Your Controversial Opinions on DT

[Train of Naught]

Outcry is perfect the way it is.

Top 4 ADTOE song for me, and that's easily one of my favorite albums.

[54_diplomats]

Not sure if I said this already in this thread but I rank WDADU higher than the last 4 DT albums.

[sneakyblueberry]

The only way DT will ever be relevant is if they start playing Djent

THERE I SAID IT.

[JLa]

JLB needs to shut up. No, not from singing, but in (live) situations where the band has this awesome groove/riff/metal/ thing going, he far too often tries to get the crowd going by shouting "HEY! HEY! HEY!". Again and again, every single time! Ruins the whole thing. Now he ruined The Glass Prison from Gigantour for me.

James, no more "HEY!", OK?

[Train of Naught]

I don't even consider that controversial, I think it's pretty much universally frowned upon. Don't get  me wrong, I think James is an awesome singer, but I've never really considered him to be as good a frontman.

[jakepriest]

I've never even considered JLB to be a frontman. 

[TheGreatPretender]

I've never even considered JLB to be a frontman. 

Well... That is an opinion, I guess... But it's incorrect, since he is a front man. It's kind of like saying, "I've never considered Bruce Campbell to be an actor."

[CDrice]

Well some people complain that the band is too static and are boring to watch live. And when James tries to engage the crowd some tell him he should shut up. Unfortunately, he really can't win either way 

[Train of Naught]

Let's face it, we will never be satisfied until James sings Your Majesty live.

[CDrice]

Let's face it, we will never be satisfied until James sings Your Majesty live.

John: Hey James! For the next tour, I thought about bringing back Your Majesty to the setlist. What do you think?
James: Ahaha, nice one John! For a second I really believed you.
John:... I was serious.
James:...
John: So?

James: *wakes up screaming* YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! Oh god, I was just dreaming. Well, that will be nightmare I'll remember.

[Train of Naught]

Ahh, great banter during the late night.

[SeRoX]

I've never even considered JLB to be a frontman. 

Well... That is an opinion, I guess... But it's incorrect, since he is a front man. It's kind of like saying, "I've never considered Bruce Campbell to be an actor."

I believe he means something other than just singing. Let's be honest about it, being a frontman is not JLB's strong side. I have to admit he improves himself about stage manners and control but again he is simply not good at it. His focusing is like just singing well and conveying the feelings which he does it just perfect, imo. But being a frontman is another matter. Maybe, Bruce Dickinson is a great example for that matter.

[Train of Naught]

Yes, Bruce Dickinson has always been the first name to come to my mind when I hear frontman, another great one is Myles Kennedy.

[425]

Well... That is an opinion, I guess... But it's incorrect, since he is a front man. It's kind of like saying, "I've never considered Bruce Campbell to be an actor."

I believe he means something other than just singing. Let's be honest about it, being a frontman is not JLB's strong side. I have to admit he improves himself about stage manners and control but again he is simply not good at it. His focusing is like just singing well and conveying the feelings which he does it just perfect, imo. But being a frontman is another matter. Maybe, Bruce Dickinson is a great example for that matter.

While that may be the case, he is in fact a frontman. Whether he is a good frontman is an opinion, whether he is a frontman is not. It is a fact that he is a frontman. If you say that he is not a frontman, you are factually, evidentially, objectively wrong.

[TheGreatPretender]

While that may be the case, he is in fact a frontman. Whether he is a good frontman is an opinion, whether he is a frontman is not. It is a fact that he is a frontman. If you say that he is not a frontman, you are factually, evidentially, objectively wrong.

Exactly.

As to whether he is a good frontman or not, I mean, if you compare everyone to Bruce Dickinson, then 70+% of frontmen out there wouldn't be considered good. Personally, having been a DT fan for as long as I have, I grew to like James' stage presence. I mean, it's a little awkward at times, but that in itself gives it its own charm. It's like Geddy Lee, minimal though his on-stage audience interaction may be, it's kind of awkward, but it's a part of why I love the guy. You're not looking for him to seem like some Badass Rock Hero, you're just looking for him to address the crowd and talk about the songs and the band a little bit. And frankly, on Live at Luna Park, those little blurbs that he said about JR and JP after their solos, I thought were very poignant.

[KevShmev]

I agree with JLa that LaBrie has too many live moments where he talks over music at the wrong times.  You have to know when and where to pick your spots, and too often, James talks at the wrong time. 

[Setlist Scotty]

I agree with JLa that LaBrie has too many live moments where he talks over music at the wrong times.  You have to know when and where to pick your spots, and too often, James talks at the wrong time.

