New Live Release: BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL discussion thread

[JayOctavarium]

No. The leaking was on Beneath The Surface. Did they play the sample on Luna Park? I don't remember.

[GentlemanofDread]

They did play the sample!

[fadetoblackdude7]

I read from a review on Amazon that the sets/encore are actually separated on this one.....this true? If so, I'm for it, makes it feel more like the actual show.

[me7]

I read from a review on Amazon that the sets/encore are actually separated on this one.....this true? If so, I'm for it, makes it feel more like the actual show.

The main menu has a "play full concert" button that plays the show from start to finish but the "select specific track" menu is split across three submenues, one for each set.
It's a bit weird to consider the SFAM tracks as encore since JLB actually announces them early in the show.

That said, JLB talk sections are a lot better than on Luna Park. He talks less and when he does, he doesn't go on for too long.

[fadetoblackdude7]

That's interesting. And thanks!

[Labrie1984]

What about the prerecorded vocals on One last times chorus...Does Labrie sing them at this particular show? On the other hand, I don't understand why he refuses to sing them. They are not so high-pitched. Thank you so much for the info. Next week I'll purchase it here in Spainand  post my point of view:)

[me7]

What about the prerecorded vocals on One last times chorus...Does Labrie sing them at this particular show?

I guess you mean Finally free. He doesn't sing the "One last Time" lines.

[Labrie1984]

Thank you so much:) I find it kind of weird. He sings more complicated notes all nights. I love Labrie's performance nowadays:)

[Grizz]

It's because he's telling the crowd to sing.

[Labrie1984]

I don't know...using the same line each and every night to interact with the audience...Maybe. Perhaps they have everything more structured than it seems. I have never watched him singing this line this tour. Not even starting the line and letting people go on...

[PetFish]

I was just thinking how much I'd love an isolated orchestra track but nobody who has it is talking about on so I guess it ain't there.

[TAC]

Official photos from the Fourth Wall:

https://www.dreamtheater.net/photo/category/Official-Photos

Awesome!!

[Jinx]

I don't know...using the same line each and every night to interact with the audience...Maybe. Perhaps they have everything more structured than it seems. I have never watched him singing this line this tour. Not even starting the line and letting people go on...

Its just a good place for audience participation. Everyone knows the words and the audience loves doing the last 'One Last Ti-i-i-ime'. He also gets them to do the choir part at the beginning of On The Backs Of Angels.

[Grizz]

Or like the third chorus in Lie. It works even better when they aren't stuck to a click and can stop playing to let the audience sing without the instruments.

[Labrie1984]

As a truly lover of James' voice, I would like to know how his beautiful and strong vibrato has been captured in this live recording. I miss it on the studio versions. I'll watch the concert myself on wednesday but I'd love to read your opinion on this. Thanks !

[HolidaysAnoraks]

Just got my copy in the mail. Only a few songs in, but IMO this is the best drum sound from Mangini yet.

[Bertielee]

My thoughts :

minor negative : JP's rhythm tone is somewaht muddy (as has already been pointed out)
                           the orchestra somewhat lost in the mix on Strange Déjà-vu
                           JLB sounding a little flat at times

MAJOR positive : all the effing rest, guys! What a treat! And that second DVD : everything I could ask for! Top of the games, guys! And JLB sounds really great if not for the minor negative!
Highlights : SDV, IT and the orchestra, Lifting Shadows...well, mostly everything in fact! Call me a fanboy!!!

B.Lee

[YtseJamittaja]

I was so frustrated because the release date in Finland was in Friday but when I went to the record shop they told that the importer has done something wrong and it's still not here. So I will get it somewhere in next week hopefully.

I don't want to scroll every page so can somebody of you guys say are there any bonus features?

[HolidaysAnoraks]

There's a photo gallery and you get the isolated background animations for Enigma Machine and Illumination Theory

[Madman Shepherd]

Highlights : SDV, IT and the orchestra,

Orchestra?  Good to hear considering some people have been more critical of that aspect. 

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Alright, I just got checked this out!

My first impression:

The Good:
Mangini sounds amazing. Rudess sounds amazing. The orchestra is amazing. Definitely, a big step up from Luna Park.

The Bad:
As someone already mentioned, LaBrie falls *really* flat in places and it annoyed me greatly. I felt his performance was better in Luna Park, so this was somewhat of a downer in that department. Also, although I really dig the mix, JP's tone does feel muddy and lacking lots of clarity. Also, there are some of those annoying *p*, *t* and *s* mic sounds from LaBrie that were present in Luna Park. Is it excessive compression? Is it LaBrie's mic?  I don't know, but it's quite annoying.

The bad is easier to point out, because I think it's super clear by now that the band was super tight and that there are a bunch of wonderful things in this DVD. Sadly, I wanted this to be better than Score, but LaBrie's performance felt flat to some extent and it doesn't have that "OMG EVERYTHING'S PERFECT" quality Score had.

