I really like the band Dream Theater, but I'm not very familiar with the Progressive Metal genre of which they're a part.
Can anyone suggest a band (or bands) that have a similar feel but aren't as well known?
I've tried Fates Warning (the CD was called No Exit), but couldn't really get into them.
Try :
Last.fm has a very good similar artists page for Dream Theater with over 200 bands/artist listed that range from extremely popular to barely known and has this for any bands/artist.
All the bands above are listed along with many, many other. Just a little taste of bands that are similar to Dream Theater on this page are:
And many, many others.
You should look into Liquid Tension Experiment. It was an instrumental project of Mike Portnoy (then drummer of DT), John Petrucci (guitarist in DT), Jordan Ruddess (who became keyboard player of DT), and Tony Levin (King Crimson etc.). I'd say it's like the proggier parts of DT, sans vocals (hich is a plus in my book).
Arcane from Australia, they have a lot of similar sounding elements, particularly the keyboard, but aren't as fast nor are they anywhere near as cheesy as DT.
No Exit is really a terrible album to hear first as it doesn't sound much like old or new Fates. They didn't really hit on the more modern, more progressive sound until right after that album. You should try something later, like Parallels or Disconnected. Or both, as those two albums are very different from each other but will give you much more DT-like experiences. If you like those, try A Pleasant Shade of Gray, Darkness in a Different Light, and Perfect Symmetry. :)
I also recommend Vanden Plas, a lesser-known band that, in my opinion, sort of took over the torch from Dream Theater after that band declined in quality. The Seraphic Clockwork is an absolute masterpiece, but be aware that it takes a few listens for it to really sink in. Their album Far Off Grace sounds very different, but is also very good. The God Thing was their initial progressive breakout, and if you like 90s DT you'll probably like it as well. Also Christ 0, which sounds more like their newer stuff than the last couple I mentioned.
Dream Theater mixes the Progressive aspect from (mainly) Rush, Deep Purple and similar bands into the Heavy Metal aspect from bands like Metallica, Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden as their influences by the time. They also have a thing for fast playing (although not being the only thing they do, before someone downvotes for that), which is a predominant characteristic on Power Metal bands.
If you are into the prog aspect, you will likely be enjoying old prog rock bands, such as Rush, Yes, Gentle Giant, E.L.P., King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Camel, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple (ok, DP might not be considered prog, not discussing it) and similars.
If you are interested in recent bands, you should probably follow the works of Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree), Neal Morse (Spock's Beard, Flying Colors), Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater) and similars.
Other than that, really, progressive metal is a genre with too many bands. A few with renown (presented, for example, in the Essential Modern Progressive Rock Albums by ProgReport) are Queensryche, Marillion, Spock's Beard, The Flower Kings, Devin Townsend, Opeth, Transatlantic, Pain of Salvation, Porcupine Tree, Ayreon, IQ, Riverside, Frost*, Karnivool, Between the Buried and Me, Big Big Train, The Dear Hunter, Rishloo, Leprous and Sound of Contact.
A few bands also have singular albums that are good, but mostly their other works are not well received. The Mars Volta has De-Loused in the Comatorium, for example. Native Construct has their debut and only album until now - Quiet World.
Either way, it's a big and broad genre. These bands should give you a start, after you know better what you are enjoying, you can pinpoint your searches better.
As a special note, since you are asking about DT, it's interesting to look for bands Portnoy has participated. In particular, his interactions with Neal Morse usually end up in great progressive projects. Examples are the already mentioned Transatlantic, Flying Colors and The Neal Morse Band. Sons of Apollo is his most recent project.
Well, this one is even broader, but AFAIK, less common for recent bands. A fair share of the DT's fanbase is interested in plain heavy metal, such as Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath. If that's your case, simply look for more heavy metal, not for more progressive metal.
If you are instead interested in the fast playing and high tones, you can go for Power Metal. Here, you can go for Gamma Ray, Blind Guardian, Helloween and Iced Earth as things that a Dream Theater fan might enjoy. This is more likely to be true if you enjoyed When Dream and Day Unite.
If you enjoyed the concept of a really long Opera Rock album (a.k.a. you liked The Astonishing), Ayreon gets a stronger recommendation, as well as the a little bit underground band Gandalf's Fist, known for having 3 hours albums.
You have to check out SEVENTH WONDER from Sweden. It's Tommy Karevik's (Kamelot) main or first band. They have released 5 CD's so far which are all great.. Try " Waiting in the Wings" or "Mercy Falls" or " The Great Escape" first, these guys are fantastic, especially if you like the more melodic side of Dream Theater.
Take a look at music-map. Their list for Dream Theater includes at least half the bands mentioned in answers here, plus many others.
Tool, Psycroptic, Muse (sorta), Meshuggah, Periphery, etc. because they are Prog Rock/Metal mainly, but they are similar. I can't really explain why.
I'm late here, many similar bands were already proposed, you can also check Threshold from U.K., mostly their latest albums, and Shadow Gallery.
