They were definitely influence by king crimson, but they still sound quite a bit different. I can't remember which member of king crimson said it, but one of them said something along the lines of "tool influenced king crimson more than king crimson influenced tool".

Here are the exact quotes:

King Crimson member Robert Fripp has downplayed any influence his band had on Tool. In an interview with Tool, he touched briefly on how the two bands relate to each other, stating "Do you hear the influence? There's just one figure where I hear an influence, just one. It was a piece we were developing that we dropped. And it's almost exactly the same figure: three note arpeggio with a particular accent from the guitar. So I do not think you could have heard it. That's the only thing."

He also revealed, "I happen to be a Tool fan. The members of Tool have been generous enough to suggest that Crimson has been an influence on them. Adam Jones asked me if I could detect it in their music, and I said I couldn’t. I can detect more Tool influence in King Crimson, than I can hear King Crimson in Tool."

Artist highlight:

Asia

Geoff Downes
John Wetton
Steve Howe
Carl Palmer

This band has quickly become one of my all time favorite classic progressive rock bands. More specifically because Steve Howe and Geoff Downes are included. And i'm sure we all know why Steve Howe is one of the highlighted members, if not, think "guitarist of Yes". Anyway, won't drag on too long, let the music do the talking.

From the Omega album

Also, I just added this to the bottom of the OP:

Milano if you dig the Porcupine Tree/Anathema sound then I strongly suggest you give the Polish band Riverside a listen.

Most people who are introduced to the band become fans.

I've actually listened to a lot of Riverside. One of my all time favorites. I have Rapid Eye Movement in my collection and it's incredible.

ECLIPSE

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg

KNIGHT AREA

Here's a band that has got some good and bad reviews. Some people would say they are very bland, and some would say they are pretty energetic. I find them a bit more than decent in some cases. This is a band that I discovered through last.fm and am pretty happy I did. One of my favorites of Realm of Shadows would be A Million Lives. It flows extraordinarily well and the vocalist has a perfect fit for what's going on throughout. The rest of the album is incredible as well. I won't point out much from any other releases, that'll be for you to decide if it's good or not.

Only unfortunate thing. There isn't a whole lot on Youtube or Grooveshark to share a lot of their music. However, i'll do what I can.

From: Nine Paths

Wakerun



If you want to download one of their albums, I can provide a link to Nine Paths and if more is wanted, just ask and i'll post more links:

Knight Area - Nine Paths

At the moment, i'm listening to the Union album by Yes and something dawned on me. Whenever i'm listening to a Yes album, it doesn't feel like an album, more like an experience. I was just listening casually, and I took a look at the music player and I was already half way through the album without even knowing.

And just to add, this song is incredible:

well, some interesting stuff here that I ought to check out

For sure. I think you'd like a lot of it.