Yep, the album leaked last week, and with my dial-up connection I found it through a torrent and finally got it on Monday, and finally I've digested it enough to really give a decent overview of the album: 1. The Root of All Evil (8:39) - The next song in Mike Portnoy's AA (Alcohols Anonymous) saga based on a character battling alcoholism. Starting with atmospheric sounds, the guitar riff that started "This Dying Soul" is used by the drums to kick off this heavy song. It still has some more melodic sections in it (the great piano at the end) but overall its a great metal track in the ToT-style but overall much better than those metal songs. Also, great guitar solo by JP in this one, props! (10/10) 2. The Answer Lies Within (5:19) - Haunting piano opens up this track, and there is some great mellow singing by James LaBrie. One thing I notice on this CD is the slightly unorthodox chord progressions in many songs which makes this one unique despite its very conventional structure. Acoustic/clean guitar and strings are a great touch to this track too. (9/10) 3. These Walls (7:36) - The extremely catchy chorus with an amazing synth line from Jordan Rudess is the centrepiece of this song, as well as some cool sounds from his new Continuum. Also, Mike Portnoy's grooves on the hi-hat and double bass rolls are some of his best stuff! Again cool mellow guitar sounds from Petrucci in the mellow verses, and nice melodic guitar solo in the bridge...let's not forget John Myung, his bass work is really nice on this track too, he is really turned up in the mix. This is their first single off of the album and I think that if promoted enough could be a big hit on mainstream rock radio. (10/10) 4. I Walk Beside You (4:29) - What? A DT track this short! Yes, unheard of, and a very commercial sound on this track that just screams U2, especially "When The Streets Have No Name" in the chorus. It works really well though! Again, JP has some really cool clean/slightly distorted guitar work, nice background work on synth/piano by Jordan Rudess, grooving Portnoy beats are a nice surprise on this album as he is much more restrained...everybody does a great job here. Nice vocal harmonies! (9/10) 5. Panic Attack (8:13) - The other highly touted track in the promo single versions and it has a very aggressive ToT metal vibe too it. Myung has a cool little bass intro before the madness begins with drop C metal like much of Train of Thought was. Rudess has some great organ sounds which work great with the heavy guitars, and some cool choir sounds leading back to the verse. Petrucci/Rudess trade off solos and they both are great! Killer tune! (10/10) 6. Never Enough (6:46) - Fast bassy synth leads into one of the catchiest DT-riffs of all time. The verse has a cool drum groove and interesting singing by LaBrie, where he slightly bends his pitch flat to make him sound "tortured". A great Jordan Rudess synth leads into a great DT solo section with some awesome riffs and development. No real solos here, just real grooving riffs that mutate into others and make a great climax! Amazing song! (9.5/10) 7. Sacrificed Sons (10:42) - The first of the epics on the disc begins with eerie bass synth and sound effects, with soundclips of people speaking in Arabic and newsreporters talking about Terrorism, 9/11, and the War in Iraq. I give DT great respect here as they present a really emotional song criticizing the War in Iraq, with the Sacrificed Sons being the men lost in the War that was "a mistake". It starts out with haunting piano and emotional singing and epic chorus which leads to a heavy instrumental section around 4:30 into the song. Some awesome soloing here by Rudess, and some great Satriani-esque sound effects in Petrucci's solos! They are in top form here! With some orchestra they build the song to an amazing ending! (10/10) 8. Octavarium (24:00) - The first 3:30 is some great atmospheric sounds by Jordan Rudess's new Continuum, which leads into one of the best DT songs ever! The opening riff cuts in and fades down to the theme of the piece, an breathtaking flute solo that leads to eerie acoustic guitar work and amazing singing by LaBrie. As it works toward the 10 minute mark, it keeps building up and gets more upbeat and optimistic, amazing work! Sounds a lot like Transatlantic here. At around 8:45, there is a great bass solo/groove that continues to lead the song to a great build up. Again, amazing bass work by Myung on this album, may be his best. By 10 minutes, it sounds a lot like Transatlantic....very melodic in the realm of classic rock. Around 12:15, Rudess gives us a stunning Moog organ solo that makes it sound like Rick Wakeman with Metallica. Again it changes at 14:00 to a great vocal part with organ, nice call and response singing here! By 16:00, it launches into an INSANE instrumental part that is comparable in awesomeness to the Metropolis/A Change of Seasons instrumental sections, even sounding a bit like Symphony X! From 19:00-20:00, it builds up to a heavy parts like on Tool's Third Eye, and Labrie screams "Trapped inside this Octavarium" as the orchestra comes in and finishes off the piece with an amazing epic feeling. There is an amazing 2 min. guitar solo that is some of JP's best work. It dies down and ends with the Flute playing its solo in the background. (11!