Mean Deviation: Four Decades of Progressive Heavy Metal

Even though I'm an avid reader, I never review books. I prefer to share my views on music, especially progressive metal bands. However, I'll have to make an exception for this one.First of all, the foreword by Steven Wilson explaining his love of great bands like Opeth and Meshuggah is only a taste of what's to come in this great book.Mean Deviation: Four Decades of Progressive Heavy Metal is an absolutely essential piece of work. Written by former Metal Maniacs editor Jeff Wagner, the book is both very easy to read and informative. There are long chapters dedicated not only to the big names in prog but also to more esoteric groups from all across the globe. None of the chapters read like boring biographies about when and how these bands were formed, who the original members were, their discogrpahy lists, etc. Rather, while touching on the essentials, Wagner analyzes the music: how it was created and how it influenced other bands' work. The index section at the end lists all the page numbers a band is discussed, so one can also use Mean Deviation as a resource in the future. You can read the book from beginning to end within two days if you are interested in prog metal or you can simply open it up and read about a 'scene' or a certain album you want to check out. The bands are not limited to Dream Theater, Queensryche, Fates Warning, Crimson Glory, and their followers. Acts on the more technical side of the spectrum are also analyzed in depth: Watchtower, Psychotic Waltz, Sieges Even, Spiral Architect. Wagner also touches on the thrashy progressive acts detailing the discographies of great bands like Voivod, Anacrusis, Coroner, Realm, Toxik, and Hexenhaus. After reading them, I felt compelled to re-listen to these discs and discover their brilliance once again.That's not all. There are chapters devoted solely to other, more unconventional acts: Celtic Frost, Thought Industry, or the Norwegian acts such as Age of Silence, Ansur, Green Carnation, and Virus. How were these bands formed? Which side of progressive music do they take their roots from? How did they decide to blend it with metal's more extreme forms? It's all in this book.Wagner does not only relay his own views. He has actually conducted interviews with most of these bands. He has read a million articles, interviews, and reviews. I was extremely surprised to see him quote a part of my write-up while discussing how the Evergrey fan base was divided on their more recent output. You will learn so much about bands' internal affairs -- why they decided to write or produce an album a certain way, why they couldn't sign to bigger record labels, how vastly different the progressive scene in Europe was from the one in the USA, and so much more.I have read hundreds of biographies and books on heavy metal (and its various subgenres). This one is easily the most important one because it is the first and only book focusing entirely on progressive metal. Highly recommended.

In my humble opinion this book is what some would call the progressive metal bible. I personally feel that this is what this is. If you like music like Opeth and Dream Theater, they are in there but not a lot, if you like bands like Rush and Queensryche then this book is for you(I happen to like them all). The author indeed knows his stuff and enlightens the reader with the beginnings of prog rock to the most progressive metal today. The history of prog is a lengthy one, but this book is short(to me anyway) but it is amazing. Ive read it twice since I got it, of course I do that with books about metal, well the good ones anyway. This one is one of the best. If you dont know anything about progressive metal or progressive rock or think you know everything about it then this book is for you. Just get it already. Also the seller I bought it from had took great care of it and it was and is in mint condition. Amazon wanted to buy it back from me but good luck on getting it away from me.Also in combination with Choosing Death,Swedish Death Metal and The Headbanging History of Heavy Metal you will be informed on the best music ever made. So get to it and buy this book already, you will be glad you did.

A well researched and written study of progressive metal. It was great to see a genre of music that I love so much treated with intelligence, passion and thorough care. Many of the bands, eras and genres are extremely well researched and discussed in great depth. And even though I thought I knew quite a bit about prog-metal, there were still some pivotal bands that I knew very little about. The books discusses obvious bands (Fates Warning, Dream Theater) contemporary bands (Opeth, Mastadon) and some obscure gems (Damn the Machine). And stylistically the book talks about bands much closer to prog-rock (Spock's Beard) and those musch closer to extreme metal (Cynic).Also there is a great distinction between bands that are truly progressive in terms of pushing musical boundaries (Pain of Salvation) and bands that are happy just with slight variations on the tried and true Dream Theater format (Pagan's Minds). While I think both types can be enjoyable, the genre sees much more of the latter than the former. Reading about how these visionary and pioneering bands expanded the musical landscape is extremely fascinating.If you have gotten this far into my review it is because you have some knowledge/love for this type of music. Given that interest; this book is a must own.

