Dream Theater's BC&SL Discussion

Mr ProgFreak wrote: ^ as I said a number of times before: Maybe a band should not be bashed for sounding tired on their 10th record. Maybe they should ... but in any case it's not fair to expect it to sound like they were 20 years old. Imagine how Between the Buried and Me will sound on their 10th record (or after their 25th anniversary). Of course that does not make the album any better for you, I'm aware of that. You're also free to say that it sucks (especially compared to the old ones) ... we just differ in that you seem to hold a grudge against them for not living up to your expectations of what they *could* achieve, while I am content with what they managed to achieve.

Well, that's fine, but then, why bother listening to Dream Theater? There are plenty of new artists out there doing things that are more innovative and creative than what they're doing. Why should we spend our money on the death rattle of a passing giant? Like I said before, I'm sure there are plenty of enjoyable moments on BC&SL, but I think most people on this site have yet to acquire a lot of the excellent prog listed here, so why put that off to pick up this album?

Got BCASL yesterday. I guess I still need to listen to it a few more times before I 'get it'. I definitely know I need to hear it again before I make up my mind. That's a good sign, isn't it? It already sounds to my ears to be an improvement on Systematic Chaos. 

And as was said above, why have not bad, or okay, when you can have amazing?
I've heard the album twice through, and frankly, I'm not going to give it anymore time.
I've heard plenty of records this year that sound genuine and are simply bursting with true passion and inspiration.
Those are the records I devote my time too.

^Dream Theater changed my life and helped shape how I view music both as a player and a listener. I'm a fan. But shoot, a weak album is a weak album. I'm still going to love most of their other records as I always have and I'm not dismissing them on the whole. Neither is he. We're just dismissing what they've been up to recently. So anyway, I think it has nothing to do you being a fan.

Moatilliatta wrote: ^Dream Theater changed my life and helped shape how I view music both as a player and a listener. I'm a fan. But shoot, a weak album is a weak album. I'm still going to love most of their other records as I always have and I'm not dismissing them on the whole. Neither is he. We're just dismissing what they've been up to recently. So anyway, I think it has nothing to do you being a fan.

We just differ in how weak we think this album is. I rated it well above 8.5/10 at PF ... the rating may change on further listens, but I doubt it will go below 8.0. I guess that you would rate the album significantly lower ...

E-Dub wrote: I'm going to listen to it again today, but my initial thoughts were mostly positive. I'd still like to see Myung write some songs more often. Love "Lifting Shadows Off A Dream". E

Mr ProgFreak wrote: I think it's not just an "okay" album ... so far I've listened to it 5 times, which I wouldn't enjoy if I didn't really like it. I guess it's just not for you. Maybe it's also because I'm a fan. I have been a fan for more than 15 years, and I'm not going to dismiss them just because their 10th album isn't as good as their best ones.

I've been a fan for that long, probably longer.  Picked up I&W almost as soon as it came out.  They were among my favorite bands for many, many years.  I discovered this website trying to find more bands that sounded like them.

Mike, it's the fact that the 8th album was a step down, the 9th was an even bigger step down, and this latest one seems to confirm they're going in the wrong direction.  Going through the motions, uninspired, recycling riffs, etc.  Like Harry said, they put this out because an album is due and this is their job now.  I think their best days are long behind them at this point.

It's all opinion of course - I'm glad you and a lot of others really enjoy the album, and see it as an improvement over the last one (others actually rank BC&SL in their top 5 DT albums).  I wish I could see it that way, but I don't.

StyLaZyn wrote: E-Dub wrote: I'm going to listen to it again today, but my initial thoughts were mostly positive. I'd still like to see Myung write some songs more often. Love "Lifting Shadows Off A Dream". E

Not to mention Learning to Live

The T wrote: I've been a fan for 13 years. They have given me some of my best moments in all music. None of the last 4 albums has received 5 stars from me, and 6DOIT and TOT even got only 3. Only three of their albums have received from me 5 stars (Genesis beats the crap out of DT in 5-star-ness in my review catalogue)... It's clear I'm a fanboy but not a blind fanboy. Honestly, I don't agree with the comments about BCSL being disappointing, even though "Wither" is one of their worst songs since "Just let me Breathe". All the other song deserve my attention; "Rite of passage" may be a re-work of "Home" but the chorus is one of the best ever in DT. I seriously think at the end of the day this album will get 4.5 stars from me, therefore the first 5 star since SFAM.

Well I think that's the thing about DT, because they have approached their music from several different directions, you've got all sorts of people coming to their music with all sorts of different expectations. I remember having a discussion on another forum where I was confused because everyone felt that DT did very complex music when their compositions seem quite simple to my ear. After a bit it was clarified for me: People didn't really feel that DT had complex compositions, rather when they refer to complex music they were talking about the sheer virtuosity of the instrumentalists, and I had to admit that yes, they certainly had some technically complex stuff. But of course, my opinion of the band wasn't really changed because compositional complexity is what I look for in music - instrumental virtuosity doesn't really impress me too much.

So I suppose that because they're bridging two genres, prog and metal, everyone comes at them with all sorts of expectations that typically aren't fulfilled - they are inevitably going to be a bit watered down on either side, and aren't going to be as innovative or complex as a pure prog band could potentially be, and aren't going to be as heavy or hardcore as a pure metal band could potentially be. Images and Words and SFAM seem to be the only album where both sides are consistently happy with the output (and you might be able to throw Awake and 6DOIT as pretty close to that), and even with those albums you'll find lots of dissenting opinions.