Last 3 albums with Portnoy vs First 3 albums with Mangini

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

The thing about the Mangini albums, whether you like them or not, is that they feel inspired and there was clearly A LOT of work put into them (mainly in The Astonishing). With ADTOE, they had the big burden of proving people that DT wasn't dead; with DT they had the challenge of creating a follow-up to that album and having Mangini being a part of the creative process for the first time: and The Astonishing speaks for itself.

The last 2 Portnoy albums to me sound like: Hey, let's go back into the studio. We have a clean slate + an AA song to write.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

Every band, especially those that have been around for decades and decades, has two or three albums that get lost in the shuffle, at least in my experience. It's not necessarily because they're bad albums, but maybe they're just not quite as good as the rest of their discography, and there's only so much time in a day, so I forget about them. For DT, I think that SC and BC&SL fall into that category.

With that being said, I listened to ITPOE yesterday, and remembered how awesome a song it is.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Every band, especially those that have been around for decades and decades, has two or three albums that get lost in the shuffle, at least in my experience. It's not necessarily because they're bad albums, but maybe they're just not quite as good as the rest of their discography, and there's only so much time in a day, so I forget about them. For DT, I think that SC and BC&SL fall into that category.

With that being said, I listened to ITPOE yesterday, and remembered how awesome a song it is.

I just read your post and remembered how awesome a poster you are.

 

[hefdaddy42]

Hear! Hear!

But my opinion of those two albums is not as forgiving as TOX's.

Of the two, I think that SC is definitely better.

[Prog Snob]

Don't care for any of them, so I'm not voting.  Curious to see what the results end up looking like.  Then I'd be curious to see how a first 3 MP albums vs. first 3 MM albums went down.

Considering that would include I &W and Awake, I can't see the MP batch losing. What do you think Coz?

I obviously would think the MP batch would win there, but honestly, I don't even know what to expect around these parts anymore. 

True. When the fan boys speak, anything is possible.

[namgalsipsclar]

Mangini. 

8V was the first DT album I loved front to back.  SC is surprisingly one of my two favorite DT albums but BC&SL is just blah.  Music is great.  Lyrics are terrible. 

ADTOE is my absolute favorite DT album. DT was a bit of a let down but the highs on this one are REALLY high and overall a great album.  Astonishing I can't get into. 

So while the two eras are on par in many ways with two great albums and one let down, the Mangini era edges it out in many ways.  Also, while I prefer BC&SL to the Astonishing, I have a lot of respect for undertaking the Astonishing was.  Also, the lyrics were just lazy on a lot of BC&SL making it hard to listen to.

So wait, you don't think SC's lyrics were bad?

I'm not sure why anyone would.  For the most part, DT hasn't really had bad lyrics since Kevin Moore left the band.

Whuh...

I agree with bosk. I'm not sure why people would think the lyrics on SC are bad. People get too hyped up in disliking something so they completely disregard everything to do with said thing. So, SC isn't one of DT's best album. A low grade DT release is still pretty damn good compared to most other things out there. Just because it's not their best effort doesn't mean that all of the lyrics are bad. Just because the overall consensus of the album is that it's not one of their best doesn't mean that JP's guitar solos didn't kick ass on it.

I was more commenting on the suggestion that Kevin Moore wrote bad lyrics, if that's what the suggestion was

[Prog Snob]

Mangini. 

8V was the first DT album I loved front to back.  SC is surprisingly one of my two favorite DT albums but BC&SL is just blah.  Music is great.  Lyrics are terrible. 

ADTOE is my absolute favorite DT album. DT was a bit of a let down but the highs on this one are REALLY high and overall a great album.  Astonishing I can't get into. 

So while the two eras are on par in many ways with two great albums and one let down, the Mangini era edges it out in many ways.  Also, while I prefer BC&SL to the Astonishing, I have a lot of respect for undertaking the Astonishing was.  Also, the lyrics were just lazy on a lot of BC&SL making it hard to listen to.

So wait, you don't think SC's lyrics were bad?

I'm not sure why anyone would.  For the most part, DT hasn't really had bad lyrics since Kevin Moore left the band.

Whuh...

