# New Dream Theater album!



## Djent (Jun 6, 2013)

http://lambgoat.com/news/20554/Dream-Theater-announces-new-album

Self-titled. Coming out September 24th.


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## crg123 (Jun 6, 2013)

Woo!!


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## Xaios (Jun 6, 2013)

Always look forward to new DT.


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## MetalBuddah (Jun 6, 2013)

Cannot wait to hear what Mangini has cooked up for drum parts on this record now that he is pretty versed in the Dream Theater style. Only problem is....my birthday is the 23rd and this comes out on the 24th  First world problems I suppose...


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## Jon Levasseur (Jun 6, 2013)

Nice and looking forward to it! Last one is amazing!!!


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## renzoip (Jun 6, 2013)

Holy shit, this is great. Going by how much I liked the last two albums they put out, I'm definitely looking forward to this. They are also releasing Live at Luna Park in November, so I'm getting both for sure!


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## kmanick (Jun 6, 2013)

definitely looking forward to this


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## jehu12141987 (Jun 6, 2013)

Self titled.. interesting. Are they redefining Dream Theater this album, possibly? Hmmmmm.


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## MetalBuddah (Jun 6, 2013)

jehu12141987 said:


> Self titled.. interesting. Are they redefining Dream Theater this album, possibly? Hmmmmm.



Well JP did say that it will be a mix of all the things that make them unique. However I really have high hopes for this just because we have Mangini on drums and no more Portnoy growls


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## jehu12141987 (Jun 6, 2013)

As long as the drum parts aren't as boring as last album I will be happy.


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## MetalBuddah (Jun 6, 2013)

jehu12141987 said:


> As long as the drum parts aren't as boring as last album I will be happy.



They were only boring because the drum mixing wasn't all that great and Mangini didn't have much of a say in the writing process.


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## November5th (Jun 6, 2013)

Queensryche has called their new album "Queensryche" and now Dream Theater has self-titled their new album.I guess self-titled albums are the new progressive. Like all Dream Theater albums I am looking forward to this , big time.It will be interesting to see Mangini's input on this one.I hope my home boy, Labrie shows more of his range on this one. I miss the way he used to sing ,like on Images and Awake.But I guess age and other factors are catching up to him.


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## Captain Butterscotch (Jun 6, 2013)

ADTOE was boring to me and their single "On the Backs of Angels" was doubly so. The only song I liked was Breaking All Illusions. Too slow, a terrible mix, and it just wasn't up to their usual awesomeness. I sincerely hope that this album will be a million times better  I am quite looking forward to the drum parts too.


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## Esp Griffyn (Jun 6, 2013)

Can a band who've been lost at sea for the last 15 or more years really stage the massive comeback they need? I'm not optimistic, but I'll still have a listen when it comes out.


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## Ralyks (Jun 6, 2013)

A new studio album, a new live DVD, and a world tour? Well, it seems like I tend to them them my money every 2 to 3 years, so this seems on par for the course...


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## RevelGTR (Jun 6, 2013)

Black Clouds and Silver Linings was amazing, ATDOE in my opinion was very below average, mix was terrible, drums sounded terrible, and there were long sections that just sounded like dissonant musical wankery.


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## Minoin (Jun 6, 2013)

Can't fcking wait man! And new LaBrie album around the same date...
Hate the album title, but it is going to be epic, I feel it


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## ihunda (Jun 6, 2013)

I am so much looking forward to this!
I know it's fashionable to say that DT has lost it and all, but man, come on, BCSL has some great tunes and riffs, ATDOE is amazing, in my mind they are already back and on the way up still!

..... can't .... wait ....


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## Radau (Jun 6, 2013)

New Labrie AND new Dream Theater?! I can't wait!


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## groverj3 (Jun 6, 2013)

I really don't understand the people who say they've "lost it." Their last two albums aren't my favorites, but Systematic Chaos is excellent. Love Octavarium too (for different reasons). Their earlier stuff is excellent as well. It sounds like all of their albums have been a natural progression to me.

They rarely have "filler" songs (Build Me Up, Break Me Down comes to mind as the only example I can think of) and that makes me happy.

Really interested to hear how this sounds. JP and Co. rarely disappoint (at least IMHO).


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## wankerness (Jun 7, 2013)

I don't really think Dream Theater has gotten any worse with time, a lot of people (myself included) I think just got sick of them cause of all the bands that they inspired that built on their formula in more drastic ways than they ever did. If I'd heard say, "Count of Tuscany" or "Bridges in the Sky" back in 2000 it would have blown my mind just as much, if not more, than the stuff on Metropolis, Falling Into Infinity, Images & Words, and Awake that got me so into them.

I really don't think a band pùtting out a self-titled album necessarily means they're trying to reinvent themselves or anything. There are lots of S/T albums that seem to have been just another album that they couldn't come up with a name for. Ex, Deftones, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Strapping Young Lad, Stone Temple Pilots, Interpol, etc. Actually, come to think of it, based on half my examples there it can mean album that's totally unspectacular that they just sort of said "ah screw it just self-title it, no one will give it any attention otherwise!"


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## ghostred7 (Jun 7, 2013)

I love the fact that they were "mic'd in place," so if they captured something they liked, it was ready to be on the album production-wise.


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## Joomis (Jun 7, 2013)

Looking forward to this! Interested in seeing what Mangini brings to the album!!


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## Doug N (Jun 7, 2013)

Definitely buying it, one or two mis-steps in their musical career isn't going to make me abandon them.


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## TheShreddinHand (Jun 7, 2013)

Can't wait! As others have said, it'll be a great fall with this album, the Luna Blu-Ray, and the Labrie solo release!


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## jehu12141987 (Jun 7, 2013)

November5th said:


> Queensryche has called their new album "Queensryche" and now Dream Theater has self-titled their new album.I guess self-titled albums are the new progressive. Like all Dream Theater albums I am looking forward to this , big time.It will be interesting to see Mangini's input on this one.I hope my home boy, Labrie shows more of his range on this one. I miss the way he used to sing ,like on Images and Awake.But I guess age and other factors are catching up to him.


 

I'm sure Labrie misses getting to sing like that too. I feel like with the past few albums it's been more like "Hey James, try to sing like ____ for this song" instead of him getting to do his own thing.


My theory feels valid after his two solo albums (and no doubt his upcoming one) had great vocal parts that he orchestrated.


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## LuizPauloDT (Jun 7, 2013)

I'm looking forward for this release. The last one was "A dramatic turn of events". For this one, self titled I hope to see it bringing back the Dream Theater essence but with refreshing and exciting content.


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## kamello (Jun 7, 2013)

for no apparent reason, I have more faith in this one  

anyways, didn't liked the last 2 albums as a whole, but there are some killer songs on them, if they still deliver with something like Count of Tuscany or Breaking all Illusions I'll be happy, if they make an awesome album as whole, i'll be in ectasy


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## Goro923 (Jun 7, 2013)

I'm counting on Mangini to make this or break this for me, though it's hard to be as bland as Portnoy in recent years so things are looking up


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## New Age Moron (Jun 7, 2013)

I can't wait.


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## Demiurge (Jun 7, 2013)

I love Dream Theater, but news of forthcoming albums makes me worry more than anything because they've been so hit-and-miss lately. Are we going to get some adventuresome musicality with borderline-cheesy earnest emotion, or are we going to get more "trying to be a ....in' metal band" posturing? I guess I'll take the latter as long as Mangini kills it...


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## ilyti (Jun 7, 2013)

As someone who likes all their albums, I'm confident I will like this one too. All the better that it comes out sooner than I expected, what with the DVD coming out so late and all. I will hold out a cautiously optimistic hope for more (real freakin') high vocals. As I always do. That's honestly all they need to start doing again. Last album was fantastic and I'd love it if they took it further.


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## Colbear (Jun 7, 2013)

ghostred7 said:


> I love the fact that they were "mic'd in place," so if they captured something they liked, it was ready to be on the album production-wise.




I assume this means they just recorded additional DI's for everything to re-amp later? 

Looking forward to this release a whole lot. ADTOE was great, except the drum mix and, well...the drumming. MM can freakin' kill it, but some of the drums sounded so weak and bland, it was definitely disappointing as a first taste of DT without Portnoy. Everything else about the CD I thought was on par for usual DT - the guitars, keyboards, and vocals where phenomenal imo.


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## Watty (Jun 8, 2013)

MetalBuddah said:


> Cannot wait to hear what Mangini has cooked up for drum parts on this record now that he is pretty versed in the Dream Theater style. Only problem is....my birthday is the 23rd and this comes out on the 24th  First world problems I suppose...



I don't see how that's a problem; let alone a 1st world one?

That aside, I haven't liked DT in a long while. Their last good record as far as I'm concerned was Systematic Chaos and that was pushing it. Seeing them live after that came out was a bit of a let down as well, not a great show.

Here's hoping they make this release a bit more edgy and less....nice.

Edit: Also, Mangini's hair in that first bit of the clip...?!


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## DLG (Jun 8, 2013)

wankerness said:


> I don't really think Dream Theater has gotten any worse with time, a lot of people (myself included) I think just got sick of them cause of all the bands that they inspired that built on their formula in more drastic ways than they ever did. If I'd heard say, "Count of Tuscany" or "Bridges in the Sky" back in 2000 it would have blown my mind just as much, if not more, than the stuff on Metropolis, Falling Into Infinity, Images & Words, and Awake that got me so into them.



I don't agree with this. Here are my biggest gripes with DT post-SFAM and why I have no interest in them any longer. 

1. the blatant idolization/ripping-off of stuff. In the early days there influences are pretty obvious, but you never get a feel of "this riff sounds like this, this sounds like that." It started with SFAM and some of the too-pink floyd stuff that goes on there. But then on Six Degrees there's a tool song, a pantera song, a radiohead song, that song that's a direct rip of Peter Gabriel's Solsbury Hill, etc. It just got worse from there with the Muse stuff and whatever else they liked at the moment. 

2. Labrie can't sing. His range and power are all but gone. He ....ed up his voice and that's a real bummer, but the fact of the matter is that he sounds weak and by-the-numbers. Mellow and less-busy music would serve his voice best now imo. 

3. The lyrics. Went down the toilet once they were taken over by Petrucci and Portnoy. Kevin Moore and Myung wrote the best lyrics by a very large margin. The lyrics for The Count of Tuscany make me feel embarassed when listening to them. 

4. Ruddess. His keyboard sounds are cheesy, the orchestral stuff gets old fast and his sound choices are terrible, especially when compared to what a great atmosphere Moore and even Sherinian added to the music. Sure, he's a better player than both of them combined, but he doesn't work nearly as well with the band's sound as they did. 

5. The lack of band composition. Sure, now they have the money to book a studio for a year and jam, but the songwriting and composition was much better when they were poor, brought ideas together and crafted the songs before entering the studio. This goes especially for solo sections. Take for example the solo of Under A Glass Moon. It's like a song within a song. Everyone working together and Petrucci navigating the changes to make it a solo. Now it's mostly a riff that Petrucci and Ruddess trade off over ad nauseum. Sounds more like jamming than an actual writing process. 

6. Trying too hard to appeal to young metalheads. This probably has a lot to do with signing to a metal label, but to me, when they try to bring the heavy it get laughable quick. Falling Into Infinity, even though a lot of people didn't like it, seemed like a natural progression for the band. Getting older, and mellowing out. The Slipknot-isms in Train of Thought are laughable and the whole "trash riff with Portnoy singing" are the worst and most forced moments of their career to me. 

would I be into some of their new material if I first heard it when I was 17? probably. But the downward spiral as a fan throughout the years is glaring to me and even though I try to listen to all of their new stuff, nothing appeals to me, even when they try to sound like their old selves. 

that's just my two cents. I'll always love them for what they gave to me growing up and getting me into prog metal and rock, but I really have no hope that I'll ever love them again as much as I did in high school.


