Dream Theater self titled album discussion - [SPOILER FREE DISCUSSION ONLY]

[TheGreatPretender]

I thought the month was named after emperor Octavarium Augustus like July is named after Julius Caesar. 

FTFY

[wolven74]

This thread

[Lumiukko]

Hahaha funny seeing the reactions towards the cover art.

"I might be wrong, but if the artwork is any indication, im thinking OLD SCHOOL Dream Theater!!!!, freaking awesome!"

Wrong! haha

Although I do hope the music will make me feel the same way old school DT music did. You know, wet in the pants, and mind blown.

Sorry, I forgot to quote. I was referring to the link from MP's forum someone posted about the release of BCSL.

As for the DT12, I do have that same hope! 

Oh, LOL. Okay, now it's funny.


EDIT: Also, what's with all the people commenting about ejaculation? I mean, the two Album cycled that I've been in THIS forum, I don't recall anyone commenting in THAT way. Was that a 2009 thing? Or is that just an MP "Suck My Ass and Balls" crowd?

hahaha people got a little too much excited. Those guys should look for a doctor or maybe the content of the album was enough to calm them down for some time. haha

[Lucien]

I think most people on that forum were just immature.

[tiagodon]

August shall bring good winds!
After all, you know what august means, don't ya?
From Latin augur, a religious official in ancient Rome who foretold events by interpreting omens, perhaps originally meaning "an increase in crops enacted in ritual"... Shit! I really need to get some sleep!

I thought the month was named after emperor Octavian Augustus like July is named after Julius Caesar. 

Now you know why Augustus got that name!

[cyberdrummer]

Yes, it's named after Augustus. NB, Octavianus wasn't part of his name when he became emperor - that was part of the political point he was trying to make.

/offtopic

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

This is like the good ole mighty Octavarium forum in one thread.

[Nihil-Morari]

Wait a sec. Missed one week, 50 pages or so. Anyone care to summarize? I've seen the cover art and track listing, surely there must be some news in 100 pages of discussion? 

[cyberdrummer]

Erm.....

[theseoafs]

I've seen the cover art and track listing, surely there must be some news in 100 pages of discussion? 

No, there isn't.  And don't call me Shirley.

[?]

Wait a sec. Missed one week, 50 pages or so. Anyone care to summarize? I've seen the cover art and track listing, surely there must be some news in 100 pages of discussion? 

So you've seen the third studio video already? In that case there isn't anything new, except that we probably know the track lengths now, although they haven't been confirmed by an official source.

[Nihil-Morari]

  Thought so, love you guys. Just watched the third studio clip, great stuff. I'm all up for speculating again.
I like the idea of them writing there own opener, like an overture, maybe even less full-band than the six degrees overture. I'm excited to hear what (mainly) Jordan came up with.

[atmyne]

This thread.

it's like a fever dream.... almost maddening. It's the same thing over and over again. Where is the single? calm down, it's coming! only 75 minutes? shorter songs longer songs....
Don't get me wrong, I think this comes with the territory of a dream theater release. I dunno maybe I feel like I'm going mad going through the pages upon new pages of this thread hoping for some insight, news, reviews, releases etc. only to read the same shit over and over again... HUNDREDS OF PAGES!  GAHH!

I will throw this spanner in the mix: This album is supposedly meant to be "heavier". if BMUBMD or Outcry or any of the 7-string-esque metal stuff on the last couple of albums are anything to go by... it can be said that JP doesn't come up with the best metal riffs these days. The metal parts just don't hold up with what other modern metal bands are doing (progressive, djent, hardcore, deathcore, post-rock, whatever the kids are listening to these days consarnit!). It would have been cool if JP experimented with some outside-the-box metal tones or even had a crack at some 8-string stuff... but I digress...
The point is is that I feel like the 'metal' appeal of their musical style is decaying, and I am expecting to be underwhelmed/dissapointed by this release to be honest.
Sorry to be a downer... just my thoughts.

[mikeyd23]

I will throw this spanner in the mix: This album is supposedly meant to be "heavier". if BMUBMD or Outcry or any of the 7-string-esque metal stuff on the last couple of albums are anything to go by... it can be said that JP doesn't come up with the best metal riffs these days.

For songs off of ADTOE I know for me personally, the production stifled my ability to enjoy some of those "heavier" riffs fully.  For me, it wasn't always that the riff wasn't great, it was the way it ended up coming across in the final mix of everything. 

I am a firm believer that drum grooves make good "heavy" riffs better, so when the drum sound is slightly lacking, for me, the riff suffers.   I still find JP to be an incredible riff writer, including the "heavier stuff".

[bosk1]

Wait a sec. Missed one week, 50 pages or so. Anyone care to summarize? I've seen the cover art and track listing, surely there must be some news in 100 pages of discussion? 