I agree with bosk. I'm not sure why people would think the lyrics on SC are bad. People get too hyped up in disliking something so they completely disregard everything to do with said thing. So, SC isn't one of DT's best album. A low grade DT release is still pretty damn good compared to most other things out there. Just because it's not their best effort doesn't mean that all of the lyrics are bad. Just because the overall consensus of the album is that it's not one of their best doesn't mean that JP's guitar solos didn't kick ass on it.

I was more commenting on the suggestion that Kevin Moore wrote bad lyrics, if that's what the suggestion was

I think he said that because a lot of people insist DT's lyrics went downhill after Kevin left the band.

[Cable]

8V and ADTOE might be tied, if not 8V a little higher at times. Otherwise, the other two albums are much better than the bottom feeders of MP's last two IMO.

[red barchetta]

Portnoy, no doubt. TA is a downer. ADTOE is great. I listen to it almost every week. I have always liked Black clouds and 8VM is a masterpiece. DT 12 is good. Il still believe that it is possible to make an opéra rock as long as you have good songs. And it has first and foremost to rock, not sound like Wham.

[KevShmev]

Portnoy, no doubt. TA is a downer. ADTOE is great. I listen to it almost every week. I have always liked Black clouds and 8VM is a masterpiece. DT 12 is good. Il still believe that it is possible to make an opéra rock as long as you have good songs. And it has first and foremost to rock, not sound like Wham.

Your posts are astonishingly bad, pun intended.

[Bertielee]

Portnoy, no doubt. TA is a downer. ADTOE is great. I listen to it almost every week. I have always liked Black clouds and 8VM is a masterpiece. DT 12 is good. Il still believe that it is possible to make an opéra rock as long as you have good songs. And it has first and foremost to rock, not sound like Wham.

Your posts are astonishingly bad, pun intended.

TA sounds absolutely NOTHING like Wham. Just because you don't like the album, you throw whatever band name you don't like, but your comparison is invalid. TA sounds like Disney on steroids at times, granted, but that's about it (IMO, of course).

B.Lee

[Bertie_Wooster]

I lean toward the MM era.   The Astonishing is probably my favorite  DT album. The thing that holds the last 3 MP albums back is the
harsh vocals.  I am glad James is back to singing normal again.  The distorted vocals in Dark eternal night ruined a great song IMO.
I also wish TCOT didn't have that harsh vocal  "I don't want to die"    It would have been way better if it was just sung normally.

[erwinrafael]

Portnoy, no doubt. TA is a downer. ADTOE is great. I listen to it almost every week. I have always liked Black clouds and 8VM is a masterpiece. DT 12 is good. Il still believe that it is possible to make an opéra rock as long as you have good songs. And it has first and foremost to rock, not sound like Wham.

Your posts are astonishingly bad, pun intended.

TA sounds absolutely NOTHING like Wham. Just because you don't like the album, you throw whatever band name you don't like, but your comparison is invalid. TA sounds like Disney on steroids at times, granted, but that's about it (IMO, of course).

B.Lee

WHAM?

Wow.

[Enigmachine]

Portnoy, no doubt. TA is a downer. ADTOE is great. I listen to it almost every week. I have always liked Black clouds and 8VM is a masterpiece. DT 12 is good. Il still believe that it is possible to make an opéra rock as long as you have good songs. And it has first and foremost to rock, not sound like Wham.

Your posts are astonishingly bad, pun intended.

TA sounds absolutely NOTHING like Wham. Just because you don't like the album, you throw whatever band name you don't like, but your comparison is invalid. TA sounds like Disney on steroids at times, granted, but that's about it (IMO, of course).

B.Lee

WHAM?

Wow.

Yeah, that's a new one.

[King Postwhore]

Which character would wear the "Choose Life" t-shirt?

[Prog Snob]

Portnoy, no doubt. TA is a downer. ADTOE is great. I listen to it almost every week. I have always liked Black clouds and 8VM is a masterpiece. DT 12 is good. Il still believe that it is possible to make an opéra rock as long as you have good songs. And it has first and foremost to rock, not sound like Wham.

Your posts are astonishingly bad, pun intended.

TA sounds absolutely NOTHING like Wham. Just because you don't like the album, you throw whatever band name you don't like, but your comparison is invalid. TA sounds like Disney on steroids at times, granted, but that's about it (IMO, of course).

