Ask Lemmy

They're not that popular compared to Pink Floyd or David Bowie, but there's a band called The Dear Hunter that have 5 albums called Act I through Act V that are one continuous story of a guy's life.

So in that sense every song on those albums are a sequel and prequel to every other, but some of the musical themes and motifs are more obviously reintroduced, referenced, and re-applied in new contexts as the albums go on.

They have albums that aren't those 5, which are not in the canon, by the way.

Anecdotally, I've heard The Police's Synchronicity II on the radio way, way more than Synchronicity I. They're both bangers though.

Thomas D. of the German hip hop group Die fantastischen Vier has added more and more songs to his warrior trilogy over the years.

1. Krieger
2. Millionen Legionen
3. Mein Schwert

Sandstorm by Darude has a song right before it on his album called "the calm before the storm" and I actually enjoy it quite a bit.

Subway to Sally have a pretty popular song called Traum vom Tod II (Dream of Death 2). Took me years to find Traum vom Tod I.

Dream Theater has a song called Metropolis Part 1. Originally they didn't plan to have any additional parts, but it worked out that eventually they decided to follow it up. Instead of a single song, they did a whole album: Metropolis Part 2: Scenes from a Memory. And I think it's their best work.

David Bowie wrote a continuation to "Space Oddity" ("Ashes to Ashes") and the original also inspired a few songs by other artists that directly reference it ("Major Tom (Coming Home)" by Peter Schilling, "Hallo Spaceboy" by Pet Shop Boys).

Primus has the four Fisherman's Chronicles songs.

1. John the Fisherman
2. Fish On
3. The Ol' Diamondback Sturgeon
4. Last Salmon Man

Another thing that might count as an example is that Wings' Band on the Run and Helen Wheels both mention a character named Sailor Sam.

Edit: Added to post.

Not sure if this counts because it’s on the same album but on The Mountain Goats album Transcendental Youth starts with “Amy (AKA Spent Gladiator)” and the second to last track is “Spent Gladiator 2.”

Also, their album Jenny From Thebes is a sequel to their album All Hail West Texas.

Also also, there are a number of songs early in the discography that are about the same couple, culminating in the album Tallahassee.

I just recently learned that Mother Mother released "Hayloft II" in 2022, 14 years after the banger "Hayloft"

Tool Parabol - Parabola

The Prodigy - Omen(Reprise)

Radiohead's Creep, My Iron Lung, and All I Need

Metallica has the unforgiven, unforgiven 2, and unforgiven 3

The Smashing Pumpkins- “1979” and “Perfect”.

People said “Perfect” sounded so much like “1979” that the music video was intentionally made to be a sequel to the latter.

EDIT: The Smashing Pumpkins are my favorite band. If you can find a copy of Greatest Hits Video Collection (1991–2000) (a DVD collection of music videos and other goodies; acted as a companion to Rotten Apples), I recommend it. There is extensive audio commentary on the videos. For example, Stéphane Sednaoui who directed “Today”, claimed to had never listen to the song before the first day of filming. “1979” in particular had master tapes got destroyed after someone left them on the roof of their car, so the entire video had to be re-shot. “Perfect” commentary, Corgan makes the connection to the similarities with “1979”; all but one of the original teenage actors from the first video returned. There is a short film version of “Try” that featured a different ending to “Try, Try, Try”. A few live recordings are included, among them “Fuck You (An Ode to No One)” from the final Metro show when they broke up and “Geek USA” (a special mix that utilized maximum volume on the audio system).

Tool - Parabol / Parabola

Tool - Intermission / Jimmy (although probably among their less popular songs)

Rush: Cygnus X-1 books I and II. More of a two-part story, but kind of fits the question.

For that song I wouldn't have chose these two parts. I would've gone for Part 1 and Part 3. Instead of a sequel Part 2 feels like a separate installment if you get what I mean.

Plus that's kind of cheating. Is every prog song split into multiple parts considerable for this? Like also from Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here (the suite?) is split into two large sections, and the folksy Pigs on the Wing acts like a storybook introduction and ending split into two parts and put at the start and end of the album.

There's a ton more examples like that. Especially on concept albums. The Beach Boys'/Brain Wilson has Wonderful, Song for Children (Look), Child is Father of the Man, and Surf's Up exploring the same idea and building on top of one another.

Ozzy had "Crazy Train" and also "A.V.H." which contained the lyrics

Riding on a train that I can't control

One might say such a train was... crazy.

Rush B?

For me it's panic at the disco:

Part 1. Say Amen (2018)

Part 2. This is Gospel (2013)

Part3. Emperor's new clothes ( 2015)

(Specially the vids they did are conected if you wanna watch them in that order.)

Electric Six has a song called Gay Bar Part Two, the context was purely ironic but it still counts

GUNSHIP

Tech Noir
Tech Noir 2

The Decemberists

The Crane Wife 1 & 2
The Crane Wife 3

The Unicorns

I Don't Wanna Die
Ready To Die

Handsome Boy Modeling School

Look At This Face (Oh My God They're Gorgeous)
Modeling Sucks

It depends if an ouverture counts, and how popular of a song.

Bad Religion has Ouverture before Sinister Rouge. They are different tracks but they merge together.

Also, one could argue that most of the songs on the album American Idiot by Green Day, are a prequel to the next one. The songs can be separated but they are parts of a story.

360 and 365 from Brat By Charli xcx

Also, Haken's full albums Virus and Vector are prequels to the song Cockroach King from their album The Mountain.

ELP's Karn Evil 9 is a pretty epic trilogy.

The first impression part 2 is what got played most often on the radio, but personally i think part 3 is where it shines.

Cher then all the divas after her