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

[Lucien]

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

That reminds me of a time on a forum when there were no moderators on at the time, I attempted to stop some of the spam, some of the spam afterwards consisted of

BLACKAVAR SUCKS MY DICK
BLACKAVAR SUCKS MY DICK

about 50 times per post. 

[RMGadelha]

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. 

I'm not talking about THAT, mainly because it would be against our forum rules. I'm talking about the people that want to have a nice discussion getting overwhelmed by a bunch of unnecessary comments on how much they "love" DT.

[Kotowboy]

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.

The penis joke was like a juggernaut that was out of control and we were all too scared TO HELM IT.

Basically because none of us had the balls.

Anyway - it didn't make a vas Deferens.

[Sycsa]

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.

I think at that volume and those speeds they need to trigger the bass drums to get a distinguishable attack sound and I doubt DT would do that. Although MM uses triggers for different sounds. https://www.moderndrummer.com/site/2011/05/mike-mangini-of-dream-theater/#.Ufg8Sm2NBoY

[The Boomr]

I think at that volume and those speeds they need to trigger the bass drums to get a distinguishable attack sound and I doubt DT would do that. Although MM uses triggers for different sounds. https://www.moderndrummer.com/site/2011/05/mike-mangini-of-dream-theater/#.Ufg8Sm2NBoY

Possibly. I had read that article way back when, haha. Great interview. I also doubt DT would use triggers, however I'm pretty sure there have been some bands that get great bass drum sounds without triggering at crazy volumes and speeds. Opeth comes to mind, but I have never confirmed whether Martin Lopez or Axe use triggers or not. I just feel like with harder beaters on those front 22" bass drums, and perhaps some additional/better muting inside them, the attack would sound much better for those crazy double-bass riffs.

MM's announcement of building a new kit for DT has my hopes up, though! For the tour, at least, since this is now happening, after recording the new album... 

[johncal]

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. 

I'm not talking about THAT, mainly because it would be against our forum rules. I'm talking about the people that want to have a nice discussion getting overwhelmed by a bunch of unnecessary comments on how much they "love" DT.

God, unnecessary comments from people about how much the love DT on a DT fan forum. The nerve of them.

BTW, I LOVE DT

[RMGadelha]

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. 

I'm not talking about THAT, mainly because it would be against our forum rules. I'm talking about the people that want to have a nice discussion getting overwhelmed by a bunch of unnecessary comments on how much they "love" DT.

God, unnecessary comments from people about how much the love DT on a DT fan forum. The nerve of them.

BTW, I LOVE DT

I hope you've understood that by "love" between quote marks I mean hate? =P And I was talking about another forum, not DTF x)

[ibosmiley]

The more and more I listened to ADTOE, the less the drums bothered me.  When I first heard it I was like... ohhhhh, they're a little quiet and buried in there... but over time I grew to enjoy the sound of the album for what it was.

As for the whole song length discussion a few pages back that I just got around to reading, I think it's very possible to have well written, instrumentally good short songs.  DT did that a bit in their earlier albums and I think they can do it again.  I still find the whole "sea of shorter songs" idea quite refreshing.

[mikeyd23]

The more and more I listened to ADTOE, the less the drums bothered me.  When I first heard it I was like... ohhhhh, they're a little quiet and buried in there... but over time I grew to enjoy the sound of the album for what it was.

I agree with this to a degree, I have come to appreciate the album sound for what it is but there are still a few moments that, no matter how many times I have listened to the record, fall flat for me every time due to the lack of drum impact.  Particularly, those "heavier" moments on the record that were being discussed previously in this thread. 

[Nearmyth]

The penis joke was like a juggernaut that was out of control and we were all too scared TO HELM IT.

Basically because none of us had the balls.

Anyway - it didn't make a vas Deferens.
[/quote]

10/10 I chuckled.

And on the topic of ADTOE production, I thought that besides the drums it had a very good sound, at least the vocals sounded amazing. But the potential of the material on that album was faltered by the drums a bit.

Also about short songs... I think the short songs they make are really good if they're more like Surrounded, Innocence Faded, The Mirror, Strange De Ja Vu, etc., and less like Wither, Forsaken, BMU/BMD. They're just more interesting to me.

But at this point it seems inevitable that the album will have one of those commercial hit attempts like the latter, I'm kind of hoping DT12 breaks the mold a little. Not to say those songs are necessarily bad, there's just nothing special about them for me.

[Dream Team]

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

They surf over here constantly because they are all still closet DT fans but are afraid to admit it for fear of losing coolness points. 

[TheGreatPretender]

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

They surf over here constantly because they are all still closet DT fans but are afraid to admit it for fear of losing coolness points. 

Pfft, shows what they know. Being a DT fan only adds coolness points.

