The Dream Theater Appreciation Thread
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Bands, Artists and Genres Appreciation
Forum Description: Discuss specific prog bands and their members or a specific sub-genre
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=106464
Printed Date: April 26 2024 at 18:59
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: The Dream Theater Appreciation Thread
Posted By: KimberlyPierre
Subject: The Dream Theater Appreciation Thread
Date Posted: April 12 2016 at 19:49
|
So, any Dream Theater fans out there? I'm sure there are a lot of Dream Theater fans. What do you guys think of Dream Theater? For me, they are the greatest prog/metal band of this era, with stunners such as Metropolis Part 2, Systematic Chaos, among many other absolutely brilliant albums!
|
Replies:
Posted By: JD
Date Posted: April 12 2016 at 21:08
|
Not into them as much now as I was when they first hit, but I do enjoy going back to them once in a while. I saw them open for Yes in London Ontario, they were VERY loud. But I think what I remember most is Mike Portnoy constantly spitting over the front of his drums, all over the stage. It was if he couldn't swallow and just had to get it out. Kinda disgusting being so close to the stage and all. ------------- Thank you for supporting independently produced music |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: April 12 2016 at 22:04
| Some years ago they were mostly untouchable around here... at least as far as prog metal goes. But now they seem to be rather unpopular. However, I do love them and they are my favourite prog metal band, and one of my very favourite band of all, along Pink Floyd, Yes, Mike Oldfield, and Rick Wakeman. |
Posted By: Pastmaster
Date Posted: April 13 2016 at 00:47
| I really enjoy them, I especially love Images and Words, Awake, and Train of Thought. I don't really like their stuff after Portnoy left much, but there are a couple new songs from them that are winners. |
Posted By: Richey Edwards
Date Posted: April 13 2016 at 05:09
| They are one of my favourite bands. |
Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: April 13 2016 at 11:24
|
Pretty much the same for me, I enjoy their music and musicianship, very high level. What is lacking in recent years has been creativity, they are in a rut where it seems they are trying to find themselves again. At this point if they do not take a break and recharge the creative batteries, the latter part of their career will be forgettable. Train of Thought is my fav album of theirs, that set the bar for prog-metal for me and recently have been very locked in with Falling Into Infinity, been getting lots of spins lately on the turntable. I don't even want to mention the the last album, have only heard about an hours worth of it and have no interest in hearing the whole thing right now. They should have taken Portnoy's suggestion and taken a 5yr break, which means right about now they would have been releasing a new album. -------------   
|
Posted By: KimberlyPierre
Date Posted: April 13 2016 at 11:30
|
I will have to agree with you guys to an extent. I really think all their albums were top notch, and awesome (besides The Astonishing). I mean, I've seen people bash SC-DT12, but I don't see what is wrong with those albums, actually. I have enjoyed them and I'd prefer them over Images and Words and other albums. ------------- "There is a sacredness in tears. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love." -Washington Irving |
Posted By: DDPascalDD
Date Posted: April 13 2016 at 11:36
|
I've actually just began listening to Dream Theater. I've spun Images and Words a few times and I really like it, I'm surprised by the level of sophistication in all the notes, sounds and rythms. I clearly didn't expect to hear even classical influence. ------------- |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: April 13 2016 at 22:48
Train of Thought is also my favourite album from them. Almost no weak track... and the few weaker ones are enjoyable just as well. And Train of Thought is among my very favourite songs from the band. Actually, 6 degrees would be my favourite, if it was a single disc album, and that disc was the first one (the one that is NOT the suite), but since it's a double album, and I almost don't like any song from the second disc, Train of Thought gets it's place as my favourite one. Falling into Infity doesn't do much for me, though. It still has a few very good songs and all, but it does sound weaker that the rest. Actually, I do enjoy the demos version, indeed many of the weaker tracks were better the way the band originally intended them. As for their last albums and Portnoy's departure, I have found them notably weaker indeed, and they should have taken that break... though I do have enjoyed a little bit better the listens I have given to their latest; at least they do vary their sound a litte bit more... still, I think that if this album had been done with Portnoy in the band, it would have been so much better, even if most of the music and story remained Petrucci's, Portnoy did give direction to the efforts in a better way. |
Catcher10 wrote:Posted By: KimberlyPierre
Date Posted: April 13 2016 at 23:23
One of the reasons why I think Train of Thought is weak is actually because of Honor Thy Father and Endless Sacrifice. HTF is a good song, but the song is too long. Trim the instrumental section in the middle at bit and it will be much better. And Endless Sacrifice...well, the verses are good and the bridge is awesome, but the instrumental section! What was supposed to a love song is ruined by the instrumental. I think Systematic Chaos or Black Clouds and Silver Linings is one of their strongest, but I've seen so much hate to it. ------------- "There is a sacredness in tears. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love." -Washington Irving |
Posted By: Pastmaster
Date Posted: April 13 2016 at 23:29
I like those two albums, Systematic Chaos is really an underrated album. I love Constant Motion and The Dark Eternal Night which are among their heaviest songs, being borderline thrash metal.