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## the_heretic_divine (Jun 8, 2013)

DLG said:


> 3. The lyrics. Went down the toilet once they were taken over by Petrucci and Portnoy. Kevin Moore and Myung wrote the best lyrics by a very large margin. The lyrics for The Count of Tuscany make me feel embarassed when listening to them.
> .


Still one of my favorite bands,but I do agree with this. The writing on that song(along with Nightmare to Remember,and many others)is crap. Why so many of their newer fans love Tuscany so much is beyond me. Petrucci,at one time,was a great writer(remember Voices?). I think,more than anything,he has run out of things to say. And as great of a writer as Myung is,they can't rely on him,being that it would take him 5 years to complete 3 songs.


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## wankerness (Jun 8, 2013)

While all of those are valid complaints about what they're like currently, I think many of them existed on their early stuff and it was just OK then cause we weren't sick of their formula yet. Things like "Another Day," "You Not Me" and "Burning My Soul" are just as forced and silly sounding as anything on their new albums. But overall you have given an incredibly good summation of why everything post FII is inferior, which I don't think most people who were into DT at any point would agree with, since Met 2 seems to be the fan favorite and includes almost everything you complain about, haha. That was a really good post though.



> 1. the blatant idolization/ripping-off of stuff. In the early days there influences are pretty obvious, but you never get a feel of "this riff sounds like this, this sounds like that." It started with SFAM and some of the too-pink floyd stuff that goes on there. But then on Six Degrees there's a tool song, a pantera song, a radiohead song, that song that's a direct rip of Peter Gabriel's Solsbury Hill, etc. It just got worse from there with the Muse stuff and whatever else they liked at the moment.



You could hear clear (and acknowledged!) ripoffs of other bands in stuff like "Home" (46 & 2), Peruvian Skies, Anna Lee, Dance of Eternity, etc. It is true that SDOIT is particularly derivative, though. I just don't think it's as prevalent on the ones since then. I do remember hearing that one section of Panic Attack and going "wow clear Muse quote" and obviously there's that one song I can't remember the name of which directly quoted Blackened, but I don't remember having that reaction to much of anything else on their subsequent albums. Could just be they're ripping off stuff I don't listen to and thus don't recognize, though. Also could be that I've only listened to the post-ToT albums like 1-2 times each and wasn't paying much attention cause I wasn't interested.



> 2. Labrie can't sing. His range and power are all but gone. He ....ed up his voice and that's a real bummer, but the fact of the matter is that he sounds weak and by-the-numbers. Mellow and less-busy music would serve his voice best now imo.



I don't really have a comment on this, I haven't noticed his vocals getting worse but I usually didn't pay much attention to them either. I figure he probably couldn't pull off something like "Innocence Faded" at all anymore. I'll take your word for it, haha.



> 3. The lyrics. Went down the toilet once they were taken over by Petrucci and Portnoy. Kevin Moore and Myung wrote the best lyrics by a very large margin. The lyrics for The Count of Tuscany make me feel embarassed when listening to them.


Their lyrics were usually really bad, you're right that Moore and Myung's songs usually seemed less stupid though (didn't Myung only do Learning to Live and Trial of Tears?). But yeah, things like "Take Away My Pain" and "One Last Time" and "Through Her Eyes" and most especially "About to Crash" made me cringe hardcore even when I was a teenager. I think they've been so bad for so long that most people now complaining about DT being bad consider things like Met 2 where they already had terrible lyrics to have been their golden era.



> 4. Ruddess. His keyboard sounds are cheesy, the orchestral stuff gets old fast and his sound choices are terrible, especially when compared to what a great atmosphere Moore and even Sherinian added to the music. Sure, he's a better player than both of them combined, but he doesn't work nearly as well with the band's sound as they did.



I agree with this completely and he's the primary reason why I never liked Metropolis 2 nearly as much as the previous few albums (I absolutely loathed that square lead tone he used on most of his solos which sounded like a siren), but it seems like most die-hard Dream Theater fans consider Met 2 their high point and think they've gone downhill slowly since, so while I'd point to it as a reason I like them less now, I don't think most people would. SO basically it seems to me like you have legitimate reasons for disliking them, but I think there are a lot of other people who didn't have these same reservations about Rudess, and I don't think he's gotten any more annoying over the years, he's just stayed the same!


> 5. The lack of band composition. Sure, now they have the money to book a studio for a year and jam, but the songwriting and composition was much better when they were poor, brought ideas together and crafted the songs before entering the studio. This goes especially for solo sections. Take for example the solo of Under A Glass Moon. It's like a song within a song. Everyone working together and Petrucci navigating the changes to make it a solo. Now it's mostly a riff that Petrucci and Ruddess trade off over ad nauseum. Sounds more like jamming than an actual writing process.



I haven't thought about their music closely enough to know how much of this is true, but I definitely agree with the part about solo sections. I hated the endless solo section on "Beyond this Life" where it was just the same lousy riff shifted to a different position every minute or so while petrucci and ruddess wanked away and pretty much everything since is loaded with that garbage.



> 6. Trying too hard to appeal to young metalheads. This probably has a lot to do with signing to a metal label, but to me, when they try to bring the heavy it get laughable quick. Falling Into Infinity, even though a lot of people didn't like it, seemed like a natural progression for the band. Getting older, and mellowing out. The Slipknot-isms in Train of Thought are laughable and the whole "trash riff with Portnoy singing" are the worst and most forced moments of their career to me.



There's some truth to this, but at the same time, they were doing the same thing even on Falling into Infinity. You Not Me was a clear attempt to get some kind of Bon Jovi style hit, while Burning My Soul was a halfassed attempt at sounding badass, and Just Let Me Breathe had those atrocious rapped style vocals that TOTALLY slammed MTV by calling them eMpTyV [the formatting in the booklet]. I guess the other 2/3 of that album is what's good about it, though, and I haven't liked the subsequent ones as much as the good stuff on there.

So yeah, I agree with most of what you said. Maybe those ARE the same reasons I have almost no interest in their material anymore and it's not just that I grew out of them.


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## DLG (Jun 9, 2013)

I agree with just about everything you said. In hindsight, I totally get what you are saying about SFAM, and I agree. I'm emotionally attached to it because I turned 18 in 1999 and that was the first tour I was old enough to see them live. Plus it was a return to the older style after FII, so I flipped out over it naturally. 

And sure, FII has some absolutely abysmal moments as well, but I can still jam most of it and enjoy it. 

So if you really wanted to look at it all the way through, the departure of Kevin Moore is really the turning point for them. Listening to Chroma Key and his other solo stuff, it's apparent that he is one of those guys who is 100 percent interested in nothing but the art and doesn't care about notoriety, gaining new fans, expanding into new markets, becoming a huge band, etc. It's very obvious why he left when you look at all the albums that came after him. He was already losing interest while recording Awake. 

If he was in the band and was some kind of a boss ala Portnoy, their career would have ended up completely different I bet. They'd probably just be a cult band making weirder music, not international superstars with him behind the wheel.


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## wilch (Jun 9, 2013)

One thing I really disliked on the last album was the production (there was lots of other stuff I disliked but it's already been mentioned)... 

Where the hell were the drums? It really needed some Portnoy telling Petrucci to turn the drums up...


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## stuglue (Jun 9, 2013)

Images and Words still remains for me their most listenable album. Awake was ok, a bit patchy in parts.
I'll buy the DVD but i don't have any interest in hearing the new album (i haven't heard the last one). Systematic Chaos was ok.

What I feel with their material is that John masters some speed picking exercise, Rudess brings in some speedy part he's been working on and they some how try and cobble together a few riffs around the solos.

Labrie, far too breathy and warbley for me. He's the focal point, they need to replace him with a better singer


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## DLG (Jun 9, 2013)

stuglue said:


> Labrie, far too breathy and warbley for me. He's the focal point, they need to replace him with a better singer



I think bands like Fates Warning and even Rush did a good job of adapting the music to the singer's loss of range over time. Dream Theater could probably do the same if they weren't so stubborn.


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## WhiteWalls (Jun 9, 2013)

In my opinion Labrie only sounds really ridiculous when he tries to do the "metallica" vocals, but otherwise he's fine and he really got better over time since he damaged his vocal chords after Awake. I've seen them live 6 times from 2005 to 2012 and he has always been spot on even in the old stuff, and they play 3 hour shows every night. His biggest problem is his timbre, it gets too weird when he tries to sound heavy, and he's much more suited to melodic and lighter stuff.

I think Portnoy was the one that pushed the most for going "heavy" and I liked ADTOE because they instantly backed off on heaviness and focused on melody again, I hope this trend would continue


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## Goro923 (Jun 9, 2013)

DLG said:


> It just got worse from there with the Muse stuff and whatever else they liked at the moment.



I agree 100% with everything you said, though you forgot the U2 song (I think it's I Walk Beside You). And yeah, the first time I heard Never Enough I was like "I've heard this song before", that was really the moment I started to realize the blatant riff-ripping.

My opinions on Dream Theater are virtually the same as what I said on the Symphony X thread swapping V for SfaM, Tom Miller for Kevin Moore and MJR for Portnoy 

And like Symphony X, they need to stop trying to please the younger, more "metal" crowd and go back to being the weird dorks that dropped out of Berkley to wear silk shirts and make the best thing to ever come out of Long Island.

By the way Portnoy is probably one of the top ten most overrated drummers of any genre ever.


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## fps (Jun 9, 2013)

I'm never going to understand anyone who thinks Black Clouds and Silver Linings was "amazing". As mediocre as they've ever been, along with Systematic Chaos.


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## fps (Jun 9, 2013)

Oh and Dream Theater's lyrics have always been APPALLING, it's part of the fun how ridiculous they are.


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## DLG (Jun 9, 2013)

Goro923 said:


> And like Symphony X, they need to stop trying to please the younger, more "metal" crowd and go back to being the weird dorks that dropped out of Berkley to wear silk shirts and make the best thing to ever come out of Long Island.



 except they are from NJ, not long island


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jun 9, 2013)

fps said:


> I'm never going to understand anyone who thinks Black Clouds and Silver Linings was "amazing".



I'll give that album this... The first half of A Nightmare to Remember was pretty damn epic.

Portnoy's vocals in the second half of the song were embarrasing, though.


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## Goro923 (Jun 9, 2013)

DLG said:


> except they are from NJ, not long island



I meant DT not SX, but wikpedia says they're from Boston so I don't fukin know 



HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> Portnoy's vocals in the second half of the song were embarrasing, though.





Slightly fixed. No amount of Akerfeldt can make the lyrics better


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## fps (Jun 9, 2013)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> I'll give that album this... The first half of A Nightmare to Remember was pretty damn epic.
> 
> Portnoy's vocals in the second half of the song were embarrasing, though.



I like Count Of Tuscany start to finish, wonderful stuff, crazy lyrics, hilarious. But second half of Nightmare, and everything else on the album outright stank.


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## yellowv (Jun 9, 2013)

I can't wait.


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## RevDrucifer (Jun 10, 2013)

I'm anxious to hear how Mangini's input changes things for the band. 

I've been a fan for about 17 years, I don't dig much after 6 Degrees.....Train of Thought was cool but the novelty wore off after a year. I actually really dig Falling Into Infinity, maybe because it was the 2nd album I heard after Awake.

Some lyrics I've found cheesy, but "Take Away My Pain" was never one of them....the song is about Petrucci's father losing his life to cancer, as someone who writes lyrics, I really respect someone else who can really open up lyrically and bring that stuff up. My dad was also diagnosed with esophageal cancer the same time I got that album, he had a very small chance of survival but made it (after a CRAZY 17 hour surgery), so maybe I just hold it a little closer.

The lyrics on SFAM have to be given a bit of leeway as they're all written into the context of the story.