B.Lee

WHAM?

Wow.

Yeah, that's a new one.

Wham? Seriously? Have you been smoking the weed?

[TheCountOfNYC]

Portnoy, no doubt. TA is a downer. ADTOE is great. I listen to it almost every week. I have always liked Black clouds and 8VM is a masterpiece. DT 12 is good. Il still believe that it is possible to make an opéra rock as long as you have good songs. And it has first and foremost to rock, not sound like Wham.

Your posts are astonishingly bad, pun intended.

TA sounds absolutely NOTHING like Wham. Just because you don't like the album, you throw whatever band name you don't like, but your comparison is invalid. TA sounds like Disney on steroids at times, granted, but that's about it (IMO, of course).

B.Lee

WHAM?

Wow.

Yeah, that's a new one.

Wham? Seriously? Have you been smoking the weed?

This is what happens when you carelessly whisper.

[Prog Snob]

Portnoy, no doubt. TA is a downer. ADTOE is great. I listen to it almost every week. I have always liked Black clouds and 8VM is a masterpiece. DT 12 is good. Il still believe that it is possible to make an opéra rock as long as you have good songs. And it has first and foremost to rock, not sound like Wham.

Your posts are astonishingly bad, pun intended.

TA sounds absolutely NOTHING like Wham. Just because you don't like the album, you throw whatever band name you don't like, but your comparison is invalid. TA sounds like Disney on steroids at times, granted, but that's about it (IMO, of course).

B.Lee

WHAM?

Wow.

Yeah, that's a new one.

Wham? Seriously? Have you been smoking the weed?

This is what happens when you carelessly whisper.

 

[TheOutlawXanadu]

I've noticed a lot of criticism of The Astonishing that is, essentially, objectively wrong, and the Wham thing might be one of those, but I must admit I found it funny.

Among the other things I've seen that confused me a tad: That it's "uncreative" and "uninspired".

I think there's a general problem with the internet nowadays where it's not enough to just say you don't like something. You've got to give a borderline insulting criticism. Like, it wasn't enough for some people to just say, "I didn't like the new Star Wars because the plot wasn't original enough." People had to say, "I hated the new Star Wars because it was a remake of the old ones and it was the worst movie ever and if you liked it, then Disney paid you!"

[Tony From Long Island]

This was an interesting choice.      I like Octavarium  A LOT  (except the title track)    but I dislike The Astonishing A  LOT.     So I had to weigh that.    I ended up going the Portnoy albums because Systematic Chaos has grown on me

[red barchetta]

Portnoy, no doubt. TA is a downer. ADTOE is great. I listen to it almost every week. I have always liked Black clouds and 8VM is a masterpiece. DT 12 is good. Il still believe that it is possible to make an opéra rock as long as you have good songs. And it has first and foremost to rock, not sound like Wham.

Your posts are astonishingly bad, pun intended.

No don't worry.  Wham is probably too exaggerate I admit and regret about saying that but I got that comment this week from a guy I know who was there with a couple of friends.  He said that there was just too many ballads and he closed his eyes during the show at times and say that was the band he thought.  But for sure it has nothing to do with Wham.  But they were still some other people who were hoping to see DT rocks. 

After listening to TA quite a lot (in fact I put it on a lot via YouTube) I think cd1 is very decent.  Honestly cd2 for me is a total disaster.  I only like Our new world, the rest of it just fill the blanks but is not appealing musicly. (sorry don't know how to spell it).  I think their should have came with something really grand, a building crescendo throw the second cd.  What I hear is really boring.  Where are the goose bumps? But I like cd1, not in love with it but it's ok.

TA sounds absolutely NOTHING like Wham. Just because you don't like the album, you throw whatever band name you don't like, but your comparison is invalid. TA sounds like Disney on steroids at times, granted, but that's about it (IMO, of course).

B.Lee

WHAM?

Wow.

Yeah, that's a new one.

Wham? Seriously? Have you been smoking the weed?

[hefdaddy42]

Wham? Seriously? Have you been smoking the weed?

