Will Fans Ultimately Be Disappointed With DT11?

[TheOutlawXanadu]

I also hope they lost the long instrumental break with trade off guitar/key solos ending in a unison thing.

I mean, isn't the band bored of that by now? How interesting could it possibly be?

I think what keeps it alive is the individualistic element of the band. Petrucci and Rudess, especially, like to show their chops. And what better way to show chops than guitar-keyboard duels with a unison at the end?

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

I also hope they lost the long instrumental break with trade off guitar/key solos ending in a unison thing.

I mean, isn't the band bored of that by now? How interesting could it possibly be?

I think what keeps it alive is the individualistic element of the band. Petrucci and Rudess, especially, like to show their chops. And what better way to show chops than guitar-keyboard duels with a unison at the end?

Yeah, it's a perfect representation of

LET'S BATTLE, LET'S FIND OUT WHO'S THE SUPERIOR MUSICIAN

but later, at the unison

WE WILL ALWAYS BE FRIENDS

Just like Ash and Gary Oak. They have their differences and they battle frequently, but at the end, only their combined might would reign supreme.

Damn, that sucked.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

Your Pokemon example could have been better, but I lol'd at "WE WILL ALWAYS BE FRIENDS!"

[bosk1]

I can't speak for anyone else, but I don't believe I will be disppointed.  This is a band that put out WDADU and then followed it up with 9 consecutive masterpieces.  I have no reason to believe DT11 will be disappointing.

[Ben_Jamin]

Just the snob fans. Me on the otherhand will gladly accept what it is for what it is, just hope JLB is utilized to his full potential.

[Adami]

Just the snob fans. Me on the otherhand will gladly accept what it is for what it is, just hope JLB is utilized to his full potential.

So anyone who doesn't like something DT does is a snob?


Really?

[EPICVIEW]

Just the snob fans. Me on the otherhand will gladly accept what it is for what it is, just hope JLB is utilized to his full potential.

So anyone who doesn't like something DT does is a snob?


Really?

I demand more xylophone on the new CD, if not I will no longer use cheezwiz on my cheesesteaks...

[Fiery Winds]

I actually enjoy the guitar/keyboard unison runs.  Especially if it's very melodic, like the unison run near the end of Panic Attack and even the one in Never Enough.

[ReaPsTA]

I don't expect DT to do something as good as I&W or Awake again.  I'd be ecstastic if that happened, but if not then I'll live.

What I kinda want DT to do is make another SFaM.  Not actually copy the sound/format/conceptual nature of it.  It's really not one of my favorite DT albums.  But when they wrote it, they were trying to prove they were still the premiere Progressive Metal group in the world.  The label forced them to be commercial, they fired their keyboardist, and it looked like the I&W magic was fading.  Then they dropped SFaM on the world and haven't stopped owning an entire musical genre since.

I feel like they're in a similar position now.  Or at least they should feel like they are.  I don't want to say Portnoy WAS Dream Theater (MP's belief in that led to his downfall), but he was a fundamental component in shaping everything they did.  Can Petrucci write good DT songs on his own?  Or was he just a really good riff writer who needed MP to put his parts into context.  We've heard Rudess's solo albums.  They're rather crazy and experimental.  Can he fit into DT without MP producing his keyboards?  Was JM's role in the band subliminated by MP?  Or will he continue being a non-factor?  How will JLB do without his main backing vocalist and producer?  Can the band members bring in a new drummer and let him flourish and shape the sound as their new keyboardists have?  Or will he just be MP lite, making all of us wonder when MP will come back so at least the drum parts have some flavor.

I think DT can rise to the challenge.  But will they?  And if they do, are they just going to go through the motions and make another DT album?  Or do they want to prove that even as they approach their 50's they still own Progressive Metal by the balls and won't let it go.  Do they feel any need to prove to themselves they can do this?  Because if losing your drummer and central band member doesn't make you want to prove you're still at your peak musically and really try to excel and create a defining piece of music, then I don't know what would.

If DT11 is just another DT album, it will be enjoyable but disappointing.  A huge opportunity will have been lost.  I don't need to hear the best album ever.  I just want to hear a band that wants to reach that level of quality.

