Biggest DT-related disappointment

[nikatapi]

Sometimes we get very hyped for a new album or gig, and sometimes expectations are not met. This was the case for me with DT12, i was so hyped to see how Mangini's input would change the dynamics in the band, and i was expecting SDOIT levels of experimentation, since it looked like a new beginning for the band.

The result was quite disappointing for me, really deflating my hype, both in terms of compositions and sound. For me it was a step back from ADTOE, so i'm not holding my breath for the band's next work.

So what was the most disappointing DT-related event for you?

[BlobVanDam]

I'll second DT12. I was hoping that would be the album that sells me on the current line-up, with ADTOE not being written with MM involved, but that was the most disappointed I've been with a DT album on first listen, and even now I never listen to it. I really wanted that album to restore my love of DT.
ADTOE disappointed me too, but that grew on me, and I don't mind it as an album, even though I rank it pretty low.

Aside from those, no DT album released since I became a fan has been a disappointment on first listen, even if I don't enjoy them as much now.

[a51502112]

FII.
"After Awake, they come out with this ode to commercialism?" Me

[GentlemanofDread]

The lack of a live album from the BC&SL era.

[Scorpion]

FII.
"After Awake, they come out with this ode to commercialism?" Me

I will never get how people call FII a commercial album. Yes, it's more commercially oriented than most of their other releases, but it's still not commercial by a long shot. I mean, you have two 10+-minute songs, you have an instrumental, you have an eight-minute opener... yes, it's more commercial than other DT offerings, but it is, in way, commercial, imho. And calling it an "ode to commercialism" is even harder to understand for me.

Sorry 'bout that. I love FII, so I tend to get a little defensive.

[MoraWintersoul]

MP parting ways when it first happened. Then I started thinking it was a good thing. Then, definitely ADTOE when it happened. I grew to like it better than BCSL and SC, but that's about it.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

After the Portnoy departure, ADTOE in particular I recall being pretty disappointing on first several listens. It sure took a while to grow on me, but DT12 really was a step up from it and probably the best of their output since Train of Thought, but shiiiit I've already defended the album way too much as it is for me to get into it again.

[snapple]

The lack of a live album from the BC&SL era.

This. Even though I really don't like the album, I just feel like they didn't tour in that era (even though I saw them twice!)

[Sycsa]

Live at Luna Park, I couldn't believe how bad and weak it sounded overall when I first heard it. I remember watching the 6:00 360 app tease and thinking "this can't be how the final product will sound", but it pretty much did. The drums are thin, Jordan is way too low in the mix, JP's tone is all over the place. The visuals are just as bad, plenty of editing mistakes, disgustingly vivid colors and an unbearable amount of lens flare. Gives me a headache. Despite the fancy camera angles, the whole thing has a really cheap feel to it. Put it next to Live at Budokan, which recorded with just a few cameras, but looks infinitely better and more tasteful. Or try the Peruvian Skies video from High Voltage, it runs circles around it both visually and sonically.

[MarkFitDT]

Kevin Moore leaving was an absolute sickener at the time. Having loved WDADU and then the band seemed to disappear (no internet for me in those days) only to re-appear with Images and Awake only for Kevin to leave. I was beginning to think they were jinxed! Still things havent turned out too bad in the end.
Plenty of love here for DT12 seeing as its got a couple of knocks at the top of this thread. In the top 3 for me.

[Siddhartha]

 Portnoy leaving and  DT12

[bl5150]

Kevin Moore leaving was an absolute sickener at the time. Having loved WDADU and then the band seemed to disappear (no internet for me in those days) only to re-appear with Images and Awake only for Kevin to leave. I was beginning to think they were jinxed! Still things havent turned out too bad in the end.
Plenty of love here for DT12 seeing as its got a couple of knocks at the top of this thread. In the top 3 for me.

I agree with most of that , incl the praise for DT12 and KM.   For me , having grown up with (and worshipped) the more song oriented , but still heavy and progressive output earlier in their career , the recent stuff is somewhat of a return to form.  All the big disappointments for me were released after Awake and before ADTOE. 

[krands85]

I've only been a fan since about 2006, so haven't had as many opportunities to be disappointed as others I suppose. But the 2 that immediately came to mind for me were DT12 and the setlists on the 3 occasions I've seen the band live.

MP leaving was a huge disappointment too of course and I was really worried for the future of the band. But then things kept picking up and getting better - Mangini seemed like the perfect fit, ADTOE was a fantastic album (my #3) and the whole band seemed to be enjoying themselves more live and putting on great shows. So I was really excited to hear DT12 and was hoping for great things. Unfortunately it just doesn't do it for me, aside from Illumination Theory.