Not sure why I didn't think to do this earlier, but I edited the initial post in this thread to remind people that all OFFICIAL information, as it comes out, is summarized here:  https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=36530.0

[Voices]

I will throw this spanner in the mix: This album is supposedly meant to be "heavier". if BMUBMD or Outcry or any of the 7-string-esque metal stuff on the last couple of albums are anything to go by... it can be said that JP doesn't come up with the best metal riffs these days.

For songs off of ADTOE I know for me personally, the production stifled my ability to enjoy some of those "heavier" riffs fully.  For me, it wasn't always that the riff wasn't great, it was the way it ended up coming across in the final mix of everything. 

I am a firm believer that drum grooves make good "heavy" riffs better, so when the drum sound is slightly lacking, for me, the riff suffers.   I still find JP to be an incredible riff writer, including the "heavier stuff".

BITS riff is a good example of whay you said.

[bosk1]

I will throw this spanner in the mix: This album is supposedly meant to be "heavier". if BMUBMD or Outcry or any of the 7-string-esque metal stuff on the last couple of albums are anything to go by... it can be said that JP doesn't come up with the best metal riffs these days.

For songs off of ADTOE I know for me personally, the production stifled my ability to enjoy some of those "heavier" riffs fully.  For me, it wasn't always that the riff wasn't great, it was the way it ended up coming across in the final mix of everything. 

I am a firm believer that drum grooves make good "heavy" riffs better, so when the drum sound is slightly lacking, for me, the riff suffers.   I still find JP to be an incredible riff writer, including the "heavier stuff".

Agreed.  But the drum beats/groove were definitely there on ADTOE to support and add to the riffs.  The only problem was that a lot of the drums and percussion were buried in the mix.

[mikeyd23]

Agreed.  But the drum beats/groove were definitely there on ADTOE to support and add to the riffs.  The only problem was that a lot of the drums and percussion were buried in the mix.

Yes absolutely agreed! I think MM laid down some incredible parts on ADTOE so the grooves were definitely there, like you said they were just buried in mix.  That caused the overall effect of those more "aggressive" or "heavy" sections to suffer on that record, in spite of, in my opinion, some really well written guitar and drum parts.

[lyfeternl]

I will throw this spanner in the mix: This album is supposedly meant to be "heavier". if BMUBMD or Outcry or any of the 7-string-esque metal stuff on the last couple of albums are anything to go by... it can be said that JP doesn't come up with the best metal riffs these days.

For songs off of ADTOE I know for me personally, the production stifled my ability to enjoy some of those "heavier" riffs fully.  For me, it wasn't always that the riff wasn't great, it was the way it ended up coming across in the final mix of everything. 

I am a firm believer that drum grooves make good "heavy" riffs better, so when the drum sound is slightly lacking, for me, the riff suffers.   I still find JP to be an incredible riff writer, including the "heavier stuff".

Agreed.  But the drum beats/groove were definitely there on ADTOE to support and add to the riffs.  The only problem was that a lot of the drums and percussion were buried in the mix.

Hearing BITS live, I can attest to the fact that JP is indeed coming up with some great, heavy riffs. As said previously, the drum mix did not help matters in the slightest.

[Voices]

ADTOE songs sounds way heavier live, just because the drums aren't buried. When I saw Outcry live, I notice the difference and the heaviness of it...it is really, really incredible.

[wolven74]

I believe that if the drums aren't buried in DT12's mix, it could be one of the most amazing DT recordings ever. This is based solely on my belief in DT to make amazing music.

[Voices]

I believe that if the drums aren't buried in DT12's mix, it could be one of the most amazing DT recordings ever. This is based solely on my belief in DT to make amazing music.

Agreed. MM TOOOOONE is nice to my ears, even his snaredrum (that is way different from Portnoy's).

[mikeyd23]

ADTOE songs sounds way heavier live, just because the drums aren't buried. When I saw Outcry live, I notice the difference and the heaviness of it...it is really, really incredible.

Yep! They do sound much heavier live; tunes like Outcry, BMUBMD, BIT, etc... sound massive live with a full, in your face drum groove supporting those riffs.

Agreed. MM TOOOOONE is nice to my ears, even his snaredrum (that is way different from Portnoy's).

This is another thing I noticed while seeing them live in support of ADTOE.  MM really does put together a great selection of sounds with the way he has built his kit.  This fact makes me want a bigger drum sound on DT12 even more!

[Voices]

ADTOE songs sounds way heavier live, just because the drums aren't buried. When I saw Outcry live, I notice the difference and the heaviness of it...it is really, really incredible.

Yep! They do sound much heavier live; tunes like Outcry, BMUBMD, BIT, etc... sound massive live with a full, in your face drum groove supporting those riffs.

Agreed. MM TOOOOONE is nice to my ears, even his snaredrum (that is way different from Portnoy's).

This is another thing I noticed while seeing them live in support of ADTOE.  MM really does put together a great selection of sounds with the way he has built his kit.  This fact makes me want a bigger drum sound on DT12 even more!

Have you watched the video where MM explain all the mics he used on the new album? That makes me think that he had freedom to really input not just his ideas in the creation process, but how he'll sound on the new record. Probably MM is aiming a bigger sound too...lets wait and see!