Yup. For me, it was his habit on the Dramatic tour of introducing the songs after the band had already been playing the song for a full minute - it's like he forgot to introduce the song beforehand and decided to do it anyway. Perfect examples of this are 6:00 and AFiL on L@LP. Not sure who came up with this "brilliant" idea, but it annoys me to no end. If you're gonna introduce a song, do it before they start playing it or at the very least, say something right when the band starts playing it (such as AFiL on L@tM, where there's no break between it and Metropolis).

[Bertielee]

I agree with JLa that LaBrie has too many live moments where he talks over music at the wrong times.  You have to know when and where to pick your spots, and too often, James talks at the wrong time.

Agreed. That's what buggers me the most about JLB too, as much as I love the man as a singer. Sometimes, I just want to say : "Shut the f*** up, man!"

On a side note, speaking of favourite fromtmen, I would add Freddie Mercury to the bunch. Now, talk about stage presence(imho, anyways)!

B.Lee

[Train of Naught]

Or let's compare all frontmen to the Green Day guy who is drunk on stage the whole time and smashing his guitar while cursing at his fans.

[jjfumbly]

Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence is the best Dream Theater album, with Black Clouds and Silver linings in second place. Awake among the worst in their repertoire.

[TheGreatPretender]

Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence is the best Dream Theater album, with Black Clouds and Silver linings in second place. Awake among the worst in their repertoire.

You've probably lost quite a few people towards the end, but Six Degrees is a very common #1 among fans, at least on this forum.

[Train of Naught]

Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence is the best Dream Theater album, with Black Clouds and Silver linings in second place. Awake among the worst in their repertoire.

I agree with SDOIT and Awake, but I find it really hard to place BC&SL, I like every song on it, but it doesn't come to mind as one of the best albums for some reason, maybe because I don't find it enjoyable in its entirety, bad flow possibly.

[Stadler]

I agree with JLa that LaBrie has too many live moments where he talks over music at the wrong times.  You have to know when and where to pick your spots, and too often, James talks at the wrong time.

Agreed. That's what buggers me the most about JLB too, as much as I love the man as a singer. Sometimes, I just want to say : "Shut the f*** up, man!"

On a side note, speaking of favourite fromtmen, I would add Freddie Mercury to the bunch. Now, talk about stage presence(imho, anyways)!

B.Lee

No arguments with Mercury (look how he owned the stage at Live Aid, my first time seeing him actually perform).  The "Best Frontman" conversation cannot be had without Bruce Dickinson somewhere in the mix.   I personally put him at greatest metal frontman of all time (and it isn't close) and in the top three, MAYBE five rock in general.  For "rock", Bono has to be there too.

[Stadler]

JLB needs to shut up. No, not from singing, but in (live) situations where the band has this awesome groove/riff/metal/ thing going, he far too often tries to get the crowd going by shouting "HEY! HEY! HEY!". Again and again, every single time! Ruins the whole thing. Now he ruined The Glass Prison from Gigantour for me.

James, no more "HEY!", OK?

For me, it's not just the "HEY".  I've already said here that I love his voice, it's the reason I noticed DT back in '91, and he's the one guy that if he left I would probably stop following DT, but having said that, he, along with Steve Perry of Journey, are the absolute worst at stage banter, and because of that stupid faux rock voice they use. "Hello Deeeee-troit, are you ready to raaawwwwwwkkkkkkkkk!" They sound like bad caricatures of DJ's from the 50's and 60's.  "Give it up fo a-mista John Petrucci who is gowna play a little blooze fo ya, now!"

Please.  Shut up and sing for gosh sakes.

[matthewmatt]

Warning! This is some heavy stuff 

Copying from posts I have made in another thread on another forum:

This reminds me of the time I told my Dream Theater-loving friend that Awake is overblown, overlong, brooding piece of sh*t, pompous even for DT standards, full of boy-bandish choruses (Innocence Faded, Caught in a Web) and half-assed ballads (The Silent Man, Lifting Shadows Off a Dream) and that Moore creepiness in the end that really even sounds to me like watching a stalker masturbate. Poor guy seemed to have something like a heart attack. 
I have since come to like the album quite a lot, but the friendship never quite recovered.

And then:

I don't know what it is that makes Awake of all things the sacred cow of Dream Theater albums, while most people completely overlook Falling into Infinity or When Dreams and Day Unite.
Like I said, I have come to like the album a lot, but some of my previous criticisms still stand (the ballads are really so-so and - for example - Hollow Years' so much better I can't even) and overall it still sounds to me like a very incoherent and inconsistent album. And Space-Dye Vest has no business being there at all, IMHO.
It's funny how everyone dislikes audio clips in latter part of DT's career, yet they don't mind it here, for example.
And The Mirror/Lie is Dream Theater's Acacia Avenue - a song I could hear another 100 000 times and I still wouldn't remember how it goes.
Plus the album's definitely overlong - the much longer FII or SC seem to me much shorter, subjectively. When the second half of the record comes around, I just feel like it's a very long ride.
As far as I'm concerned, I nowadays go crazy about Scarred, Caught in a Web and mostly all of AMBI, cheesy as The Silent Man is. I have also developed a weak spot for Innocence Faded, since it's my wife's favourite early DT song.
But I don't get what makes this the masterpiece to end all masterpieces. Honestly, no trolling here.