I do know that there's one song on the last album, "Far From Heaven", I think it's called.....I've never listened to all the way through. When that album came out, I was in a REALLY low point of my life, those lyrics hit me so hard I couldn't listen to it and still can't just because it brings me back too much. I can't listen to that entire album because of it just brings me back to that time period. Certain songs bring up exact moments where something was said or done that make me feel like vomiting. 

I hope this new album wipes the slate of the last 10 years clean. I think Portnoy was right, the band needed a break.....but Mangini's input could be something big, he's just too ....ing good....and he's never really gotten to give his writing input all that much in anything he's done, so it'll definitely be interesting.


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## ilyti (Jun 11, 2013)

Observation: Arguments in DT threads all over the internet are always like this:

DT Fan: Enthusiasm about Dream Theater
Skeptic #1: Dislike about anything after 2000
DT Fan: Thorough response acknowledging that skeptics are entitled to their opinions, but here's a wall of text to explain exactly why you're wrong
Skeptic #2: LABRIE SUCKS LOL
DT Fan: Thorough response acknowledging that skeptics are entitled to their opinions, but here's a wall of text to explain exactly why you're wrong
Skeptic #3: Their lyrics suck and they did a Linkin Park song
DT Fan: Thorough response acknowledging that skeptics are entitled to their opinions, but here's a wall of text to explain exactly why you're wrong

WHY does this always happen? I _want _to think it's funny but it's getting old.


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## darkmist255 (Jun 12, 2013)

I'll go into it with the same attitude as I went into ADTOE. I know it will be good, I just won't expect that it will wow me. Not saying it can't happen, I'm betting that now that they've settled in with Mangini there should be some new creative ideas going on and I'm hoping that it'll be great. Still a massive Dream Theater fan regardless of how the new album goes.


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## jehu12141987 (Jun 12, 2013)

ilyti said:


> Observation: Arguments in DT threads all over the internet are always like this:
> 
> DT Fan: Enthusiasm about Dream Theater
> Skeptic #1: Dislike about anything after 2000
> ...


 
I posted this on Portnoy's forum a while back when all the buzz began about the new album. As a Dream Theater fan, this is the observation I have made:


Dream Theater fans resposes to albums after Images and Words: 
Awake: "Why is James so angry?...We want an album that sounds like Images and Words." 
A Change of Seasons: "Meh, it's cool but..we want an album that sounds like Images and Words." 
Falling Into Infinity: "Just No. We want an album that sounds like Images and Words." 
Scenes From a Memory: "Hmm; we like the weedly-deedlys..We want an album that sounds like Images and Words." 
6 Degrees: "Too heavy...we want an album that sounds like Images and Words." 
Train of Thought:"waay to heavy. We want an album that sounds like Images and Words." 
Octavarium:"Sigh..we want an album that sounds like Images and Words." 
Systematic Chaos: "Songs about vampires? We want an album like Images and Words." 
Black Clouds & Silver Linings: "WTF...no heavy vox allowed, wah...We want an album that sounds like Images and Words!" 
A Dramatic Turn of Events: "I don't like this, it sounds like Images and Words."


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## Sephiroth952 (Jul 9, 2013)

New details per their facebook! The song titles sound so dam proggy!



> Dream Theater&#8217;s self-titled album &#8211; the band&#8217;s 12th studio release overall, and fourth with Roadrunner Records &#8211; will be released September 24, and now you can check out the cover art and see the track listing below!
> 
> Says guitarist John Petrucci about Dream Theater, &#8220;I see every new album as an opportunity to start over. To either build or improve upon a direction that has been evolving over time or to completely break new ground. This is the first self-titled album of our career and there is nothing I can think of that makes a statement of musical and creative identity stronger than that. We&#8217;ve fully explored all of the elements that make us unique, from the epic and intense to the atmospheric and cinematic. We&#8217;re incredibly excited about Dream Theater and can&#8217;t wait for everyone to hear it.&#8221;
> 
> ...


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## the_heretic_divine (Jul 9, 2013)

REALLY looking forward to this. I truly believe it will be great. In my opinion,they fell off a bit after 6 Degrees. Not bad,but incredibly stale(WAY too much Portnoy). Mangini is a nice shot in the arm.


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## osmosis2259 (Jul 9, 2013)

Should be a good one! I personally really liked the last one and in this one if Mangini is unleashed, should be even better!


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## UltraParanoia (Jul 9, 2013)

It looks like I made the album cover on MS Paint & a self titled album?
Come on DT, pull your socks up.

I really dont like ADTOE, but I love every prior. For me personally it'll have to be really good or I'll just stick to the old stuff I love.


....I miss Portnoy


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## nicktao (Jul 9, 2013)

Can't wait, they're definitely reinventing themselves on this one.


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## themike (Jul 9, 2013)

UltraParanoia said:


> ....I miss Portnoy



I did too - until I saw them live with Mangini


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## Mordacain (Jul 9, 2013)

osmosis2259 said:


> Should be a good one! I personally really liked the last one and in this one if Mangini is unleashed, should be even better!



Ditto. For me, they lost me a bit after SFAM and every album after that was a little worse up until BC&SL which was just terrible IMO.

ADTOE was DT back to form for me for the most part, but the drums kind of sucked. I fully realize that was John's programming and not Mike's choices so I'm excited to here what Mangini does this time around.


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## metal_sam14 (Jul 9, 2013)

HNNNNNNNNNNNG I know they are just track titles but man, multi-movement pieces again, predicting prog epics once again  

I cannot wait to hear what Mangini brought to the table - based on a few things Jordan has said over the last year, there should be some ....ed up rhythms in there


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## technomancer (Jul 9, 2013)

jehu12141987 said:


> I posted this on Portnoy's forum a while back when all the buzz began about the new album. As a Dream Theater fan, this is the observation I have made:
> 
> 
> Dream Theater fans resposes to albums after Images and Words:
> ...


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## Vinchester (Jul 9, 2013)

That shiny logo reminds me of....








(Yes I photoshopped this in a minute)
They should seriously hire a decent cover artist.


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## UltraParanoia (Jul 9, 2013)

th3m1ke said:


> I did too - until I saw them live with Mangini


 
Good point, that could be a game changer. 
They came here for SC & BC&SL but then didnt for ADTOE. I'm sure the new songs would of grown on me if I saw them live. But the only going off the album I find them super boring

I'll grab Live At Hyde Park when it comes out though


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## Kurkkuviipale (Jul 9, 2013)

Damn, I'm looking forward to this. That's all I wanted to say.


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## Herrick (Jul 9, 2013)

A New Dream Theater album is good news for Herrick. I like or love everything they've done except for Falling Into Infinity & Octavarium. I'm not familiar with Mangini's work outside Dream Theater so I don't know how much impact he'll have on song-writing. 

LaBrie's voice. I think he always sounds good in the studio but the live stuff I've seen online from the 2000s is hit or miss. His voice has a weird quality to it. He still sounds like he has most of his range & power but it sounds like he's singing through a piece of cellophane or something. It's always good in the studio though. Oh yeah and his aggressive "metal voice" isn't very good. I don't think it's ever been good. His voice isn't suited for that. He sounds like an angry little fury animal in that one part of The Glass Prison. I heard/saw them covering Pantera on Youtube & he sounded f*cking *whore*ndous.

On the matter of Dream Theater's heaviness: I agree with WhiteWalls. The last album had had a more lighter sound to it which is primarily attributed to the absence of Portnoy. I like some heavy Dream Theater but it can be awkward at times...like it's not meant to be or something, ha ha. I do enjoy Train of Thought though. Some of the "badass" Portnoy vocals like on A Nightmare To Remember (I know that's not on ToT) are kinda silly. 

Myung needs to be louder.



jehu12141987 said:


> My theory feels valid after his two solo albums (and no doubt his upcoming one) had great vocal parts that he orchestrated


 
Hi jehu. I haven't heard much solo LaBrie stuff just a song here and there over the years. Which songs have some of your favorite vocals performances?


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## ilyti (Jul 9, 2013)

Vinchester said:


> (Yes I photoshopped this in a minute)
> They should seriously hire a decent cover artist.


I HATE this cover. Those song titles sound like a joke, and self-titling the second one without the "important founding band member" is the same thing Evanescence did. The cover concept for THEIR self titled was similar too.

But I still have high hopes for this record. The last two SOUNDED great despite lazy, crappy cover art. Another thing that worries me about this cover is that it's sorta "sci fi" in a djent band sort of way. If there is djent on this I will cry into my pillow.


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## UltraParanoia (Jul 9, 2013)

Dont like Octavarium?! Thats crazy talk
It's almost my favourite album of theirs


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## Doug N (Jul 9, 2013)

I think DT might engender the most love/hate of any band on this website. Not trying to prove a point, just an observation. I like DT, and hope Petrucci shreds over some crazy-ass time signatures.


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## Radau (Jul 9, 2013)

I dug ADTOE, can't wait to see what they put out next!


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## Herrick (Jul 10, 2013)

UltraParanoia said:


> Dont like Octavarium?! Thats crazy talk
> It's almost my favourite album of theirs



Hmm...perhaps "don't like" is too strong  It has some good songs on there but I was never able to get into the album as a whole. Admittedly I've only heard it a handful of times.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jul 10, 2013)

UltraParanoia said:


> Dont like Octavarium?! Thats crazy talk
> It's almost my favourite album of theirs



It's also my least favorite album of theirs.


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## MetalBuddah (Jul 10, 2013)

At least we can be just about certain of one thing....no more cheesy rap sections or forced screams by none other than Mike Portnoy


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## TheWarAgainstTime (Jul 10, 2013)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> It's also my least favorite album of theirs.



But...it's my most favoritest of them


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jul 10, 2013)

TheWarAgainstTime said:


> But...it's my most favoritest of them



TOO BAD, MY OPINION IS BETTER THEN YOURS.


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## 7Heavyness (Jul 10, 2013)

I hope this one will sound like I&W.............................................


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## AliceLG (Jul 10, 2013)

th3m1ke said:


> I did too - until I saw them live with Mangini



I saw them live with Mangini and yeah, the guy is an animal. But I've also seen the Score DVD about 20 times. Mangini has mad skills but Portnoy's charisma on stage is a force to reckon with. The guy goes apeshit on the drums every single time. I've seen DT 6 times, but only once with Mangini, maybe I'm still dealing with the change and waiting to be impressed 

I miss Portnoy on the drums and production, not on vocals. I remember they got Akerfeldt to sing the "br00talz" on A Nightmare To Remember live on at least one show from the ProgNation Europe 2009. Now that's how they should've done it in the album.


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## 7Heavyness (Jul 10, 2013)

It doesn't matter which drummer has more technique, Portnoy is an awesome composer, let's see if Mangini is too.
Portnoy was always able to turn a simple guitar riff into something interesting, his drums always added soul to whatever DT was playing.
An awesome drummer who can't compose will just sound like a drum machine and won't add anything besides well played drums, there are a lot of guitarists with amazing technique but their music sucks cause they're crap composers.
Of course Mangini has awesome technique so I only hope he can compose like Portnoy and add his personality to DT.

Oh dear Lord, Escape From NY just started on tv, I'm going to have nightmares with Snake Plissken


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## oompa (Jul 10, 2013)

Well the issue for many with DT after about SFAM was that before that they did new things that blew peoples minds with every record.

Then they started doing the same thing over and over.

Being progressive is a a term with two meanings in music, it started out meaning you do something that drives the art form of music forward, then lately turned into just being music that is "more complicated than pop but not enough to be jazz" and instead the term "experimental" came in to sort of fill the void.

Now for us who like the first definition meaning a band that is progressive is a band that is focusing on doing new things with music or a genre or whatever, meaning not even their own records can sound the same because that defies the purpose.

So: with DADU and IaW they were trying to pick of the torch from Rush, to drive progressive rock into the 90's and into metal. They mixed all genres compatible with metal, it was funk, piano ballads, opera, everything.

