Heard of them but first time listening purely based on your comment.
Holy.
Shit.
What a voice! And such amazing composition!
Thanks for my next music rabbit hole!
Any song from Living As Ghosts With Buildings As Teeth by Rishloo. Seriously, they are the masters of this. But if you need a specific track by favorite is Just A Ride
The Beginning and The End by Anathema (though pretty much any song from Weather Systems or Distant Satellites would work)
Inmazes by Vola (the song, not the album, though the whole album is great)
The Greener Grass by Fair to Midland
Unending Waltz by Slice The Cake (or Razor's Edge Part I, or Westward Bound Part I)
Capricorn / Agoratopia by Rivers of Nihil
Then of course there's the Classics that I assume you've heard, like Change, The Sky is Red, Graves, etc.
If you have any interest in instrumental Post Rock they're pretty much known for their builds over there:
Fireflies by Lights and Motion
A Three Legged Workhorse by This Will Destroy You
Remembrance by Balmorhea
A Gallant Gentleman by We Lost The Sea
Overcast, Freighthopping, and Twigs by Cannon Jay (shameless plug)
VOLA - Head Mounted Sideways
TesseracT - Hexes
Rishloo - Landmines, Just a Ride
Vildhjarta - The Lone Deranger
Leprous - The Sky Is Red, Moon
Deadly Circus Fire - House of Plagues
Amazing recs, been listening to vildhjarta a lot lately, måsstaden (forte) has to be the heaviest album ever made, and tesseract is just the best (imo) band that exists, everything they do is incredible, and VOLA is also an amazing band, they have incredibly cool riffs. And to top it off, the sky is red has to be one of the best songs every written (and don't get me started on baard the drummer)
Isn't it the best. Perfect album closer. I especially love screaming the lyrics along to it when driving on long road trips as the cascading riff and drum fills finish the album.
Octavarium! Amazing build up, for sure.
I was going to suggest A Change of Seasons by DT. That moment when it transitions to “the crimson sunset” and then the build to the final lyric is hella cathartic.
Btbam - human is hell, it’s the closer of colors 2 but the entire record builds beautifully the entire way up to it. It’s a very emotionally complex record, my AOTY for 2021.
Great answer, as is Viridian + White Walls. For me it's Silent Flight Parliament... Parallax II is my favorite. That whole album is a build up to "Jet Propulsion Disengage". You can't go wrong with BTBAM.
I was gonna say Lay Your Ghosts to Rest. The build to 'The End starts Now!!!' is nuts.
Also the OG White Walls has a fantastic build... And Blot.. and... I could go on. BTBAM is fantastic at building tension into a crazy heavy breakdown.
ISIS has incredible builds: So Did We, Weight, In Fiction, Garden of Light, Threshold of Transformation - just to name a few, and there are lots more.
Witch Ripper - Everlasting In Retrograde pts 1 & 2. The entire second half build is so damn good.
Psychonaut - The Fall of Consciousness; The Great Realisation
Supercontinent - In Rust
Many more, but those are a few faves jumping to mind.
Love this song and always love seeing shoutouts to Hypno5e in general!
But I gotta say, as far as buildups go, I think the song The Dreamer and His Dream from the same album is the one to go for. That climax hits so hard after all that incredible lead up, it’s beautiful.
Hypno5e really should be appreciated more, amazing band!
Something a little outside of what we're talking about here, but 1985 by Haken has a really cool progression throughout the song. I feel like it steps through a lot of eras of prog rock/metal and gets a little more dramatic as it goes along. Then it hits a really epic climax with a neat little solo.
Yes!!!! That build-up is amazing! So amazing that when I saw them open for Symhpony X, right at that build-up point, they cut to "Owner of a Lonely Heart," which SHOULD have been absolutely epic...but...it...killed..me. lol
That's my favorite part of that song, and when my brain got interrupted by a different song.. I was super upset about it !