[Sam]

You raised some very interesting points there, I really do hope JM will write some lyrics for the next album (Learning To Live and Trial Of Tears are my two favourite DT songs) and I really hope they let James have a bigger say in things. Anywho, I'm not expecting an I&W, but I have faith DT will put out a great album. I'm looking forward to a new chapter of DT

[ariich]

I also hope they lost the long instrumental break with trade off guitar/key solos ending in a unison thing.

I mean, isn't the band bored of that by now? How interesting could it possibly be?

I think what keeps it alive is the individualistic element of the band. Petrucci and Rudess, especially, like to show their chops. And what better way to show chops than guitar-keyboard duels with a unison at the end?

They only had 2 solo trade-off sections on the last album, and I can't quite remember but I don't think either of them had a unison at the end.

I don't think it's as prevalent as some people make it out to be. And as you say, one of the things the band is famous for is being somewhat virtuoso, and they obviously like to push themselves and show off a little, so to scrap that entirely would piss off a lot of fans.

[tumbok]

I always consider JMX also a virtuoso himself, so he should go back into the aggressive playing style as he did in WDADU and IAW, rather than just doubling JP's guitar

[LCArenas]

I think we just may be. It's hard not to get our hopes up, but I'm personally trying to do that. The first Post-Portnoy DT album is something everyone looks up for, and the ones that are tired of DT's recent more-metal-driven sound even more. I will be following every step of the new album, but I'm trying not to expect another masterpiece like 6DoIT again. Which would be reaaaaaally sweet and actually pretty possible

[theusualmadness]

I really enjoyed that album

SC wasn't criticized because it couldn't live up to hype, it was criticized because it's not that good of an album.

And people have really got to stop with the "fans just want another I&W" thing. We want another Awake, too.

[Ben_Jamin]

I want another Falling Into Infinity. /sarcasm

The only way I'll be dissappointed is if they do a drastic change

[Gorille85]

I want another Falling Into Infinity. /sarcasm

The only way I'll be dissappointed is if they do a drastic change

And why is that? It can still be good!

[JasonScandopolous]

I also hope they lost the long instrumental break with trade off guitar/key solos ending in a unison thing.

I mean, isn't the band bored of that by now? How interesting could it possibly be?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBdinjpxO1o

Looks like there is good reason to suspect that this will be largely discarded, with JP producing.

[JayOctavarium]

I honestly will never be truely dissapointed. No matter what. I will take it as it is. A new chapter.

[OptionalPlayer]

I think the same thing is going to happen with the new album. All the prog fans are getting super excited because the "metal head" of the band left, so they are expecting, once again, an I&W.[/b]

The way I see it, if DT were to have never made I&W or Awake and instead come out with those albums now, people would be "disappointed."
It's hard to say that, given we all love those two albums, but people's criticisms always seem to fall back on how great the "old" albums were.

I really do think if DT made an Awake album now though, people would dislike it.

And just for the record, I love all their albums, especially FII. Just as long as DT keeps producing music, I'll be happy.

[ricky]

nope.

[orcus116]

The way I see it, if DT were to have never made I&W or Awake and instead come out with those albums now, people would be "disappointed."
It's hard to say that, given we all love those two albums, but people's criticisms always seem to fall back on how great the "old" albums were.

I really do think if DT made an Awake album now though, people would dislike it.

That's such an unfair assumption to make because there is no way to prove it. Plus most people happen to like those albums for the music, not because they're old.

[Accelerando]

A once wise poet and his counterpart once wrote:

"Don't believe the hype, its a sequel
As an equal, can I get this through to you.
My 98's boomin' with a trunk of funk
All the jealous punks can't stop the dunk"

[ricky]

The way I see it, if DT were to have never made I&W or Awake and instead come out with those albums now, people would be "disappointed."
It's hard to say that, given we all love those two albums, but people's criticisms always seem to fall back on how great the "old" albums were.

I really do think if DT made an Awake album now though, people would dislike it.

That's such an unfair assumption to make because there is no way to prove it. Plus most people happen to like those albums for the music, not because they're old.

i totally agree with you on the second sentence. but the first? nope. fail.

[OptionalPlayer]

It is hard to know from my assumptions, but I just figured "What if?"