Then Awake came and with the same margins they kind of perfected it, mission accomplished, a milestone was placed. They were defined, unique and had made an amazing transition for a type of music and done it amazingly well. Now what?

If they had done another album like that they'd already be stagnating. Instead they release a 23 minute song in 7 chapters about going through life and yada yada. A New-thing EP with tribute covers on the side.

So you thought you had figured them out.. then FII came. An album with a completely different sound, barely no distortion, soft snare, all that stuff, it had a completely different sound picture, it was barely metal, more so rock.

Now you had no idea what to expect, there was no direction to identify, were they going into rock or what?

Then came SFAM, a 70~ min story starting with hypnosis and a crime story evolves, detective-like drama, solving a murder, it was like a concept-metal-operatic-sound-story thing. 

Seeing it live was amazing then, they had a hypnotist come sit on the stage at first, do his thing with the audience, then they had two big screens playing a movie of some sorts with scenes along to the story-telling and they did the whole album back to back. That was mind-blowing, not to mention the details and references to a song they wrote 10 years prior.

-------

Then my friends, they just released 6 albums that were repetitions of what they had already done, more or less mixtures of Awake and SFAM to some degree. Reinventing yourselves for 10 years straight is an amazing feat make no mistake, I love them for what they have done, but they're not interesting anymore, and I know many who reason the same way and do it for the same reason


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## ihunda (Jul 10, 2013)

I don't understand the opinion that if they don't reinvent themselves then they suck.

If I can get great composing, amazing skillz on all instruments as well as the epic feeling that long DT songs typically convey, I'll be more than happy.

Plus that means they get to tour Europe and I can headbang to Home live once again!


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## jehu12141987 (Jul 10, 2013)

My excitement for the new album is bubbling like a proggy bowl of carbonated cereal.


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## oompa (Jul 10, 2013)

ihunda said:


> I don't understand the opinion that if they don't reinvent themselves then they suck.
> 
> If I can get great composing, amazing skillz on all instruments as well as the epic feeling that long DT songs typically convey, I'll be more than happy.
> 
> Plus that means they get to tour Europe and I can headbang to Home live once again!



Well that is great for you! But for some, 'well written and well executed' music is not enough to stay interested anymore  Once you realise that you can figure the entire album out 2 mins into the first song it just.. bores you  Then the only thing that interests you is well written and well executed music that also has something that you haven't already heard.

This is often the reason why some end up with really obscure taste in music and dive around genres for weird unknown stuff, that behaviour is driven by the same mechanics as any addiction, you need crazier stuff to get off, and you become what many with little understanding call "elitist" 

It grows to become an interest in music as an art form and what you can do with it, what wows you is when musicians go into new territories or expands on the art form in it self or some pretentious crap like that, I can't explain it lol


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## Xaios (Jul 10, 2013)

Sephiroth952 said:


>



Made me think of this. Dunno why.








Mordacain said:


> Ditto. For me, they lost me a bit after SFAM and every album after that was a little worse up until BC&SL which was just terrible IMO.
> 
> ADTOE was DT back to form for me for the most part, but the drums kind of sucked. I fully realize that was John's programming and not Mike's choices so I'm excited to here what Mangini does this time around.



Funny how it works. BC&SL was my favorite DT album since 6DOIT (Portnoy's death-Shatner voice aside ), while ADTOE may just be my least favorite album of theirs ever.


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## 7Heavyness (Jul 10, 2013)

The funny stuff is FANatics can't realise DT can't deliver what they all want, some want them back to I&W, some want them more prog and using chinese instruments, others want they reinventing themselves again and again through their entire career, some want another singer, some wanted Portnoy out while others gave up about DT because they used to say Portnoy was the man  ..............how could any artist deliver everything his fans want?
Impossible.
There's one thing DT always kept no matter how their albums sounded................their personality.

Technique = something you develop with love, passion and a metronome.
Talent = personality...............it means people know it's you(or your band) playing in the first bar.

DT already reinvented themselves so many times, they don't need to do it again cause honestly music theory is already exhausted(I hope this is the right term), nobody will deliver something that people will say WOW like they never heard something sounding close to it, from now on there'll be only derivations unless we create new notes and instruments, artists can only keep changing arrangements(clothes).

DT already did what almost no other band did so let's give them a break, maybe this next one will surprise all of us or not, maybe in 3 years they'll release another "I&W" kind of unexpected master piece which again will change the course of prog music


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## Herrick (Jul 10, 2013)

7Heavyness said:


> ...nobody will deliver something that people will say WOW like they never heard something sounding close to it, from now on there'll be only derivations unless we create new notes and instruments, artists can only keep changing arrangements(clothes).


 
Herrick disagrees, mang. I felt the first Animals As Leaders & TesseracT albums were very new-sounding things. Maybe it's because I didn't listen to whatever influenced them.


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## 7Heavyness (Jul 10, 2013)

Herrick said:


> Herrick disagrees, mang. I felt the first Animals As Leaders & TesseracT albums were very new-sounding things. Maybe it's because I didn't listen to whatever influenced them.



You cannot take in consideration only your tastes, just because those sounded different to you, it doesn't mean everybody who listened to them felt the same.
With I&W as an example, everybody was shocked, DT mixed everything good from other bands(from pop to metal) and added their personality.

The same happened with Passion & Warfare (Vai), at that time all guitarists used to say there was nothing more to do with a guitar, Vai broke all boundaries and released something that shoked everybody, liking or not Passion & Warfare made everybody think WTH!


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## Sephiroth952 (Jul 12, 2013)

I can personally say I enjoy every single album/ep DT has released in some way or another. So does that mean I'm some abomination?


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## Mordacain (Jul 12, 2013)

Sephiroth952 said:


> I can personally say I enjoy every single album/ep DT has released in some way or another. So does that mean I'm some abomination?



Nah, I've found something to like in all of the albums. Even though I thought BC&SL was terrible overall, I still really dig the Count of Tuscany (I just LOL everytime the lyrics start up).


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## MetalBuddah (Jul 12, 2013)

Sephiroth952 said:


> I can personally say I enjoy every single album/ep DT has released in some way or another. So does that mean I'm some abomination?



Nope, that means your are just like me


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## TheShreddinHand (Jul 12, 2013)

Sephiroth952 said:


> I can personally say I enjoy every single album/ep DT has released in some way or another. So does that mean I'm some abomination?



Nope, I'm the same way, although with the later releases, SDOIT and onward there are a few tunes on each album I don't necessarily dig. Everything from SFAM and earlier I love it all! Haha!



Mordacain said:


> Nah, I've found something to like in all of the albums. Even though I thought BC&SL was terrible overall, I still really dig the Count of Tuscany (I just LOL everytime the lyrics start up).



Exactly, there's at least something I like on each album. I could have done with out that horrible "Dark Master..." part on Systematic Chaos though.....ugh, cringeworthy!


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## Herrick (Jul 16, 2013)

7Heavyness said:


> *You cannot take in consideration only your tastes*, just because those sounded different to you, it doesn't mean everybody who listened to them felt the same.


 
I never said Animals As Leaders & TesseracT sounded new for everyone.


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## teamSKDM (Jul 16, 2013)

Am I the only one who feels that dream theater gets better every album? I feel I like every album more than the last. The most recent being my favorite.


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## Herrick (Jul 16, 2013)

teamSKDM said:


> Am I the only one who feels that dream theater gets better every album? I feel I like every album more than the last. The most recent being my favorite.


 
I think their sound has stabalized throughout the 2000s and I like it.


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## metal_sam14 (Jul 17, 2013)

teamSKDM said:


> Am I the only one who feels that dream theater gets better every album? I feel I like every album more than the last. The most recent being my favorite.



Nope, I adore everything they release and can appreciate both old and modern albums


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## thedonal (Jul 17, 2013)

I like all of their work generally, (except You not Me). More than anything, always hope Rudess shows a little melodic (and sonic) restraint. That sample at the start of Bridges in the Sky is terrible (the Agnus Dei sample is nice tho). It can kill the mood! 

I'll listen to this one with an open mind. I'm in two minds about the last one- sometimes I find it lacking, sometimes I quite like it- but not enough to play it as often as other albums by them. Which, maybe is the telling thing. 

I would like to see more 'progression' in the transitions between sections though- a lot of ADTOE sounded very 'edited together' to me, rather than composed- with passages leading into each other.


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## ihunda (Jul 17, 2013)

For those who hate the new DT, what's not to like in Lost Not Forgotten from the new album? I can't find any other band today that can deliver anything close to that level of all around greatness:


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## BIGRIGG (Jul 19, 2013)

I've never really understood the debating of DT is good, bad, getting better worse etc. If you like some of their music, listen to it and enjoy. I do and will. Looking forward to the new album and seeing how Mangini fits in and his writing with the band.


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## Eclipse (Jul 19, 2013)

I happen to love Dream Theater. It's just my musical taste!


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## wankerness (Jul 20, 2013)

BIGRIGG said:


> I've never really understood the debating of DT is good, bad, getting better worse etc.



Cause it's a lot more fun than posting "this rulez" or ignoring topics about them for many of us!


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## RevDrucifer (Jul 20, 2013)

It's not the lack of re-inventing that does it for me, it's the lack of letting the songs write themselves. You can tell on the first several albums that the songs were written out of jamming the .... out of the general riffs and seeing where they go. They weren't a bunch of riffs organized into neat little sections. 

I understand how efficient and easy it is for them to go into a studio for 2 weeks with a few riffs and come out with a whole album after. With DAW's it's so easy to arrange songs if you have a few riffs/progressions already. But it definitely takes away from the flow and feel of the song. 

I don't doubt that they get inspired and still write from the heart, but there was such a beauty in the songs before that came out naturally from 4 dudes who were really in tune with each other musically and would improv jam for hours.

That said, lookin' forward to the new album bigtime! Hoping Mangini breathes some serious life in the band!


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## BIGRIGG (Jul 20, 2013)

wankerness said:


> Cause it's a lot more fun than posting "this rulez" or ignoring topics about them for many of us!


 Fair enough. By the way, DT "rulez" hee hee


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## edsped (Jul 24, 2013)

thedonal said:


> I like all of their work generally, (except You not Me). More than anything, always hope Rudess shows a little melodic (and sonic) restraint. That sample at the start of Bridges in the Sky is terrible (the Agnus Dei sample is nice tho). It can kill the mood!



The Bridges in the Sky intro is fantastic, IMO. ADTOE is the first album where I can say I actually liked Jordan's playing for the most part. His sound palette seemed much more diverse and he chilled out on all the spastic shredding and pitch bending and played more actual melodies.


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## thedonal (Jul 25, 2013)

edsped said:


> The Bridges in the Sky intro is fantastic, IMO. ADTOE is the first album where I can say I actually liked Jordan's playing for the most part. His sound palette seemed much more diverse and he chilled out on all the spastic shredding and pitch bending and played more actual melodies.


 
I agree that his playing is generally more tasteful- that's a great thing.

It's just that "oooooooonnee" sample at the start that bothers me!  

I love the Agnus Dei sample (wonder where this is from- I have a Klaus Schulze DVD with it used as well- was thinking it was part of an Emulator library).

That said, I listened to the album again last night and quite enjoyed it again. I'm definitely polarised on this album depending on when I listen to it! But I guess I'm like that with some of my CD collection. 

I still love Breaking All Illusions- definitely my favourite on there.


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## Don Vito (Jul 25, 2013)

thedonal said:


> I still love Breaking All Illusions- definitely my favourite on there.


I'm not a big DT buff, but damn this is a good song.


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## ilyti (Jul 26, 2013)

Two instrumentals! String section! 20 minute song! Bass solo! This is gonna be so awesome.


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## MetalBuddah (Aug 4, 2013)

If anybody is interested....this was found on Reddit and I believe translated from Spanish to English (hence the bad English). Reading these words alone makes me incredibly excited about the album since I don't think any of these words really apply to any of their more recent albums. Have a fun read! 