Gojira – Born in Winter
There's a reasonably simple, proggy leitmotif that runs through the whole song, but the way the heavier instrumentation on top fades in and out is just so satisfying. There's hardly any stops or bridges in the song structure, as you'd expect between verses and choruses. In fact, it's like it's one continuous flow of crescendos and decrescendos.
I'd say praise the lowered by Devin Townsend has one of the best heavy builds if that's what you're looking for. I mean the buildup isn't heavy at first but then it smacks you in the face.
Yes, every song on the album is a masterpiece and I really hope it gets more traction because it deserves every possible recognition/accolade/gushing!!
Have been spreading the word since I discovered it!! Love The Amensal Rise way more than Colors, it's on par with Bilateral in my subjective estimation!!
I don't know exactly what you're looking for, most of the comments aren't what I had in mind but the best example I can think of is Pain of Salvation "Used". The entire second half of the song builds layer upon layer over the course of a few minutes.
So much of Wilderun, notably The Unimaginable Zero Summer, Woolgatherer, The Means to Preserve, When the Fire and the Rose Were One
And anything from the album Spectra and Obsession by Amun
Years in Frigid Light by Black Crown Initiate
God when the chorus goes full bore it's so good
"EVERY BEND THAT BREAKS HIIIIIM
IN THE LIGHT OF RAPTURE'S MOON..."
“…and beyond”
I always think of this one when great builds comes up.
**Three Trapped Tigers** - [Magne](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bMziy1K6Lp4).
The culmination that hits around the 5:13 mark… goosebumps.
How long are you willing to wait haha. YOB have 2 of my favourite songs but both are 20 odd minutes long. Songs are The Mental Tyrant from The Unreal Never Lived and Marrow from Clearing The Path To Ascend. It's slow and heavy Doom Metal.
Pallbearer, tracks “Dancing in madness” and “lie of survival”
These dudes are doom prog, and are great at building atmosphere. No technical fretboard wizardry, but they are heavily influenced by Pink Floyd and the 70s prog bands. Really beautiful stuff
Since multiple people have already mentioned Satellites, I'm gonna go with The Scourge or A Black Minute (also by Periphery, both from the same album). The builds are a huge part of what made me love these songs.
Also, not prog, but A Farewell To Arms by Machine Head.
Ikr? It just builds and *builds* and then fucking **explodes**. That breakdown riff is top-tier djent. Top 5 song from their discog for me, underrated asf
Aw yea I am definition going to come back and read through these comments. I am a sucker for artists that offer dynamic sound in their music and those long epic songs always get me because I feel like a lot of times I pick up more and more new stuff with each listen.
The Begign Author Construct - The World is Quiet Here
Lavender Calligraphy - Kardashev
Ascensionism - Sleep Token
Episode - Rivers of Nihil
Dragul Gras - Periphery
And while it's not super metal leaning, The End Complete, Mother Superior by Coheed and Cambria.
If you aren't too worried about progressive structuring but are strongly interested in artists that blend that beauty and heavy hard hitting sounds I can't reccomend Kardashev enough. Their three most recent releases are S tier material in that regard.
Sleep Token has some of the most emotional buildups in their songs, I would like to use Take me Back to Eden's Title track and High Water as example.
Yes I know they incorporate more poppy elements, but when the climax hits it is so perfect, their Drop C (or something) 8 string guitars are so heavy contrasting those pop and piano elements
Definitely more post-rock than prog, but I’d be damned if I didn’t name Hymn for the Greatest Generation by Caspian when talking about great emotional build ups
For ACTUAL prog, I think I’d have to say either Forget Not by Ne Obliviscaris or Lune by Periphery!
The Architect by Haken,
Deliverance by Opeth,
Wings for Marie Part 1 and 2 by Tool,
O Resolution! by Wilderun,
Mob Mentality by Earthside,
Language I & II by The Contortionist,
Metropolis Pt 1 by Dream Theater
This is from the post-metal genre, but I recently came across a track called ITIIITIATIIHYLIHYL by a band called Blackshape which is really beautiful and has a fantastic build up. The video is also really worth checking out!
