Iron Maiden has always been a mix of progressive rock like structures/ time changes and bands like UFO ( w/o the keys ) etc They have had a HUGE impact on the progressive metal genre ( Pagan's Mind ect. ), which is as Joe says a sub-genre of progressive rock ...
Metallica's And Justice For All, definitely has prog influences and I hear a good deal of Hetfield etc. in various prog metal bands these days as well though probably not as much as Maiden influences.
I'm going w/ the above ..anything prog that Neo has influences is definitely not to my liking as the Neo- seems to indicate a removal of the complexity of the time changes etc. and a move toward straight forward rock .A mellow unadventurous one at that .
To me Neo-prog is like an oxymoron, it is not what I consider progressive music.
Wolf, my sentiments exactly. Will worded my friend.
Let me say this first, this is my opinion.
Secondly, I have to say that Iron Maiden/Metallica has had more influence on prog than all the neo-prog bands combined and I even would go as far to say that the NWOBHM has had more of an impact on the genre than neo-prog.
Neo-prog was partially the outcome of the music that was the trend at the time, the early '80's which was led by new wave and synth pop which were at that the time on top of the charts. With that and combined with the influences of 70's prog band like Genesis, Camel and Yes the outcome was the sound that was labeled neo-prog. The rise, height and fall of this movement fell as almost as fast as it rose, about four years. However, many of these bands are still producing albums today which are labeled neo-prog.
I will say neo-prog is more complex and deeper than new wave and synth pop at that time and appeals to me more than the pompous, weak, and shallow music of new wave and synth pop. Awful.
My ears hear most neo-prog bands as rather bland, somewhat boring and unchallenging in thier musical structure and style. It doesn't capitvate or move my senses, for lack of a better phrase, almost uninspiring. For me, it sound like more of a somewhat sophisicated pop sound, and the I use "sophisicated" rather losely.
Like Wolf stated,"Maiden has been always a mix of progressive rock structures/time changes..." and does ...And Justice For All by Metallica IMO. Iron Maiden has stated that they were very influenced by prog artists from the 70's like Jethro Tull and Genesis and this can be heard by thier intelligent and articulate lyrics as well as thier heavy and intricate music structures. Probably it was Powerslave that first showed the band's more progressive sound with The Seventh Son of a Seventh Son being thier most proggy album considered by thier fans.
With Metallica's first release, Kill 'Em All, the prog elements were somewhat there as compared to other thrash metal albums of that time. With Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets the songs become longer, more complex, with intricate riffs, constantly changing tempos and odd time signatures. ...And Justice For All was the pinnacle and just as layered, complex and deep as any prog album.
Metallica and Maiden has influenced bands like Dream Theater, Queensryche, and Fates Warning along with other '70's prog artists(Rush, Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, etc.) These bands were considered the founders of prog metal and they have influenced numerous other bands and sub genres as well.
In summary, in my point of view Metallica and Maiden have had more influence on progressive rock generally than neo-prog artists. I'm sure that's there a lot more prog/metal (and it's sub-genres) bands than there is neo-prog bands.
Thanx LG and Wolf for taking part in my poll and responding with your opinions. Both of which I respect.