> Hey look, a week ago I received a promotional copy of DT12, since in the Octavarium tour organized concert trips to Mexico City and met the band and from Systematic Chaos I have the privilege of receiving advance copies. I leave right now my little review.
> I will say that the album surprised me. It is the second concept album of the band, and is almost level with Scenes From a Memory. I'll explain a little each topic.
> 
> -*False Awakening Suite*: be surprised by its duration?. Epic topic that technology is at the service of melody. It's almost instrumental, if not for the voice of LaBrie background, which sounds through a weird effect that makes intelligible words. Is a topic frantic, almost like a song of my fellow The Mars Volta.
> ...


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## rifft (Aug 4, 2013)

Sounds like this is going to be a great album; I'm getting pretty excited for it!


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## wankerness (Aug 4, 2013)

I remember a similar advance review like that for St. Anger that made everyone think it was going to sound like Meshuggah crossed with Slayer. I remember all this talking about how Lars' snare being the most awesome, metal thing in the world, etc. It was clearly from someone who had heard the album, but had described it in the most ludicrously positive way possible and as soon as the actual album came out and all the real reviews and fan reactions started happening it looked like it was a good example of someone promising to write an incredibly positive review in exchange for getting the attention for being the first to report on it. 

So yeah, what I'm saying is, I wouldn't be surprised if that's an accurate description, but I would take it with a big grain of salt, haha. I'll keep my expectations low and hopefully be surprised instead of keeping them high and thus being disappointed if it's not Awake Pt 2.


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## Dayviewer (Aug 4, 2013)

^ if somebody can find that then it will make my week 

Looking forward to this record, single goes live tommorow right?


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## wankerness (Aug 4, 2013)

Dayviewer said:


> ^ if somebody can find that then it will make my week
> 
> Looking forward to this record, single goes live tommorow right?



I found it, I'm sure glad they archived the ol' Opeth forum going back to 2001.



> Close-up's Martin Carlsson leaves an exclusive report from the studio north of San Francisco where Metallica's working on their new album "St. Anger".
> 
> I swear on the bible, on my mother's grave or whatever - the following text is nothing less than the complete truth. This statement needs to be made, quite simply because you're probably not going to believe me. I almost wonder if I've really listened to the new Metallica album "St Anger" myself, or if somebody has been playing a trick on me and played me some new, exciting aggro-band. You see, "St. Anger" is a chock, one of music history's greatest! It is as if "Load" and "Reload" has been deleted from the map, as if the Black Album never existed, as if the Metallica we've come to know never really existed. The five songs (all of which are as of yet untitled but the title-track) I've heard exhibits a sound so EXTREME and raw that all you can do is sit there chocked with your jaw on the floor.
> 
> ...



EDIT: That link is dead, but that was posted on the Opeth forum on March 31, 2003.


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## Don Vito (Aug 4, 2013)

Was he joking?


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## tedtan (Aug 4, 2013)

Thanks for digging up that St. Anger "review", wankerness. I'm not sure if that was a paid ad or just the deranged ranting of a crackhead, but I needed a good laugh. 

Back on topic, hopefully the DT album will live up to the hype. This could kick some serious ass if it does.


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## UltraParanoia (Aug 4, 2013)

That review is magic! 

I dont have my hopes set to high. I didnt enjoy ADTOE, but with Mangini writing maybe that'll change things up a bit.

So far though, the solo James Labrie rules & I'm happy with that


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## Daf57 (Aug 5, 2013)

*Dream Theater to Drop New Single Today!*

Dream Theater to Drop New Single Today | News @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com


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## the_heretic_divine (Aug 5, 2013)

Ok,what time is this supposed to happen?


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## Daf57 (Aug 5, 2013)

the_heretic_divine said:


> Ok,what time is this supposed to happen?



They don't say in the article ...


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## Kurkkuviipale (Aug 5, 2013)

They don't say it in Facebook either. Just that we will be provided with links when it hits the air. Also it's 10.30am in NY right now, so I guess I'm keeping hopes high for 12am, haha.


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## Goro923 (Aug 5, 2013)

It's up. 7 string song. Weird time sigs. Verse reminds me of Rush. Me happy so far.

Song premiere: Dream Theater's 'The Enemy Inside'


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## samclarke669 (Aug 5, 2013)

Dream Theater Premiere: The Enemy Inside | Prog Magazine

So far this sounds AMAZING!

Edit: Oops! Ninja'd!


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## the_heretic_divine (Aug 5, 2013)

Gotta admit,it's pretty fresh sounding,compared to their last few years.


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## 7Heavyness (Aug 5, 2013)

All songs in an album follow a specific sequence to play with your feelings so the whole album should be listened like an experience and not like listening to separate tracks with crap laptop speakers while texting, "facebooking" etc.
Once you got the album, turn off the lights and enjoy the trip 
I always loved parking my car in front of the beach and listening to a new album while watching an amazing sunset, that was always an awesome trip.


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## Goro923 (Aug 5, 2013)

LaBrie sounds tired/worn, Rudess's tone is still annoying, the guitar tone reminds me a bit of The Dark Eternal Night (in a good way), can't hear Myung (thanks Soundcloud).

Other than that it's miles better than On the Backs of Angels IMO.


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## samclarke669 (Aug 5, 2013)

I've only been able to listen quietly at work so i'll give it a blast later but I adore the guitar tone, bearing in mind i was listening through one crappy headphone it sounded so aggressive. As Goro923 said, very TDeN sounding. However I thought LaBrie sounded great!


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## the_heretic_divine (Aug 5, 2013)

Goro923 said:


> LaBrie sounds tired/worn, Rudess's tone is still annoying, the guitar tone reminds me a bit of The Dark Eternal Night (in a good way), can't hear Myung (thanks Soundcloud).
> 
> Other than that it's miles better than On the Backs of Angels IMO.


I'll agree with the Rudess statement. His tones have always been God awful cheesy. Can't stand them. Petrucci should have stolen Kevin Moore's soundbank before he left.


----------



## Goro923 (Aug 5, 2013)

I think I'm just biased against LaBrie 'cause he can't sing like he did in the 90s (via food poisoning, getting old, etc). It definitely still sounds like him though 

And yeah, I don't think anybody in their right mind thinks Rudess sounds better than KM did in terms of tone.


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## DLG (Aug 5, 2013)

remember when tons of bands like Circus Maximus, Vanden Plas, Dreamscape, etc etc were coming out that sounded like watered down versions of Dream Theater?

Dream Theater sounds like one of those bands now.


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## tedtan (Aug 5, 2013)

From that link:



> "I see every new album as an opportunity to start over," Petrucci says in a release. "To either build or improve upon a direction that has been evolving over time or to completely break new ground. _*This is the first self-titled album of our career*_, and there is nothing I can think of that makes a statement of musical and creative identity stronger than that. We've fully explored all of the elements that make us unique, from the epic and intense to the atmospheric and cinematic. We're incredibly excited about _Dream Theater_ and can't wait for everyone to hear it."


 
How many self titled albums is he expecting to put out over thier career?


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## xfilth (Aug 5, 2013)

AWESOME!


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## Goro923 (Aug 5, 2013)

DLG said:


> remember when tons of bands like Circus Maximus, Vanden Plas, Dreamscape, etc etc were coming out that sounded like watered down versions of Dream Theater?
> 
> Dream Theater sounds like one of those bands now.



C'mon man, I'd say this song puts them _at least_ slightly ahead of frickin' Vanden Plas


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## s4tch (Aug 5, 2013)

Mangini is awesome, but the song is just predictable.


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## the_heretic_divine (Aug 5, 2013)

s4tch said:


> Mangini is awesome, but the song is just predictable.


...which is why it was released as a "single". You know,the whole "simple minded music,for simple minded people" concept. People,in general,are pretty friggin stupid. To be appealing,one must stay predictable.

Having said that,I actually dig the track,lol. JP's solo was pretty awesome.


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## DLG (Aug 5, 2013)

Goro923 said:


> C'mon man, I'd say this song puts them _at least_ slightly ahead of frickin' Vanden Plas



dude, I love at least two vanden plas albums. 

what I'm pretty much saying is that when I was at the height of my "buying CDs from bands that sound like dream theater" phase in 1998, I would be jizzing all over the place right now. 

not in 2013 with about 50 of those CDs in storage that I never listen to anymore. 

it's definitely a conscious decision to play it safe and stick to the generic prog metal archetype that their fans will surely gobble up. 

better than starting to djent, I guess


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## isispelican (Aug 5, 2013)

some weird power metal and metalcore influence in this that doesnt quite fit imo, Im sure there will be much better songs on the album


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## MetalBuddah (Aug 5, 2013)

Every time a single releases from a band I actually give a shit about....I am at work with no headphones


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## ALAN_C (Aug 5, 2013)

i want to download it to listen !!


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## wankerness (Aug 5, 2013)

DLG said:


> remember when tons of bands like Circus Maximus, Vanden Plas, Dreamscape, etc etc were coming out that sounded like watered down versions of Dream Theater?
> 
> Dream Theater sounds like one of those bands now.



Hey, Vanden Plas ended up developing an identity! "Beyond Daylight" was pretty good stuff. "The God Thing" sure did sound like Dream Theater-lite though.


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## Kwirk (Aug 5, 2013)

isispelican said:


> some weird power metal and metalcore influence


wot


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## DLG (Aug 5, 2013)

wankerness said:


> Hey, Vanden Plas ended up developing an identity! "Beyond Daylight" was pretty good stuff. "The God Thing" sure did sound like Dream Theater-lite though.



definitely not hating on any of those bands, I grew up with them all. 

my basic point is that dream theater sounds like those bands now because they are actually trying to copy themselves. 

I guess that's fine. there's dream theater fans who want them to do this, but I've listened to so much stuff like that over the years that I really have no desire to hear another album of "90s prog metal"

I feel that bands like Rush and King Crimson especially were able to age gracefully, change their sound and style with age and not alienate their fans in the process. It seems that dream theater are searching for a music fountain of youth instead. maybe you can wear affliction shirts and tour with trivium into your 60s?


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## Captain Butterscotch (Aug 5, 2013)

I'm about 3:30 in and I actually quite like it. This one song is better than pretty much everything on ADTOE for me. Mangini is a damned beast and I don't hate Labrie's voice as much this time around.

JP's first solo is pretty cool. The bit around 4:45 is awesome. I love it when they do stuff like that. 

The solo around 5:05 is is awesome, but I think JP has done that UBER FAST WORLD KILL descending run a little too much the past, what, 3 albums?

Super solid track. Consider me pumped to hear the rest of this album.


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## tedtan (Aug 5, 2013)

Alright, I had a chance to listen to it and, while it's not what I was hoping for, it's not bad. But I can't really agree with this part of the review MetalBuddah found. As commercial as Constant Motion, maybe, but extremely heavy, aggressive, spectacular? Not in my book. Maybe I just need to listen again.



> -*The Enemy Inside*: a very heavy. As commercial as Constant Motion, but with the darkness of Awake. LaBrie sings very aggressively here, almost 1994 disk, and Petrucci and Rudess solos are spectacular. Topic typical DT, but again, extremely heavy.


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## RevDrucifer (Aug 5, 2013)

Is this a leftover from Octavarium?

That's not to say it's not a cool tune....but it's not grabbing me right away. 

Cool tones from everyone except Ruddess. It might just be him that distracts me from getting into these tunes like I used to. I wish they'd just allow him to use KM's sounds from Awake. They could release 10 albums with those same sounds and I don't think I'd mind....just stay away from the ....ing carnival/marimba/clown/cartoon sounds.


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## Thasman (Aug 5, 2013)

For me it's a track that gets better the more time that I listen to it.
The main solo absolutely kills!!! 
Overall the track is an average dream theater track, good, but not as good as a Change of Seasons, Octavarium, As I am, Under a glass moon


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## setsuna7 (Aug 5, 2013)

Pre-ordered from itunes, got the single for free... awesome.. but can't hear Myung that much..


