Hats off to Mr James LaBrie

[Metabog]

It's good, I just wish he dared to do a bit more, he often sounds secondary to the music on this album with few operatic standout parts.

[Aquila Chrysaetos]

Aside from all the awesomeness of this new album, I will have to say this is my favorite album of JBL performance.

[obscure]

I'm lost for words.... to explain his effect on me.... Listening to ADTOE, I am corporeally in pain now....

"Without music, life would be a mistake." -Friedrich Nietzsche. "......
.... and without James, music would be a mistake....

[tartarus250]

i'd just like to say that james is rocking this album!! and i think what some may be mistaking for autotune is actually a touch of digital chorus just to widen it a bit just saying

[wolfking]

I honestly can't see what so much better with his vocals than normal.  I wish he put some more aggression in parts, and especially went for a couple of high notes.  I love the BMU, BMD chorus, I was hoping for more of that sort of stuff through the album. 

I guess the album really isn't clicking for me, I feel a lot of the melodies aren't as strong as previous albums.

[jacksmash]

i'd just like to say that james is rocking this album!! and i think what some may be mistaking for autotune is actually a touch of digital chorus just to widen it a bit just saying

There's definitely some auto-tune going on, but it doesn't bother me. One thing I'm not sure if people realize is that everyone uses it these days. The drawback is that sometimes the vocals sound a bit too perfect (like the harmonies in BAI). But again, doesn't bother me. I love his voice on this album!

[Madman Shepherd]

i'd just like to say that james is rocking this album!! and i think what some may be mistaking for autotune is actually a touch of digital chorus just to widen it a bit just saying

Ok, can someone please point out specifics.  I've tried to listen for it and really can't find any.  Theres a few moments where I thought he may have used it...I know some people said he did in BTS, but after listening to it over and over they either did a great and unobvious job or he was really able to nail the notes and people are mistaking it for autotune. 

Either way, I'm glad the majority agrees this is one of his best performances EVER!

[BlobVanDam]

i'd just like to say that james is rocking this album!! and i think what some may be mistaking for autotune is actually a touch of digital chorus just to widen it a bit just saying

Ok, can someone please point out specifics.  I've tried to listen for it and really can't find any.  Theres a few moments where I thought he may have used it...I know some people said he did in BTS, but after listening to it over and over they either did a great and unobvious job or he was really able to nail the notes and people are mistaking it for autotune. 

Either way, I'm glad the majority agrees this is one of his best performances EVER!

It's very noticably autotune to me on BTS.
There's a difference between singing well and autotune. It's not about the great pitch of the notes, which we know JLB can do in the studio no problem, it's more about the way pitch correction slides between notes. It sounds different to a real human voice. It sounds synthetic. I don't have a problem with them using it at all, because it's a standard thing. I just think this was one of those few times when it was too much and detracts slightly from the vocal performance, rather than just polishing it up like intended.

It's the only song on the album where it's noticable to me though. On the rest of the album he sounds great.

[DP_Gumby]

IMO, I don't care if he's using autotune or not. As long as he's not overusing it I'm fine with it.. 

[Psy]

I really enjoy his vocal performance and I can narrow it down to the fact that his voice sounds so natural whilst previous albums make it sound like he's straining his voice way too much.

[Infinite Cactus]

I really love his vocals on the whole album. Especially BMUBMD, LNF, and FFH

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

I think ADTOE is easily his third best DT album behind Awake and I&W.  He crushes every moment of this album so undeniably.  The only bad JLB moments are because of bad auto-tune, which aren't really his fault.