DON'T ANSWER THAT

Portnoy, no doubt. TA is a downer. ADTOE is great. I listen to it almost every week. I have always liked Black clouds and 8VM is a masterpiece. DT 12 is good. Il still believe that it is possible to make an opéra rock as long as you have good songs. And it has first and foremost to rock, not sound like Wham.

Your posts are astonishingly bad, pun intended.

No don't worry.  Wham is probably too exaggerate I admit and regret about saying that but I got that comment this week from a guy I know who was there with a couple of friends.  He said that there was just too many ballads and he closed his eyes during the show at times and say that was the band he thought.  But for sure it has nothing to do with Wham.  But they were still some other people who were hoping to see DT rocks. 

After listening to TA quite a lot (in fact I put it on a lot via YouTube) I think cd1 is very decent.  Honestly cd2 for me is a total disaster.  I only like Our new world, the rest of it just fill the blanks but is not appealing musicly. (sorry don't know how to spell it).  I think their should have came with something really grand, a building crescendo throw the second cd.  What I hear is really boring.  Where are the goose bumps? But I like cd1, not in love with it but it's ok.

TA sounds absolutely NOTHING like Wham. Just because you don't like the album, you throw whatever band name you don't like, but your comparison is invalid. TA sounds like Disney on steroids at times, granted, but that's about it (IMO, of course).

B.Lee

WHAM?

Wow.

Yeah, that's a new one.

Wham? Seriously? Have you been smoking the weed?

OK, good.

[cramx3]

From personal experience, if he was smoking weed then TA would be amazing regardless of what it may or may not sound like 

[Prog Snob]

Wham? Seriously? Have you been smoking the weed?

DON'T ANSWER THAT

 

[red barchetta]

Posting again...

No don't worry.  Wham is probably too exaggerate I admit and regret about saying that but I got that comment this week from a guy I know who was there with a couple of friends.  He said that there was just too many ballads and he closed his eyes during the show at times and say that was the band he thought.  But for sure it has nothing to do with Wham.  But they were still some other people who were hoping to see DT rocks. 

After listening to TA quite a lot (in fact I put it on a lot via YouTube) I think cd1 is very decent.  Honestly cd2 for me is a total disaster.  I only like Our new world, the rest of it just fill the blanks but is not appealing musicly. (sorry don't know how to spell it).  I think their should have came with something really grand, a building crescendo throw the second cd.  What I hear is really boring.  Where are the goose bumps? But I like cd1, not in love with it but it's ok.

[Prog Snob]

For a second, I thought you were going to change your mind and say they sounded like Bananarama.

And Gabriel was his name...
He's got it. Yeah baby he's got it.
He's your savior,
he's your savior, watch your behavior.

[King Postwhore]

For a second, I thought you were going to change your mind and say they sounded like Bananarama.

And Gabriel was his name...
He's got it. Yeah baby he's got it.
He's your savior,
he's your savior, watch your behavior.

I'm officially pulling your man card.  Hand it over.

[hefdaddy42]

For a second, I thought you were going to change your mind and say they sounded like Bananarama.

And Gabriel was his name...
He's got it. Yeah baby he's got it.
He's your savior,
he's your savior, watch your behavior.

Um...





































...

































...
































 

[Prog Snob]

 

For a second, I thought you were going to change your mind and say they sounded like Bananarama.

And Gabriel was his name...
He's got it. Yeah baby he's got it.
He's your savior,
he's your savior, watch your behavior.

I'm officially pulling your man card.  Hand it over.

I'll poke you in the eye with it.

[hefdaddy42]

THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID

[King Postwhore]

I better watch out.  He didn't get the nickname "Sprinkler" for nothing.

[54_diplomats]

I'll take Octavarium alone over the last 3 albums honestly. I mean I like them for the most part but I LOVE Octavarium

[Prog Snob]

THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID

 

I better watch out.  He didn't get the nickname "Sprinkler" for nothing.

Squirter, not sprinkler.

[darkshade]

Rankings

Octavarium
ADTOE
BC&SL

The Astonishing (subject to change)
Systematic Chaos
DT12

[King Postwhore]

THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID

 

I better watch out.  He didn't get the nickname "Sprinkler" for nothing.

Squirter, not sprinkler.

Yeah but still.  Left to right. Exclamation point.