... was just covered by Rolling Stone? link
We can safely say hell has frozen over. This magazine had ceased to recognize the mere existence of progressive rock until literally this year, and now they're actually writing about a current band in the genre.
I've pretty much turned in my badge with DT, as three of their last four albums have been downright awful - maybe a half dozen good songs in total. Great pieces like The Count Of Tuscany and Surrender To Reason are now the exception, not the rule.
Their biggest flaw has been their constant need to put their technical ability before good songwriting, now to the point that they've almost become a parody of themselves. I've always said that they could use some healthy outside interference, kind of like Rush did ten years ago.
And now that they've done that, it looks like they may well have created the classic they've been trying to create for their entire career. They came close with Scenes From A Memory and Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence, but now they're actually going to have an audience outside of their core faithful.
I'm looking forward to a Dream Theater release for the first time in a decade.
Also: I bet Mike Portnoy has been depressed in bed for a week.
matt z wrote:
eh...probably...but any real fan knows it was best with Portnoy
That was true until I read this article.
Their next album may well be their magnum opus.
As long as they remove "noodling" from their musical vocabulary.
Too early to say. Imagine back in 1981 if someone said "and now a track called Las Palabras De Amor (or maybe even Life Is Real) from the new queen album Hot Space!" you might think it's going to be the dog's bollocks, only later to be sorely disappointed. link
Yeah, I'd almost choked when I read RS writing about DT. It's great that they have two people who have worked with Rush and others (Richard Chycki – Engineering and Mixing) and David Campbell.
With 34 tracks, one hopes the 'overindulgences' are kept to a minimum for once.
I think back years ago when I saw them co-headline with Queensryche. Various good posters on this forum talked the band up, so I delved into their discography. For 80% of their material, I'm glad I did.
Looking forward to their April show in Baltimore (one night after Radio City Music Hall). Not sure if it will be just the band, but looking forward to being well entertained.
Here's a cover of 'The Gift of Music'. THIS is superb! link
*goodco* wrote:
Here's a cover of 'The Gift of Music'. THIS is superb!
link
Indeed !
Don't be surprised if DT use this guy as their singer in a decade. James LaBrie is past his peak, and the rest of the band will play until they're 80.
Jordan Rudess even posted in the comments, so they know the guy exists now.
Well, I've listened to all 130 minutes of the new double (triple?) album. Certainly won't be to everyone's tastes, but what a musical ride, with a nod to JC Superstar and Broadway. Orchestra and choir thrown into the mix of rock, ragtime, swing, tango.....nice to hear Jordan out in front so often with the piano, very little 'wankery', and James carries off the various characters superbly.
Because it was mentioned on the DT forum, one can imagine if Queen had made an album similar, with Freddie, Brian and Roger playing the different parts.
Never thought I'd want a DT album to be heavier, but this could use another hard rocker or two. But, man, is there some beautiful music on this.
Quite the ballsy move with a release like this.
Treating it as a six sided album, with repeated listens of each 'side' to get familiar with this.
link
^ well, the full range of reviews are there.
After a couple listens, all I hear is a band bravely making a huge departure from their sounds with mixed results - but mostly good. The concept is king, and the technical wankery is restricted to a minimum, as it's always complimentary to the story. Refreshing.
For the first time, James LaBrie is the star on a Dream Theater album, with Jordan Rudess a close second.
John Petrucci is more of a writer than guitar hero here, John Myung holds his own as always, but Mike Mangini is just so pedestrian. Not only is his drum sound so processed and artificial, his parts just don't add anything to the music.
Dream Theater are remarkable composers, and this is probably the last grand music musical statement they'll ever make, making me sad that Mike Portnoy didn't play on it. Like him or hate him, his playing has personality more than any living rock drummer, with the possible exception of Danny Carey.
At over two hours long, this is unlikely to draw hoards of new fans to the Dream Theater fold. But I sure hope it'll make people realize that there's far more to these guys than average songs where guys play fast. This is the exact opposite. There is depth, and if you're into progressive rock and willing to invest the time, you'll find it to be a rewarding listen.
4 out of 5 stars. Their best album since Octavarium.
I've been seeing a *lot* of hate for this but I think it's very solid overall. Disc 1 is great; disc 2 drags a little in the middle but is still good. Definitely going to need additional listens to fully get, but my vinyl copy is coming one of these days and I can properly dissect it then.