JP: "When people hear the drumming [...], they’re gonna be pretty freaked out"

[hotkey]

New interview with JP and JR:  https://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/news/dream-theater-john-jordan-20130129

The juicy part:

When people hear the drumming on this album, they're gonna be pretty freaked out. On the last album, he did a great job, but he wasn't there for the writing process and he was interpreting drum parts that I had programmed. Even though he used his creativity, of course, to change them up and do his thing, I feel like now he's just Mike Mangini unleashed. It's all him. It's all his creativity, all his decisions and ideas and man, the guy's an animal.

[jingle.boy]

[Zydar]

[Octavaripolis]

BOOOOOOOOOYAAAAAA! 

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

But Mike Mangini is one of the biggest rhythm experts on the planet Earth right now. He can do things with rhythm no one else can do. He's inspired; for him, math and music is totally one thing in his brain, and it's an incredible thing for us to have that mixed into the writing process. It's exciting. Because somebody like myself, I'm really terrible at math, but somehow when it comes to rhythm, I'm really good. Not as good as Mike Mangini – I don't think anybody is.

I'm really really pumped for some real prog insanity and i hope they would allow them self to experiment a little more than before but still keep the DT flavour. It's just my prog heart that need some love! 

[darkshade]

I just Mangini'd all over the floor.

[Sycsa]

Math, math. But what about the TONE and the MUSICALITY?

Hehe, I'm psyched as hell!

[Mindflux]

I just Mangini'd all over the floor.

Beat it?

[Prog Snob]

This sounds extremely promising.   

[wasteland]

I am shocked that JR isn't good at math! How can it be possible? Where is the nerdity? 

[perfey]

Thats awesome news, gonna be great to hear some inspiring drumming! 

[Chino]

[DebraKadabra]

https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=35260.msg1500100#msg1500100

[Kotowboy]

https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=35260.msg1500100#msg1500100

[AngelBack]

So it has been confirmed we will be able to HEAR the drums on the next album, excellent !

[Ħ]

So it has been confirmed we will be able to HEAR the drums on the next album, excellent !

[Kotowboy]

the drums are plenty loud enough on ADTOE.

We're just used to Portnoy's super-loud and super sharp Tama cutting thru everything.

I've heard albums from bands where you can barely hear ANYTHING save for the occasional tipp tappy snare buried under guitars.

[ResultsMayVary]

Right. Compared to other DT albums, yes, its quiet. But compared to most records, I'd say its a pretty standard volume, imho.

[Kotowboy]

I listened to ADTOE the other day for the first time in a while and having not heard it for a while I expected really quiet drums ( mainly because i'd been listening to a lot of Uno! & Tre! and they have a really balanced mix of everything with nice prominent drums )....

And the drums sound FINE to me...

[The Presence of Frenemies]

I found the snare and toms in particular to be too quiet. Most of the rest of the kit sounded okay. But, for example, the huge tom roll at the end of BAI is downright inaudible.

[SuperTaco]

I've never had a problem with the sound of the drums on ADTOE, they just aren't as in your face compared to MP's sound. I do hope and suspect that the drums will sound clearer and more upfront on the new album, especially after reading that awesome interview

My excitement meter goes up considerably

[Kotowboy]

I've a feeling that they might do something a bit special on DT 12.

The way they've been talking about definite directions and Mangini's complex playing.

If not a concept album then maybe something a bit special like Octavarium with a huge technical epic.

[gmillerdrake]

the drums are plenty loud enough on ADTOE.

We're just used to Portnoy's super-loud and super sharp Tama cutting thru everything.

Yep...I listened to SC and BC&SL for the first time in quite a while...probably a year...just to re-aquaint myself with them. After, I was of the firm opinion that I like the drum mix on ADTOE significantly more than either of those two albums...I liked the fact that it wasn't BAM..in your face the ENTIRE time.....

[MoraWintersoul]

This is the metal kid in me speaking, but of what use are drums if they aren't loud and in your face? They should be driving the songs forward. Some songs on ADTOE lacked that bite partially for that reason as well. And maintaining the "core DT sound" absolutely means to keep the punch of the drums.

[Fiery Winds]

This is the metal kid in me speaking, but of what use are drums if they aren't loud and in your face? They should be driving the songs forward. Some songs on ADTOE lacked that bite partially for that reason as well. And maintaining the "core DT sound" absolutely means to keep the punch of the drums.

This. So much.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

https://youtu.be/zPTh0Bpzurs?t=2m44s
Genie havin a rytmgazm! 

[Implode]

[Kotowboy]

That's not quite accurate.

Petrucci clearly said that Mangini was off the leash on this album.

[mike099]

I just Mangini'd all over the floor.

Well, I hope you cleaned up the mess!

I'm with Wintersoul.  Hope the drums are in your face.

[BlobVanDam]

the drums are plenty loud enough on ADTOE.

We're just used to Portnoy's super-loud and super sharp Tama cutting thru everything.

No, the drums were too low. It's not like the only albums anyone listens to are DT, so this has always been an ignorant argument imo.

And unfortunately the metal side of the album suffered for it, because the energy doesn't come through, and it falls flat.

[Hayden]

The drums were undeniably very low in the mix, and this is coming from somebody who wants to oppose this opinion simply because he's so sick of hearing it. But it's not an opinion, it's a fact; the drums were quiet. But, for the most part, it really didn't bother me. 'A Dramatic Turn of Events' was very much a melody-driven album, so the faint drums almost felt appropriate. But, like Blob said, it did affect the heavier moments on the album. Dream Theater's energy and powah has always come very much from the punchy, solid drumming laid down by Portnoy; take that away, and DT's perfect prog metal mixture is compromised.

[theseoafs]

Throw another vote in the "ADTOE's drums were too low" bucket for me.  Great album, bad mix.

[obscure]

drums were low.... after this interview the wait has suddenly become a torture for me .... mang....

[Pols Voice]

I'm gonna break the chain here and say that the drums weren't too low. Perhaps just slightly. Maybe it's because I don't listen to a whole lot of metal, so I'm not accustomed to loud drums. I find that ADTOE sounds a lot better on a stereo than on headphones, where it seems flat sounding.

I'm really excited for Mangini's increased involvement and the new album. It has a good chance of improving on ADTOE, and I loved that album.

[Fiery Winds]

If you're not accustomed to loud drums, I can understand not feeling like something is missing.  But disregarding that, the cymbals were buried.  That's excluding the genre of music from expectations.  The stems of OTBOA prove that there is a lot of great work in there on the cymbals.  Maybe if they were more prominent in the mix, fewer folks would have complained about the decreased cymbal usage after MP's departure.