DT really needs to step up their merch game

[chrisbDTM]

Really these are just pitiful, plain, and expensive for no reason. maybe it's more of a roadrunner thing






i know bands that look like they are fresh out of high school with more imaginative merch than this

[Jaffa]

I actually really like the first one. 

Nothing tops the cartoon shirt from last tour, though. 

[Setlist Scotty]

I'm guessing these come from the Live Nation website? If so, don't expect that this is the only merch available. I remember seeing what the originally had on that site when they first started the Dramatic Tour and it wasn't impressive either. But the merch they had at the shows was much better. I'd wager the same thing is true this time around.

[Zook]

MIKE PORTNOY WOULD NEVER APPROVE THOSE!!!!!111


But seriously, lol planet cut off.

[jonnybaxy]

MIKE PORTNOY WOULD NEVER APPROVE THOSE!!!!!111


But seriously, lol planet cut off.

OH, FOR F**K SAKE...

[Zook]

[jonnybaxy]

WHERE THE HELL IS THE RR GUY!!!???

Is this an opportunity to recruit another RR guy? Let's complain till one joins!

[ErHaO]

I like them (well, the first DT12 one at the DTOE one, the others are ugly). I like good album art and good artwork in general, which DT12 does not have. But I mostly dislike more complex drawings on T-shirts, as I think it just does not go well with somebody wearing it for some reason.

[Cool Chris]

I agree that their merch is probably at the bottom of stuff I like about DT, but a band's merch is about the last thing I judge a band on, so I don't care.

[chrisbDTM]

it's more of whoever the band put in charge of merch is definitely getting paid too much. just taking syme's art and slapping it on a black t-shirt. easy mode

[Lucidity]

They definitely have a lot more room for creativity... But I think that the album art for DT albums tends to be horrendous, so I can't really have high expectations for their merchandise.

[BlobVanDam]

It is pretty basic to just use the art on a shirt, but the DT12 album cover looks a lot better on a shirt than most of their other albums covers, I think.
Last tour there was that great shirt using Mika's cartoon version of Dream Theater from the tour intro video, which a lot of people seemed to want. Maybe now that the tour is started, they'll have more ideas like that.

[Tis BOOLsheet]

Best thing they ever did was that grey t-shirt with all of their pictures as cartoon characters. As soon as I saw that on the last tour, I bought one.

[black_biff_stadler]

It's nice to see DT making dad shirts for that inexplicably untapped market.

[orcus116]

it's more of whoever the band put in charge of merch is definitely getting paid too much. just taking syme's art and slapping it on a black t-shirt. easy mode

So exactly like Syme taking random stock images and slapping them together for an album cover.

[The Curious Orange]

I imagine the top one will look a hell of a lot better on well-endowed young women than it will on overweight men with moobs.

[Mladen]

They're not selling those cartoon shirt on this tour, are they? I wish I could get it this time around, because I went with the original album art last time.

[TAC]

Does every fuc#ing t shirt have to be BLACK??

[PolarizeMe]

I wish they would come up with a shirt that commemorated the anniversaries of Awake and SFAM.

[rumborak]

I used to love buying DT shirts, but somewhere after SDOIT there was a sharp dropoff in quality. I still go to the merch booth every time to see what's there, but the last 4 or 5 concerts I've just turned around. Not because I don't have the money, but simply because the shirts were lame.

[TAC]

I agree Rumbo. Like I said before I really don't wear black and the one off black (gray?) they had last time had cartoon characters on it. That ain't gonna do it either.

[emtee]

My thing with most band merch is they all seem to think it has to be black. Well...FYI black in the summer heat is not a good combo.
I just wish I could find a few cool white tees once in awhile.

[BlobVanDam]

People wear colours other than black?

[rumborak]

What bugs me about the first shirt is, you got a planet eclipsing a sun. What should the back show?
I dunno, there's so many places to go with the album cover. And to also ask this question, there's 5 guys in Dream Theater, and none of them bothers putting some thought into the merchandise?

[Mladen]

I used to love buying DT shirts, but somewhere after SDOIT there was a sharp dropoff in quality. I still go to the merch booth every time to see what's there, but the last 4 or 5 concerts I've just turned around. Not because I don't have the money, but simply because the shirts were lame.

What were the shirts before SDOIT like?

[Sycsa]

I own the first one and I'm very happy with it. It's simple, classy and tasteful. I'm not too fond of band T-shirts in general, but I always wanted a simple DT shirt just with the Majesty logo and they delivered exactly that.

[rumborak]

(while it looks a bit boring on the picture, the fabric was a nice beige that fit very well with the cover)

The FII one was very cool, I can't link directly to the image for some reason

[theseoafs]

So the shirts with album covers on them used to be amazing up until 6DOIT, but now a shirt with an album cover on it is lame?

[BlobVanDam]

They're both basically just the album cover slapped onto a shirt (although I do like the band name on the long sleeves). Personally I think the DT12 album cover shirt is nice, and exactly what that shirt calls for front and back. I don't like their choice of art for the rest of the shirts though. I'd like to see more new designs that aren't so directly derived from the album art, such as that FII shirt, although I don't think that design is that great itself.

[rumborak]

@theseoafs: DT was never particularly imaginative, I give you that, but at least the SDOIT shirt wasn't black, and the FII one was really cool. And the SFAM one was just badass with the giant face and the DT font along the sleeves.

[BlobVanDam]

Putting a white album cover on black wouldn't have worked too well, so that was just natural, and all of these things just stem from the album covers being better, not that the approach to the shirts/merchandising is worse in any way.

[rumborak]

Maybe. Who knows, maybe my infatuation with DT back in the day also made me some oblivious to the lack of imagination in their shirts.

I just wonder what happened with FII that it so stands out.

[BlobVanDam]

I don't know, I don't think the FII is anything special, although I do give it points for being an original design.
Just out of interest, what kind of shirt designs would people like to see?

[mikemangioy]

Why not lifting shadows book cover t-shirts? That would be amazing.

[emtee]

I don't know, I don't think the FII is anything special, although I do give it points for being an original design.
Just out of interest, what kind of shirt designs would people like to see?

I'd love to have a long sleeve and short sleeve white tee with just the Majesty logo with purple and black for DT12.