Dream Theater

As a DT fan who found the last album a distinct step down from the wonderful BCASL this pretty negative response is a little dispiriting. Hopefully there will be plenty of good stuff on the album, the worry being that the track they previewed off ADTOE turned out to be one of the best on there.

We'll see.

My take after second listen:

Okay, it's pretty good DT, but in my opinion it doesn't come close to matching up to the single from the last album.  OtBoA seemed a lot more intense, fresh, and inspired, even though it very much fit into "classic DT" mold.  This one has a similar structure and goal without being executed as well, imo.

The intro is great.  Yes it's more "thrash"-y but it has some great riffs.  The riffs are well-written, characteristic DT guitar parts but interesting enough that they don't sound stale.

But then it gets to the part where the vocals start...and the foundation they establish with the intro seems to disappear.  It's typical metal chugging and simple chord rhythms; and the chords, I must say, are not that terribly interesting.  I think they should have tried to develop some of the intro riffs going into the verse, playing off the riffs and progressions they had at the beginning instead of starting a new and inferior theme.

Vocals are fine, melodies are boring. 

The instrumental section isn't my favorite from DT, but the interplay between guitar and keys is wonderful.  To me, it could have been more melodically interesting, but it's captivating enough listening to Petrucci and Rudess play around each other.  Petrucci plays too many notes, though.  He's 40 years old, it's time he matured enough as a guitar player to learn that sometimes it's best to restrain yourself a little bit.  Overall, however, I thought the interlude was well-crafted, and they will probably stretch themselves out a bit more with the instrumental sections on the rest of the album.

As others have commented, Myung is inaudible.  A pity.  No comment on drums, I have no idea.  They lyrics are lackluster, a disappointment after the excellent lyrics on ADTOE.

Overall, it's good, but nothing special.  I will buy the album and will probably enjoy it.  I'm guessing there will be better songs on there than this, but in the end it's DT and they almost always release solid stuff and I enjoy it.  I criticized Rush's Headlong Flight when it came out before their album too, and have grown to like it a lot more since then, so maybe this one will grow on me too.

rushfan4 wrote: But this is a Dream Theater "Appreciation" thread, or at least it is in the "Appreciation" section of the forums so the negative Nellies need to take their negativity to a Prog News post or something.  I have to agree with Jampa on how amazingly negative many of the posters are on PA regarding DT.  I suspect that much of it has to do with the fact that they are actually successful from a prog standpoint, and heaven forbid we allow that to happen.  Prog artists are required to be obscure starving artists in order to have any prog credibility.

Most of us here posting are actually DT fans, so I think we have every right to express our disappointment with the song, or certain aspects of it.

I like it.  But that doesn't mean I'm not going to critique it.

I really do not read where there is "DT bashing" going on? We are talking about one song and passing critic on ONE song, not the band, not the previous albums.

rushfan4 wrote: But this is a Dream Theater "Appreciation" thread, or at least it is in the "Appreciation" section of the forums so the negative Nellies need to take their negativity to a Prog News post or something.  I have to agree with Jampa on how amazingly negative many of the posters are on PA regarding DT.  I suspect that much of it has to do with the fact that they are actually successful from a prog standpoint, and heaven forbid we allow that to happen.  Prog artists are required to be obscure starving artists in order to have any prog credibility.

But this is a Dream Theater "Appreciation" thread, or at least it is in the "Appreciation" section of the forums so the negative Nellies need to take their negativity to a Prog News post or something.  I have to agree with Jampa on how amazingly negative many of the posters are on PA regarding DT.  I suspect that much of it has to do with the fact that they are actually successful from a prog standpoint, and heaven forbid we allow that to happen.  Prog artists are required to be obscure starving artists in order to have any prog credibility.

Maybe because it's not the DT homepage or fanclub?  I cannot talk about all DT fans but if you react so strongly to some dissent, it's not likely you are going to enjoy PA conversations in general.  Most people have only said they didn't like the track, not that DT's pathetic or terrible or blah blah.  If you call stating a dislike as bashing, fine, whatever works for you.

jampa17 wrote: rogerthat wrote: jampa17 wrote:   Wonder why I don't read this kind of things when Porcupine Tree do the same boring thing all the time,  Because they haven't actually done anything since 2009.  That's a long time, you know.   Well you see, BC&SL is from the same year and you still read some b*llsh+t about that album even today. So, that's not an excuse really.

jampa17 wrote:   Wonder why I don't read this kind of things when Porcupine Tree do the same boring thing all the time,

Catcher10 wrote: Snow Dog wrote: Can't hear it in UK   Don't worry too much about it...its nothing special. The drumming is boring, normal Mangini dbl speed pedals, and quick snare parts. Cymbal playing is not on the Portnoy level, which actually adds character.   Singing is blah, keys are blah and yes no sign of Myung. At about 5:00 in I am tired of hearing that drumming already...ughhh!   I hear nothing new....too much thrashy type metal, no sign of progmetal, symphonic metal. Actually this is different, seems Petrucci wants to sound like a hard edged Nickleback (did I say that!!?)   Solely based on this song.....I have zero excitement for Sept 24th. They are still great musicians but the creativity seems to have vanished and the DT sound is gone. I hope the other 65min are better.....   (I read this a few times b4 posting as I thought it was too harsh....but I am fine with it).

Edited by Snow Dog - August 07 2013 at 05:46