EDIT:  Seriously, okay, I need to gush about JLB some more:

- Right from the OTBOA single it was obvious something was different.  He was elevating the quality of the vocal lines like I haven't heard in a long time.  And the music felt more like it was built around his singing.  The music in Dream Theater took care of James LaBrie very well.
- He totally nails the emotional torture of BMUBMD without breaking the semi-pop vibe of the song.
- He makes LNF come ALIVE!  Seriously, he makes me feel like I'm watching a movie about Persian armies.
- I shouldn't need to describe why TITL is so good.
- I think BITS might be one of JLB's best songs ever.  I thought his singing on ANTR wasn't bad, but he sounded like someone was choking him.  On this album, that is not the case.  He absolutely roars under the seve-string chaos of JP's riffing to give one of his best metal performances on anything he's done.  And then the chorus and bridge, good god.  I get emotional when listening to it.  The use of harmony and the feeling infused into the words are so powerful.
- I want to overthrow African warlords when listening to Outcry.
- Lots of feeling and subtlety going on in FFH.  Very nice performance.
- JLB does so many things in BAI it's insane.  FXy vocals in the first verse, an epic and melodic first chorus, distortion in the second verse, one of his best vocal harmonies ever in the "searching out" part, and then makes the philosophical lyrics of the very end communicate the heart that was intended.
- The lyrics and vocal melodies in BTS are great to begin with, but there's a certain kind of sadness and longing that needed to be captured for that song to really work, and JLB did it.  "And then one day I stopped caring."  Crap, I'm thinking about it and getting sad again.

Amazing post, ReaP.

[?]

He sounds much more relaxed on this album than on SC and BC&SL, which isn't a surprise. I hope he can also record the vocals for the next DT album on his own again!

[Mebert78]

"Shaman, take my haaaaaaaaaand!"   

[Laich21DT]

I am truly floored by his performance, and hope that it carries into the live show.

This. Love JLB's vocals on this album! Wouldn't say it's my fav performance by him, that would go to Images & Words or Awake.

Something new that I've noticed a few times, is a little breathiness he uses just before he hits the note, for example at (2:52-2:53) of "This is the Life". It's quite intimate, and a style I don't remember hearing before. Don't have the time caps for any other moments, but I'm pretty sure he incorporates that style on "Far from Heaven" and "Beneath the Surface" as well.

[Priest of Syrinx]

I think ADTOE is easily his third best DT album behind Awake and I&W.  He crushes every moment of this album so undeniably.  The only bad JLB moments are because of bad auto-tune, which aren't really his fault.

If I had to rank 'em:

ATDOE
I&W (which I'm listening to right now)
Awake
SFAM
Special mention - Octavarium, the song

[Jaffa]

Hats off to Mr James LaBrie

*takes off hat*
*also rips hats off other people's heads*

JLB nailed it.

[obscure]

*takes off hat*
*also rips hats of other people's heads*

ah my wild imagination:
what I saw: *also rips off other people's heads*
what I understood: *also chops off other people's heads*  (of those who don't appreciate James)

and I was ready to  .....

too much James love will kill me one day....

[Jaffa]

That confused the hell out of me for a moment.  For a second, I honestly thought I'd really typed 'rips off other people's heads'.  I even editted it. 

[obscure]

lol 

[Millais]

JLB's best vocals on a DT album, ever.

flawless. i'll add my face to the appreciation list. HUGE congratulations! 

[VioletS16]

*takes off hat*
*also rips hats of other people's heads*

ah my wild imagination:
what I saw: *also rips off other people's heads*
what I understood: *also chops off other people's heads*  (of those who don't appreciate James)

and I was ready to  .....

too much James love will kill me one day....

I read it "Rips off other people's heads"
And OMG I can't believe I am meeting someone that loves James as much as I do

[Dream Team]

James delivered in spades. So many awesome vocal lines, and I can't get those choruses out of my head!

My hat is off.

[senecadawg2]

He sounds great throughout the album, and spectacular in some sections (BITS chorus). Definitely a step up from the last couple albums.

Yet, there is no way I can say he sounds better than he did back on I&W and Awake.

[Cranky]

Eh, Jame's vocals on this album are alright...
Sub-par when compared with his vocals on When Dream And Day Unite.

[fadetoblackdude7]

Eh, Jame's vocals on this album are alright...
Sub-par when compared with his vocals on When Dream And Day Unite.