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## tedtan (Aug 5, 2013)

RevDrucifer said:


> I wish they'd just allow him to use KM's sounds from Awake.


 
I remember when that album came out everyone (except me) was bitching that Moore used analog synths instead of the digital models everyone else was using at the time.


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## MetalBuddah (Aug 5, 2013)

setsuna7 said:


> Pre-ordered from itunes, got the single for free... awesome.. but can't hear Myung that much..









Myung's bass solo is one of the main things I am excited for on the album


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## TheShreddinHand (Aug 5, 2013)

Didn't think it was great and didn't think it was bad either. Kinda, meh for me. I still want to hear the rest of the album first though before forming too strong of an opinion on anything.

And FWIW, the 3 albums Circus Maximus have put out > than what DT put out in the same timeframe (05' - 12') hands down. And this is coming from a HUGE DT fan here.


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## raze8000 (Aug 5, 2013)

i dint recognise the 'awake' part of the review...but its a solid track. considering they always release the weakest track as singles...this is a good buildup for me and i am super pumped for the album.

labrie ....well he isnt what he was- old news. get over it. its not his solo project that u judge based on just his singing.

mangini plays like a beast and has a significant change to the sound in general.

rudess i havent heard much in the track.

jp as always has slain everything.

i also like the bass tone for one.

again i like the track. but i am dt fanboy- i like everything they make .....and i biasedly oppose the motion here that they have lost it


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## 7Heavyness (Aug 5, 2013)

raze8000 said:


> i dint recognise the 'awake' part of the review...but its a solid track. considering they always release the weakest track as singles...this is a good buildup for me and i am super pumped for the album.
> 
> labrie ....well he isnt what he was- old news. get over it. its not his solo project that u judge based on just his singing.
> 
> ...



I'm a DT fan since 1994 but I'm not a fanatic, there are a lot of DT songs I don't like still I agree to everything you said.
People listen to a song while texting/working/spanking their monkeys through crap laptop speakers/phones and after 3 minutes they have an opinion. 
Some songs need time to grow on you and some only grow being part of a context(the whole album).I didn't listen to that single and I won't cause I have to listen the whole album in the dak with volume on 10. 
Plus music is about feelings, sensations and not about if a singer is singing the same way he did 20 years ago or if keyboard tones are crap etc, just relax and enjoy whatever a song has to give you, stop acting like a crazy emobaby Swift fan, just listen and enjoy it


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## MetalBuddah (Aug 5, 2013)

Just was able to listen to the track in my car....really liked it. Sure, Jordan was a bit cheesy but other than that, I don't think I have heard Dream Theater sound like this in quite a few albums. They have brought back some of the "silliness" (especialyl around the solo section) and IMHO, that is what really got me into Dream Theater. This track was only a single so I definitely expect the album to be even better. So glad this comes out the day after my birthday


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## Aris_T (Aug 5, 2013)

Still waiting for the whole album. I too think that they release their "weakest" tracks as singles. It's a solid track though. Mangini met my expectations with this one and I'm really eager to see what he has in store for the rest of the album. The other guys were awesome as always (but I'm a fanboy, so what do I know? ).


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## Genome (Aug 5, 2013)

Might be the Soundcloud compression but the mix sounds totally weird to me?


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## MetalBuddah (Aug 5, 2013)

Genome said:


> Might be the Soundcloud compression but the mix sounds totally weird to me?



Sounds like it to me. Soundcloud does that to my tracks all the time.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Aug 5, 2013)

Reminds me of something from When Dream and Day Unite but with LaBrie on vocals and with a 7-string. I'm digging it. 

I agree the mix does sound weird though, especially at the beginning.


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## raze8000 (Aug 5, 2013)

+1.....soundcloud has crappened all of my tracks too.....


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Aug 5, 2013)

Wouldn't also be surprised if it's soundcloud. Turns everything I upload into a muddy, bass-and-mid-heavy mess.


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## raze8000 (Aug 5, 2013)

but the solo tone is so frigging NICE


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## raze8000 (Aug 5, 2013)

a surprising change from what he generally does though. u kinda expect that fat gritty pick-attack-y tone from him........

thisone is ...err...so much more fluid . more midd-y i am assuming? i suck at this  (maybe he used the transatlantic on this one)

i honestly dno which 1 i like more :/


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## MetalBuddah (Aug 5, 2013)

raze8000 said:


> a surprising change from what he generally does though. u kinda expect that fat gritty pick-attack-y tone from him........
> 
> thisone is ...err...so much more fluid . more midd-y i am assuming? i suck at this
> 
> i honestly dno which 1 i like more :/



Sounded like the usual Petrucci rhythm tone to me


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## raze8000 (Aug 5, 2013)

i meant the lead tone in the solo....i dno i have crap headphones :/ sorry...forget i said anything


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## Black Mamba (Aug 5, 2013)

New song kicks ass!


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## MyxHarnett (Aug 5, 2013)

I actually just recorded a cover of the solo, wanted to be the first haha.
Dream Theater - The Enemy Inside (NEW song 2013) Solo Cover | Matt Harnett - YouTube


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## Santuzzo (Aug 5, 2013)

absolutely love the new song, awesome riffs, great tones, great solo!


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## SjPedro (Aug 5, 2013)

I am a big DT Fanboy believe me...Heard this track twice and I still don't know what to make of it...

What I do notice is the "chocolate cake" tone and Mangini's insane drumming. This is the REAL Mangini I guess and I can't wait to see what he's going to cook up for us in the 20 min song


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## UltraParanoia (Aug 5, 2013)

I really really didnt like A Dramatic Turn of Events.
I think this 1 song is better than that entire album


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## yellowv (Aug 5, 2013)

I love the new song, but I love everything Dream Theater.


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## ilyti (Aug 5, 2013)

Everyone saying LaBrie sounds old/worn out/still suffering from throat injury are way off the mark. He's improved on every album since Falling Into Infinity, by a little bit each time. He's completely healed of the injury, and takes vocal lessons, showing how serious he is about his instrument. And the effort he's put into it absolutely shows. 

Compare James to any power singer of his age, and he's _much_ closer to sounding like his old self than any of them. If you don't think he can hit the high notes anymore, because of some less than stellar vocal performances on Live Scenes from New York, watch the Score DVD, and he's absolutely _nailing_ what was harder for him a few years earlier. Or listen to that Zebra cover song (Take Your Fingers From My Hair) on Black Clouds disc 2.

Anyway, the song was a bit annoying at first, but it got better. I'll probably like it better in the context of the album. I'm rarely impressed by first singles from any DT album, On The Backs Of Angels being the only exception. I loved that the first time I heard it. Eagerly awaiting the album. It _will_ be better than Impermanent Resonance.


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## edsped (Aug 5, 2013)

After listening to the new single a grand total of 1 time I have to say it sounded pretty alright, which is more than I can say for On the Backs of Angels even after hearing it however many times I have at this point. Hopefully the rest of the album is way better than the single like ADTOE was.


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## UltraParanoia (Aug 5, 2013)

I think James' voice is sounding the best it has in years!
His performance on his new solo album rules


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## SenorDingDong (Aug 5, 2013)

I wasn't expecting much with the new track. Wasn't let down, but wasn't impressed either. Just more formulaic DT. 

::flame shield activate::


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## Splinterhead (Aug 5, 2013)

Composition - meh
Rudess's sounds - double meh
Mangini's playing -  maybe a few too many notes?
Can't really hear Myung...what else is new.
Petrucci's tone? - sex 
Labrie is even sounding good to me.

I'm interested in listening to the rest of the tracks.


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## Santuzzo (Aug 5, 2013)

Splinterhead said:


> Can't really hear Myung...what else is new.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Aug 5, 2013)

Poor Myung is pretty much Murderface at this point.


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## 7Heavyness (Aug 5, 2013)

Not hearing Myung?
What do you guys are using?
Crap phones?
Crap laptop speakers?
Time to get good monitors.
I can hear him perfectly, his tone is fat and keeps everything "glued".
Do you guys REALLY think that kind of studio would mess up with the bass?
Well maybe if everybody there was drunk during and after mixing.
It's a 20 years old millionaire band and not Nirvana cover in their parents basement


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Aug 5, 2013)

I'm sorry I can't afford $500 studio monitors. 



7Heavyness said:


> .
> Do you guys REALLY think that kind of studio would mess up with the bass?



By that logic, Metallica's "Death Magnetic" should have been the best produced metal album ever.


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## Santuzzo (Aug 5, 2013)

Santuzzo said:


> absolutely love the new song, awesome riffs, great tones, great solo!



someone neg repped me for liking the new song 
get a life you sad person


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## 7Heavyness (Aug 5, 2013)

Santuzzo said:


> someone neg repped me for liking the new song
> get a life you sad person



An adult who cares about that neg thing is saddest than somebody using it.
I already saw people calling themselves with the worse bad words ever so....................who the freak cares about it?


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## 7Heavyness (Aug 5, 2013)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> I'm sorry I can't afford $500 studio monitors.
> 
> 
> 
> By that logic, Metallica's "Death Magnetic" should have been the best produced metal album ever.



My friend there are monitors in all prices range.
About Death Magnetic, I can guarantee to you there are people who love it.
For everything in life there'll be always people who:

Love it.
Hate it.
Don't care about it.

So my point was if people can't listen through good monitors, never blame the mix


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## Santuzzo (Aug 5, 2013)

7Heavyness said:


> An adult who cares about that neg thing is saddest than somebody using it.
> I already saw people calling themselves with the worse bad words ever so....................who the freak cares about it?



Thanks for sharing your wisdom!


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## 7Heavyness (Aug 5, 2013)

Santuzzo said:


> Thanks for sharing your wisdom!



Will you neg rep me?
Don't do it cause I'll cry like a little girl


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## Santuzzo (Aug 5, 2013)

7Heavyness said:


> Will you neg rep me?
> Don't do it cause I'll cry like a little girl



no worries, I never use the neg rep. If anything I only use the pos rep


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## Kwirk (Aug 6, 2013)

I can hear Myung. He's a bit buried but he's definitely there. I'm listening on monitors though. Soundcloud probably has a lot to do with it as well.


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## Sephiroth952 (Aug 6, 2013)

Omg those mangini fills are ....ing fast. I guess he has to make up for all the people who wanted him to "show off" on the last record.


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## wankerness (Aug 6, 2013)

I used to think Myung was inaudible back when I listened to dream theater all the time in high school, but then I went back and listened to Train of Thought about a month ago and was struck by how loud he is. He's totally audible through most of their material, it just isn't like a band like say Spiral Architect where the bass is jacked up to three times the volume of the guitar so people that aren't used to listening to basslines can easily hear it. It sure isn't an AJFA thing with Dream Theater. I can hear him fine on this track through my average speakers, pretty good headphones, and even my half-decent earbuds. Def doesn't require monitors.

This song was kinda boring. It's not bad or anything I just don't see myself ever having any urge to listen to it again.


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## Xaios (Aug 6, 2013)

That was great. Liked it WAY more than anything off A Dramatic Turn of Events.

Dream Theater, despite being probably the most important prog-metal band in existence, has never really credibly pulled of the "metal" side of things, at least not for me. Don't get me wrong, they're pretty much my favorite band ever if I'm honest with myself. But even things like "The Glass Prison," "The Dark Eternal Night," or the whole of Train of Thought, I never thought I was hearing _metal_. Rather, it always seemed like "Dream Theater playing metal."

There were some sections of this song where I could legitimately say to myself, "this is _metal_". Like for about 7 seconds, from about 0:33 to 0:40, you could tell me I was listening to Heartwork and I wouldn't question it.


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## raze8000 (Aug 6, 2013)

https://soundcloud.com/polgarakos/dream-theater-the-enemy-inside

does this mix sound better?