Either way, much much better than Luna Park in lots of departments. Definitely a nice addition to every DT fan's collection

[Madman Shepherd]

Alright, I just got checked this out!

My first impression:

The Good:
Mangini sounds amazing. Rudess sounds amazing. The orchestra is amazing. Definitely, a big step up from Luna Park.

The Bad:
As someone already mentioned, LaBrie falls *really* flat in places and it annoyed me greatly. I felt his performance was better in Luna Park, so this was somewhat of a downer in that department. Also, although I really dig the mix, JP's tone does feel muddy and lacking lots of clarity. Also, there are some of those annoying *p*, *t* and *s* mic sounds from LaBrie that were present in Luna Park. Is it excessive compression? Is it LaBrie's mic?  I don't know, but it's quite annoying.

The bad is easier to point out, because I think it's super clear by now that the band was super tight and that there are a bunch of wonderful things in this DVD. Sadly, I wanted this to be better than Score, but LaBrie's performance felt flat to some extent and it doesn't have that "OMG EVERYTHING'S PERFECT" quality Score had.

Either way, much much better than Luna Park in lots of departments. Definitely a nice addition to every DT fan's collection

What spots did he fall flat?

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

On the top of my head... I remember a couple of places in The Shattered Fortress, Trial of Tears, The Mirror... and probably Lifting Shadows.

Illumination Theory was effin' amazing, tho. The best moment in the DVD by far. A great performance by everyone (James included).

[Labrie1984]

It's a quite demanding setlist for a vocalist and takes 3 hours. However I prefer James' vocals nowadays over his past performances.

[Labrie1984]

I love James' performance on Score but the vocals sound too clean and perfect. This overproduced thing annoys me a little bit.

[Madman Shepherd]

On the top of my head... I remember a couple of places in The Shattered Fortress, Trial of Tears, The Mirror... and probably Lifting Shadows.

Illumination Theory was effin' amazing, tho. The best moment in the DVD by far. A great performance by everyone (James included).

Interesting.  Sounds like it wasn't fixed up much in the studio if at all. 

It's a quite demanding setlist for a vocalist and takes 3 hours. However I prefer James' vocals nowadays over his past performances.

I agree completely.  He might not be able to hit the highest of the high notes but he is far more consistent and can still hit the higher of the high notes. 

[Mladen]

On the top of my head... I remember a couple of places in The Shattered Fortress, Trial of Tears, The Mirror... and probably Lifting Shadows.

That's a shame, those are the ones we all hope he would nail. But that's only because they're such tricky and demanding vocally.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

There were some fixes, definitely. And yeah, those are extremely tough songs to sing live and it should be known that JLB did a good job in most of the songs. I don't wanna come across in the wrong way, but it's just that my hopes were extremely high for this DVD and they didn't quite hit the mark.

But, as I said to you guys earlier, I enjoyed the hell out of it. 

[wasteland]

Really, I believe James's performance was hampered in a minor way by the placement of the gig in the tour schedule. It was barely the second show after a month long absence from the stage, he was still getting back in the groove. Which is why he sounded much better on the next few shows than he did in Boston.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Really, I believe James's performance was hampered in a minor way by the placement of the gig in the tour schedule. It was barely the second show after a month long absence from the stage, he was still getting back in the groove. Which is why he sounded much better on the next few shows than he did in Boston.

Definitely, I couldn't agree more. JLB always gets better as the tour goes on.

It's really nice to have a recording of that really high note in Illumination Theory live, tho; as he stopped doing that after the Boston show. 

[Pettor]

This is killing me! I want to hear it soooo much now!

I really hope Lifting Shadows came out good. Somehow it was never a favorite for me but at the concert I was in tears, mindblown! Remember James hitting the notes perfectly and after watching Youtube videos it seems he performed this song exceptionally well during the tour!

[hauswife]

it really looks and sounds great. james labrie with a good performance.
i like that mangini plays many drumfills that differ from the studio versions and i agree that petruccis sound during the verses is a bit muddy but during the solos it sounds nice to me.
the bass is too quiet in my opinion

[erwinrafael]

i like that mangini plays many drumfills that differ from the studio versions

Is that the case also in the DT12 songs? Based on my appreciation in the bootlegs, MM pretty much played the drum parts similarly, and the difference really is that the cymbals are really audible live, unlike the poor mix in the studio version.

[marlencrabapple]

Anyone complain about the excessive pitch correction yet? Sounds like they cranked it up to 100 and left the room. Some notes were even shifted in the wrong direction. At least Score sounded like someone listened to the final product before they shipped it.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Anyone complain about the excessive pitch correction yet? Sounds like they cranked it up to 100 and left the room. Some notes were even shifted in the wrong direction. At least Score sounded like someone listened to the final product before they shipped it.

Yeah, Trial of Tears and The Mirror come to mind.