/10) Overall, I think we have a new album of the year, and besting the Mars Volta's latest masterpiece is in my eyes no small accomplishment! To be honest, there is no bad or even one that is less than "great", all amazing. It has an amazing mix of metal (not as much as on Train of Thought), pure prog rock (think Yes and Transatlantic), and more commercial rock in the vein of Coldplay and U2. I think that on here each member gives some of their best performances of their career, particularly Jordan Rudess, who dominates this album and shows his extreme versatility in his sounds and a tastefulness in his playing that has really shown on this album. One other thing to especially note is John Petrucci's playing on the disc, its probably his most versatile performance, using many sounds (a fair amount of acoustic). Unlike much of his Train of Thought and Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence solos, he shows much more heart and inspiration here...probably his best guitar performance since 94's Awake. Yes, although they are my favourite band I never thought they produced a true masterpiece after Kevin Moore left the band, as they turned to either a too commercial/unadventurous style (Falling Into Infinity) or adventurous but not as tight or as creative as their previous releases (Scenes From A Memory, Six Degrees, ToT). Its safe to say this is truly a masterpiece.
Why do you like Dream Theater, Odaton? Is it because the band is so skillfull with their respective instruments? The lyrics? What? I find I like the music, but the lyrics are absolute wank most of the times. And cheesy, too. I listened to The Root Of All Evil, and the opening chord is almost identical to the first chord in A Change Of Seasons. It's not a direct ripoff, but it sounds the same somewhat. Overall, I'm over Dream Theater, really. I dislike LaBrie's vocals now, and I've found that they make unneccesarily long songs just for shits and giggles. It's not fun anymore, in my opinion.
Well for you...you don't like LaBries voice, which is fine with me. However, I love it and its wierd because I think his voice has gotten better and less operatic/cheesy than their first albums, which I admit LaBrie kinda overdid. In A Change of Seasons, Petrucci is doing 7-string acoustic guitar chords that are based on B while the opening note in The Root of All Evil is an F...a single piano note thats it...I don't see where you see this ripoff stuff. And I love DT because of their amazing talents yes, but because they use these talents to create very adventurous songs that mix the creativity of prog with the intensity of metal. While you can argue that some of their songs are pointlessly long, and I agree on the last couple of albums they drag them out a bit, but if you have heard this album at all you can see how each instrumental section has been made for a purpose and they are all brilliant ideas. I don't see how lyrics can be wank, but no I don't listen for the lyrics.....they aren't that special, its the music that I really love. Its fine that you don't like them, but to seem that I am stupid for liking them and thinking that I am somehow liking them for a gimmick (their crazy talent) is kinda insulting. Hopefully you can respect my opinion now.
Totally agreed thats how i have always viewed Dream Theater. They have really awesome talented guitarists, but the lyrics are crap. At the very leas tyou tihnk the lyrics could at least be somewhat catchy to go along with the good guitars, but they aren't. I have never liked Dream Theater and never will. I tihnk they are past their prime and need to pack it in.
Meh, its not like mediocre lyrics make or break a song, especially when the music is so focused on instrumental stuff...I think the lyrics are good at times too, again its all your opinion, but even when they are not so great I find that the music more than makes up for it.... Edit: Does weak lyrics= bad music? No! Why are you a Linkin Park fan then?
Oh no Odaton, I didn't mean for it to seem you're stupid for liking what you like. I was just asking why you like them, that's all.
k, thats cool. It struck me wierd that you don't like them as we have much of the same musical tastes...can't win 'em all i guess
Meh, its not like mediocre lyrics make or break a song, especially when the music is so focused on instrumental stuff...I think the lyrics are good at times too, again its all your opinion, but even when they are not so great I find that the music more than makes up for it.... Edit: Does weak lyrics= bad music? No! Why are you a Linkin Park fan then? [/b][/quote] I'm a LP fan cause Mike is talented as all hell. After Fort Minor puts out an album i'll be a fort minor fan. Back to Dream Theater, it just seems that having that talented of guitarists paired with crappy lyrics is just a waste. Honestly thouse guys should find a new vocalist and make a new band.