----------



## thedonal (Aug 6, 2013)

Quite like the new song. Don't think it's really grabbed me as something really amazing, but good enough.

Look forward to getting the album and tickets for next year tho.


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## Sephiroth952 (Aug 6, 2013)

raze8000 said:


> https://soundcloud.com/polgarakos/dream-theater-the-enemy-inside
> 
> does this mix sound better?


Yes, it does. The drums sound so much better from the last album.


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## s4tch (Aug 6, 2013)

the_heretic_divine said:


> People,in general,are pretty friggin stupid. To be appealing,one must stay predictable.



Well, no. I don't think that when writing rock/metal music, you should treat your audience as a bunch of idiots. That certainly wasn't the case when making Awake or Change of Seasons. They didn't care about expectations at all. Then again, DT won the old fanbase by NOT being predictable at all. I&W and Awake are easily on my TOP10 ever, I'd be the happiest person to hear a refreshing record from them once again, but it won't happen. 

Probably Portnoy was right to say that this band needs a little break.



Santuzzo said:


> someone neg repped me for liking the new song
> get a life you sad person



Nevemind, I got one for naming a predictable song predictable.  Fanboys and haters are pretty much all the same: no tolerance or whatsoever.


----------



## DLG (Aug 6, 2013)

dream theater fanboys sure love to neg rep


----------



## metal_sam14 (Aug 6, 2013)

I love it, but take that with as many grains of salt as you can because I adore this band  - for those who need clarification just check my public profile picture


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## Sephiroth952 (Aug 6, 2013)

metal_sam14 said:


> I love it, but take that with as many grains of salt as you can because I adore this band  - for those who need clarification just check my public profile picture


Just because others disagree with your opinion doesn't mean your opinion is wrong. The song kicks ass.


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## Tranquilliser (Aug 6, 2013)

I have to say the thing I am most impressed with compared to Mangini's last effort is the fact that the drum mix isn't absolute shite. That was what made me really not enjoy most of ADTOE, the drum sound was just nowhere near as good or consistent as Portnoy's - with Portnoy there was a lot of variation and clarity in the drum sounds, which I felt wasn't the case for Mangini, and that was disappointing. 

Not saying either drummer is "better" than the other, but as far as mix, I think this album will make Mangini shine a lot better than ADTOE.


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## Genome (Aug 6, 2013)

It's on Spotify now, scroll down to the singles section on their page. Mix seems better, I think. 

Really digging this song after a few listens.


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## s4tch (Aug 6, 2013)

I couldn't listen to it (we listen to the radio at the office), I cannot tell you how accurate the guy is, but he was certainly quick:


----------



## Kurkkuviipale (Aug 6, 2013)

The bass is really damn audible to me. Don't know what all the stuff about that is.

However the mix is a little bit cloudy and I would argue that it's not SoundCloud. To me it sounds like it's gone through one too much compressor in the mastering stage making it way too fat. (And pumping for that matter) It's like they've tried to modernize a vintage mix and I don't like the sound of that...

As for the song, it's clearly a single. Everything is OK until the interlude at the end that I did like quite a lot. The chorus is really much like LaBries solo album stuff and the verse, as being the worst part of the song for me, sounded a bit like something from ADTOE to me. Anyway, taken that this is the single song, it's not ground braking, but it really makes me look forward to the album.


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## protest (Aug 6, 2013)

I liked it. Compare it to the other singles they've released recently and it starts to look a lot better. I'm looking forward to the rest of the album.


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## SjPedro (Aug 6, 2013)

I still think we can't hear most of this song's nuances due to Soundcloud quite literally taking a shit in our ears. The first few moments you can barely hear LaBrie's voice, Myung is M.I.A , and Rudess you can barely hear the man except on the solo and unison sections. 

This song should've been released like On The Backs of Angels was.

But hearing this song for 10th time, I quite like it


----------



## Kwirk (Aug 6, 2013)

MUCH better quality version here:


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## Genome (Aug 6, 2013)

Yep, better, but there's still a bit of flub or weirdness in the low mids on Petrucci's palm mutes that is slightly off putting to me.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Aug 6, 2013)

Thats pretty impressive for a lyric video.


----------



## ihunda (Aug 6, 2013)

s4tch said:


> I couldn't listen to it (we listen to the radio at the office), I cannot tell you how accurate the guy is, but he was certainly quick:




Man, this guy is quick! I can't even stream it from France, it's blocked outside the US and he's already making a play-through tutorial


----------



## Alberto7 (Aug 6, 2013)

I didn't hate the song, but it didn't quite strike me as anything too special. I did like the latter half of the song though, that part was really cool. The chorus is like most other Dream Theater choruses I've ever heard. The first time around it's quite "meh," but by the third time it comes around I'm already singing along . I still have to listen to the song a few more times to really let it sink in.


----------



## Doug N (Aug 7, 2013)

Honestly, DT can't win at this point. 

My left nut might not instantly explode as soon as I hear the entire album but I expect that I'll enjoy it. It probably won't be my album of the year but I know it will be some high-level shit that's worth my money.


----------



## Slunk Dragon (Aug 7, 2013)

I personally like this single. It's got the energy I love from other Dream Theater albums like Octavarium and Systematic Chaos. LaBrie sounds pretty decent here for me, way better than some of his vocals on other DT songs for sure.

I'm psyched for the new album!


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## SD83 (Aug 7, 2013)

As someone who prefers their "heavier" songs by far, I really like this  A lot. Rudess could use some different sounds and I still can hardly hear Myung (he is there, I do hear the bass, it's just the fact that to me it sounds like he is very much in the background in this mix), but everything else sounds great to me. Including LaBrie, which is not always the case with Dream Theater songs


----------



## Kiwimetal101 (Aug 7, 2013)

Dig the new song, nothing amazing but refreshing enough to enjoy

Glad to see they let Mangini off the chain a little


----------



## tyler_faith_08 (Aug 7, 2013)

Sorry, but I wasn't mind blown like I am with a lot of other DT stuff. It was well above average for a lot of music, but still not what I was hoping to hear. Myung's bass is sitting there with the standby switch off, Mangini's drums are too quiet, and Rudess doesn't have a decent amount of material. I'm a little disappointed. Cool song, just below average for DT.


----------



## thedonal (Aug 7, 2013)

It's definitely growing on me, you know.


----------



## Goro923 (Aug 7, 2013)

Christ, unsigned neg reps flying up in this bitch.


----------



## Narrillnezzurh (Aug 7, 2013)

Let's not forget, the early single for A Dramatic Turn of Events was by far the worst song on the finished album.


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## Kurkkuviipale (Aug 7, 2013)

Narrillnezzurh said:


> Let's not forget, the early single for A Dramatic Turn of Events was by far the worst song on the finished album.



I thought it was one of the strongest from the record.


----------



## Genome (Aug 8, 2013)

Weren't they doing a competition to see who could shoot the best video for Lost Not Forgotten? What happened with that?


----------



## metal_sam14 (Aug 8, 2013)

Genome said:


> Weren't they doing a competition to see who could shoot the best video for Lost Not Forgotten? What happened with that?



If I remember correctly they were using the winning video on the screens during the live performance of the track on tour.


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## atimoc (Aug 8, 2013)

As far as heavy DT goes, I think it's a solid song. Great drumming too, Mangini doesn't screw around. 

The only thing that is a turnoff for me are the synths. It's not that I dislike Rudess nor even the lines he plays, but the sounds he prefers nowadays usually make me feel like the circus came to town... If only they did one album where he erased every single patch from his synths apart from grand piano and maybe some strings and pads.


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## TheShreddinHand (Aug 8, 2013)

The more and more I listen to it the more it's growing on me. Especially on a good set of cans. Myung is audible but still buried. JP's tone is freakin' Godly though.


----------



## Doug N (Aug 8, 2013)

TheShreddinHand said:


> The more and more I listen to it the more it's growing on me. Especially on a good set of cans. Myung is audible but still buried. JP's tone is freakin' Godly though.


 
Yep on JP. As far as I know he's using the AxeFX for effects, still running through the MBoogie.


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## MetalBuddah (Aug 8, 2013)

TheShreddinHand said:


> The more and more I listen to it the more it's growing on me. Especially on a good set of cans. Myung is audible but still buried. JP's tone is freakin' Godly though.


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## Xaios (Aug 8, 2013)

atimoc said:


> The only thing that is a turnoff for me are the synths. It's not that I dislike Rudess nor even the lines he plays, but the sounds he prefers *nowadays* usually make me feel like the circus came to town... If only they did one album where he erased every single patch from his synths apart from grand piano and maybe some strings and pads.



Nowadays?

Ever listen to "Home" or "The Dance of Eternity?"


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## 7Heavyness (Aug 8, 2013)

Obviously they like his synths sounds so don't expect any change about it


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## Kurkkuviipale (Aug 8, 2013)

I don't get it. The thing that made this song for me was the synths, pretty much the only thing to keep the interest on until the last few minutes. Then again, I'm a synth nerd too so that might explain...


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## Narrillnezzurh (Aug 8, 2013)

Kurkkuviipale said:


> I thought it was one of the strongest from the record.



wait wat


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## MaxOfMetal (Aug 9, 2013)

7Heavyness said:


> An adult who cares about that neg thing is saddest than somebody using it.
> I already saw people calling themselves with the worse bad words ever so....................who the freak cares about it?



Big words coming from the hypocrite who negged him and then proceeded to neg him more and more on random posts. 

Enjoy your time off.


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## atimoc (Aug 9, 2013)

Xaios said:


> Nowadays?
> 
> Ever listen to "Home" or "The Dance of Eternity?"



About to Crash from 6 Degrees is the pinnacle for me as far as Jordan's DT sounds go. There haven't been many songs with piano tones like that since. I'll grant you that SFAM had some serious carnie moments as well, but it also had some amazing piano/orchestral parts.


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## Kurkkuviipale (Aug 9, 2013)

Narrillnezzurh said:


> wait wat



Yea, On The Backs Of Angels is a really good song in my opinion. Not saying the rest were not close or even better, but by no means is the song a weak one on that record.


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## isispelican (Aug 9, 2013)

^ i love that song!


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## bargil101 (Aug 9, 2013)

I've got to say I thought the drums would be so much different but Mangini really does still keep it DT, just with his own bits added and it sounds flipping awesome!


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## ilyti (Aug 9, 2013)

Popular themes in DT threads:

"WHY don't they let Mike Mangini do MORE?! Just because I didn't see any writing credits on the last album means _they're not letting him be great_!!"
"James LaBrie is, like, a BIT better on this track than usual.. I can't stand him most of the time..."
"This sounds like a leftover from Systematic Chaos.."
"This sounds like something from When Dream and Day Unite.." (about the same song.. are you listening to two different songs?)
"I dunno guys, sorry but, this just_ isn't_ up to par with their previous material. I've been a fan since 1994 therefore blah blah blah"
"JP's TOOOOONE, SWEET!"
"What happened to JP's tone?? Why does he have to try to be so metal nowadays?"
"I can't hear John Myung.. (because I can't distinguish that JP's FAT RICH TONE is actually augmented heavily by the bass)"
"Jordan and his stupid circus music.. I don't get it."
"They've been musically stale for 10 years already, just take a break already.."

Not intended to be directed toward anyone, just pointing out stuff that's funny.


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## Malkav (Aug 13, 2013)

I thought it was awesome, total step in a great direction - Good mix of having an actual song and an amazing instrumental section, all the parts also seemed nice and cohesive to me, it's not their most outrageous offering to date, but then again it is the single...


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## Captain Butterscotch (Aug 14, 2013)

Album Review: Dream Theater - "Dream Theater" | Premier Guitar

I hate reviews that have lots of words but say nothing.


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## Xaios (Aug 14, 2013)

Captain Butterscotch said:


> Album Review: Dream Theater - "Dream Theater" | Premier Guitar
> 
> I hate reviews that have lots of words but say nothing.



