Not surprisingly, the term received a bit of negative press through the 80s and 90s, to the point where it became commercial suicide to call yourself a "prog rock" band. Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree went to great lengths to explain that his band was not, in fact, progressive rock, simply because he didn't want to be associated with a "tainted" genre.

But today it seems to be the buzz-word of the music world. Ever since The Mars Volta re-claimed the term "progressive rock" in the promotional blitz for their debut album De-Loused In The Comatorium, so-called "progressive" music has been re-introduced into the mainsteam. Tool have long been plying their progressive metal trade with moderate success, but they were pretty much alone until The Mars Volta came along.

Progressive music's revival in the mainstream continued with the release of Muse's Black Holes And Revelations, an album that could never be said to have anything in common with "traditional" progressive music, but which nonetheless is a significant progression from their earlier work.

This increased willingness to go outside what would be deemed "safe" for a chart-wary band seems to be spreading, too.

A great recent example was My Chemical Romance - the hottest thing in rock music among the younger generation - releasing an album (The Black Parade) that has as much in common with Queen and David Bowie as it does with any "emo" acts.

I work in a punk and hardcore merchandise store, and I've noticed a massive surge in the amount of bands in the punk world that bring some truly progressive and original elements to their music. It's not so much the traditional prog indicators like odd time signatures or extended solos that turn up in this prog-punk, but there is a definite sense of depth and complexity to their music.

A further example - and one closer to home for us Aussies - would be bands like Cog, Karnivool, Dead Letter Circus and The Butterfly Effect. This group of modern melodic rock acts have incorporated quite a lot of progressive elements to their music, and the genre as a whole continues to grow and become more popular.

Why is progressive, complex, alternative music becoming more accepted in the mainstream? I don't know, and perhaps no one will ever know. But I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this matter, so please head over to the forum and let me know what you think.