My thoughts on 'Dream Theater' (***SPOILERS***)

[wasteland]

Bass/drum sections can be overwhelmingly good if properly planned! And I also have the feeling that STR is the Myunger this time around.

[Zydar]

And I also have the feeling that STR is the Myunger this time around.

Even the title sounds Myungish (how's THAT for a word!).

[RMGadelha]

It is also a verb!

I Myung
You Myung
He/She Myungs
We Myung
They Myung

And the classic past tense: Myung'd!

[wasteland]

It is also a verb!

I Myung
You Myung
He/She Myungs
We Myung
They Myung

And the classic past tense: Myung'd!

How 'bout the Italian Far Past tense?

Io Myungai
Tu Myungasti
Egli/Ella Myungò
Noi Myungammo
Voi Myungaste
Egli Myungarono

Anyway, it's great to hear that JM is very involved musically as well as lyrically. I always loved what I suppose are the results of his imput.

[The Stray Seed]

It is also a verb!

I Myung
You Myung
He/She Myungs
We Myung
They Myung

And the classic past tense: Myung'd!

How 'bout the Italian Far Past tense?

Io Myungai
Tu Myungasti
Egli/Ella Myungò
Noi Myungammo
Voi Myungaste
Essi Myungarono

Anyway, it's great to hear that JM is very involved musically as well as lyrically. I always loved what I suppose are the results of his imput.

LHCPT - l'ho corretto per te. [=

[wasteland]

/IT: Vabbé, è un refuso! Ci mancherebbe che io non sappia la terza plurale

[DreamerTV]

/IT: Vabbé, è un refuso! Ci mancherebbe che io non sappia la terza plurale

Forse volevi dire Eja Myung!

Che poi far past non si può sentire: il passato remoto si traduce col past simple in inglese...

[wasteland]

Not in my place. We never use the Remote Past, only the Proximum Past.

Ok, enough with us Italians and our linguistical quirks, there's a great album to discuss! It's great to see that noxon has come to appreciate the album above all those released in the New Millennium!

[eviljust]

I'm not sure it has been mentioned, but there's several of places where there's basically just drums and bass covering the groove while the guitar (or keyboard) does soloing (and keys/guitar maybe as a background effect to fill out the sound). JM is on fire on this album. Especially on Surrender to Reason.

Yeah. I was waiting for this

[RMGadelha]

Ok, I shall close this then with the Portuguese past tense.

Eu Myunguei
Tu Myungastes
Ele/Ela Myungou
Nós Myungamos
Vós Myungueis
Eles Myungaram.

But yeah, even though I play guitar, I've always loved those bass + drums groove.

[thosava]

Okay, as of right now: SFAM-IAW-AWAKE-FII-DT12-ADTOE-TOT-SDOIT-8V-BCSL-SC-WDADU

If that becomes the average ranking of the album, it would be an incredible accomplishment! (Yes, i know it's a subjective opinion )

[CodyWanKenobi]

What would you rate Mangini's performance on DT12 vs his performance on ADTOE?

[ResultsMayVary]

I believe JP said Mangini was an absolute monster on this album.

[cyberdrummer]

I can confirm, he is indeed a monster. So much more freedom on this album.

[Orthogonal]

Glad to hear Myung is featured more prominently this time. That's something I've wanted to get more out of in a DT record in a long time.

[Shine]

I never understood the obsession on questions like "What other album does it sound like?" Assuming that there's any reason for it to sound like one of their previous albums.

Did FII sound like anything before it? Did SFAM? Did SDOIT, or TOT, or 8VM, or SC?

The only album that even remotely sounds like it was influenced by a past album is ADTOE, and even that's a bit of a stretch.

So why would we expect DT12 to sound like anything they've put out before? If anything, it would only be disappointing if it did sound like a past album (unless it sounds like I&W, but I digress)

[Ben_Jamin]

The rhythm section on the songs, are they groovy? And do MM and JM gel together great on this album?

[robwebster]

The only album that even remotely sounds like it was influenced by a past album is ADTOE, and even that's a bit of a stretch.

I think Black Clouds is the album with the least identity. You could comfortably describe Black Clouds as a sort of watered down Systematic Chaos mixed with a watered down Awake.

I don't think ADToE sounds so much like it's influenced by a past album as all the past albums, with just a little hint of something new. Structurally, there's a fair bit of IaW in there, but I'd say the music is a little more Octavarium, Six Degrees.

[Kotowboy]

I can confirm, he is indeed a monster. So much more freedom on this album.

THATS BECAUSE HE ACTUALLY PLAYED ON THIS ONE. PETRUCCI RECORDED ALL THE DRUMS ON ADTOE

[RMGadelha]

I can confirm, he is indeed a monster. So much more freedom on this album.

THATS BECAUSE HE ACTUALLY PLAYED ON THIS ONE. PETRUCCI RECORDED ALL THE DRUMS ON ADTOE

YES, THEY SHOULD HAVE PUT PETR00TCHEE IN THE DRUMS AND PUT INGVEY MALMASTIM IN THE GUITAR.

[Edson Wilton]

I'm not sure it has been mentioned, but there's several of places where there's basically just drums and bass covering the groove while the guitar (or keyboard) does soloing (and keys/guitar maybe as a background effect to fill out the sound). JM is on fire on this album. Especially on Surrender to Reason.