The setlist thing is obviously just personal preference and I've just been a bit unlucky that I've not seen them play any of my favourite 4 tracks.

I also agree with Sycsa about LALP - I was expecting a lot more from that and the long delays didn't help matters.

[Madman Shepherd]

Portnoy leaving.  Of course, when I first read the statement, Portnoy wrote something like "Mike Portnoy and DT 1985-2010" and I thought Portnoy died which really shocked me.  Then I found out he was alive and just quit and I was only slightly less shocked and upset. 

Of course, if you're familiar with my posting you know that I'm a huge fans of the Mangini era so I got over that but I am still pretty bummed there won't be anymore Ytsejam Records releases so that is probably my current biggest disappointment.  I love that they released the Happy Holidays bootleg but wish there was more. 

[Grizz]

I had that problem when I found out via YouTube comments that said stuff like "Miss you Mike!"

[rumborak]

The MM era overall so far has been somewhat disappointing, given what I perceived to be the opportunities of that change. I hoped we would get unheard-of prog with weird rhythms, a wider range of drumming overall etc etc. To say it acrimoniously, what with DT12's drum sound and the live click tracks, it's hard to imagine getting even closer to a drum machine.

[Skeever]

Live at Luna Park. Such a disappointment, mainly due to sound quality and directing. It was supposed to be the ultimate DT concert video. What we got was a really average sounding product with very obvious overdubbing / audio-video sync issues / baffling directing choices.

[KevShmev]

Train of Thought.

After the beastly albums that were Scenes from a Memory and Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, the Rudess era hit a skid mark with Train of Thought.  It was a massive disappointment to me at the time, and I was not alone.  In fact, I think the fact that so many were not a fan of it was when the old dt.net got the rep for being too critical of the band, as if we were all supposed to praise an album we weren't liking that much.  I have come around to liking it quite a bit now, but man oh man, when it came out, to say I was disappointed would be an understatement.

[Skeever]

I remember Train of Thought was out when I was just starting to listen to DT more. I only had their old albums, but I knew of Train of Thought from the internet - basically everyone saying "avoid it at all costs". Eventually I did buy it, and was pleasantly surprised that it was actually a solid record. So I guess I had the opposite reaction as you KevShmev, you were expecting the album to be another 5/5 and were disappointed when it turned out to be a 3/5. I was expecting a 0/5 and was pleasantly surprised by a 3/5 

[JiM-Xtreme]

ADToE, and DTXII to an extent.

Not saying that they're bad albums, but neither of them lived up to the immense amount of hype that the fanbase and the bad themselves had generated leading up to their respective releases. Not even close.

[Nearmyth]

I had only started really listening to DT right around when MP left, and became a fan with ADTOE. The only real disappointment with me was around DT12. I remember initially being disappointed with the lack of an album title  I mean that's kind of silly but I was thinking "Really? Self titled? They could have gone more creative than that..."

Then with the album itself, it took me a while to appreciate it as it is, but I was expecting DT to kind of go above and beyond their usual thing. But what we got was same-old DT. Illumination Theory was different enough to be interesting, but not as "mindblowing" as I had hoped. The intense hype surrounding the album probably caused this disappointment for me  As difficult as it is, I'll have to try hard to stay away from press and interviews for next album's hype train.

[nikatapi]

The MM era overall so far has been somewhat disappointing, given what I perceived to be the opportunities of that change. I hoped we would get unheard-of prog with weird rhythms, a wider range of drumming overall etc etc. To say it acrimoniously, what with DT12's drum sound and the live click tracks, it's hard to imagine getting even closer to a drum machine.

Exactly my feelings. Just like with JR, it seems like wasted potential, just to maintain the "core" DT sound and not alienate the established fanbase.

[JayOctavarium]

DT12 was a huge let down. ADTOE was so.... energetic. I LOVE ADTOE. DT12... not so much.

[Jaq]

Once In A Livetime. A simply dreadful live album for me. I don't particularly buy the argument that the band was bad live with DS, but if someone submitted that as proof I'd have to at least accept it as a valid argument. It honestly seems like it was recorded to be the soundtrack to the video, rather than a proper live album. I have been massively disappointed in some of their studio albums-FII and Octavarium on release, BC&SL when the new car smell wore off-but nothing quite let me down like my favorite band putting out a clunker of a live album after a massive clunker of a studio album.