[dparrott]

Yes...more "Strange Deja Vu"!!!  That's like a mini-epic!

[bosk1]

The more and more I listened to ADTOE, the less the drums bothered me.  When I first heard it I was like... ohhhhh, they're a little quiet and buried in there... but over time I grew to enjoy the sound of the album for what it was.

They never "bothered" me, and I have enjoyed the overall sound of the album since day 1.  But I still recognize that the drums are a bit too low, which takes away some punch and makes it difficult to hear some of the cool stuff Mangini is doing.

[Mosh]

Honestly, it was the first thing I noticed when I listened to ADTOE. It took me until Lost Not Forgotten to get used to it. I have to say its the only album where the drum production seriously affects the overall quality of the album for me. It did seem like a conscious decision though, hopefully the drums sound better on Luna Park, and I can just listen to those songs when I need a DT fix.

I'd be happy if the drums on DT12 were anything like Awake to Six Degrees.

[Voices]

When I first listened to ADTOE, I noticed the difference in the mix and in the snaredrum...but it didn't bothered me too. I really liked the changes.
And then, I listened to the drum stem from OTBOA...after that I realized that if the drums we're better mixed, it would sound even better in the album...but anyway, that's minor stuff.

[Stoneyman]

The drums definitely need to be higher in the mix.  Maybe they just pulled a Newstead on MM and buried his tracks. LOL

Im hoping that the drums on the new cd are more up front.  I agree with Bosk.  MM does do a lot of really cool and interesting stuff that pretty much goes unnoticed because he's is simply buried in the mix.

[JohnnyLayne]

Froms DT's FB:

"With engineer Rich Chyki at the album listening party today in NYC."

[Voices]

Myung looks older in that pic...is that possible? 
I'm really hoping to read/hear/see something new about DT12 this week...the wait is killing me.

[RMGadelha]

Myung looks like Shang-Tsung in that pic
Also,  I wonder if there will be any news coming from that listening party.

[TheGreatPretender]

Myung looks like Shang-Tsung in that pic
Also,  I wonder if there will be any news coming from that listening party.

So it's true... he's a thousand year old sorcerer who steals souls to sustain his eternal youth.

[Petruccinator12]

Haha, LaBrie & Chyki --> same beard

[TheGreatPretender]

Haha, LaBrie & Chyki --> same beard

It's a Canadian beard, eh.

[Victor Alexandrov]

They used to have the same haircut too

[aprilethereal]

don't know if you can even call that a haircut

[wasteland]

Oh, they are having a listening party and we are still left in the dark, huh?   

[Petruccinator12]

Oh, they are having a listening party and we are still left in the dark, huh?   

They probably go through the forum themselves every day and laugh their asses off Now they are trying to tease us even more!

[?]

Oh, they are having a listening party and we are still left in the dark, huh?   

The bright side is that we'll probably get listening session reports and some of them may include track-by-track analyses!

[Petruccinator12]

Oh, they are having a listening party and we are still left in the dark, huh?   

The bright side is that we'll probably get listening session reports and some of them may include track-by-track analyses!

...you wish...

[wasteland]

Oh, they are having a listening party and we are still left in the dark, huh?   

The bright side is that we'll probably get listening session reports and some of them may include track-by-track analyses!

Not before we are given the single, though. I have the feeling that the band wants us to get to the first bit of music from the album (the single) with absolutely zero information on what is going to come. 

[Petruccinator12]

To be honest...the first of August sounds very good for some kind of release

[?]

Oh, they are having a listening party and we are still left in the dark, huh?   

The bright side is that we'll probably get listening session reports and some of them may include track-by-track analyses!

Not before we are given the single, though. I have the feeling that the band wants us to get to the first bit of music from the album (the single) with absolutely zero information on what is going to come. 

I read some listening session reports for Heritage by Opeth and The Beginning of Times by Amorphis before a single note of music had been released from those albums, so it's not impossible

[wasteland]

It could happen, but I think the band wish for us to be surprised is quite clear this time.

[Moor]

Posted by "noxon" on the 5/8 forum:


"I thought i would be able to post the review earlier than what I have now been told, so don't expect to see the review just yet. It's mostly written though, so as soon as I get the go ahead it will go up.

(but i'm going to say this, and please don't quote me on this elsewhere; it's not a very high ranking album for me right now)"

[MoraWintersoul]

Posted by "noxon" on the 5/8 forum:


"I thought i would be able to post the review earlier than what I have now been told, so don't expect to see the review just yet. It's mostly written though, so as soon as I get the go ahead it will go up.

(but i'm going to say this, and please don't quote me on this elsewhere; it's not a very high ranking album for me right now)"

Uhm what was unclear about this that you had to quote him on DTF?