Can't wait to hear "Surrender to Reason". Noxon, will you let us know something about the DT12 lyrics in your review?

[ToT-147]

I always have seen BC&SL as their most representative album... It's an excellent example of what Dream really are.. Every other album it has his own style, attitude (or identity, in your terms).. Black Clouds it's their most perfectly balance album.. Anyway, I'm not saying that because of that I like it so much... In fact SFAM and maybe 8V will be the other two more representative for the band...

I'm guessing this DT it has his own quality sign.. So, it should be called it that way?.. I doubt it...

[Zook]

Black Clouds to me strengthens the stereotype that Dream theater is just mindless wankery and I wouldn't want that album to be representative of the band.

[ToT-147]

Black Clouds to me strengthens the stereotype that Dream theater is just mindless wankery and I wouldn't want that album to be representative of the band.

I'm not so sure what do you mean by "wankery".. If you by that mean virtuosism, duet solos and complex technical parts.. let's see.. Let's go in order.. You'd have out of it:

1- ANTR: Intro, Beautiful Agony's part and Outro..
2- AROP: The whole song but its instrumental section
3- WITHER: The whole song
4- TSF: This is maybe the only one you can put in that category (despite Recieve, which adds the so needed balance to the song itself), with (IMO) JP's best solo in his all life (and that's hard to decide)...
5- TBOT: Where's the "wankery" on this one?.. 
6- TCOT: And, finally, this one has everything... Their best song since ITNOG... (should I say "IMO"? I think that's very clear... No need to do that)

Besides all this, you can't put 'mindless' and 'Dream Theater' in the same sentence.. That's an unforgivable aberration.. 

PS: You meant you "don't want..." or "wouldn't want..." 'Cause these are pretty different...

[FourthHorseman]

To me, there are very few redeeming qualities about BC&SL, I really don't get how people like it.

The worst is when people put it above I&W.   

[ResultsMayVary]

Couldn't agree more. Its fairly poor compared to the rest of the albums DT has put out. Still better than most albums anyway, in general.

[Outcrier]

Black Clouds to me strengthens the stereotype that Dream theater is just mindless wankery and I wouldn't want that album to be representative of the band.

Besides the wankery, there is so many embarassing moments too

[RMGadelha]

Black Clouds to me strengthens the stereotype that Dream theater is just mindless wankery and I wouldn't want that album to be representative of the band.

Besides the wankery, there is so many embarassing moments too

DOWN DAH CELLAH STAIRZ, AI DISAPPEAAAAARRRROOROROO.

[Zook]

Black Clouds to me strengthens the stereotype that Dream theater is just mindless wankery and I wouldn't want that album to be representative of the band.

I'm not so sure what do you mean by "wankery".. If you by that mean virtuosism, duet solos and complex technical parts.. let's see.. Let's go in order.. You'd have out of it:

1- ANTR: Intro, Beautiful Agony's part and Outro..
2- AROP: The whole song but its instrumental section
3- WITHER: The whole song
4- TSF: This is maybe the only one you can put in that category (despite Recieve, which adds the so needed balance to the song itself), with (IMO) JP's best solo in his all life (and that's hard to decide)...
5- TBOT: Where's the "wankery" on this one?.. 
6- TCOT: And, finally, this one has everything... Their best song since ITNOG... (should I say "IMO"? I think that's very clear... No need to do that)

Besides all this, you can't put 'mindless' and 'Dream Theater' in the same sentence.. That's an unforgivable aberration.. 

PS: You meant you "don't want..." or "wouldn't want..." 'Cause these are pretty different...

Well, you have a point. The whole album isn't mindless wankery. My dislike of the album has clouded my memory of it. I like wankery, but it's just not very good on BCSL. It sounds phoned in especially on ANTR, and although JP's solo on AROP is pretty cool, JR is just fucking around on his keyboard and iphone, and that's why I don't want BCSL being representative of the band, because it's not a good representation. They've done so much better in the past and future. And I'm in the vast minority of people who like JR's solo in TSF. That and TCoT are the only two songs from BCSL I go back to. The wankery on ToT is awesome, shreddy goodness that had melody. What happened on BCSL?

[Lucidity]

And I'm in the vast minority of people who like JR's solo in TSF.

[Outcrier]

6- TCOT: And, finally, this one has everything... Their best song since ITNOG...(should I say "IMO"? I think that's very clear... No need to do that)

What about Octavarium?

[hefdaddy42]

I always have seen BC&SL as their most representative album...

[eviljust]

I always have seen BC&SL as their most representative album...

Allright, I'm puzzled. Hoping he was joking honestly, 'cuz to me BC&SL is definitely their worst album EVER. I mean, I'm pretty sure they can't do something more disappointing than that. But maybe that's just me.

[BlobVanDam]

I always have seen BC&SL as their most representative album...

Allright, I'm puzzled. Hoping he was joking honestly, 'cuz to me BC&SL is definitely their worst album EVER. I mean, I'm pretty sure they can't do something more disappointing than that. But maybe that's just me.

WDADU

[?]

*obligatory replacement of WDADU with SC in Blob's post and saying FTFY after that*

BC&SL isn't my least favorite album, but I wouldn't say it's very representative of DT either, thanks to some elements that aren't part of DT's core sound and could turn new fans off.