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TOOL vs Dream Theater

Who Wins?

  • Tool

    Votes: 85 52.1%

  • Dream Theater

    Votes: 66 40.5%

  • Carrots

    Votes: 12 7.4%
  • Total voters
    163
#66
yes jeff go. 'raped in the eye?' what's with that? how can music be raped? (or rapped for that matter? ;) )

anyway

James LaBrie vs. Maynard James Keenan

Maynard. Simply because he creates vocal lines that are simply amazing. Listen to Schizm... "Between supposed lovers..." There is so much emotion in that one line. LaBrie I would say is technicaly better, and I love listening to DT (I listen to them more than Tool), but his vocal lines simply aren't as passoniate as Maynard's.

John Petrucci vs. Adam Jones

John. For those of you who think DT is a shredding guitarist (and drummer :rolleyes: ) on top of a band, listen to Learning to Live, Trial of Tears, and Hell's Kitchen. He displays restraint and emotion in these songs more so than what I've heard from Adam. I think Tool blows DT out of the water in guitar / bass interplay, but I think if you were to put Adam by himself he wouldn't have the goods.

John Myung vs. Justin Chancellor

John. Close, but John. Both of their tones suck, IMHO. I hate picks, and I hate mud. :) I think that both are very good at what they play, as all of these people are, but I think that John Myung is better in a well-rounded sense than Justin Chancellor. Fretted, fretless (now and then), plus stick for John. Justin to my knowledge only plays fretted, except for the first verse of Lateralus which is a fretless.

Mike Portnoy vs. Danny Carrey

Danny, and only because Portnoy is so relentless. He fills in the middle of vocal lines, and takes away from the song. No point in being a good player if you don't serve the song, right? I think Danny has a bit more variety as well. Portnoy plays lots of double bass stuff, some complex ride figures, but he leaves out expressive hi hat playing. Danny is more rounded.

Lyrics

Well, this is contreversial for me, because a lot of Tool songs are boring to me (IMO), then again DT has some lyrically boring songs. Learning to Live is my favortie song lyric wise, ever. Myung writes with so much passion, and I was pissed to see he wrote nothing on Six Degrees. I think that Maynard has some serious talent in poetry... but some of his lyrics sound the same. (This is my opinion so lay off)

Playing what the song needs

Tool, plain and simple.

Overall craziness

Dream Theater. To me, they are the ultimate band, if the bass would come out of Petrucci's baffles a bit, and if Myung wrote more lyrics.

Better band

Dream Theater, for me anyway.
 
#67
Originally posted by Lackey


I would say to all of you that haven't voted yet,, DON'T unless you have listened to each band extensively.
Click to expand...

those are my thoughts exactly (i actually said almost the same before)...


i mean Tool are WAY WAY more popular than DT (also they have A LOT more MTV exposure than DT)

not to diminish everybody opinion but thats why i think Tool is winning that poll

i reiterate that i dislike reading bad comments about both bands... i have heard both bands a lot (i even have my Tool T Shirt!) but DT has that something that amuses ME
 
#68
Originally posted by Dave Castelo


those are my thoughts exactly (i actually said almost the same before)...


i mean Tool are WAY WAY more popular than DT (also they have A LOT more MTV exposure than DT)

not to diminish everybody opinion but thats why i think Tool is winning that poll

i reiterate that i dislike reading bad comments about both bands... i have heard both bands a lot (i even have my Tool T Shirt!) but DT has that something that amuses ME
Click to expand...

I have been listening to Dream Theater for years now, and I started listening to Tool not because of MTV but because I had seen posts about them here on TB:) ..And I voted for Tool because I think their music is more fun to listen to, except when I'm in my special DT mood:)

But anyway, I've listened to Awake, A Change of Seasons, Images & Words and Scenes From A Memory. I thought SFAM was pretty boring cd IMHO, but I like the other cd's I've listened to. I have never liked James LaBrie's singing..He's maybe a good singer but I don't like his style. But the other members are amazing. But is the new cd good?
 