I like some songs. I really like some of their live stuff, A Change Of Seasons, and like everyone and their mother, The Glass Prison. It's just that sometimes, I really sit down and listen to it, and it just doesn't click with me. LaBrie's vocals don't translate well to record. It's awesome live from what I've heard on live recordings, but on official CDs...eh. EDIT: Odaton makes a point. The focal point of Dream Theater has always really been the music. Often the lyrics take a back seat to the actual music, and I can't say I'm to disturbed with that.
Well, I personally think that LaBrie kicks ass, he's a perfect fit for the band and thats why he's been around almost 15 years with them. And there is only one guitarist and the rest of the band is just as good. Whatever your definition of crappy lyrics is......look back at their earlier albums and there are some real lyrical gems on there. Again, this isn't your style of music I think too....if you want a singer talking about "pain" and "tearing out my soul" and stuff, then listen to LP, you don't need to listen to DT edit: Again its your opinion, IMO Chester is a pretty good sing Mike is a decent rapper and the best musician (other than Hahn) in a band of mediocre ones. I would LOVE for LP to ditch Delson, Phoenix, and Bourdon and replace them with better musicians myself. Hahn, Chester, and Mike are the only real creative forces to me in LP.
Well, I personally think that LaBrie kicks ass, he's a perfect fit for the band and thats why he's been around almost 15 years with them. And there is only one guitarist and the rest of the band is just as good. Whatever your definition of crappy lyrics is......look back at their earlier albums and there are some real lyrical gems on there. Again, this isn't your style of music I think too....if you want a singer talking about "pain" and "tearing out my soul" and stuff, then listen to LP, you don't need to listen to DT [/b][/quote] No if i want lyrics like that I'll listen to simple plan. Anyhow I meant guitarists as in bass guitar and the lead guitar guy.
Give me some DT lyrics that are like Simple Plan, then I'll believe you! Here's a sample of DT lyrics (A Trial of Tears): Under the sun, there is nothing to hide Under the moon, the stranger waits inside People disappear The music fades away Splashing through the rain I'll dream with them one day It's raining, raining, On the streets of New York city It's raining, raining, raining deep in heaven I may have wasted all those years They're not worth their time in tears I may have spent too long in darkness In the warmth of my fears edit: Sorry guys, gotta go to bed, lets finish the discussion later...I'll maybe post one more!
I think he was saying if he wants lyrics like Linkin Park's he'll listen to Simple Plan. Or something. Stop overloading my brain with shit bands, Odaton. Goddamn. I'm listening to the live version of A Change Of Seasons. If they just put out live recordings for the rest of their career, I wouldn't complain.
LOL well thats what LP sing about "Stop this paaaaaiiiiiin", "these wounds they will not heealllll"! So i was wondering whats the difference! And yes I've seen them live and they are \m/ Edit: Somehow it seems normal to create a thread and not talk about the topic at hand at all! Well, you tried Casey!
By the way, did Storm Thorgerson do the artwork for this CD? I seem to remember him doing the artwork for a Dream Theater CD, I think. Anyways, I like the artwork, so... that must count for something. :whistle:
Its Hugh Symes and he has done some Iron Maiden covers, as well as all of the Rush Covers....so yeah the artwork rocks...but not Storm at all! As I said you need to at least hear the new album, Casey. If you think they are getting too dragging in their songs, there is only 2 long tracks on the CD! If you can listen to Frances the Mute and then complain about DT, you are full of shit! j/k
I haven't even listened to Cassandra Geminni in full yet, Odaton, so shove it. Nah, I'll probably get the leak this weekend and let it download while I'm out. It's not like I'm wasting my money on it or something, so why not. If it sucks I can always delete it.
Yes, it can be hard to digest, even for the hardcore prog fan like myself! Anyways, gotta go.....later nice talking to ya.
I think I did once, and that was when it was leaked, and not split into 7 parts. I guess once I got the actual CD, and realized they split that shit up, I didn't have any motivation to listen to it. If it was still one long track, I might have, since then I'd be forced to pay attention, but now I can just skip to different parts of the song. I don't think my reasoning makes much sense, but it does to me, in my mind.