Top 250: #91 - #100

Finally, we are entering the top 100. Tracks that have made it this high up on the list must have exceptional qualities. Let's change the format a bit. From now on, whenever possible, there will be a link to the track itself, and also we will display all related album covers from now on. This may look a bit silly on most times since there will be no difference between the two, but will be very useful when there is one.

100. Beside You in Time, by Nine Inch Nails
(With Teeth, 2005)

The 2005 album by Nine Inch Nails was not met with high praise, and even we at ProgActive felt it was far from their best work. Yet there are some individual nice tunes on it and one of them we found close to the end. Beside You in Time shows some of Trent Reznor's best songwriting and also its relatively low key first half gives the listener an enjoyable feeling of anticipation: an explosion is sure to come before the end. When it does arrive, there will be plenty of goosebumps.

99. Woven Tears, by This Will Destroy You
(Moving on the Edges of Things, 2010)
The Texan post rock group This Will Destroy You has reached a surprisingly high position on the list considering we found them only two or three years ago. This track, taken from their 2010 EP Moving on the Edges of Things, sounds very much like industrial rock - not metal, but the instrumental track is still more involved in sound effects than actual composition. The plentiful drumming gives it a nice, ominous atmosphere.

98. Forever is a Lonely Thought, by Kayak
(See See the Sun, 1973)
This lovely song marks the first appearance of Dutch symphonic progressive rock group Kayak on our list. It used to be our big favorite around 2005 when we originally found the band. Now it doesn't get played much any more, but anyway this relatively recent introduction resulted in a place in the top 100. Forever is a Lonely Thought is a melodic continental prog song from over 40 years ago. Another recommendable song from the same album is called Lovely Luna.

97. In This Twilight, by Nine Inch Nails
(Year Zero, 2007)
Another NIN track in a short space is from the next album following With Teeth that we liked even less than its predecessor. Yet Year Zero has paradoxically appeared on the list already twice: Hyperpower! (#186) and Survivalism (#162) were both listed. Even a fourth appearance seems likely, and it should actually take place quite soon. In This Twilight is another quieter NIN song, with a pessimistic world view and hence, extremely cynical lyrics.

96. The Great Satan, by Ministry
(Rio Grande Blood, 2006)
This brilliant heavy metal track was at one point so popular with us that it featured in the playlist of top 25 most played tracks that iTunes collects and keeps up to date automatically. And this was not a short visit there, either - The Great Satan must have spent over a year there. It doesn't get played a lot any more, but is definitely an exhilarating piece of heavy rock with a heavy message. At this point in their career, virtually all Ministry songs had the same message.

95. Mei, by Echolyn
(Mei, 2002)
This masterpiece is currently also in YouTube but will probably be removed soon because the song comprises an entire album, so we'll link to Spotify this time. As you can see above, the song runs almost 50 minutes, so it seems like a minor miracle that it has been able to climb to the top 100 - and yet it has. We have taken the required time to listen to it over and over again. Echolyn has already appeared on the list a few times and is very likely to appear again further up on it.

94. The Show of Our Lives, by Caravan
(Cunning Stunts, 1975)
Many seem to think that Cunning Stunts was only an afterthought following a great career that culminated much earlier, at the beginning of the seventies. We here at ProgActive beg to differ. Not only was this album truly great, but its opening track The Show of Our Lives the single best thing the Canterbury proggers were ever able to achieve. Impeccably arranged and played, it represents absolute perfection in symphonic prog leaning towards more easily accessible art rock.

93. Snowman, by Frost*
(Milliontown, 2006)
One more entry from the debut album of British proggers Frost*, Snowman is their least aggressive song on that album, aggressiveness in this case being of course a positive thing. It sounds about as good as the other songs and was easy to like but admittedly hasn't played very much in recent years. As great as Frost* is, Snowman seems slightly oversimple and obvious among their other works. Easy to like, sure, but also perhaps a bit too easy to forget.

92. Epochs in Dmaj, by Caspian
(Tertia, 2009)
Here is another American post rock group whose most melody driven track got us excited five years ago. Unlike This Will Destroy You, they do not employ percussion but instead rely on a beautiful melody played using keyboards and guitar as solo instruments. Tertia is the second studio album of the Massachusetts based band. Since then, there has been a third one as well as a few EP length releases.

91. The Beginning of the End, by Nine Inch Nails
(Year Zero, 2007)
Here is Nine Inch Nails completing their hat trick with the third pick from Year Zero that we already referred to; perhaps our favorite track on the album. We have a couple of other favorites on this final NIN major label release, but it seem unlikely that they would appear further up on the list. However, running into other tracks from other NIN albums seems almost a certainty; the group has been one of our favorites during recent years.