7) Tool

I'm sure so many people will say, "Tool, how could you put Tool ahead of Rush?" Well Rush may have many more credentials over Tool, but with just four full length albums this band clicks on absolutely every level and have mastered the progressive rock sound. Their use of dark ambiance, unique time signatures, lengthy songs, and their ability to weave songs together using short interludes gives them a strong progressive feel. Tool has been around for over fifteen years and take long periods of time between each album leaving their listening audience begging for the next. Tool continues to deliver album after album with near perfection. The band is led by the vocals of the great Maynard James Kennan who has the capability of holding primal screams for unbelievably long periods of time like on the track "The Grudge." Maynard also does a terrific job of purveying emotion through his voice, whether it be his tortured and angry or mellow and somber. Drummer Danny Carey is often regarded as one of the best drummers alive and his talent is shown in each Tool album. Tool never shies away from intelligent and thought provoking music, and their fans are always searching for deeper meanings to this already complex music. Some fans have dug so deep into the music finding mathematical patterns in their songs. For instance in their song "Lateralus" fans have found that the syllables in the song created a Fibonacci sequence. Their dark, mysterious, and complex music shuttles the genre of progressive metal to a completely new level and they are currently the most prolific prog metal band around.

Essential Albums: Aenima and Lateralus