The Five Heaviest Prog Metal Bands of All Time

Here are our picks for the five heaviest progressive metal bands ever!

Over the last 40 years, countless progressive metal bands have emerged that – in a simplistic sense – merge the complex compositional structures, lengthy song durations and vibrant instrumentation of ‘70s prog rock with the unapologetic aggression of multiple metal styles. The genre has gotten perpetually fiercer in recent years, too, leading us to ask: Who are the five heaviest prog metal bands of all time?

Well, that’s what we aim to answer below!

READ MORE: The Best Album by 10 Huge Prog Metal Bands

While there are dozens of fine candidates – including Black Crown Initiate, Dir en Grey, Enslaved, Amorphis, Meshuggah, Voivod, and Arcturus – we decided to choose the gruffest groups who embody both the “progressive” and the “metal” part of the classification. In other words, they’re consistently brutal and consistently colorful and elaborate.

So, read on to see which five acts we think do the most justice to the term, and let us know if you’d swap out any of our picks with another hellishly sophisticated ensemble.