[Dream Team]

Eh, Jame's vocals on this album are alright...
Sub-par when compared with his vocals on When Dream And Day Unite.

Sarcasm?

[Psy]

[obscure]

*takes off hat*
*also rips hats of other people's heads*

ah my wild imagination:
what I saw: *also rips off other people's heads*
what I understood: *also chops off other people's heads*  (of those who don't appreciate James)

and I was ready to  .....

too much James love will kill me one day....

I read it "Rips off other people's heads"
And OMG I can't believe I am meeting someone that loves James as much as I do

I'm with you babes.....

[InertSolo]

JLB's best vocals on a DT album, ever.

This is probably one of his better performances but I've gotta respectfully say no way. Wait until the shiny coat on this album dies down, it's not THAT amazing.

I appreciate your courtesy, and I'll explain where I'm coming from... I'm not always a fan of huge metal voices, unless I'm in that particular mood.  So I'm already biased towards JLB's slightly softer vocal side.  On ADTOE, he runs the gamut from soft to loud + up and down more comfortably and consistently and beautifully than on any other DT album.

I'll go further and say that JLB's performance is my favorite of any prog album I've heard in 30+ years, except for maybe Gary Brooker.

All that said, of course these things are very subjective, and while I'm experienced, I'm no expert! 

And that's a perfectly valid opinion so no worries dude 

I guess I'm just not as wow'ed over as to say it's better than his performance on Awake or I&W (especially since I grew up with these records, the former being the first album I got and my first taste of what would make me wanna be a musician) 

[3xodus]

I feel like his performance on this album is on par with my big 4 of DT. (I&W, Awake, 6DOIT and SFAM) That gives me hope that I will consider this one a classic one day. The best performance I have ever heard  from James is still Live At the Marquee though, god damn he was so amazing on that album.

[dongringo]

It's the emotion in his voice on this album that stands above the rest to me. It's not about high notes or James Hetfield vocals anymore. He just sings these incredible melodies with such depth and emotion, it brings chills down my spine like no other DT album.

[Dorkmaster Flek]

"Shaman, take my haaaaaaaaaand!"   

Ah, I love that part!    Perfect buildup to the instrumental breakdown.  The other guys are riffing their asses off, and James is just soaring above them with long, held notes as a counterpoint.

[iamtheeviltwin]

"Shaman, take my haaaaaaaaaand!"   

Ah, I love that part!    Perfect buildup to the instrumental breakdown.  The other guys are riffing their asses off, and James is just soaring above them with long, held notes as a counterpoint.

Which has always been one of the things I love about DT (and my wife absolutely despises).  James is "part of the music", what he is actually singing is often less important that how he sounds and how he sings it (at least for his contribution to the overall composition).  I think that is one of the standout things on this album that gives it the feel of the older albums.  James' voice is once again part of the music, his melodies and delivery compliment and contrast with the rest of the music beneath.

I feel that was really missing with the most recent albums (as much as I like SC & BCSL)...When it really hit me was as I found myself listening to the Instrumental BCSL disc more often than the full disc.  I wasn't missing James' vocals, their absence was inconsequential, which meant they weren't making an impression in my mind as part of the musical composition. 

This is not the case with ADTOE and albums like I&W and Awake....there James' melodies are as much a part of the music as he bass, guitar, drums, or keys.

[Dream Team]

James is so good on ADTOE it gives me a euphoric feeling, especially during those awesome choruses. Which got me to thinking, is this the best album ever for DT choruses? SFAM has some great ones, most of the albums do, but anyway:

OTBOA - pretty darn good
BMUBMD - excellent
LNF - good but derivative   
TITL - outstanding
BITS - the best them 
O - awesome
BAI - great

So not counting the 2 ballads which aren't really supposed to have huge choruses, this album has really delivered in this area and is one DT's best IMO. JLB deserves a lot of the credit for this, so much feeling and emotion in his voice.