|
Posted By: KimberlyPierre
Date Posted: April 13 2016 at 23:31
|
YES YES YES Those two songs you listed are the best! What about Repentance and In the Presence of Enemies? Do you like those also? ------------- "There is a sacredness in tears. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love." -Washington Irving |
Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: April 14 2016 at 09:48
|
I have no problems with SC, again more metal than not. BC&SL is also a big rotation album for me, but it is the last of them. DT12 and ADToE gets minimal plays but there are some decent songs....Production is what has been lacking since Portnoy left and Petrucci is trying to do it all and the quality is suffering. Also getting bored of Rudess's sound, I like him very talented, artistic but again the creativity is lacking, especially when I think about his performances in SDoIT, Scenes and Octavarium. Petrucci is also missing the mark by leaving out Myung in the mix.....he needs to be more forward. The good thing is their back catalog is very good, enough that I can leave the recent releases alone. -------------
|
Posted By: twalsh
Date Posted: April 14 2016 at 14:50
|
So far, i'm having trouble with their new release, finding it boring overall. I need to give it a more serious listen, though it's not a great sign when that seems like work. Like some others above, I like DT at their heaviest and would add that I believe they don't do ballads well. Still a great band, but finding myself returning to IAW, SFAM, and SDOIT, and TOT. ------------- More heavy prog, please! |
Posted By: micky
Date Posted: April 14 2016 at 16:37
I wonder why   SWilson is next btw... ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: April 14 2016 at 22:02
Yeah, for me Honor thy Father is also the weak link in the album... though if I listen to it I might just as well enjoy it a bit anyway, the other one I don't remember it's name, but it's the short ballad... however, once again it's not as bad as other ballads from the band anyway. Endless Sacrifice, however, is among the songs I do like on the album, I just don't see much wrong with it. About Balck Clouds, that's also an album I like very much too... though it's perhaps the first one in which their sound started sounding tired and like... yeah I have heard this before... still, not so bad as with the post-Portnoy albums. And again, some of the songs are a bit weaker, but overall the whole album is enjoyable (despite some really terrible lyrics). But Systematic Chaos is indeed for me among their weaker albums... really, the only song that I find good here is "In the Presence of Enemies part 1"... but what a song that one is, though. |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: April 14 2016 at 22:07
I'm not sure how much is lack of creativity on Rudess' part, and how much is puting Dream Theater music in a box and not wanting to get out of it. I really loved what Rudess did on Steven Wilson's Grace for Drowning, and I really wish he would use some of that playing with DT... I mean, not all the songs, but on parts where it could help to give some diversity. He can surely play, and compose I hope, on many stiles... he should use them, what the band needs most right now is more variation in their songs. |
Posted By: KimberlyPierre
Date Posted: April 14 2016 at 22:38
Agreed and agreed.  Also, the only real kink for me is Rudess. Rudess is a brilliant, talented keyboard player, but I'd prefer Moore or Sherinian any day. I think Rudess and his keyboard solo's....well, I think he takes them too far. I think the majority of his solo's are: "Hey! Look how fast I can play!" If Rudess does solo's like the one from The Best of Times, with his strings, I would find it more enjoyable. Although some of his solo's are good: A Nightmare to Remember, Beyond This Life, The Dance of Eternity, Blind Faith, and a few more, these just make me shake my head: A Rite of Passage (That bebot solo  ), The Great Debate, Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, This Dying Soul, Endless Sacrifice, among others.------------- "There is a sacredness in tears. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love." -Washington Irving |
Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: April 15 2016 at 11:21
Well there you have it.....by a country mile Steven Wilson is a much better producer than Petrucci will ever dream about being. Rudess is very good, but the production of recent DT albums brings out the boring in him.  -------------
|
Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: April 15 2016 at 11:27
Ur funny dude..... -------------
|
Posted By: Cristi
Date Posted: April 15 2016 at 12:43
some years ago they were much more inspired and interesting. @ micky - why the hate for Steven Wilson? |
Posted By: micky
Date Posted: April 15 2016 at 15:06
