What other groups have a similar sound to IW, Awake, FII era Dream Theater?

[Shine]

I'm slowly coming to the realization that one of the things that I like most about early Dream Theater (and Dream Theater as a whole, although there are things I can appreciate about the newer material) is the overall sound/production that their albums had.

I've also found that it's a pretty unique sound, at least from what I've found. I really haven't had any luck finding other artists/groups that sound like those early albums, including FII (though probably only a few songs, LitS and ToT come to mind as having a really great sound). Has anyone else every heard of other groups with this kind of sound?

Also, sorry if this shouldn't be here. I couldn't decide between the Dream Theater board or the General Music board, since this has to do with Dream Theater, and since this board probably gets read a lot more, I figured I'd put it here.

[gm5k]

A couple of obvious choices for me are Pagan's Mind and Circus Maximus.

Or wait, are you just talking literally about the sound only?  Like how it was engineered, produced and mixed?   I guess those bands could still work for that.  I think PM's production especially is similar to those early years from DT.

[Prog Snob]

There is a band called The Quest who put out only two CDs.  One of those CDs is called Change.  If you can find it, and your looking for some I&W era DT sounding music, you will love it.  It's a softer sound than DT has on I&W but it's still worth it.   If you can't find, which is a strong possibility, PM me. Sometimes you can find it on eBay for $20-30 and sometimes Amazon has it. 

[Shine]

A couple of obvious choices for me are Pagan's Mind and Circus Maximus.

Or wait, are you just talking literally about the sound only?  Like how it was engineered, produced and mixed?   I guess those bands could still work for that.  I think PM's production especially is similar to those early years from DT.

Yeah, I don't know exactly how to put into words what I'm trying to say, but the "sound" is really what I'm after here. Not necessarily the songwriting or the lyrics, but the way the music sounds. Shit, this is hard to explain.

But yeah, how it was engineered, produced and mixed. The early DT albums have a very different sound than the later albums. I'm looking for albums by other artists that match that early sound.

[goo-goo]

Subsignal. They have 3 albums, the 1st two are really good

[?]

I remember MP saying the trigger samples on I&W were originally used on some Firehouse album that was produced by David Prater. That band played hair metal, but you said you were looking for stuff with similar production so you could check them out

[kirksnosehair]

Circus Maximus
Dali's Dilema
Illusion Suite

[Dark Castle]

I remember MP saying the trigger samples on I&W were originally used on some Firehouse album that was produced by David Prater. That band played hair metal, but you said you were looking for stuff with similar production so you could check them out

I'm coming in here to say that Firehouse are pretty darned tootin radular.
My bio dad, aunt, and mom all loved em, so I got to hear them all the time whether I was with my bio dad when he got me, or with my mom and aunt chilling together.

[TAC]

I would recommend Vision Divine's Stream Of Consciousness.

[Shine]

There is a band called The Quest who put out only two CDs.  One of those CDs is called Change.  If you can find it, and your looking for some I&W era DT sounding music, you will love it.  It's a softer sound than DT has on I&W but it's still worth it.   If you can't find, which is a strong possibility, PM me. Sometimes you can find it on eBay for $20-30 and sometimes Amazon has it.

Wow, that's exactly what I'm looking for! Love the sound of that album.

[Prog Snob]

There is a band called The Quest who put out only two CDs.  One of those CDs is called Change.  If you can find it, and your looking for some I&W era DT sounding music, you will love it.  It's a softer sound than DT has on I&W but it's still worth it.   If you can't find, which is a strong possibility, PM me. Sometimes you can find it on eBay for $20-30 and sometimes Amazon has it.

Wow, that's exactly what I'm looking for! Love the sound of that album.

A friend told me about them back when the CD came out in 1996.  He said "this is the best album Dream Theater never made."

[BlobVanDam]

I remember MP saying the trigger samples on I&W were originally used on some Firehouse album that was produced by David Prater. That band played hair metal, but you said you were looking for stuff with similar production so you could check them out

I'm coming in here to say that Firehouse are pretty darned tootin radular.
My bio dad, aunt, and mom all loved em, so I got to hear them all the time whether I was with my bio dad when he got me, or with my mom and aunt chilling together.

Hold Your Fire ain't half bad, but I wouldn't say "darned tootin radular", both because they're not, and because nobody has used that terminology since.... well, Firehouse released those albums.

[RaiseTheKnife]

This may be debatable, but when I first discovered DT in '92 I went on an obsessive hunt for similar bands at the time, and found the following purchases to be satisfying:

Damn The Machine (self titled)
Kings X (self titled)

and a little later on:

Fates Warning (Pleasant Shade of Gray)

[Zorander]

I used to listen a lot to early albums from Pain of Salvation.. not exactly like, but they have something of the same type of sound. Dont remember specifically which album. Maybe Remedy Lane?

[efx]

I'd just like to echo RaiseTheKnifes post about Damn The Machine. It's a great musical injustice that they only got to make one record. Incredible album.

[snapple]

Andromeda's first three albums. Extension of the Wish, II=I and Chimera.

[wolfking]

Really, there is no band that sound like DT IMO.  Many try and have great music but most bands don't have the uniqueness, sound landscapes and dynamics that DT are able to create.

Saying that, I'll recommend these bands;

Pain of Salvation
Sieges Even
Ark
Fates Warning
Eternity X
Vanden Plas
Angra
Vanishing Point
Beardfish
Savatage
Persefone

Some of these aren't that similar, but you may enjoy them.

[hefdaddy42]

Definitely the first album from Circus Maximus.

[RazielSR]

As stated around here, there is no band that sounds like DT. They have a very personal and unique sound.

Anyway, the most similar to me would be Pagan's Mind and Circus Maximus. but of course, being different.

I'm a big fan of Pagan's Mind. I like CM too, but no that much.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

I remember MP saying the trigger samples on I&W were originally used on some Firehouse album that was produced by David Prater. That band played hair metal, but you said you were looking for stuff with similar production so you could check them out

Firehouse is seriously awesome, especially their debut! 

[RaiseTheKnife]

I'd just like to echo RaiseTheKnifes post about Damn The Machine. It's a great musical injustice that they only got to make one record. Incredible album.

Thanks, it truly is a gem.  It features odd time signatures mixed with Chris Poland's inimitable style, so fans of early Megadeth will also appreciate it.