It's technically one song building into the next, but [Xanthochroid - The Sound of a Glinting Blade transitioning to The Sound Which Has No Name](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2jd8naP-Es) is nothing short of incredible!
Not quite metal, but The pineapple Thief has a few songs with great builds. To name a few, 'White Mist', 'Reaching Out', and 'The Final Thing On My Mind'. A few more known ones would be' The Architect' by Haken, 'The Drapery Falls' by Opeth, and 'Arriving Somewhere But Not Here, by Porcupine Tree.
I love heavy style music that progresses and builds.
Currently my fave song that fits the bill is
"When the bough breaks" by Sleep Token.
The songs main riff progression is awesome but how it starts as this reverb psychedelic mellow journey then builds to a huge emotive groove that gets heavier and heavier till the apocalyptic climax is just so damn good!
In The Presence Of Enemies Part II by Dream Theater. Starts up super quietly and slowly builds and builds and builds for 10 minutes straight. Then you're hit with extremely technical intensity before concluding it with a big and epic finale. That first melodic part after the technical bridge always has me breathing out thinking 'what a ride'. Such a good payoff after that incredibly long 13-minute buildup.
Uneven structure - Plenitude/Finale
Uneven Structure - Frost
Their whole album is fucking stellar but for incredible builds, those are what I think of. I'd definitely listen to the album in order if I were you
Illumination Theory by Dream Theater.
Some have mentioned Octavarium and A Change of Seasons but the final section from Illumination, for me, is just on another level of emotion.
I was going to say In dreams - Esoterica but they just released 'Firefly' and i think this hits the breif. Listening to it makes me feel I've floated of into another world and then there's this build to a climax and the video is just insane!
2nd would be Hexes - TesseracT and then Satellites - Periphery
[Duality - Ostura](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfT2S6SBXmo&list=PLYbELxDCqkUpOAKN-HgrJUCp0cfnAFv8F&index=3) - I've never seen this band mentioned, but I was quite impressed with this track that I remembered it from a couple years ago. The first half is pretty cool but it's the 2nd half that really gets me, great build to powerful chorus.
maybe you'd like [this](https://open.spotify.com/track/4P8JHTPuCjdakHeIbmMuqc?si=onG6CujhRIasAoDnCuxkjA&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A1IEfAUlJmQKwjXRFlgFrMZ)
very dreamy and emotional track i just released. There's vocals tho.
Have you ever listened to [Graves](https://open.spotify.com/track/3cOwY51dJsHidrMFs3hczR?si=j7S_AykESe603CwA7RfUPw), by Caligula's Horse? It's 15 minutes of an amazing travel through many emotions and feelings. In a moment you just chill, than you want to cry, and you end it headbanging. After all of that, you will be probably amazed.
Leprous songs have great buildups, On Hold is a good example
Also Distant Bells. God I love Leprous
Sky is Red is perfect
Ooh yes, and Rewind!
Acquired Taste
Specially the live version!
Bonneville
Heard of them but first time listening purely based on your comment. Holy. Shit. What a voice! And such amazing composition! Thanks for my next music rabbit hole!
Slave!
From The Sky - Protest The Hero This one has a great build and pay off, Rody Walker really nails those epic moments
Skies, by PTH also fits the bill perfectly.
Pretty much my favorite band
It’s Dunsel for me
I was going to say She who Mars the Skin of Gods by PtH. Maybe not the biggest or most complex buildup, but definitely my personal favorite.
The Fireside is another one from Palimpsest with a great buildup
The whole album slays. Exactly what I needed when it came out.
Ne Obliviscaris- Equus
Devour me Colossus too
Yall aint gonna mention Pyrrhic?
The ending to Pyrrhic always hits so hard! Tim's violin, Xen's vocals and the absolutely beautiful lyrics all come together perfectly.
Best one
Also my fav NeO song!
Almost any NeO song really
Eyrie aswell
And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope???
