John Petrucci iz Da Shiz.

The only dream theater song id go out of my way to listen to, meaning the only one id listen to that didnt come up on a random iTunes shuffle, would be Hells Kitchen. tasteful, shredly at times, just a good song with a very memorable melody. mission accomplished. not much else tickles my fancey however. . .

The Pessimist wrote: I only can really appreciate one of his solos: the solo at the climax of Voices. Not only his greatest solo, but a world class solo as well I can safely say. I'm going to keep further opinions to myself in fear of upsetting the DT fanboys

YES.

I wonder if that's it. When it came to DT I started with Train of Thought and then moved on to 6DOIT, and I thought both were okay. But Awake came next, and while I'd thought of Petrucci as an awesome guitarist, I was absolutely blown away by Voices. To me Voices is a bit like Firth of Fifth in the sense that the rest of the album could have been euro-pop dance beats and I STILL would rank it my favourite album just because of the presence of the one song.

Anyway, back on topic, Voices (and then a couple choice cuts off IAW) absolutely floored me and I could never really back into his later guitaring as much. I'd opened the Pandora's Box - I'd heard exactly what Petrucci is capable of and how much better it is than what he's been doing recently. I could never go back.

As I've said, there is nothing inherently wrong with shred. But when it's all speed all the time, like on ToT... That's just laziness. It's saying "I've honed my chops to an unbelievable level so I'll just go as fast as I can on every solo and not put any effort or creativity into it." I mean some of his solos on ToT are good, but they sound the exact same as all his other solos on ToT, and really, all his other solos on 6DOIT (never understood the high praise for that album. The second disc in particular was disappointing) and while I haven't heard it yet, presumably all his other solos on Octavarium as well.

Thanks, will get to his later albums. End of Hackett appreciation sub- thread! 

HughesJB4 wrote: Rogerthat, for the record, Steve Hackett does do right hand tapping and 3 note per string legato stuff, so technically, he does actually shred. Okay, fair enough, he didn't do that stuff while in Genesis really, but in his solo records, he does some shed stuff. It's more a question of whether you find his style enjoyable or not really. Personally, I think Steve Hackett incorporates shred technique into his solos very tastefully, an opinion I'm sure you share. I tend to find his playing pretty packed with emotion too and he's definitely one of the better lead players in rock.

HughesJB4 wrote: MovingPictures07 wrote: Dream Theater isn't my favorite band, but Scenes from a Memory alone shows that both Dream Theater and Petrucci can be heavily accomplished in fields of technicality AND emotion. No metal album can top that, IMO. The powerful combination of virtuosity, emotion, and songwriting is what makes Dream Theater the most representative progressive metal band. When they're on the top of their game, they deserve that title. When they're not, we get Falling into Infinity. Nonetheless, SFAM and Six Degrees are worth owning alone just for sheer brilliance (followed by Images and Words and Awake). Be hating on Dream Theater if you want, but I'd stand alone if I had to on my praise for their musicianship and accomplishments. Petrucci isn't my favorite guitarist, but he hardly gets the respect he deserves around these parts; and I'm glad this appreciation thread was created. You don't have to agree with me, but that's my two cents. If Scenes from a Memory doesn't move you emotionally by the time you're done listening to it, then I find that hard to understand. Petrucci gets a lot of respect at this forum board. You start a thread, asking who likes Petrucci, and I guarantee you'll get many takers. And oh, I can perfectly understand why someone might not be moved by SFAM. They could hate DT for a start.........

Rogerthat, for the record, Steve Hackett does do right hand tapping and 3 note per string legato stuff, so technically, he does actually shred. Okay, fair enough, he didn't do that stuff while in Genesis really, but in his solo records, he does some shed stuff.
It's more a question of whether you find his style enjoyable or not really.
Personally, I think Steve Hackett incorporates shred technique into his solos very tastefully, an opinion I'm sure you share.
I tend to find his playing pretty packed with emotion too and he's definitely one of the better lead players in rock.



But yeah, to keep it on topic, Petrucci is not bad:P

Henry Plainview wrote: PetrucciPal wrote: Yes. lol no actually, liking the Train of Thought album is a requirement. If you don't, then you're not a real Dream Theater fan. lol jk XD Well I agree that you're not a Dream Theater fan if you don't like it, but why would I want to be a Dream Theater fan? :P   I was asking in reference to being on this website.

I completely agree with MovingPictures07. Scenes From A Memory is fantastically well paced, with high emotion throughout the entire album, with each song providing its own flavour to this impossibly complex yet elaborate album. And that is why I regard Petrucci first and foremost as a songwriter.

I only can really appreciate one of his solos: the solo at the climax of Voices. Not only his greatest solo, but a world class solo as well I can safely say. I'm going to keep further opinions to myself in fear of upsetting the DT fanboys

PetrucciPal wrote: Yes. lol no actually, liking the Train of Thought album is a requirement. If you don't, then you're not a real Dream Theater fan. lol jk XD