Along for the Ride Discussion Thread

[Jaffa]

Cool song.   

[eviljust]

Yeah, that JM and JR part is absolutely a highlight for me. I think it will grow even more with listenings.

[Dark Castle]

Mike Portnoy's Spirit Carries On.. He's just still there..

Nothing new on the drums... MM

Are you kidding me? ...

[mikeyd23]

Without commenting on the song yet, as I'm still absorbing it, I'm wondering if tomorrow it will be released on iTunes and whatnot in higher quality, like they did with TEI.

That's a good question, a lot of times bands only release one track ahead of the album for download and they just post a stream of another track or the actual album.  Not sure if that's what DT will do, but it seems like the trend is to have one single available for download prior to release.

[Chino]

I broke my headphones yesterday, so I'm listening to this out of just one channel. I'm not sure how much it's changing what I'm listening to, but I still dig it.

Are MM's bass hits triggered?

[farsight]

Love the violas(?) in the intro. The arpeggios with the drumwork beneath and the synth solo with the bass are definite highlights.

Snare and toms sound really weird.

Overall, I think it poos all over DT's recent ballads. My body is ready for more cheese.

[Jaq]

Mike Portnoy's Spirit Carries On.. He's just still there..

Nothing new on the drums... MM

Are you kidding me? ...

Read the first line and then you'll have your answer. 

[chwik]

Everyting with MM is triggered. He is just so damn precise at drumming it sounds triggered!!



Full disclosure: I am no drummer and have no idea what I am talking about.

[ToT-147]

Mike Portnoy's Spirit Carries On.. He's just still there..

Nothing new on the drums... MM

Are you kidding me? ...

No.. I'm not kidding YOU.. I don't even know you..

There's not innovation on the drums part.. Where's the new guy? I'm starting to hate that rythm.. Obviously I refer the one in the chorus (1:42)... Do another one dude!... At least a little bit different..

[Another_Won]

We have to remember the context of this song on the album.  It's a perfect song right before the epic.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Everyting with MM is triggered. He is just so damn precise at drumming it sounds triggered!!



Full disclosure: I am no drummer and have no idea what I am talking about.

Triggering is a mixing resource in which you use a waveform detector (in this case, drum hits) and use drum replacement on that hit. You use pre-recorded samples instead of the actual sound, sometimes used to cover up bad drum recordings or make the drums sound fuller. The only thing is that drums can sound somewhat robotic and lifeless (although there are some pretty darn fine triggering plug-ins out there nowadays, like Steven Slate's Trigger) after being triggered.

This is like my fifth time listening to the song and, I can happily say I'm beginning to digest the drum sound in here (I still don't love it, but it isn't as terrible as I thought it was at the beginning). I'm enjoying the song more and more with each listen.

Mike Portnoy's Spirit Carries On.. He's just still there..

Nothing new on the drums... MM

Are you kidding me? ...

No.. I'm not kidding YOU.. I don't even know you..

There's not innovation on the drums part.. Where's the new guy? I'm starting to hate that rythm.. Obviously I refer the one in the chorus (1:42)... Do another one dude!... At least a little bit different..

no u

[Bertielee]

Same as Blob's initial reaction here : didn't like it much. The drums are not subdued enough, in sound I mean. Detracts from the rest of the song. And frankly JR, the solo sound is much too reminiscent of BTS. Will see how it grows on me once the album is released.

B.Lee

[Chino]

Mike Portnoy's Spirit Carries On.. He's just still there..

Nothing new on the drums... MM

Are you kidding me? ...

No.. I'm not kidding YOU.. I don't even know you..

There's not innovation on the drums part.. Where's the new guy? I'm starting to hate that rythm.. Obviously I refer the one in the chorus (1:42)... Do another one dude!... At least a little bit different..

The drumming is pretty intense for a ballad (IMO). You don't want to get too complicated and carried away, it will completely kill the songs vibe. I thought the drums' feel was perfect.

[Mebert78]

The song is cool, but i have to say this is probably the worst drum sound on a DT album. Sounds really triggered and out of place, no dynamics at all.

It's a pity really, because MM is doing a lot of cool things on this song.

Well said.  I'm shocked DT would think this sounded good.  It's honestly all I hear once the drums start and I can't enjoy the rest of the song.  I hope this changes for me as I listen more, but I have a feeling it won't.  DT are supposed to be masters of their instruments, but this gives the impression that Mangini needs computer assistance to get the job done.  This was a big mistake for the band to do the drums this way, IMO.

[matte.braso]

the way the song develops kind of reminds me of Lifting Shadows off a dream...it also comes before the longest track on Awake..AFTR will serve as a nice break before the Epic

[Dark Castle]

Mike Portnoy's Spirit Carries On.. He's just still there..

Nothing new on the drums... MM

Are you kidding me? ...

No.. I'm not kidding YOU.. I don't even know you..

There's not innovation on the drums part.. Where's the new guy? I'm starting to hate that rythm.. Obviously I refer the one in the chorus (1:42)... Do another one dude!... At least a little bit different..