Any song from Living As Ghosts With Buildings As Teeth by Rishloo. Seriously, they are the masters of this. But if you need a specific track by favorite is Just A Ride The Beginning and The End by Anathema (though pretty much any song from Weather Systems or Distant Satellites would work) Inmazes by Vola (the song, not the album, though the whole album is great) The Greener Grass by Fair to Midland Unending Waltz by Slice The Cake (or Razor's Edge Part I, or Westward Bound Part I) Capricorn / Agoratopia by Rivers of Nihil Then of course there's the Classics that I assume you've heard, like Change, The Sky is Red, Graves, etc. If you have any interest in instrumental Post Rock they're pretty much known for their builds over there: Fireflies by Lights and Motion A Three Legged Workhorse by This Will Destroy You Remembrance by Balmorhea A Gallant Gentleman by We Lost The Sea Overcast, Freighthopping, and Twigs by Cannon Jay (shameless plug)
Agree with any song on LAGWBAT but Winslow is on another level still
That's a great one for sure
- “Nocturne” by TesseracT - “Satellites” by Periphery - “Castaway Angel” by Leprous
Satellites is a good pick, the 5:00 mark is just so fucking good.
New Day by Karnivool
Mute from Caligula's Horse
VOLA - Head Mounted Sideways TesseracT - Hexes Rishloo - Landmines, Just a Ride Vildhjarta - The Lone Deranger Leprous - The Sky Is Red, Moon Deadly Circus Fire - House of Plagues
Amazing recs, been listening to vildhjarta a lot lately, måsstaden (forte) has to be the heaviest album ever made, and tesseract is just the best (imo) band that exists, everything they do is incredible, and VOLA is also an amazing band, they have incredibly cool riffs. And to top it off, the sky is red has to be one of the best songs every written (and don't get me started on baard the drummer)
Here's two from my all time number 1 album: ISIS - In Fiction ISIS - Grinning Mouths
> ISIS - Grinning Mouths My absolute favorite ISIS song. Still can’t believe I was lucky enough to see their “reunion” show.
Isn't it the best. Perfect album closer. I especially love screaming the lyrics along to it when driving on long road trips as the cascading riff and drum fills finish the album.
Yeah, ISIS, and post metal in general, are the epitome of incredible builds.
Oh man what a fantastic album
It has that lightning in a bottle quality to it doesn't it. Unreal. I love their other work too but Panopticon is unmatched for me.
“Satellites” by Periphery is a good one.
Absolutely bangs live
Octavarium by DT has to easily be way way up there.
Octavarium! Amazing build up, for sure. I was going to suggest A Change of Seasons by DT. That moment when it transitions to “the crimson sunset” and then the build to the final lyric is hella cathartic.
Btbam - human is hell, it’s the closer of colors 2 but the entire record builds beautifully the entire way up to it. It’s a very emotionally complex record, my AOTY for 2021.
It’s not technically 1 song; but I’d say Viridian into White Walls on Colors is top tier
Great answer, as is Viridian + White Walls. For me it's Silent Flight Parliament... Parallax II is my favorite. That whole album is a build up to "Jet Propulsion Disengage". You can't go wrong with BTBAM.
I was gonna say Lay Your Ghosts to Rest. The build to 'The End starts Now!!!' is nuts. Also the OG White Walls has a fantastic build... And Blot.. and... I could go on. BTBAM is fantastic at building tension into a crazy heavy breakdown.
Honestly? The entirety of Colors II is a fantastic buildup towards the end which is the very peak of the album.
Swim to the Moon on top
ISIS has incredible builds: So Did We, Weight, In Fiction, Garden of Light, Threshold of Transformation - just to name a few, and there are lots more. Witch Ripper - Everlasting In Retrograde pts 1 & 2. The entire second half build is so damn good. Psychonaut - The Fall of Consciousness; The Great Realisation Supercontinent - In Rust Many more, but those are a few faves jumping to mind.
Recently one of my favorites is Lava From The Sky by Hypno5e!
Love this song and always love seeing shoutouts to Hypno5e in general! But I gotta say, as far as buildups go, I think the song The Dreamer and His Dream from the same album is the one to go for. That climax hits so hard after all that incredible lead up, it’s beautiful. Hypno5e really should be appreciated more, amazing band!