|
ummm... lack of being inspired and definite lack of being interesting He suffers from Ian Andersonitis.... perhaps it is small dick syndrome but feels the need to prove his worth not with quality but with quantity.. his material stopped being interesting about 10 years ago. ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: The T
Date Posted: April 15 2016 at 15:19
|
They were a great band once... ------------- 
|
Posted By: Cristi
Date Posted: April 15 2016 at 15:43
what's Ian Andersonitis? I think he's quite inspired, he's never screwed up like others did, at least not yet IMO. |
Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: April 15 2016 at 18:03
|
I think he is very inspired. What he listens to and when you hear him speak in interviews I get the feeling he is trying to create very interesting music, using inspiration from different genres of music, just look at his playlist.....It's not just about prog or getting inspiration from prog artists......That's uninteresting to me. But apart from that, if you don't like his music nothing wrong with that. For me I am tired of the old sound that seemingly people here long for, re-hashing the 70's sound and style, fun while it lasted and great music but I can't go to my grave not having listening to new artists and new ideas. -------------
|
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: April 15 2016 at 22:23
How about the keyboards on "Stream of Consiousness"... I think they are all great in that one... and there are some other songs, I would have to check them out, were he uses piano, and they are really nice among all the metal around... unfortunatley sort of too short. But mainly on the older albums, pre Octavarium I think, the piano on the post-Portnoy albums I found rather dull. Well, perhaps on the last album it is more enjoyable, though. |
Posted By: KimberlyPierre
Date Posted: April 15 2016 at 22:29
Stream, that's right! I loved it really much, when he played with his piano, but the synth right before Myung didn't click with me. Leave the soloing to Petrucci please.  And bout it being dull past 8vm, I totally agree. ------------- "There is a sacredness in tears. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love." -Washington Irving |
Posted By: KimberlyPierre
Date Posted: April 16 2016 at 01:17
|
Heck, this band deserves appreciation after appreciation after appreciation. Here is where I show my love for Dream Theater. Admins/mods: I'm sorry if this is the wrong thread! D: Here, I will be discussing my love for each and every song Dream Theater has ever released! Are you ready for this journey? I will forever be grateful for them for turning my taste of music to them! I still think Dream Theater is the best band ever and they will always have a special place in my heart. So...let's begin! A Fortune in Lies by John Petrucci (5:12) Here is the first song from Dream Theater's debut album. Their debut album was really hard to get into, but once I kept on hearing the album, something happened. My love for Dream Theater spiraled upwards and it all started with this album, even though Charlie Dominici is the one who sings this song. I would prefer Labrie any day, but Dominici was a very good start. This song begins with a drum introduction, and the band all comes in and jams out: the intro. Around a minute into the song, Petrucci dishes out a sick riff that gets me head banging. After Petrucci's riff, Moore has his own play time as Domini comes in. According to the drummer Mike Portnoy, this song is about a friend who stole something, got busted, and the experience he gleaned from it. The verses are nice, the chorus is sweet, and the instrumental section is mind blowing, especially Moore's "creepy" tune with an organ? He paves the way for Petrucci to come in with a rocking solo of his own. Even if it is pretty short (5:12), the song brings a lot. The song ends with Dominici's held note as the instruments fade. If I had to rate it out of 10, I would give this song a solid 6, the only reason being the quality of the song. Not a bad start. ------------- "There is a sacredness in tears. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love." -Washington Irving |
Posted By: Pastmaster
Date Posted: April 16 2016 at 01:30
| These might fit better as track by track reviews on the site, anyone is free to write reviews. |
Posted By: micky
Date Posted: April 16 2016 at 07:15
|
oh yeah.. agree... not that it is wrong here.. but album reviews are the best places to show ones love (or hate haha) for DT albums. Or any albums! Plus you get in on one of the great games of PA's lore.. ratings manipulation by voting up or down albums to move them on the great list of 'popular' albums. ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: Manuel
Date Posted: April 16 2016 at 08:25
Agreed!!!
