Dream Theater Poll

Yes and No

I think their quite good, they just get boring after the first 38 seconds.

tuxon wrote: Yes and No I think their quite good, they just get boring after the first 38 seconds.

Hey don't make fun of them Tuxxy....they're my buddies...in fact they're my Pallas

I've only heard "Images and Words", and didn't hear anything that I would consider "true" prog on it, although it's certainly progressive metal in the same way as Metallica's "...And Justice For All".

I don't really consider it a sub-genre of prog any more than I would consider the progressive rock of Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin a sub-genre of prog.

Progressive Rock (capitalised to distinguish), for me at least, starts with King Crimson and Genesis as the yardsticks. Anything else needs to satisfy the criteria that;

a) The roots are hard to identify.

b) The influences are wide and varied, and a given album is not simply a progressive version of an existing genre.

c) The first five minutes tell you very little about how the rest of a given album will unfold, particularly stylistically.

Length of songs, virtuosity and complexity are irrelevant - but there is always that "organic groove" somewhere in the music which is the biggest tell-tale sign for me, and I just don't hear than in Dream Theater's music. It's exactly the point raised by Spartacus above - DT's compostional methods seem to lack flow and direction in favour of delivery and production.

I love metal music, and on the best examples, a "groove" is in full force - but it is a metal groove; Great album examples are: Iron Maiden's "Number of the Beast", Motorhead's "Overkill", Rush's "2112", Metallica's "Master of Puppets" and Diamond Head's "Living on Borrowed Time". But the former two are unmistakably metal, and the latter don't really hit the "Prog groove" to my ears.The metal sound seems to exclude what I would think of as "true Prog", simply because "true Prog" is only identifiable as itself - not another genre.

Danbo's thread on UK brings up interesting points, as you can clearly hear the stylistic roots of "Images and Words" quite clearly in UK's music - right down to proto-shredding.

That said, I hear something in Cradle of Filth's music which rises above the "metal groove" in a way that even VoiVod don't quite match with their Pink Floyd covers... maybe it's just me

tuxon wrote: gdub411 wrote: tuxon wrote: Yes and No I think their quite good, they just get boring after the first 38 seconds. Hey don't make fun of them Tuxxy....they're my buddies...in fact they're my Pallas Maybe different for you, but I don't feel the need to get into them.

Ahem...Tuxxy...it was just a joke...albeit a bad one.

Reed Lover wrote: It's strange to me, as a staunch supporter of Rush, that anyone would think that 2112 is anything other than a heavy metal album. There is no complexity,symphonia (?) or virtually anything that marks it out as a Prog Rock album other than the length of the title track.

Hey don't be dissing my favorite band you Rush hater!!

frosty wrote: The most encouraging thing I find about Dream Theater is that their albums are continually improving. Train Of Thought is an absolute cracker, can't wait for the next one.

Don't agree.Train Of Thought is a step back towards out and out metal.Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence is about as prog as they will ever get.

richardh wrote: frosty wrote: The most encouraging thing I find about Dream Theater is that their albums are continually improving. Train Of Thought is an absolute cracker, can't wait for the next one. Don't agree.Train Of Thought is a step back towards out and out metal.Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence is about as prog as they will ever get.

I agree that ToT is much heavier than anything they have done in the past, however the question wasn't which album was their most progressive but if you enjoy listening to them.

I think ToT is their best and most consistent work to date but definately not their most progressive.

This may be a step backwards in some peoples eyes but not mine.

Spartacus wrote: I really don't think it is progressive music, that is my concern.  It does have some elements of the genre, but DT is more of a slick metal band with progressive tendencies.  Metal first and Prog second, thus MetalProg not ProgMetal.  I feel that those outside of prog are often scared away by these "ProgMetal" bands like DT.  I just don't want prog and it's public view for that matter be tainted by the likes of DT.  I have been lurking around these forums for more than a month now and I was shocked by the amount of interest I see in DT and bands like them.  I am not trying to start a battle just get a barometer of the interest in DT.  If you enjoy DT so be it, just taking a poll.

I think it's prog, just bad prog. They're too into themselves, too many poorly placed solos, and they kill all their momentum showing off. Sure they're great musicians, but for God's sake think about the band, and not yourself, and the singing! As someone who looks for a good voice in music I can't stand most of their music.

It's too much like Metallica, however I preferr Metallica to be honest, they would just make a bad prog band.