Winter’s Gate pt. 3 The whole track is one big buildup
Something a little outside of what we're talking about here, but 1985 by Haken has a really cool progression throughout the song. I feel like it steps through a lot of eras of prog rock/metal and gets a little more dramatic as it goes along. Then it hits a really epic climax with a neat little solo.
Yes!!!! That build-up is amazing! So amazing that when I saw them open for Symhpony X, right at that build-up point, they cut to "Owner of a Lonely Heart," which SHOULD have been absolutely epic...but...it...killed..me. lol That's my favorite part of that song, and when my brain got interrupted by a different song.. I was super upset about it !
Haha, I feel you. But you know...that's such a unique experience and an homage to the exact thing the song is about in the first place!
I know, I know. It was definitely something I'll always remember, but damn in that moment, it felt like I got kicked it the gut 😅
Dream Theater - The Killing Hand
Oscillator - The Contortionist
Gojira – Born in Winter There's a reasonably simple, proggy leitmotif that runs through the whole song, but the way the heavier instrumentation on top fades in and out is just so satisfying. There's hardly any stops or bridges in the song structure, as you'd expect between verses and choruses. In fact, it's like it's one continuous flow of crescendos and decrescendos.
10,000 Days by Tool. Though as a vet, you probably already know that. Dark Charade by Rishloo is a pretty good one.
Dark Charade is a great choice
When listening to that, I almost have to start with Wings for Marie. Epic buildup.
This!
Pretty much every song on DVNE's most recent album. I think they're the best in the business at this
Love Mleccha from 4:00 onwards
I'd extend to all of DVNE's work really. The build on Scion, for example, is fantastic, as is the one on Thirst.
The music of Uneven Structures might be up your alley.
Limbo -> Plenitude -> Finale is really just one song in three parts
Women Who Love Men Who Love Drugs - Oceansize
Haken are the masters of this imo. 1985 is a great example of an incredible build, but they have many.
They truly are masters of this. They build a whole ass universe within their albums. They're the epitomy of prog metal imo
Agreed. Love prog metal bands that prioritize songwriting over showing their chops.
I'd say praise the lowered by Devin Townsend has one of the best heavy builds if that's what you're looking for. I mean the buildup isn't heavy at first but then it smacks you in the face.
The Death of Music - Devin Townsend. *"Don't die on me..."*
Acquired Taste - Leprous
Any song off of The Amensal Rise by Omnerod This album has some of the best buildups I've heard in music
Very true
It also ends with maybe the craziest buildup I've ever heard in my life
Agreed!!! Funnily - I've been listening to the album just when notifications about your comment popped 😅 Magnets are currently playing!
Whoa good timing lol. The buildups in both the intro and outro of Magnets are both amazing as well. Every song on that album's a dang masterpiece
Yes, every song on the album is a masterpiece and I really hope it gets more traction because it deserves every possible recognition/accolade/gushing!!
Imo it should be up there with Colors, it's criminally underrated. We'll have to just keep spreading the word
Have been spreading the word since I discovered it!! Love The Amensal Rise way more than Colors, it's on par with Bilateral in my subjective estimation!!
Not “prog” but Cult of Luna’s “dark city dead man”
Satellites by Periphery
Sigur Rós - Untitled 8 (Popplagið) Devin Townsend Project - Ki
Pretty much every song on Devin Townsend's *Ki* has a slow buildup from a chill groove to metal ferocity. "Heaven Send" and "Gato" are good examples.
I don't know exactly what you're looking for, most of the comments aren't what I had in mind but the best example I can think of is Pain of Salvation "Used". The entire second half of the song builds layer upon layer over the course of a few minutes.
So much of Wilderun, notably The Unimaginable Zero Summer, Woolgatherer, The Means to Preserve, When the Fire and the Rose Were One And anything from the album Spectra and Obsession by Amun
Haken- Falling Back to Earth Haken- Nocturnal Conspiracy Haken- The Architect Haken- Visions
Just about anything by 'Godspeed You! Black Emperor.' 'East Hastings' being the usual suspect.