Albeit, the music is awesome and I hope that it would be taken seriously. But I just have a bad feeling that people would judge the music harder today than they would have when those albums came out.

Then again, we'd be going off of much more heavier albums as their "first" albums, like SFaM and SDoIT, so it would come to a shock to all fans to push out I&W and Awake - to a degree.

I suppose I retract my original post, and let us all be merry!

[ishak540m]

I just think it's kind of pathetic for someone to expect or even think that they might potentially try to recreate a previous album (save for an anniversary) and then get pissed that they produce something unfamiliar.   It's simpy not going to happen and I'm personally glad that they never regress.  IMO, good bands always progress their sound.

[rumborak]

I love these posts that skirt the fanboi-esque, insinuating that the old fogies are either not true fans, or caught up by nostalgia, or whatever, to not like DT's most recent output. The fact that it could really be that we think the music isn't on par with the older stuff could never be.

rumborak

[ishak540m]

I love these posts that skirt the fanboi-esque, insinuating that the old fogies are either not true fans, or caught up by nostalgia, or whatever, to not like DT's most recent output. The fact that it could really be that we think the music isn't on par with the older stuff could never be.

rumborak

I was talking about expectations, not preferences (and I've been a fan since '92).

[sonatafanica]

I give DT11 a 6.3/10

[ariich]

I love these posts that skirt the fanboi-esque, insinuating that the old fogies are either not true fans, or caught up by nostalgia, or whatever, to not like DT's most recent output. The fact that it could really be that we think the music isn't on par with the older stuff could never be.

rumborak

Are you denying that fanbases as a whole will always go harder on the new album of an established band than of a new band? Because I can guarantee you it happens with ALL bands.

[rumborak]

I love these posts that skirt the fanboi-esque, insinuating that the old fogies are either not true fans, or caught up by nostalgia, or whatever, to not like DT's most recent output. The fact that it could really be that we think the music isn't on par with the older stuff could never be.

rumborak

Are you denying that fanbases as a whole will always go harder on the new album of an established band than of a new band? Because I can guarantee you it happens with ALL bands.

I deny nothing. But we have the right to preserve our race. James Tiberius Kir....

Wait, wrong movie.

All I'm commenting on is the somewhat knee-jerk reaction upon those criticisms.

rumborak

[ariich]

Yeah I agree it's definitely not fair to insinuate that people who prefer the older stuff only do so because the music has been around longer. I'm sure there are some people who are influenced in that way, but certainly not all and probably not even most.

[robwebster]

The way I see it, if DT were to have never made I&W or Awake and instead come out with those albums now, people would be "disappointed."
It's hard to say that, given we all love those two albums, but people's criticisms always seem to fall back on how great the "old" albums were.

I really do think if DT made an Awake album now though, people would dislike it.

That's such an unfair assumption to make because there is no way to prove it. Plus most people happen to like those albums for the music, not because they're old.

People don't overwhelmingly enjoy the albums because they're older, but it's because they're older that people overwhelmingly enjoy the albums.

Not in a causality way - people don't like stuff because it's old - but Awake, by all reports, received a fairly muted response when it was released. It's just that a lot of the people who would've found Awake unpalatable upon its release will have jumped ship perhaps as long ago as 1994, and so probably won't be quite as vocal on DT message boards any more.

[orcus116]

Yeah I agree it's definitely not fair to insinuate that people who prefer the older stuff only do so because the music has been around longer. I'm sure there are some people who are influenced in that way, but certainly not all and probably not even most.

Plus there are some like me who has heard the majority of DT's albums around the same time. I heard Images and Words and Awake around the same time I heard Six Degrees, Scenes From A Memory and Train of Thought back in mid to late 2003 when I discovered the band. They're all equally as "new" to me so age has nothing to do with it.

[Perpetual Change]

Actually, from what I've seen, the old foggies are mostly happy with DT's recent output. It's my age bracket-- I guess the 20 somethings and early 30s who became fans during the time when DT were doing EVERYTHING for the fans-- that are the most grumpy.

[chrisbDTM]

no matter what people will be disappointed, it can be the greatest album of all time, but people will find something wrong. that's what happens with new music. you will always see the youtube comment, "MP would've played it better" etc.


It's inevitabre