According to Blabbermouth.net, music writer and metal maniac Jeff Wagner will be releasing the first definitive book on progressive metal via Bazillion Points Publishing in the fall of 2009:
... Beginning with the hugely influential mid-1970s efforts of Canadian band RUSH, Wagner's book explores the shared lineage of prog rock and metal. He unfurls the huge tapestry and examines the sounds and styles created during the genre's 40-year history, including: the "Big Three" — QUEENSRŸCHE, FATES WARNING, and DREAM THEATER; extreme prog pioneers VOIVOD and CELTIC FROST; Norway's post-black metal avant garde; and of course the huge global movement of Big Three-worshippers in the 1990s. The vastness of what can be considered "progressive metal" has proven to be one of the most viable, malleable forms in all of modern music. ...
I've always considered Rush to be the first progressive metal band. They took the progressive approach of late 60s and early 70s bands like Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Genesis and Yes; and cranked it up a notch, pioneering a whole new sound. Granted they moved away from this in the 80s and beyond, it's definitely accurate to say they were the first and most influential progressive metal band. This sounds like it should be an interesting book.
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