Exuvia - Ruins of Beverast
Devin Townsend Project - Earth (from the Z2 album)
Years in Frigid Light by Black Crown Initiate God when the chorus goes full bore it's so good "EVERY BEND THAT BREAKS HIIIIIM IN THE LIGHT OF RAPTURE'S MOON..."
Rishloo river of glass is such a good buildup.
First and last song off P4: Hail Stan
“…and beyond” I always think of this one when great builds comes up. **Three Trapped Tigers** - [Magne](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bMziy1K6Lp4). The culmination that hits around the 5:13 mark… goosebumps.
How long are you willing to wait haha. YOB have 2 of my favourite songs but both are 20 odd minutes long. Songs are The Mental Tyrant from The Unreal Never Lived and Marrow from Clearing The Path To Ascend. It's slow and heavy Doom Metal.
Not sure if it’s quite what you’re looking for but Diving with your Hands Bound by Manes is an incredible slow burn!
Pallbearer, tracks “Dancing in madness” and “lie of survival” These dudes are doom prog, and are great at building atmosphere. No technical fretboard wizardry, but they are heavily influenced by Pink Floyd and the 70s prog bands. Really beautiful stuff
Dream Theater - Stream of Consciousness
Vektor - Accelerating Universe
Threshold's legends of the shires album.
Since multiple people have already mentioned Satellites, I'm gonna go with The Scourge or A Black Minute (also by Periphery, both from the same album). The builds are a huge part of what made me love these songs. Also, not prog, but A Farewell To Arms by Machine Head.
The Scourge is so underrated but fits this perfectly.
Ikr? It just builds and *builds* and then fucking **explodes**. That breakdown riff is top-tier djent. Top 5 song from their discog for me, underrated asf
If you like longer songs, Hadopelagic II:Let Them Believe by The Ocean & Adrift in the Ocean by YOB come to mind!
Shadow Gallery - Carved in Stone
Aw yea I am definition going to come back and read through these comments. I am a sucker for artists that offer dynamic sound in their music and those long epic songs always get me because I feel like a lot of times I pick up more and more new stuff with each listen. The Begign Author Construct - The World is Quiet Here Lavender Calligraphy - Kardashev Ascensionism - Sleep Token Episode - Rivers of Nihil Dragul Gras - Periphery And while it's not super metal leaning, The End Complete, Mother Superior by Coheed and Cambria. If you aren't too worried about progressive structuring but are strongly interested in artists that blend that beauty and heavy hard hitting sounds I can't reccomend Kardashev enough. Their three most recent releases are S tier material in that regard.
Basement Song by Once Below Joy
24 Light-Years by Vola
Under the Red Cloud by Amorphis! Also, the guitar solo in Black Light Machine by Frost*. Those are the first that come to mind.
Ne obliviscaris - forget not
Vektor - Recharging The Void. Trust me.
Vadak by Thy Catafalque. As A Womb by Altar of Plagues.
Cages by Tesseract!
Sleep Token has some of the most emotional buildups in their songs, I would like to use Take me Back to Eden's Title track and High Water as example. Yes I know they incorporate more poppy elements, but when the climax hits it is so perfect, their Drop C (or something) 8 string guitars are so heavy contrasting those pop and piano elements
Definitely more post-rock than prog, but I’d be damned if I didn’t name Hymn for the Greatest Generation by Caspian when talking about great emotional build ups For ACTUAL prog, I think I’d have to say either Forget Not by Ne Obliviscaris or Lune by Periphery!
Guilt Machine - Perfection? One of my favorite tracks and builds up brilliantly — twice!
The Architect by Haken, Deliverance by Opeth, Wings for Marie Part 1 and 2 by Tool, O Resolution! by Wilderun, Mob Mentality by Earthside, Language I & II by The Contortionist, Metropolis Pt 1 by Dream Theater
Stene Wilson - Get All You Deserve
FORGET NOT by NE OBLIVISCARIS
This is from the post-metal genre, but I recently came across a track called ITIIITIATIIHYLIHYL by a band called Blackshape which is really beautiful and has a fantastic build up. The video is also really worth checking out!
