 • Shadow Gallery - "Carved in Stone" (1995), with elements of melodic and power metal;

• The neoclassical groups Symphony X - "The Divine Wings of Tragedy" (1997), Redemption - "The Fullness of Time" (2005), and OSI - "Office of Strategic Influence" (2003), with Kevin Moore (ex-keyboardist of Dream Theater) and Jim Matheos (guitarist of Fates Warning);

• The groups focusing more on technical elements Tool - "Lateralus" (2001), Zero Hour - "The Towers of Avarice" (2001), Arch/Matheos - "Sympathetic Resonance" (2011), and instrumental groups such as Spastic Ink - "Ink Compatible" (2004), Liquid Tension Experiment - "Liquid Tension Experiment" (1998), Gordian Knot - "Emergent" (2003), and Canvas Solaris - "Sublimation" (2004); 
The following groups are some of the other notable progressive metal bands that formed in Europe.• The melodic and power metal side including the Norwegians Conception - "Parallel Minds" (1993) and Ark, the Germans Vanden Plas - "The God Thing" (1997), the English Threshold - "Wounded Land" (1993), the Danish Royal Hunt - "Paradox" (1997), the Swedes Andromeda - "Extension of the Wish" (2001) and Evergrey - "In Search of Truth" (2001), the Poles Riverside - "Out of Myself" (2003), the Spanish band Avalanch;

• The technical and experimental groups including the Norwegian Spiral Architect, with their innovative approach between Watchtower and Fates Warning in "A Sceptic's Universe" (1999), Leprous - "Tall Poppy Syndrome" 2009) and Frantic Bleep

Among the bands of the late 1990s who managed to bring innovation to the Dutch Ayreon (a project by Arjen Anthony Lucassen) and the Swedes Pain of Salvation.Ayreon focused on theatrical and melodramatic rock operas "Into the Electric Castle" (1998) and "The Human Equation" (2004), performed by many different members of prominent metal bands.