Help me with Dream Theater!

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As bad as it may sound me being a big prog rock fan , I have never heard Dream Theater till very recently. I found a copy of When Dream and Day Unite in the garbage can at the mall. I was sitting on a bench by a garbage can waiting on a friend when I noticed the cd laying inside. So , I reach in and grab it. Its in perfect condition too........So I basically got a free cd. Well anyway, It took it home and listen to it.Its very 70s feeling but I like it alot. I want to get into them more. Ive read that WDADU is their worst album.........but I like it alot, so if everything gets better from there...............

So what do you guys suggest buying next?? Also what album has The Big Medley on it.I downloaded that song and like it alot.

Thanks guys

[Adam Barkley]

I've got the one you mentioned and FII. As much as Labrie grates my ears, Chuck Whoever from WDADU is twice as bad. Trail of Tears (last song on FII?) is awesome and it didn't suprise me whenI found out that Myung penned the lyrics for it. It's too good to have been written by Petrucci or Portnoy.

Their dvd Scene From A Memory is decent. Labrie and Petrucci get annoying, but everyone else is great (despite Myung mixed too low). A Change of Seasons or Metropolis are probably the stand out tracks. Not bad for 15 bucks.

[odie]

Originally Posted by abark000

As much as Labrie grates my ears, Chuck Whoever from .

I agree the vocals in this band just ruin it for me. Cant stand the vocals.

[complexprocess]

Depending on what type of prog you like, WDADU will probably be either your least or most favorite. I agree it has a more seventies feel to it, and the vocals sound like Geddy Lee to me. Few people that I've ever heard from dislike the album Imagaes and Words (assuming they're not totally opposed to Dream Theater) so that's what I would probably suggest next. My personal favorites are Images and Words, A Change of Seasons, and Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From a Memory.

You can hear short clips from most (or all) albums on amazon.com, though the short format doesn't really do justice to their work. It might give you a hint as to which albums have which sound though.

[edit]
Oh yeah, Falling into infiniti has some neat stuff on it, but they've admitted to submitting to a lot of label pressure when writing and recording it, which is why there was the sudden turn toward accessibility. Fortunately they were unhappy with it and the result was the supreme Scenes From a Memory as a follow up. That's what I read in an interview, anyway.

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I actually like the vocals. I really like tenors in prog rock. The guitar doesnt really bother me much either, though he does wank a whole lot. Myung kicks ass.

[Adam Barkley]

Originally Posted by page

I actually like the vocals. I really like tenors in prog rock. The guitar doesnt really bother me much either, though he does wank a whole lot. Myung kicks ass.

It's not the pitch, I dig Cedric (TMV) and Geddy; and both are higher than that dude. It's the way him and Labrie use their vocal techniques that kills me. Way too much tremolo and over emphasized moaning for me; oh and the lyrics blow. My lyrics are amateurish at best and I know I have written songs better than Petrucci and Portnoy put together.

[msquared]

Lyrics, maybe. Songs, doubt it.

My favorites from DT, which I recommend:
Metropolis Pt 2: Scenes From A Memory
Awake
Images and Words

The rest are anywhere between "really good" and "don't bother". I haven't heard the latest though.

[The_Ryst]

I hate people who whine about the direction Dream Theater has gone in. Train of Thought is a great album, it's just really heavy.

All the albums are great, yes, even Falling Into Infinity. Live at Budakon has Instrumedley, but Labrie wasn't "on" that night. I find that Labries best live performance is on a CD called Live at the Marquee or something like that in Europe. It's a European import, but it's Labrie's best.

Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From Another Memory is great. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulance is great. Awake is great. Images and words is great. Change of Seasons (possibly their best song ever) is great. Train of Thought (as said before) is great. Falling Into Infinity is great. Anything done by Dream Theater is great. 'nuff said.

(Although if you like their older stuff which is much less metal I'd reccomend Images and Words or Awake.)

[Ian Perge]

Originally Posted by The_Ryst

I hate people who whine about the direction Dream Theater has gone in. Train of Thought is a great album, it's just really heavy.

Note to self: self, review difference between subjective and objective opinion, make sure they mean what I think they mean.

If by "great album" you mean overplayed and undermelodied, lackluster song/lyric writing, absolutely no editing, and shred-for-shred's-sake guitar playing, then I would say it meets my criteria. But I won't argue with it's heaviness - I simply wish that Portnoy didn't set out to make a "classic metal album" (only time can make something a classic) and songs over 8 minutes long don't automatically make them epic.

