Instrumental Guitar-led Prog

[nodogen]

I'm moved to start this thread by my love of AFT who sadly only produced one album, back in 1976. The question is, which other bands (if any  ) are similar in nature? I'm not looking for (or would want) a clone of AFT but they seemed quite innovative yet I've not detected any bands that have followed in their wake. On the ProgArchives board the bass player Trevor Darks has said the idea was to create a blend of Allman Brothers (twin guitars) and Vivaldi (one of the guitarists knew his Bach and Vivaldi), with a touch of Zep (some heaviness to the vibe).

Are there any (ideally extant) bands/artists in this similar vein of purely instrumental "prog" rock, led by guitar (ideally two!!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtSaybJo7Ko

[bwv 1080]

You mean like the Steve Morse Band? or what about 80s stuff like Vinnie Moore or Tony MacAlpine?

more doom than prog, but there is Earth as well

[nodogen]

You mean like the Steve Morse Band? or what about 80s stuff like Vinnie Moore or Tony MacAlpine?

more doom than prog, but there is Earth as well

Possibly! I'll check em out. Thanks!

[HIPster]

Hi nodogen.

Thanks for the reminder regarding AFT.  Until you posted about them a while back on the Non Classical listening thread, I had never heard of them!  I've added their album to the wishlist now. 

Hmmmm, the ABB and Vivaldi?!  Two of my favorites, so I am definitely interested.

Are you familiar with the group My Brother the Wind?  They've recently become on of my faves.  I posted this nearby your AFT post in the listening section:

My Brother the Wind - I Wash My Soul in the Stream of Infinity

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2011 welcomes the studio return of My Brother the Wind with their second album "I Wash My Soul in the Stream of Infinity", a triumph in majestic, psychedelic space rock. Recorded in 4 hours on an Ampex MM 1000 16K by Love Tholin at Drop Out Analogue Studio in Åmål during the cold Swedish winter's night of January 22nd and mixed by the band on January 23rd, the album boasts 6 improvised tracks of exquisite beauty, including a tribute song to the late, great Torbjörn Abelli of Swedish influential prog band Träd, Gräs och Stenar. With the focus less on guitar solos and more on group virtuosity, the instrumentation is altered to create interesting and intricately layered soundscapes, distinguishing it from the first album in more ways than one, and channeling the true spirit and sound of the free and innovative 70's, when the soul of experimentation was king and warmth of sound his queen. Starting with the pulsating, driving "Fire! Fire!" and ending with the meanderingly wistful title track, this album offers something for everyone, incorporating every mood and managing to bridge the new and exciting with the comforting familiarity of the past without a hint of cliché, and is already being hailed by leading ressive/psychedelic rock sites as one of the most important releases of 2011.

[HIPster]

This is MBTW's most recent release:

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Perhaps slightly more polished.  They also have a new drummer, who really pushes the band.

An excellent instrumental, twin-guitar group. 

[HIPster]

The German group, Electric Moon, are worth a listen ~

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[HIPster]

The Danish group, Papir, really stand out to me.  They have several excellent releases, but their live set from Roadburn is a highly charged affair ~

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After 4 studio albums, Papir unleash their first live album. It's surprising it took so long, since the band's shows have long been revered amongst fans.The music-biz has also noticed Papir's stellar live performances: like when Mojo Magazine singled them out from the hoards of bands at danish music-showcase Spot 2012 as THE show of the entire festival - as well as the holy rite of passage for any cosmic Stoner Rock band: The Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, The Netherlands, where Papir was asked not to perform no less than 3 times during the festival in 2014! It's the first and finest of these shows in full that Papir havde chosen for this release, and it's all here: Christoffer Brochmann's jaw-dropping drum chops, easing from delicate jazzy drumrolls one second into deranged math-psych explosions the next - creating a diving board for Nicklas Sorensen's vast array of guitar-styles, blending post-rock drones with majestic wah-drenched soloing. With Christian Becher keeping it all together with his bouncing and booming bass lines, as well as utilizing his groovemaker to make blistering ethereal soundscapes. While Papirs albums have always been based on live performances during intense studio sessions, there's still a different element present at Live at Roadburn - maybe due to the drunken barks from the ecstatic crowd, or the fact that the band is not just playing for the tape machines. There's an extra layer of adrenaline present - the added aggressive tone of fluttering fuzz and sizzling cymbals, an extra punch and and grit of their build ups. From the first note, Papir show just how far they've travelled over the span of a few years, catapulting a motoric track off their self produced DIY debut release into new soaring heights. The show also reworks "Monday" and "Sunday #2" from Stundum - their first El Paraiso-release, as well as drop a highlight from last year's "IIII" into the equation. As if this wasn't enough, they premiere two brand new tracks with the same stamina, making sure that Live at Roadburn is not just a roadmap of where they've been, but very much an up to date snapshot of one of Europe's hardest working instrumental outfits. The album was mixed and mastered by Causa Sui's Jonas Munk from a 24bit multitrack recording.

