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New Dream Theater

#2
For some reason the drums in that annoy the crap out of me. I was never a fan of this kind of thing. Could never play it either :). And yes, of course I respect their musicianship, just not my thing.

I feel the same about Slipknot. But I think I like them more as I feel they're coming a lot more from the heart.
 
#7
PaulJSmith said:
I think DT is just fine without Portnoy. I certainly wish he hadn't left, but Mangini is a fantastic drummer in his own right. They still sound like Dream Theater to me. While Rush has always been my favorite band, these guys are a very, very close second (maybe even a tie).
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I suppose I wasn't very clear. My issue is that Mike wasn't just the drummer, he was the heart and soul of DT. He ran the fan club, which was a fanboy's dream. He was the one made the DT live show what is was (and no longer is without him), a new exciting show for every show at a venue where no set lists were re-used at the same venue. And just his overall presence in the band. I also did not like how they kicked Mike after he said "ok, I won't take the year off if it will ruin the band." Mind you, there must have been some serious bad blood between the members because they went from brothers to people who only talk through lawyers quite quickly.
 
#8
At first it sounded like a Disney soundtrack, but as it went along I really started to appreciate the fluidity and dynamics of the whole thing. Jordan is a fantastic composer - you can tell which parts are John versus Jordan I think.

My 10-year old really wanted a copy so I went ahead and picked it up. This is neither "Awake" or "Train..." so don't expect that sort of vibe. It really flows nicely and the string orchestra is as lovely as it is critcal.

And yes, something about the drum sound is bugging me too... The "sound" not the playing. Mangini is the best.
 
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#10
I don't really care about the story, but I'm on the fence about the music. I really like some portions while some sections seem like DT trying too hard to be DT - I don't know if it's my subconscious bias, but the latter is something that's nagged me with a lot of the post-Portnoy material.
 
#11
DiabolusInMusic said:
I suppose I wasn't very clear. My issue is that Mike wasn't just the drummer, he was the heart and soul of DT. He ran the fan club, which was a fanboy's dream. He was the one made the DT live show what is was (and no longer is without him), a new exciting show for every show at a venue where no set lists were re-used at the same venue. And just his overall presence in the band. I also did not like how they kicked Mike after he said "ok, I won't take the year off if it will ruin the band." Mind you, there must have been some serious bad blood between the members because they went from brothers to people who only talk through lawyers quite quickly.
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I agree with Mike being the heart, or at the very least, the personality of the band. Having seen him with Neal Morse a few times it really appears as if he's having fun - which is cool. I think his drumming really fits Neal's playing/songwriting style much more than what DT had been doing in the last 10 or 15 years, or so.

That said, I really like this recent album. For me the best since Scenes From A Memory - and the more I listen I think I actually like it a little more.
 

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