Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings

[TougaKiryuu]

they announced a new CD coming out June 23rd. I've heard the first two tracks of it A Nightmare to Remember and A rite of passage. This CD is going to blow your minds, it sounds amazing. Anyone looking forward to it or gonna buy the insane premo $140 dollar version? Info nah:

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blackclouds/

and preview of "a rite to passage" courtesy of Road Runner Records:

DREAM THEATER - A RITE OF PASSAGE

[Ribos]

The special edition is worth it just to hear how much less the band would suck if James LaBrie would shut up.

i.e. they become awesome instead of annoying.

It's a step up from Systematic Chaos, to be sure, but not quite at the level of their earlier albums (up to Scenes From A Memory).

I like Ruddess's keyboard work, and it seems that Portnoy is being a bit more careful about his drum wank (which is a good thing). Petrucci's just being himself, which is a mixed blessing as usual. LaBrie, however, remains one of the worst vocalists in a band signed to a major label. He simply does not know how to sing.

Of course, if you're getting the album for the instrumental mixes, you may as well pick up the Liquid Tension Experiment albums while you're at it, too. Those are pretty fantastic.

[kssael_XG]

Originally Posted by nvlm_zMUSICEXPERT

It's a step up from Systematic Chaos, to be sure, but not quite at the level of their earlier albums (up to Scenes From A Memory).

Agreed. Systematic Chaos could've been heavier than Train Of Thought if only they had removed the cheesiness in their lyrics (I'm talking about In The Presence Of Enemies).

[Dark Coz]

Nothing beats the old times of them, such as Images and Words. Still, this new album is a bit promising. We'll see.

[Charlo]

I've never been a huge fan of Dream Theater. When I listen to prog metal I want it REALLY proggy, and Dream Theater is too tame. I do like their solos, however.

I probably won't be buying (or even downloading :P ) this new album. It doesn't sound bad from the samples, but it doesn't really catch my attention either.

[Ribos]

Originally Posted by Charlo

I've never been a huge fan of Dream Theater. When I listen to prog metal I want it REALLY proggy, and Dream Theater is too tame. I do like their solos, however.

I probably won't be buying (or even downloading :P ) this new album. It doesn't sound bad from the samples, but it doesn't really catch my attention either.

How is Dream Theater not "REALLY proggy"? I've never heard of any other band that goes on such meandering musical trips. If anything, they're too prog for their own good.

[CStarFlare]

Originally Posted by TougaKiryuu

Anyone looking forward to it or gonna buy the insane premo $140 dollar version?

ohhhhhhhhh

really thinking about it

[TougaKiryuu]

man, I must be one of the few people that think LaBrie is an awesome vocalist. Then again, I do also love me some Rush and Counting Crows, both of which have [very odd sounding vocalist that many people do not like, but it gives them the sound that makes them awesome]

Originally Posted by Charlo

I want it REALLY proggy, and Dream Theater is too tame.

I'm not even gonna touch that one.

[Heavy Metal Hero]

Originally Posted by TougaKiryuu

Rush...god awful vocalist

hey

you





fuck you

edit: to clarify, you are so wrong that if you were any more wrong, something inexplicable would happen which would surely veer in the direction of a non-sequitir

[TougaKiryuu]

Mmk, let me reiterate that, I <3 Rush, just about everything they did is awesome, and they probably would not have been as great without Geddy. But like Adam Duritz, kinda... bad.. sometimes.. it's really hard to describe. Awful in a good way?

Fuck it, it's not gonna make sense no matter how I word it. Someone will get my point.


Maybe.

edit: there I edited it, happy?

[Ribos]

Originally Posted by TougaKiryuu

man, I must be one of the few people that think LaBrie is an awesome vocalist. Then again, I do also love me some Rush

See, the difference is that Geddy Lee can actually sing. He can carry a tune without needing excessive levels of pitch-correction. He has a higher-pitched voice, but it's not a thin, shrill little whistle.

When Geddy Lee sings, he uses his natural tone of voice. LaBrie goes out of his way to sound like that. He has to force it and cannot maintain it, which indicates he does not know how to properly control airflow. His nasal qualities also indicate that he doesn't know how to raise the pitch of his voice without destroying his tonal quality... in other words, he doesn't know how to sing.

I say without exaggeration that I can do anything LaBrie can do, but better. I would say "at least he has emotion," but LaBrie's delivery is among the most sterile and robotic I've heard from vocalists who AREN'T trying to do that.

[helix eternal]

Originally Posted by nvlm_zMUSICEXPERT

How is Dream Theater not "REALLY proggy"? I've never heard of any other band that goes on such meandering musical trips. If anything, they're too prog for their own good.

Maybe he doesn't know what the word "progressive" means?

[CStarFlare]

Speaking of James, what the fuck was up with his voice on this last tour? At first I thought it was something weird with the recording for the DVD/CD set, but he sounds really bad even on bootlegs.

[Ribos]

Originally Posted by CStarFlare

Speaking of James, what the fuck was up with his voice on this last tour? At first I thought it was something weird with the recording for the DVD/CD set, but he sounds really bad even on bootlegs.

As I said: pitch correction. It's the only way he's able to hit the tunes on the albums. He's been known to sing rather flat and wander out of key in live shows for a couple years now. The "Live In Budokan" set shows him when he's at the top of his game... and he still mucks things up at a number of points.

[CStarFlare]

That's too bad; he was really good on Budokan and Score. I just couldn't figure how how he went from amazing to worse than ever in the span of one tour.