This review reads like it was written for people who aren't already Dream Theater fans. It's perfectly descriptive in very broad terms, but the faithful will seek much more specific information.


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## Alberto7 (Aug 14, 2013)

That review was nice; as nice as such a short review can be. The problem I have with it is that it doesn't state outright why it didn't get a full score. I guess I'll just wait for the next one.

On that note, I've listened to the song several times now. I guess I can say now that I "understand" it, sort of thing, and I like it much more than before, but it's still not up to my usual Dream Theater standards. Great song, nonetheless.


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## Garband (Aug 14, 2013)

I'll preface what I'm about to say by saying I haven't really been a fan since Systematic Chaos. I liked a good bit of SC, but I still haven't even listened to all of BC&SL, though I did like the first song the ones after just drained it. I like the first four songs on ADTE, but even then that's only parts.

I was concerned after SC, and after BC&SL I said I wasn't going to buy the next album. But then Portnoy left and I hoped their sound would go back to Images and Words/Awake. But it didn't, so after ADTE I said the same thing.

Just now listening to The Enemy Inside as a result of this (because I've been ignoring anything DT related).

I was typing all of this out while listening, so I dunno the timestamps, but half of this song sounds like a mishmash of songs they've already released. And I don't just mean reminiscent, I mean near identical chord progression (sounds like something off of Scenes from a Memory) and riffage to some of their newer stuff. Speaking of that, I was really sourly disappointed when I heard JP rip part of the Metropolis pt 1 solo for one of the songs on ADTE. I lost a lot of respect for them because of that.

They're just not creative anymore. It sounds like radio garbage over half the time and one of the main reasons I even ever listened to DT, Petrucci's playing, is stale. Then again, this is all just a disgruntled opinion. I'm sure there's a couple good places in a few songs in the last few albums, but to me it's not worth it trying to find them.


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## Jzbass25 (Aug 14, 2013)

Captain Butterscotch said:


> Album Review: Dream Theater - "Dream Theater" | Premier Guitar
> 
> I hate reviews that have lots of words but say nothing.



Funny, the wording of that review has changed since this morning. He mentioned "6 string volleys" or something like that and I commented on how the enemy inside was on a 7 string guitar. Now all of a sudden there is no mention of 6 string anything


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## Sephiroth952 (Aug 15, 2013)

Thiago has gotten to it. \m/


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## ihunda (Aug 15, 2013)

Latest "in the studio video", damn those are cheesy:


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## p0ke (Aug 16, 2013)

I just preordered the album


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## DLG (Aug 16, 2013)

why is mangini wearing a myung wig?


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## Xiphos68 (Aug 19, 2013)

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/inte...i_you_dont_have_to_be_afraid.html?no_takeover

Really cool interview of John Petrucci on the new album and I just got really excited reading this...



> *The album opens with the dramatic instrumental, "False Awakening Suite." This is the first instrumental you've recorded since "Stream of Consciousness" on the 2003 record, "Train of Thought." Were you trying to set a mood with an all music-track?*
> Yeah, absolutely. It's kinda like the idea was when we play live and before we hit the stage, we like to have some sort of like you said dramatic piece of music and something cinematic to bring us onstage. We've used the music from "*Psycho*" before and *Hans Zimmer*. The last tour was a piece from the movie "*Inception*" and just stuff that really sets the mood and you know the band's coming onstage. It was kinda like, _"Well, let's write our own. We can do this. How hard could it be?"_ So we wrote our own cinematic opening and the cool thing is it has real strings on it and it has that cinematic vibe but it's in the style of metal and it's kind of a progressive version of it. It's our spin on that type of opening.
> *Those are real strings?*
> Yeah, it's a real string section.


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## Alberto7 (Aug 19, 2013)

Jesus, that such a detailed interview! I almost feel as though I've already heard the album . Can't wait to hear it!


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## Malkav (Aug 19, 2013)

Legitimately gotta be the best thing posted on Ultimate Guitar in years...That place has turned into such a tabloid site...


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## rx (Aug 19, 2013)

Malkav said:


> Legitimately gotta be the best thing posted on Ultimate Guitar in years...That place has turned into such a tabloid site...



That place was always a dump.


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## ilyti (Aug 23, 2013)

Garband said:


> I'll preface what I'm about to say by saying I haven't really been a fan since Systematic Chaos. I liked a good bit of SC, but I still haven't even listened to all of BC&SL, though I did like the first song the ones after just drained it. I like the first four songs on ADTE, but even then that's only parts.
> 
> I was concerned after SC, and after BC&SL I said I wasn't going to buy the next album. But then Portnoy left and I hoped their sound would go back to Images and Words/Awake. But it didn't, so after ADTE I said the same thing.
> 
> ...


Thank you for reiterating common themes in DT threads. Proves I'm very observant (and usually right).


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## technomancer (Aug 24, 2013)

*Let's stop the shit talking other forums guys*


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## DTay47 (Aug 24, 2013)

Anyone else notice he mentioned his "new dimarzio eliminator pickups"? Someone got some more info on them? The only result I can find in that interview...


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Aug 24, 2013)

I think this was discussed before; it's a custom pickup made for the JP13s that are voiced to work with the JP13's preamp.


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## Given To Fly (Aug 25, 2013)

I just downloaded "The Enemy Inside" and I think its a great song! The rhythmic counterpoint between the drums and guitar in the first minute is pretty amazing! Overall, I think its a refreshing Dream Theater song. I won't hold it against Dream Theater for sounding like Dream Theater either.


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## slapnutz (Aug 25, 2013)

ihunda said:


> Latest "in the studio video", damn those are cheesy:




A guilty pleasure for me in watching any of these type of videos is to catch a moment where the Myung speaks.


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## ilyti (Aug 26, 2013)

technomancer said:


> *Let's stop the shit talking other forums guys*


If you mean me, I wasn't intending to shit talk any other forums.. I was talking about the DT threads that keep coming back over and over on _this_ board, and how that is what it usually becomes. But anyway, I won't do it again...


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## kamello (Aug 26, 2013)

ilyti said:


> If you mean me, I wasn't intending to shit talk any other forums.. I was talking about the DT threads that keep coming back over and over on _this_ board, and how that is what it usually becomes. But anyway, I won't do it again...



naah, a dude above was saying things against Ultimate Guitar


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## ilyti (Aug 26, 2013)

Oh OK I guess I missed that.


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## Herrick (Aug 26, 2013)

Garband said:


> ...I was really sourly disappointed when I heard JP rip part of the Metropolis pt 1 solo for one of the songs on ADTE. I lost a lot of respect for them because of that.


 
Which part & which song?


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## RevDrucifer (Aug 27, 2013)

Garband said:


> Speaking of that, I was really sourly disappointed when I heard JP rip part of the Metropolis pt 1 solo for one of the songs on ADTE. I lost a lot of respect for them because of that.



Sourly dissapointed- That's what happens when you open up a package of Sour Patch Kids and there aren't any red ones in it. 

"Erotomania" must make you HATE the band!


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## Malkav (Aug 27, 2013)

kamello said:


> naah, a dude above was saying things against Ultimate Guitar


 
FWIW I was referring to Ultimate Guitar from a news site perspective - not the forum.


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## Konfyouzd (Aug 27, 2013)

Buying that...


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## s4tch (Sep 9, 2013)

An other new song is out, called 'Along for the ride':
PREMIER: Along For The Ride - Új Dream Theater-dal - Rock STATION

It might be a Hungary exclusive stream, so it might not work for everyone. There must be some worldwide streams soon.


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## Kwirk (Sep 9, 2013)

It's here too:
GRAMMY.com Exclusive First Listen: Dream Theater | GRAMMY.com

Not liking the drum sound at all. Sounded fine on Enemy Within, but not working for me here. That's one thing Portnoy was great at (among others). Octavarium is a great example of him changing his drum sounds on a song by song basis to suite the song. Even within the same song it would be different if need be. This snare needs to go.


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## Kurkkuviipale (Sep 9, 2013)

I have to disagree. I sort of disliked enemy insides drums at first but this is sitting pretty good for me. I can see why someone would find that snare weird. IMO it sits pretty well. Like this better to the 'lead single'.


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## SjPedro (Sep 9, 2013)

well this was a very commercial balad...


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## DLG (Sep 9, 2013)

:yawn:


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## Xiphos68 (Sep 9, 2013)

This is one of the few times that I have been disappointed with Dream Theater...


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## jonajon91 (Sep 9, 2013)

some guy in the comments said:


> Well I think its official that dream theater are on autopilot now


I think thats pretty accurate. And that keyboard sound


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## flo (Sep 9, 2013)

The part from 1:20 to 1:42 is brilliant


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## osmosis2259 (Sep 9, 2013)

Makes sense for them to release this as their 2nd single (one metal, one ballad). Just a decent track overall that I'm sure is in the right place to put in the album before the big epic.

If anyone is interested, here is a very detailed review of the album. A very interesting read for sure.

Dream Theater &#8211; Dream Theater (2013) English Review | DTNorway


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## TheShreddinHand (Sep 9, 2013)

Filler.....anxiously awaiting the rest of the album.


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## wankerness (Sep 10, 2013)

jonajon91 said:


> I think thats pretty accurate. And that keyboard sound



Haha, I was immediately horrified by it. The only thing I can think of that resembles it is this song (besides the very beginning, it makes its big entrance at 0:52):



But, this one used it to much better effect and at least had the good sense to bury it in the muddy production!

EDIT: I see someone else commented on the drum sound. THe bass drums sound really clicky and like something from an extreme metal album or something to me, I'm not sure what's going on. It will probably be fine on the "metal" songs but here it's kind of wtf.


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## Alberto7 (Sep 10, 2013)

I am very indifferent towards this second single. I even forgot I was even listening to it during the song's last minute. It became background music. I like the acoustic guitar part in the intro though, and the guitar part at 2:10.

Also, everybody seems to love Petrucci's tone in both singles. Am I the only one who feels there's something off about them? I couldn't really say what it is though.


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## TheShreddinHand (Sep 10, 2013)

Alberto7 said:


> I am very indifferent towards this second single. I even forgot I was even listening to it during the song's last minute. It became background music. I like the acoustic guitar part in the intro though, and the guitar part at 2:10.
> 
> Also, everybody seems to love Petrucci's tone in both singles. Am I the only one who feels there's something off about them? I couldn't really say what it is though.



In this new single I thought the distorted guitar sounded a little overly compressed or something when it kicked in. Something is off to my ears. But I dug his tone on Enemy Inside for sure.


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## Genome (Sep 16, 2013)

Album stream is up... all I can say is that they must have been tricking us with those singles. The rest of the album is mindblowing!

UK Stream: 

Dream Theater Exclusive: New album in full | News | Prog Magazine

US Stream: 

Dream Theater Streams New Album - in Metal News ( Metal Underground.com )


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## New Age Moron (Sep 16, 2013)

This is the best Dream Theater album since Images And Words


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## molsoncanadian (Sep 16, 2013)

Anyone know of a way to get around the regional content block? Can't access any of this in Canada...not sure why they do that....


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## Captain Butterscotch (Sep 16, 2013)

I love this entire CD. Holy freaking crap.


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## Devils Lullaby (Sep 16, 2013)

The new album is freakin awesome!  

This song for me is the highlight! this is just so good


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## Alberto7 (Sep 17, 2013)

I really really want to listen to this right now. Anyone know where to listen to it from outside the US and UK, specifically from Canada?

EDIT: Nevermind, guys. Us people in Canada can listen to it here:

http://www.bravewords.com/news/210488

Not as neat as Soundcloud, and sound quality is kinda shit, but we still get to listen to it! Not sure if it'll be viewable by people outside of Canada.
Just 2 and a half minutes into "False Awakening Suite" and this is already epic! 

EDIT 2: I think it might be listening fatigue due to a short attention span (for these things anyway), but I liked the first half of the album better than the second. Definitely needs more listens.


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