[HIPster]

Causa Sui is def worth exploring too.  They've just released a three album live set, which I have yet to hear, but I highly recommend 2016's Return to Sky ~

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Causa Sui are back with a new studio record, the successor to 2013's Euporie Tide, which consolidated the band as a crucial underground force in the European psych scene and spread their unique brand of warm-toned stoner rock to a wider audience. Return To Sky is a condensed piece of acutely experimental, yet immensely engaging, instrumental rock. Each of the album's five epics unfolds as a microcosm of the band's genre-transcending psychedelia at large, yet adds something different to the whole. There's a kind of musical metamorphosis taking place that s deeply ingrained in the band's natural flux by now: heavy, detuned riffs are transformed into wide, pastoral soundscapes, and fluid minimalism warped into swirling crescendos and back again. Occasionally the band even manages to sound turbulent, fuzzed-out yet strangely peaceful at the very same time. Whereas so much of today's psychedelic scene comes off as merely a tribute to a certain period of the past, Causa Sui seem to be on a different mission. More than any other record in their catalog Return To Sky declares their roots in the avant rock of the late 1990s - where different eras and genres merged into something that resonated as much with the present as it celebrated the past. It also reveals the fact that members of the band has had their hands in many different projects since the band s debut album in 2005: solo excursions into synthesizer music, collaborations with members of Sunburned Hand Of The Man and Tortoise as well as film soundtracks, guest spots with krautrock legends Faust and Damo Suzuki and various improv sessions. It has all worked a subtle influence on the kind of band they have become. Causa Sui's music is now more earthy and heavy than ever before, but it s ability to absorb everything from shoegaze and vintage Italian film music to spiritual jazz, afrobeat and minimalism into its fabric has matured as well. Never before has Causa Sui sounded as deep and mesmerizing as on this set. Jonas Munk: Guitars & electronics Jess Kahr: Bass Jakob Skøtt: Drums & Percussion Rasmus Rasmussen: Keys and electronics 1/Dust Meridian 2/The Source 3/Mondo Buzzo 4/Dawn Passage 5/Return To Sky

[nodogen]

Thanks for these suggestions!

I had three Causa Sui albums but I'm afraid they went in one of my Stalinist purges. Too much jamming and not enough structure, methinks.

Just to be clear, the bassist's reference to ABB was in regard to having twin leads, there's no stylistic similarity. He could as easily said, er, Wishbone Ash.

[nodogen]

Regarding AFT, the ProgArchives forum thread is enlightening if depressing. Both guitarists have passed away. There is also stuff about lack of royalties, opposition from the record label, unhappiness with the production and acrimony within the band. I went to see them perform live, but when we got to the gig it had been cancelled. A great regret.

[HIPster]

Thanks for these suggestions!

I had three Causa Sui albums but I'm afraid they went in one of my Stalinist purges. Too much jamming and not enough structure, methinks.

Just to be clear, the bassist's reference to ABB was in regard to having twin leads, there's no stylistic similarity. He could as easily said, er, Wishbone Ash.

Nice Wishbone Ash reference!   

I hear you about Causa Sui.  The album I linked may be slightly more structured than some of their earlier releases.  And totally get the "jammy" aspect you mentioned; I tend to fall more on that side of the fence, myself. 

How about Agitation Free?  This one is a standout:

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[nodogen]

I'm not averse to jamming or improv, it's just not what I'm looking for here.

Got Agitation Free on Spotify now. Another band I've never heard of. Sounding good.