#71
i know that i'm totally wrong but i just can't understand how people can listen to DT....
behind the players capabilities(which are impressive i must recognize) there is nothing but a horrible voice,ugly melodies(i mean they are very simple..oh oh ..foreveeerr!!things like that;))
there's nothing compared to tool's complex and enchanting melodies
And portnoy gets really anoying but showing off all the time
 
#72
Originally posted by Julien
i know that i'm totally wrong but i just can't understand how people can listen to DT....
behind the players capabilities(which are impressive i must recognize) there is nothing but a horrible voice,ugly melodies(i mean they are very simple..oh oh ..foreveeerr!!things like that;))
there's nothing compared to tool's complex and enchanting melodies
And portnoy gets really anoying but showing off all the time
Click to expand...

Well, some of us can't understand why people think Tool is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Guess what? They're not.
 
#74
Originally posted by embellisher


Well, some of us can't understand why people think Tool is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Guess what? They're not.
Click to expand...

Good call.

I think the enchantment with Tool comes in that they are one of the few band out there that manage to be somber. Not serious, (as most bands are) but a very baroque, ponderous sound, while still not falling into hyperbolic self parady.

That said, I like Tool, and I like what I've heard of Dream Theater. Different animals if you ask me.
 
#77
Interesting topic. Too bad the two bands under scrutiny are totally different, even though they are labelled (by some) as "progressive metal."

Anyway, I'm sure this has been said a million times before in this thread, but even though Dream Theather may have more technical sound players, they, in my opinion, are the inferior band. The members of Tool know when and how to compliment each of their songs, and they do a damn good job of it. Whether you like the music or not is a different story. However, you cannot deny that each member of Tool is a great musician (not saying that the Dream Theater guys aren't.....except for La Brie....he simply blows ;)).

Looking at each "position" individually:

Jones vs. JP: While JP is definitely a much more flashy player, Jones really creates some beautiful soundscapes and is very "artistic" in his playing. He doesn't really show off/max out his skill because the music doesn't require it, which deserves a lot of respect. However, JP, simply put, is a frickin amazing guitarist and really holds his band together (IMO).

Justin vs. Myung: Myung can shred, but come on, his playing is so boring and uninspiring. I mean yeah, some of those really fast tapping and solo parts may really impress you, but (again, IMO) he cannot hold a candle to Justin in terms of providing a backbone (and awesome riffs) to the song. I mean heck, you can't really even hear the bass much in a lot of DT songs. If you take out the bass from a Tool song, you've taken out a whole lot. Chancellor is "better," no contest.

Maynard vs. La Brie: No contest here. You've got to be kidding if you think La Brie can sound anywhere as good as Maynard. Both have good lyrics, but Maynard's appeal to me more. Singing wise, James gets blown out of the water. With the exception of a handful of songs where he actually does sound good, La Brie either sucks, or is mediocre (at best) on everything else. Have any of you seen DT covering Master of Puppets live? If not, save yourself the agony. :o ;)

Danny vs. Portnoy: Both have beastly chops. No question about it. But Danny knows when to use them more effectly (i.e. not in the middle of vocal melodies). Besides, you don't have to have terribly complicated parts to be a good drummer (which both do, but Portnoy at times seems to be excessive).

Tool vs. Rudess: Even though Tool have no keyboardist, they still do a great job as a whole in creating some awesome ethereal sounds. Rudess is an amazing player and can solo like a madman, and yet when it boils down to it, he can do some "background" sounds when needed. This is a pretty tough comparison since both "jobs" have totally different requirements, but I'd have to give the edge to Rudess for being more "versatile," so to speak. But then again, the Tool guys really go outside the box when doing what it is they do when they're not playing your tradition bass/guitar/drum/vocal "licks," if that makes sense.

Anyway, when it all boils down to it, everyone will have his/her own opinion (duh), so everything I just said really doesn't matter. :p :D

But yeah, Tool for me.
 
#78
Originally posted by Lackey
I would say to all of you that haven't voted yet,, DON'T unless you have listened to each band extensively.
Click to expand...

Wow, this thread is still floating around? Must be the carrots. :p

I still have not voted yet, but that's just because I like both bands so much. I listen to both of them extensively, I have all their stuff. Guess I've been into both of them since they started.

It's not a matter of one being better than the other for me, they are far too different for me to consider direct comparisons. I'll probably vote carrots at this point. :)
 

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