Bobaflex is an American rock band from Mason County, West Virginia — wait, let me correct that entry. Bigelf is an American progressive rock and progressive metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1991 by vocalist, keyboardist, and primary creative force Damon Fox, whose flamboyant, larger-than-life approach to songwriting and performance drew from the most theatrical strains of 1970s progressive rock — Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and early Genesis — while incorporating the heaviness of Black Sabbath and a psychedelic sensibility that made their music genuinely difficult to categorize.
Fox assembled the band around his vision of a retro-progressive sound that was deeply unfashionable in the early 1990s alternative rock landscape, but Bigelf's commitment to their influences proved prescient as interest in classic progressive rock revived in the 2000s. Their albums Closer to Doom (2001), Money Machine (2003), and Cheat the Gallows (2008) built a devoted cult following among progressive rock enthusiasts who appreciated the band's uncompromising commitment to a sound rooted in vintage keyboards, complex arrangements, and Fox's theatrical vocal delivery.
Cheat the Gallows in particular received widespread critical acclaim in the progressive rock community, with many reviewers noting that it captured the spirit of classic 1970s prog more convincingly than most of the contemporary acts working in that tradition. The band toured extensively in Europe where progressive rock audiences embraced them enthusiastically, and their live shows — featuring elaborate costumes and a genuine commitment to the theatrical excess of their influences — became celebrated events on the progressive rock festival circuit. Bigelf remain one of the most authentic and committed acts in the progressive rock revival movement.