There was never a book published about progressive metal, so this is, very easily, the best work on the subject. However, it starts really well, and gets kind of tedious towards the end. The history of the genre is very interesting, but the band biographies are sometimes boring. I would have prefered less bio material and more quotes about the genre itself. I also missed comments about the new genre from the "old guys" like Rush band members or even the old guard, like Crimson elders and Genesis lords. Anyway, Jeff Wagner did a wonderful job, and he really likes the music.I recommend getting the Kindle edition - it's cheaper, no shipping costs, and the original paper book is a bit heavy to carry. I bought both :-)

A good and insightful read, spanning the whole breadth of the "progressive" genre, up until the present day. I've enjoyed Jeff Wagner's writing back from the Metal Maniacs days, and I had a feeling that he would release quality material. I would recommend this to anyone who's even marginally interested in bands of this mindset. Two gripes, however:1.) While there were quite a few quotes from luminaries of the genre, I would have perhaps like to have seen some more.2.) If Jeff Wagner had used the word "clutch" one more time, I would have been tempted to make my way up to VA to punch him in the arm.But really, these are just minor and personal things. Go read it!

Jeff Wagner shows all his knowledge and taste in this book, guiding the reader through all those releases that have made an impact in the last fourty years. The guide is not exhaustive but is also not supreficial. Along side the very famous names Jeff presents some beautiful gems that time have unjustly condemned to oblivion.

Jeff Wagner lleva a cabo en Mean Deviation un repaso a la historia del Metal progresivo. Así presentado, cabríamos esperar un resumen de las idas y venidas de bandas como Dream Theater, Queensrÿche o Fates Warning y de todas aquellas bandas venidas después de éstas que perpetuarían un estilo similar.Sin embargo, y por fortuna para aquellos con afán de expandir conocimiento acerca de la historia del Metal en general, Wagner indaga en todas las tendencias innovadores propiamente dichas del Metal de manera cronológica. Así asistimos a un breve repaso de las escenas del Black Metal o el Death Metal, haciendo especial énfasis en los pioneros de dichos subgéneros y aquellos que trascendieron la ortodoxia de cada género en un intento de ir más allá, ya fuese a través del desarrollo de la técnica o de la incorporación de diferentes vanguardismos.Así, de esta manera, Jeff comienza con un breve repaso del Rock Progresivo y diferentes escenas a lo largo del globo, mencionando nombres como Caravan, King Crimson, Camel, Yes, Rush y un largo etcétera. Tras ello, la narración se centrará en los diferentes subgéneros metaleros: Tradicional/Heavy, Progresivo (y el 'progresivo' como diferencia el propio autor), Thrash, Death, Black, Gothic.De esta manera el autor nos empapa de nombres, descripciones, reseñas y anécdotas varias de aquellas bandas que ocasionaron que se utilizasen etiquetas como "Technical", "Progressive" o "Avant-garde" para describir el sonido de bandas de diversa índole; además de los pioneros de los géneros más extremos del Metal.Por ello, Mean Deviation constituye un ejemplar que no puede faltar en la colección de cualquier metalero que se precie de indagar en la historia del género, especialmente si gusta del progresivo, la técnica o los vanguardismos.

Mean Deviation es una historia muy bien documentada del lado progresivo del Metal, comenzando por los años setenta, analizando la interacción entre el Heavy Metal y el Rock progresivo, la aparición de Rush; la nueva hornada de bandas surgidas en los ochenta, con especial énfasis en Celtic Frost y Voivod, la popularización del estilo encabezada por Fates Warning, Queensrÿche y Dream Theater; los noventa y la gran explosión del estilo, las diferentes corrientes a principios del nuevo siglo; y todo ello sin limitarse a los grandes nombres que hemos mencionado arriba: el underground está muy presente en el libro, que nos abre muchísimas posibilidades de descubrir grupos de los que, quizás, no habíamos oído hablar.Se nota que el autor sabe de qué habla.Todos los capítulos están ilustrados con fotografías, portadas de discos, etc. en blanco y negro. Las páginas centrales sí que son en color, en un papel de mayor calidad, con fotos de los más renombrados músicos del estilo.Yo me lo he leído rapidísimo (y eso que está en inglés :-D ), y sé que me lo voy a volver a leer en breve.Muy recomendable para amanes del Metal en general y del progresivo en particular.

Jeff hace un detenido análisis de cuatro décadas de metal progresivo, en todas sus vertientes: tanto en la formal con Queensrÿche, Fates Warning, Dream Theater y demás como en la de bandas que rompieron esquemas y barreras (Voivod, Cynic, etc.). Una lectura obligada para los fans del metal y del progresivo. Fans del sleazy y la laca abstenerse.

hallosuper produkt und sehr informativ.trotz nicht all zu grosser englischkenntnisse ist es leicht und flüssig zu lesen gewesen.