[79]

BC&SL was good I thought. The other two are just terrible. What I want to hear are more LaBrie/Sfogli albums. DT has pretty much run their course.

Sadly, :agreed:

I don't think it's Rudess's fault, though. I did for a while - I miss Moore-era DT, and I've always thought Rudess could be replaced with another guitarist and no one would know the difference - but then the "An Evening With..." duets and "Octavarium" kind of changed my mind. His playing is gorgeous on the former, and the extended introduction on the title track of the later is absolutely great, very Pink Floyd.

I've kind of systematically went through the whole band in that regard. It's not Rudess, it's not Petrucci, who's solo disc was awesome, I thought it was LaBrie, but his solo disc from a few years back was great too. No one notices Myung so I'm pretty sure it's not him either. And LTE was really Portnoy's thing, and was also great, so I don't think it's him either.

I just suspect that DT as a band realizes where their bread is buttered, and goes out of their way to write flashy compositions with dozens of tempo and key changes, with extremely technical solos and as many solo sections as they can squeeze in, and puts the songwriting on the back burner. Their solo projects then become a chance for them to actually write songs, which is why I suspect I like most DT solo projects but haven't been able to get into much the band's done in years.

And that's why I prefer to flip on BTBAM, Opeth, PT, or others for good prog these days, instead of DT.

 

[Bloody_Inferno]

Have you heard the "An Evening With..." disc, though? I mean, I'm assuming you have, but if not I'll throw it on the next time you're around. There's actually some gorgeous stuff on there. I thought Rudess was the keyboard equivalent of a boring shredder for years, but I'm kind of coming around to the idea that he does that shit because he thinks that's what the band needs from him.

Edit - and the introduction here, I think, is gorgeous. To be fair, a lot of it I believe is Rudess playing pedal steel and not keyboard, but I'd like to hear more of this side of his playing on DT releases:

Dream Theater - Octavarium - YouTube

:agreed: The first half of the intro is the Haaken Continuum, then the lapsteel comes in.

Also agreed with An Evening With...

 

[Joel]

We can sit here on a forum and say that DT has run it's course and they aren't as good as they used to be (which I agree with).
But the matter of the fact is, they are still selling out big venues, and so I doubt they care.

 

[ToxicTrace]

DT suck

 

[79]

DT suck

Thank you for your in-depth analysis.

 

[ToxicTrace]

Thank you for your in-depth analysis.

Always glad to help.

 

[Rick]

DT suck

Thank you for your in-depth analysis.

Always glad to help.

:lol:

 

[Rev Drucifer]

I've been a huge fan since 95' when a skater kid at my school told me I should check them out because the guitarist was crazy. I'd LOVE to know how the fuck that particular kid knew about them at that time.

I miss the old style of writing and while I'm not a Rudess hater, I'd take Moore or Sherinian over him any day. I LOVE Sherinian sounds on A Change Of Seasons and Falling Into Infinity. Moore was great for moods.

It sounded like they let the songs write themselves back in the day. Stuff like "The Mirror", when it gets to the middle section and builds up, just letting the groove sit for a while. Man, I love that stuff. I'm guessing they did a lot of improv jamming and just followed wherever they would take each other.

I don't think they spend enough time jamming anymore. Train Of Thought was written in what, a week? That's not enough time to jam over a section for a few hours and farm every idea out of it.

Portnoy said recently that there's very little chance of him re-joining because some of the guys have done "irrefutable damage behind the scenes". Kind of a bummer. Mike Mangini is PERFECT for the band, but I still miss Portnoy back there.

 

[Venator]

I am glad they are still with Roadrunner. They can still have the support for tours and studio time. Plus they have everything avaliable to them.

As far as the past 3 albums. I really enjoyed ADTOE and BC&SL. Plus there were some good songs on Systematic Chaos. I am just looking forward to seeing what Mike Mangini can do with DT. I bet it'll be great!

I believe Dream Theater could do something similar to Images&Words, Awake, Scenes, they just need to put their minds to it.

 

[sixeightgroove]

I dont understand why everyone ever seems to like DT.
I honestly hate them. I appreciate their musicianship, as they're all quite talented, but they didnt really do anything with their sound. I'm sure that Roadrunner cant make them any more worse than I think they are. Look what they did to Megadeth.
Have fun being on the same label as Nickleback and Meat Loaf (Bat out of hell was cool, but his new music sucks and is irrelevant imo)

 

[Oogadee Boogadee]

Maybe too many talented captains on the ship results in an exercise in showcasing everything all the time? Probably why their solo albums come out better than expected?

 

[Rev Drucifer]

I dont understand why everyone ever seems to like DT.
I honestly hate them. I appreciate their musicianship, as they're all quite talented, but they didnt really do anything with their sound. I'm sure that Roadrunner cant make them any more worse than I think they are. Look what they did to Megadeth.
Have fun being on the same label as Nickleback and Meat Loaf (Bat out of hell was cool, but his new music sucks and is irrelevant imo)

This post was brought to you by the fine makers of Nuthin' But Negativity- When You're Feelin' Up, We'll Bring Ya Down!

 

[1]

Have fun being on the same label as Nickleback and Meat Loaf (Bat out of hell was cool, but his new music sucks and is irrelevant imo)

I'm sure they will indeed have fun being on the same label as two bands that have had massively successful careers, have monster fanbases, sell out stadiums, and make money hand over fist. I know I'd sure enjoy it. :lol:

 

[ToxicTrace]

I'm sure they will indeed have fun being on the same label as two bands that have had massively successful careers, have monster fanbases, sell out stadiums, and make money hand over fist. I know I'd sure enjoy it. :lol:

Don't forget the free blowjobs.

 

[Bloody_Inferno]

I'm sure they will indeed have fun being on the same label as two bands that have had massively successful careers, have monster fanbases, sell out stadiums, and make money hand over fist. I know I'd sure enjoy it. :lol:

:agreed:

Also, Rush and Opeth are on Roadrunner too so the original opinion is void.

 

[bulletbass man]

caught in a web will always be my favorite dt song. Moore's parts are pretty simple but they're a great contrast to the 7 string underneath them.

Awake will always be my favorite album. They have good songs with rudess but I find pretty much all of their playing a little boring for the most part. Incredibly talented and all but I just can't get into it on a whole like a few of their early albums.

 

[StraightUpAcoustic]

Hey, that's the string of DT albums I couldn't give a shit about!

That said, great commentary - the label probably isn't the problem here. Maybe a new drummer will shake things up, now that he's involved in the writing process...

I agree. To me, Train of Thought was ther last great album. Metropolis II was their peak.