Although if you like their older stuff which is much less metal I'd reccomend Images and Words or Awake.

Absolutely, although see the above statement and reverse it to define "Awake". That's \m/etal without downtuned guitars, nu-metal sections, songs that take five minutes to reach the first chorus, and Canadian singers attempting to rap.

I find that Labries best live performance is on a CD called Live at the Marquee or something like that in Europe. It's a European import, but it's Labrie's best.

It's also LaBrie's best overdubbed vocal tracks performance in the studio, followed by the live portions of "A Change of Seasons". But considering that both "Live at Budokan" as well as "Once In A LIVEtime" were end-of-tour recordings where the vocalist typically suffers the most, I doubt anyone can deny KJLB has improved tremendously as a live singer over the past few tours (from 2002 onward.) Credit is due to his resumption of vocal lessons, as well as the naturally slow healing of ruptured vocal cords, which happened in 1995 and took years to regain both vocal strength as well as range, which has also naturally deepened with age. I've heard his new solo album "Elements of Persuasion" (for all intents and purposes "Mullmuzzler 3") early, and it very well might top "Train of Thought" in heaviness without falling into the clichés ToT suffers from.

Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From Another Memory is great. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulance is great. Awake is great. Images and words is great. Change of Seasons (possibly their best song ever) is great. Train of Thought (as said before) is great. Falling Into Infinity is great. Anything done by Dream Theater is great. 'nuff said.

And they say variety (as well as critical thinking) is the spice of life. One thing that isn't great - the videodelic effects and Portnoy's splitscreen/quadscreen/effected editing of the Live Scenes From New York DVD. If anything calls for a remix/edit, it's that.

[SlavaF]

As for Train Of Thought (it happens to be my favorite album ever made), if you like classic Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Slayer and Metallica - the actual thrash, million-notes-per-second shredding kind of thing, you'll love it too. If you want more emphasis on lyrics and songwriting, go for Images of Falling Into Infinity - I thought FII sucked then listened to it again recently, and I loved it! It is definitely "poppier" than their other stuff though.

[TheLowEndDawg]

Originally Posted by SlavaF

As for Train Of Thought (it happens to be my favorite album ever made), if you like classic Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Slayer and Metallica - the actual thrash, million-notes-per-second shredding kind of thing, you'll love it too. If you want more emphasis on lyrics and songwriting, go for Images of Falling Into Infinity - I thought FII sucked then listened to it again recently, and I loved it! It is definitely "poppier" than their other stuff though.

+ 1 on "Train of Thought". Like you said, even the guitar solos were pretty good. By far my favortie DT album. "Images and Words" is quite different as with alot of their stuff. They all seem to have a different vibe.

[deichman]

Images and Words and Awake. I like all of them, but these two, especially Images and Words are to me a bit more melodic, maybe a bit more "commercial". If I had only one to buy for a while, I'd get Images and Words.


deichman


www.endofstory.com

[msquared]

Originally Posted by scarred2112

One thing that isn't great - the videodelic effects and Portnoy's splitscreen/quadscreen/effected editing of the Live Scenes From New York DVD. If anything calls for a remix/edit, it's that.

Amen.

[Adam Barkley]

Originally Posted by TheLowEndDawg

+ 1 on "Train of Thought". Like you said, even the guitar solos were pretty good. By far my favortie DT album. "Images and Words" is quite different as with alot of their stuff. They all seem to have a different vibe.

What's up man, good to see another Mississippian on the boards. Are at State currently? I'll be an entering Junior next semester.

Adam

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Wow , so theres what , 3 Mississipians on here now?

[TheLowEndDawg]

Originally Posted by abark000

What's up man, good to see another Mississippian on the boards. Are at State currently? I'll be an entering Junior next semester.

Adam

Yeah, there are so few of us on here. I guess there will be more when people down this way warm up to the new electricity I'm a freshman up here at NWCC...just don't have the funds for 4 years at State. I'm down there every weekend from August to November though. Sometimes with regret these last few years I'll be enrolling either next semester or sometime soon after

[Adam Barkley]

Originally Posted by page

Wow , so theres what , 3 Mississipians on here now?

There used to be a few others but I haven't seen them in a while.

Rcz lived in Meridian and worked for Peavey, and there was somebody else who lived in Gulfport. Hadn't seen anything from them in a few months.