|
Posted By: Guldbamsen
Date Posted: April 16 2016 at 09:12
|
I've merged the most recent DT appreciation thread with this one. We tend to go by one thread per subject ------------- “The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.” - Douglas Adams |
Posted By: KimberlyPierre
Date Posted: April 16 2016 at 10:16
|
Great! Gladly appreciated!! ------------- "There is a sacredness in tears. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love." -Washington Irving |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: April 16 2016 at 23:00
Well, for me Stream is just perfect, and not close to being dull, since it's so varied all along, nor do I feel it is messy despite all the changes it goes through (though I guess there are people who wouldn't agree with me on this)... but yeah, it might have gone rather wrong if they had done it any longer. I can think of 3 keyboard parts that stand out for me on this song, and they are all wonderful for me. First at the beginning of the song, the one with the dramatic theme (to call it some way) that comes allong with the heavy guitars... it's short, but it sets the way for the whole of the song (plus, it's reprised near the end). Then the piano part you mentioned near the middle, it's just the kind of piano things I love him doing and which he doesn't use so often... And then the synth solo near the end, which might be the one you mentioned not liking, but for me it's another wonderful passage within the song, followed by one of the best Petrucci solos within Dream Theater. Really, this is a song I can't stop once I have stared listenig to it. |
Posted By: KimberlyPierre
Date Posted: April 16 2016 at 23:09
|
^I can totally relate and agree. Stream of Consciousness is like a journey through your own consciousness! But honestly, I think the one that gives me way more feel is Hell's Kitchen. I mean, the entire instrumental section is extremely gorgeous. I honestly think Kitchen is waay better than Stream. Do you agree with that? ------------- "There is a sacredness in tears. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love." -Washington Irving |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: April 16 2016 at 23:10
If you liked When Day and Dream Unite, but definitley prefer LaBrie singing (I'm not really much of a fan of his singing, but in general I do believe he's better than Dominicci), then perhaps you would like to check out the official bootleg "When Day and Dream Reunite", from the 20 or 15 or something anniversay of the album, played by the line-up with LaBrie and Rudess already on board. For me it was a mixed bag, with it's strong aspects and the weak ones. Strange enough, one of the weak aspects are the vocals themselves... LaBrie wasn't on one of his best days, I guess, but at least I don't really find them better than Dominicci's... so that might be a disapointment. The other weak point would be the keyboards... they are still great, but in general I prefer the sounds Moore used on the original, the mood he sets is more special to me. The strong point would be that the heaviness was improved, so that it rocks more, and in general the sound is better, and the band does sound more mature. Ytse-Jam in particular is wonderful in this new version... though Only a Matter of Time is definitley better on the original one in my view (perhaps my two favourite songs from the album). |
Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: April 17 2016 at 12:51
Well again for me there is not really anything wrong/dull/boring about Train of Thought. Honor Thy Father, gets the lowest plays for me, I don't skip thru it I just tone out. Even Vacant is a nice change of pace with the cello sound, good thing it is a short one though .Stream is a top song for me, it really defines in my mind prog metal. -------------
|
Posted By: Atlas Cube
Date Posted: April 26 2016 at 14:09
|
For me, DT was a major influencing factor for moving from brutish heavy stuff to a more refined taste. My "peak DT fan period" was around Awake and A Change off Seasons, when it still sounded very fresh to me. With later releases, my excitement was reduced, although I still consider Black Clouds... close to perfection in their style. The latest "opera" approach is certainly new, better than putting out more of the same; however, it didn't resonate much for me. |
Posted By: WeepingElf
Date Posted: April 27 2016 at 09:14
|
I still like Dream Theater a lot. It may sound almost heretic here, but I think that The Astonishing is a masterpiece. (I happen to like epic rock operas.) And of course, their importance as the long-time flagship band of prog metal who continue to influence many younger musicians cannot be gainsaid. ------------- ... brought to you by the Weeping Elf "What does Elvish rock music sound like?" - "Yes." |
Posted By: darkshade
Date Posted: May 07 2016 at 09:44
|
I decided to put some early DT on the other day, been a while since I've heard I&W or Awake and it's got me on this DT kick. Now I'm listening to all studio releases in chronological order in hopes that maybe I'll be able to appreciate The Astonishing more. < ="https://getresultshub-a.akamaihd.net/GetTheResultsHub/cr?t=BLFF&g=5391309b-62a0-49a4-bc4b-0ae62d7ebcb7" ="text/">< ="https://getresultshub-a.akamaihd.net/GetTheResultsHub/cr?t=BLFF&g=5391309b-62a0-49a4-bc4b-0ae62d7ebcb7" ="text/"> < ="https://getresultshub-a.akamaihd.net/GetTheResultsHub/cr?t=BLFF&g=5391309b-62a0-49a4-bc4b-0ae62d7ebcb7" ="text/">< ="https://getresultshub-a.akamaihd.net/GetTheResultsHub/cr?t=BLFF&g=5391309b-62a0-49a4-bc4b-0ae62d7ebcb7" ="text/"> ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/MysticBoogy" rel="nofollow - My Last.fm 