[wolven74]

ADTOE songs sounds way heavier live, just because the drums aren't buried. When I saw Outcry live, I notice the difference and the heaviness of it...it is really, really incredible.

Yep! They do sound much heavier live; tunes like Outcry, BMUBMD, BIT, etc... sound massive live with a full, in your face drum groove supporting those riffs.

Agreed. MM TOOOOONE is nice to my ears, even his snaredrum (that is way different from Portnoy's).

This is another thing I noticed while seeing them live in support of ADTOE.  MM really does put together a great selection of sounds with the way he has built his kit.  This fact makes me want a bigger drum sound on DT12 even more!

Have you watched the video where MM explain all the mics he used on the new album? That makes me think that he had freedom to really input not just his ideas in the creation process, but how he'll sound on the new record. Probably MM is aiming a bigger sound too...lets wait and see!

And hope

[mikeyd23]

Have you watched the video where MM explain all the mics he used on the new album? That makes me think that he had freedom to really input not just his ideas in the creation process, but how he'll sound on the new record. Probably MM is aiming a bigger sound too...lets wait and see!

Yeah I saw that video, real interesting stuff! Great how MM gets excited about everything including drum mics, haha!

I agree though, with MM being more involved in the process this time around in virtually every way, I feel as if the drum sound will improve from ADTOE.  That will in turn, IMO, support the heavier riffs with more full sounding grooves, therefore making the presentation of the whole band sound "heavier" in those moments when they are trying to be.   

[Dream Team]

Meh, all those single-string chromatic riffs aren't that heavy to my ears. Distorted power chords plus heavy E-string chugging FTW.

[TheGreatPretender]

I agree though, with MM being more involved in the process this time around in virtually every way, I feel as if the drum sound will improve from ADTOE.  That will in turn, IMO, support the heavier riffs with more full sounding grooves, therefore making the presentation of the whole band sound "heavier" in those moments when they are trying to be.   

Well, I think the important thing that people have to realize, that DT really embraced this time around is that while MM is the new guy in the band, he's still a powerhouse of music knowledge, and now he brought all that knowledge into the band, and I'm hoping that gave them some new dynamics. Can't wait to hear!

[The Boomr]

I agree the songs sounded heavier live on this last tour, however I saw them twice at the same venue, once from the balcony and once from the pit. Both times, the actual strikes of MM's bass drums were mostly inaudible...they just produced like a big wubble-wubble of bass noise. From what I had seen of that set in pics and such I feel that (at least part of) the problem was the type of beaters he used on his pedals. They all looked to be super soft, felt, rounded kickers. Those are well-suited to certain types of music, but not metal, or "heavy music," as it were. I could be totally wrong, but that seemed to contribute to the lack of punctuated bass drum sound, on the album and live. I was confused as to why he never changed those out at some point, because yeah he had already designed that kit to a specific standard and he wouldn't change out any big parts, but putting different beaters on your pedals is not a big deal...*shrug* I dunno.

I LOVE the riff in BITS. It was a bit redeeming of JP's metal riff skills to me, and it has aged well. Looking forward to pretty much anything they give us on this next album.

[tiagodon]

108 pages?!! Is this the hottest thread in this Forums history?

[RMGadelha]

I prefer 108 pages of spam here than 27 pages filled with trolls like in the 5/8 forums...  Have you guys seen these people? They've got no respect,  specially towards DT and the fans,  haha.

[robwebster]

I'm a little hazy but i'm almost certain that they released the track lengths for Black Clouds along with the titles & artwork.

Granted - this was when MP was in the band and he might have wanted to go like " Hey check out our super proggy album ! "

Track lengths don't really excite me unless they're somehow interesting. Like a few 3 minute songs.

To me they're not as much about excitement, as they are about reassurance. Like, "Phew, so there are a few songs that are 7 - 10 minutes long. Now I can relax and not worry that somehow, the album is filled with 5 minute songs.

Why would that be a worry? Length =/= quality.

Or so I've been told...

inb4 penis jokes

That was already a penis joke long before you got there.

[Ben_Jamin]

I agree though, with MM being more involved in the process this time around in virtually every way, I feel as if the drum sound will improve from ADTOE.  That will in turn, IMO, support the heavier riffs with more full sounding grooves, therefore making the presentation of the whole band sound "heavier" in those moments when they are trying to be.   

Well, I think the important thing that people have to realize, that DT really embraced this time around is that while MM is the new guy in the band, he's still a powerhouse of music knowledge, and now he brought all that knowledge into the band, and I'm hoping that gave them some new dynamics. Can't wait to hear!

That is true, which made me excited. And its great they're letting him fully unleash it all.

[RMGadelha]

Haha, now they are quoting me and using my avatar.  What a lovely bunch.

[TheGreatPretender]

Haha, now they are quoting me and using my avatar.  What a lovely bunch.

How do you know they're trolling? Maybe they just heard Impermanent Resonance and thought it was DT12.