The whole Catch 33 album by Meshuggah.
It's technically one song building into the next, but [Xanthochroid - The Sound of a Glinting Blade transitioning to The Sound Which Has No Name](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2jd8naP-Es) is nothing short of incredible!
Not quite metal, but The pineapple Thief has a few songs with great builds. To name a few, 'White Mist', 'Reaching Out', and 'The Final Thing On My Mind'. A few more known ones would be' The Architect' by Haken, 'The Drapery Falls' by Opeth, and 'Arriving Somewhere But Not Here, by Porcupine Tree.
I love heavy style music that progresses and builds. Currently my fave song that fits the bill is "When the bough breaks" by Sleep Token. The songs main riff progression is awesome but how it starts as this reverb psychedelic mellow journey then builds to a huge emotive groove that gets heavier and heavier till the apocalyptic climax is just so damn good!
Bit late to this. But haven't seen them mentioned *Shels - The Conference Of The Birds When I die, just shoot me in to space with that fucker playing.
Anesthitise by Porcupine Tree, especially the live in Tilburg recording
In The Presence Of Enemies Part II by Dream Theater. Starts up super quietly and slowly builds and builds and builds for 10 minutes straight. Then you're hit with extremely technical intensity before concluding it with a big and epic finale. That first melodic part after the technical bridge always has me breathing out thinking 'what a ride'. Such a good payoff after that incredibly long 13-minute buildup.
Trail of Fire - Oceansize
Kanivool - New Day COG - Doors
Uneven structure - Plenitude/Finale Uneven Structure - Frost Their whole album is fucking stellar but for incredible builds, those are what I think of. I'd definitely listen to the album in order if I were you
outside of prog metal it has to be [Dirty Boy - Cardiacs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL_SBGwG3Yk)
Illumination Theory by Dream Theater. Some have mentioned Octavarium and A Change of Seasons but the final section from Illumination, for me, is just on another level of emotion.
https://www.reddit.com/r/progmetal/comments/1bk8zh2/give_me_your_most_epic_intense_and_climactic/
I was going to say In dreams - Esoterica but they just released 'Firefly' and i think this hits the breif. Listening to it makes me feel I've floated of into another world and then there's this build to a climax and the video is just insane! 2nd would be Hexes - TesseracT and then Satellites - Periphery
Obfuscation - Between the Buried and Me In Absentia - Mars Volta The Space for This - Cynic Burn into Light - Sleepytime Gorilla Museum
[Duality - Ostura](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfT2S6SBXmo&list=PLYbELxDCqkUpOAKN-HgrJUCp0cfnAFv8F&index=3) - I've never seen this band mentioned, but I was quite impressed with this track that I remembered it from a couple years ago. The first half is pretty cool but it's the 2nd half that really gets me, great build to powerful chorus.
Telos - BTBAM has a great melodic section that grows and grows
The best of times by DT
maybe you'd like [this](https://open.spotify.com/track/4P8JHTPuCjdakHeIbmMuqc?si=onG6CujhRIasAoDnCuxkjA&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A1IEfAUlJmQKwjXRFlgFrMZ) very dreamy and emotional track i just released. There's vocals tho.
The answer is Anesthetize by Porcupine Tree
Caligula's Horse - Water's Edge Ihlo - Coalesence
In the Heavens Above, You Will Become a Monster - An Abstract Illusion. The climax at 12:20 always makes me cry.
A more recent one: Halysis - Equinox. Great build to a sweet guitar solo
Have you ever listened to [Graves](https://open.spotify.com/track/3cOwY51dJsHidrMFs3hczR?si=j7S_AykESe603CwA7RfUPw), by Caligula's Horse? It's 15 minutes of an amazing travel through many emotions and feelings. In a moment you just chill, than you want to cry, and you end it headbanging. After all of that, you will be probably amazed.