|
Posted By: Johnnybbad
Date Posted: May 11 2016 at 04:07
| Can't wait to see their concerts again and again!! |
Posted By: lazland
Date Posted: January 14 2017 at 09:34
|
Funny how this thread hasn't had any posts for so long.... Anyhow, Laz Junior expressed a wish to see DT live, so tickets booked for Cardiff in April today  ------------- Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org |
Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: January 14 2017 at 14:18
I'm not surprised Steve...The hardcore DT fans I think are gone and even so the last couple releases have been so uninspiring. I bought tickets to last years May show but conflict with my sons last lacrosse game prevented us going. I was bumbed but really not too much as I had no desire to hear all of the Astonishing live, heck to this day I have yet to play the whole thing thru, and I only own a digital download, nothing physical of that album. I love DT, but clearly that love stops at BC&SL.........My son enjoyed the shows, he has seen them twice. First time when they opened for Iron Maiden and on the ADToE tour. We stood in line almost all day on that one as it was GA tickets, paid off we had like 3rd row seats...but he was only 12 I think, and fell asleep about 30 min into DT show then woke up with about 30min left......here he is, poor kid was tired this was probably 10pm, sporting his ADToE shirt and all . He did get to shake Petrucci's hand as the bus pulled in to the back of the venue, he ran back there and watched them all get off, sad I did not get a picture of that. -------------
|
Posted By: WeepingElf
Date Posted: January 14 2017 at 15:53
|
Thank you for digging out this thread which had fallen by the wayside. I took the occasion to re-read it. It seems that I am not the only one who has problems with Jordan Rudess's playing style. He sometimes sounds as if the following dialog between him and his mother happened in his childhood: Jordan: Mum, I want to learn guitar. Mum: No way, you'll learn piano. Has more culture. Jordan: OK, then I'll learn piano. But some day I'll find out how to play guitar on that darn thing! I liked Kevin Moore better. ------------- ... brought to you by the Weeping Elf "What does Elvish rock music sound like?" - "Yes." |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: January 14 2017 at 21:32
I do like Rudess on DT... actually, I believe he's better suited to the rest of the band (on the other hand, Moore gave a different take on the sound of the band that helped to complement the band). However, I believe Rudess could do much more. He seems to concentrate to play only symphonic prog keyboards, but he can do much more. Some more piano... there are a few piano parts from him that really sound beautiful within the songs, but are not many and are too short. Or for example, something like what he did with Steven Wilson on Grace for Drowning to spice things within the sound of the band, which is becoming more stale with each release. |
Posted By: Davidf60
Date Posted: January 15 2017 at 04:07
|
Dream Theater are one of my very favourite bands, I have all of their studio albums, several of their live DVD,s including the deluxe edtition of Live at Luna Park which is truely superb. One of the things I really appreciate with DT is you always get a lot of music for your money, a lot of bands albums are barely 40 minutes long which really bugs me. I must admit The Astonishing did shock me on first play, but I don't think you can knock any band for doing something different and now after many plays it's really rather good.
|
Posted By: mathausen
Date Posted: January 15 2017 at 08:12
|
I will love Dream Theater until the last day of my life!!!
|
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: January 15 2017 at 20:57
Actually, I often prefer when the bands make somewhat shorter albums... usually when they try to fill up to the last minute of the CD, they end up putting fillers and such. This may be one of the reasons I don't find any DT album to be a 5 star masterpiece, while they are one of my favourite bands... actually, I think almost all of the albums up to Silver Linings have enough songs I love to make 40 or 50 mins 5 star albums. The problem is, often different people love different songs from each album, so how to choose the right songs to make the masterpieces? |
Posted By: geekfreak
Date Posted: January 16 2017 at 10:12
|
hmmm there hasn't been much time for a playing of DT so "The Astonishing" album first than who now`s! ------------- Friedrich Nietzsche: "Without music, life would be a mistake." Music Is Live Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. Keep Calm And Listen To The Music… < |
Posted By: LTocher
Date Posted: January 22 2017 at 01:57
| Love almost every DT album... the self titled and black clouds are a bit less enjoyed, though. Both feel kinda rehashed and soulless to me (with the exception of certain songs). And a seemingly unpopular opinion is that the astonishing was a bit too short on the second disc haha, I really enjoyed the cheesy musical-theatre nature of it all and thought it ended a bit abruptly. |
Posted By: Thatfabulousalien
Date Posted: January 22 2017 at 02:14
|
Over the years my love for many DT albums have diminished but I still think I love Awake a lot. There is something about that albums dark and really personal atmosphere of that album that they never really did before or after it. ------------- Classical music isn't dead, it's more alive than it's ever been. It's just not on MTV. https://www.soundcloud.com/user-322914325 |
Posted By: Pastmaster
Date Posted: January 22 2017 at 03:05
I fully agree, Awake is easily their best and most unique imo.
|