[SuperTaco]

The biggest one I can remember would have to be hearing OTBOA for the first time. It felt like a let down for a while. The song eventually grew on me, as did the rest of ADTOE.

[TAC]

FII.
"After Awake, they come out with this ode to commercialism?" Me

This. Sorry Scorp, I guess you had to be there.

[KevShmev]

I wasn't disappointed with FII at all when it came out.  Sure, I knew it wasn't as great as Awake or I&W, but how could I be disappointed with a record that had songs as great as Lines in the Sand, Peruvian Skies and Hell's Kitchen, all of which I loved immediately? 

As for Once in a Livetime, sure, that wasn't that good, but I am not that much of a live album guy, and besides, Five Years in a Livetime came out at the same time, and I loved that to death.

[TAC]

Especially after the long wait, FII really reaked of commercialism. I thought, well, that was quick. Two great albums and now this?

Lines is a TAC Top 10 DT song, and I love Trial Of Tears and Peruvian Skies, but that album was and is weak.
Oddly, the Budokan version of Hollow Years is a Top 15 while the studio version is a Bottom 15.

And yes, OIALT was terrible. I couldn't believe they released a live album with James sounding that bad.

[senecadawg2]

I can see how FII could have been disappointing at the time. Even now it feels very hit or miss for me, and I can only imagine how that would have felt after the incredibly consistent I&W and Awake. There's not a single song on either of those albums that I would consider skipping, whereas FII has a three or four.

For me though, the biggest disappointment has definitely been DT12.

[kevinpwrs]

The lack of rotating the set list and their use of the video screen to project videos, cartoons and psychedelic images etc. If you want to use the screen to project the band members so people more towards the back of the hall can see them, thats fine. But, all this other stuff (for me) is just a distraction. Thank God I started going to concerts in the 70's and 80's before the video screens were around. Now, everyone uses them. I saw Van Halen, Rush, Kiss, Judas Priest, Dokken, Motley Crue, Ozzy, Journey, Cinderella etc, all in their prime and without the distracting video screens. 80's arena rock was the best days of rock shows.

[senecadawg2]

Is it really hard to not look at the video?

[rumborak]

This might better belong in the controversial thread, but DT's stage performance just isn't strong enough to be compared to Van Halen or others. Particularly JLB, as great a singer as he is, is not really much of a frontman.
So, realistically, the video screens were DT's best way of sprucing up the experience.

[TAC]

80's arena rock was the best days of rock shows.

Amen, Brother.

[Enalya]

This might better belong in the controversial thread, but DT's stage performance just isn't strong enough to be compared to Van Halen or others. Particularly JLB, as great a singer as he is, is not really much of a frontman.
So, realistically, the video screens were DT's best way of sprucing up the experience.

Although JLB might be not 'much of a frontman', I think he's taking his place really well in DT on stage. He's giving the music a lot of space (which is good in a band as theirs) and doesn't claim too much attention (I don't think you háve to as a singer). I actually like this humble way - he shows himself when his voice is really taking part in the music and not unnecessarily. And he's giving credit to the guys doing nice playz. So to me, exactly the frontman DT needs.

[Sir Walrus Cauliflower]

This might better belong in the controversial thread, but DT's stage performance just isn't strong enough to be compared to Van Halen or others. Particularly JLB, as great a singer as he is, is not really much of a frontman.
So, realistically, the video screens were DT's best way of sprucing up the experience.

Although JLB might be not 'much of a frontman', I think he's taking his place really well in DT on stage. He's giving the music a lot of space (which is good in a band as theirs) and doesn't claim too much attention (I don't think you háve to as a singer). I actually like this humble way - he shows himself when his voice is really taking part in the music and not unnecessarily. And he's giving credit to the guys doing nice playz. So to me, exactly the frontman DT needs.

This is an excellent point. "Diamond Dave" really left a sour taste in my mouth from the last VH concert I saw on the ADKOT tour. He delayed the start of the show by a good hour because he needed a dance floor to be set up which he slid across maybe four times, and he "sang" probably 50% of each song. Most lyrics were spoken, not sung, and he put every drop of effort he had in twirling the mic stand, needless runs, and trying to be funny.
I'd take JLB over DLR any day after that show. James let everyone have their spotlight, and  (as generic as it sounds) gave his all no matter what. He didn't speak the lyrics in IT even if it was a tough for him to sing, he went for it. He chatted with the crowd, but he didn't pretend the whole tour was so people could hear him tell sex jokes. He may not have "star power", but he seems friendly and real, and without a trace of Axl Rose syndrome.