to blend crushing, dark riffs and growling vocals, with the acoustic prog rock passages of the 70’s and Scandinavian folk melodies is beyond this world. I suggest listening to Blackwater Park and Ghost Reveries in full to anyone who is looking for adventurous prog metal that will take you to a journey.
Here’s my favorite Opeth song of all time, Ghost of Perdition. I mean, how can you not like this?

 

[Dylan Tower]

I love especially Mark Holcomb’ s style. If you’ve ever cared to differentiate between the members styles, misha has more of the djentier polyrhytmic stuff while Mark writes in broad embellished chords, like the main riff of scarlet. I’m just astounded that people can write such original ideas and just make these really complex things out of thin air. And to Syn’s point meshuggah is ridiculous and make my brain spin trying to figure out how to write that type of thing

 

[Graeme Meekison]

Animals as Leaders are amazing. Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes will be two of the most influential players in the world of Prog this generation.
Fans of them should 100% check out guys like Plini, Aaron Marshall from Intervals, Nick Johnston, and David Maxim Micic! It’s a little tamer than AAL or Meshuggah or Periphery, but their melodies and writing are super super tight and their playing is impeccable. Instrumental prog rock musicians like them are carrying the torch of virtuosity. Cannot recommend all their stuff enough.