Why the fuck does he have to innovate the drums in DT all of a sudden. MM is playing his heart out, it's been evident on the last two songs, that's what matters to me, not that he reinvents DT's drum section.

[(nothing)]

This is a great tune. I feel that some people are reaaally over-analyzing stuff and completely miss the point.

[KevShmev]

Complaining about Mangini being too busy in this song seems odd since busy drumming is a staple in many of DT's songs with a similar vibe (somewhat rocking, melodic ballad-ish tune)

[Rattlehead]

It's a pretty cool song... maybe I still need to listen to it more. I do see what people mean about the drums, but it doesn't really bother me all that much. I also like the JR solo...

[nikatapi]

This is a great tune. I feel that some people are reaaally over-analyzing stuff and completely miss the point.

The song is indeed very good, that is why i personally feel disappointed with the drum production, it just feels so artificial and over-processed that it detracts from the enjoyment.

[JoeG]

Mike Portnoy's Spirit Carries On.. He's just still there..

Nothing new on the drums... MM

Are you kidding me? ...

No.. I'm not kidding YOU.. I don't even know you..

There's not innovation on the drums part.. Where's the new guy? I'm starting to hate that rythm.. Obviously I refer the one in the chorus (1:42)... Do another one dude!... At least a little bit different..

It's a ballad. Ballads are not known for drumming which pushes limits of technicality. When you think of Mike Portnoy's all time great songs, do you think of Another Day, Anna Lee, Through Her Eyes, or I Walk Beside You?

The drums fit the song very well.

[ToT-147]

There's not innovation on the drums part.. Where's the new guy? I'm starting to hate that rythm.. Obviously I refer the one in the chorus (1:42)... Do another one dude!... At least a little bit different..

Why the fuck does he have to innovate the drums in DT all of a sudden. MM is playing his heart out, it's been evident on the last two songs, that's what matters to me, not that he reinvents DT's drum section.

hahahaha... So you're saying there are DT's established and immutable drum sections?...

'Cause that's not true.. MM doesn't fit on this song.. Actually it have been better without drums at all..

PS: This is just my opinion... Don't go nuts....

[Dark Castle]

I'm not going nuts, I'm just disagreeing with you, although it can be settled at "I think the drums nail it perfectly, where as you think quite differently"
All I can do is shrug.

[Ħ]

OK song. Nothing special. Definitely got a TITL and BTS vibe. Hopefully the album is better than the two singles.

What I can say, though, is that the sound quality is way better than that of TEI, which means we don't have to worry too much for the album's overall quality.

[FlyingBIZKIT]

So many complaints

[Tom Bombadil]

I thought the song was pretty awesome, especially the beginning. I also really liked JR's solo. The sound for me is much less important than the notes being played (I like the sound anyway, though, so why not re-use it?). Not a big fan of the snare sound, but it's not so bad that it really detracts from the song.

[(nothing)]

This is a great tune. I feel that some people are reaaally over-analyzing stuff and completely miss the point.

The song is indeed very good, that is why i personally feel disappointed with the drum production, it just feels so artificial and over-processed that it detracts from the enjoyment.

Wasn't referring as much to that as to the complaints about the Moog sound being reused or random comments I read on FB.

As for the drum sound, well, if you can listen to Images & Words ... I personally don't mind but I get why others do.

[Filipe_metalhead]

Jesus guys, relax. The drum sound really needed to be worked on. But it might be for the soundlcloud streaming. This is just a Snippet before the true sound quality (hope so...)

Mangini's work is actually DT's style. "Another Day" and "Innocence Faded" as well as other songs like "Misunderstood" are pretty worked on drums.

It doesn't matter. It's opinions!

Some guys have a positive opinion, others have a negative opinion. One thing in common We like DT! And we're hoping to be a great album!

[RMGadelha]

My favorite part of the song is when the chorus is sung for the last time. I love how LaBrie varies the melody in the last chorus, even though maybe it was a bit predictable.

[aprilethereal]

Mike Portnoy's Spirit Carries On.. He's just still there..

Nothing new on the drums... MM

Nice Bass-Key section.. But JR is using the same BTS solo.. Just THE SAME.. JR  .. JM 

The rest: good enough...

I've come to the conclusion that we'll never get along



(for the ride lolol )

[atmyne]

So many complaints

kids these days....
I think this song will be a grower for most people. Nestled nicely before the epic, I think it's pretty neat.
also dat song Quality to song duration ratio is pretty damn good imo 

[Ultimetalhead]

I liked the song. It's a little underwhelming, sure, but I'm sure that's just because it's out of the context of the album. After 7 songs of instrumental wizardry and cinematic scope, I'm sure this song will be a much needed breather before "teh epic."

[FlyingBIZKIT]

I'm already liking it. Not sure how it compares to TEI, since they're so different. All I can say is this should be a hell of an album

[Elite]

My thought after one listen:

- Sounding VERY good, production wise.
- Boring song, did not really like.

[FlyingBIZKIT]

Sounds like something I would hear on Images and Words