Like I said, this is some heavy stuff. 

[Outcrier]

But I don't get what makes this the masterpiece to end all masterpieces. Honestly, no trolling here.

Between the fandom, that's the status of Images and Words, not Awake.

But Awake is up there within the top 4 generally and i agree.

[Train of Naught]

Warning! This is some heavy stuff 

Copying from posts I have made in another thread on another forum:

This reminds me of the time I told my Dream Theater-loving friend that Awake is overblown, overlong, brooding piece of sh*t, pompous even for DT standards, full of boy-bandish choruses (Innocence Faded, Caught in a Web) and half-assed ballads (The Silent Man, Lifting Shadows Off a Dream) and that Moore creepiness in the end that really even sounds to me like watching a stalker masturbate. Poor guy seemed to have something like a heart attack. 
I have since come to like the album quite a lot, but the friendship never quite recovered.

And then:

I don't know what it is that makes Awake of all things the sacred cow of Dream Theater albums, while most people completely overlook Falling into Infinity or When Dreams and Day Unite.
Like I said, I have come to like the album a lot, but some of my previous criticisms still stand (the ballads are really so-so and - for example - Hollow Years' so much better I can't even) and overall it still sounds to me like a very incoherent and inconsistent album. And Space-Dye Vest has no business being there at all, IMHO.
It's funny how everyone dislikes audio clips in latter part of DT's career, yet they don't mind it here, for example.
And The Mirror/Lie is Dream Theater's Acacia Avenue - a song I could hear another 100 000 times and I still wouldn't remember how it goes.
Plus the album's definitely overlong - the much longer FII or SC seem to me much shorter, subjectively. When the second half of the record comes around, I just feel like it's a very long ride.
As far as I'm concerned, I nowadays go crazy about Scarred, Caught in a Web and mostly all of AMBI, cheesy as The Silent Man is. I have also developed a weak spot for Innocence Faded, since it's my wife's favourite early DT song.
But I don't get what makes this the masterpiece to end all masterpieces. Honestly, no trolling here.

Like I said, this is some heavy stuff. 

Yeah, after the most recent general consensus on top DT albums Awake came out on #4 I believe, but still pretty close to #5, although I agree with you mostly. Awake is one of my least favorite albums, but I will never criticize Space-Dye Vest,






never.

[Mosh]

Warning! This is some heavy stuff 

Copying from posts I have made in another thread on another forum:

Feel like I've read this before. 

[Rodni Demental]

but I will never criticize Space-Dye Vest,






never.

I will! It's slow, monotonous, repetitive and boring. It truly is the black sheep of the DT library of songs. I often don't listen to Awake because I know it'll just end on a sour note.  Also, boring to play, no wonder Jordan got bored with this song on the JLB duo version. Arguably this would have been the best version imo with those additions from JR... - If JP hadn't stolen the show with his guitar solo in the recent live versions.

[Lucien]

it's good whenever there isn't some silly movie quote happening

[425]

Space Dye Vest is really good, but I really never got the Awake fascination either. It's a solid album, probably around the middle of their discography in my ranking, but it was released in between two superior albums.

I don't get the fascination with Erotomania. It's a good instrumental but not mind-blowing. The whole The Mirror/Lie/Lifting Shadows swing is overrated as well.

Overall, it has some great songs in Voices, Scarred and Space Dye Vest, and some very good ones in the first three. That's enough to earn the #7 or so ranking for me, but nothing more. The one before, the two after, and the three most recent ones at minimum are better than Awake.

[TheCountOfNYC]

Space-Dye Vest is one of my least favorite DT songs. I seriously don't understand the love for it. The fact that it ends Awake keeps that album down in the bottom half of their discography.

[matthewmatt]

Warning! This is some heavy stuff 

Copying from posts I have made in another thread on another forum:

Feel like I've read this before. 

No, sir, that's simply not possible! 

[abydos]

SC avatar

Your opinion is invalid, therefore it cannot hurt me! AWAKE 4LIFE!

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

I will! It's slow, monotonous, repetitive and boring. It truly is the black sheep of the DT library of songs. I often don't listen to Awake because I know it'll just end on a sour note.  Also, boring to play, no wonder Jordan got bored with this song on the JLB duo version. Arguably this would have been the best version imo with those additions from JR... - If JP hadn't stolen the show with his guitar solo in the recent live versions.

no