Dream Theater 'Breaking The Fourth Wall' Review...

[WhatsAnOwlVent]

https://www.bigmusicgeek.com/reviews/dreamtheater.html

[bosk1]

https://www.bigmusicgeek.com/reviews/dreamtheater.html

Nice to see such a positive review.  But, man, what horrible writing!  I could barely slog through that.

[WhatsAnOwlVent]

https://www.bigmusicgeek.com/reviews/dreamtheater.html

Nice to see such a positive review.  But, man, what horrible writing!  I could barely slog through that.

Thanks!

[bl5150]

[Sycsa]

"woefully-underrated Train Of Thought", "curiously-overlooked gem Live At Luna Park", haha, no.

Also, the way he worded the review wasn't to my liking either, lot of fancy words, little substance, almost reads like a parody article ("introspective lyrical vernacular", "my now unthinkable aversion for their unabashed Progressive wizardry at last eroded within the histrionic strains of "This Dying Soul"", "relentlessly pummeling, PTSD-fueled "The Enemy Inside"", "maddeningly infectious tirade "The Mirror"" and my favorite, "the group consistently punctuates their now-trademark tonalities with a veritable wealth of choral and orchestral flourishes").

Instantly made me think of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKqhHhLNA7o

[WhatsAnOwlVent]

"woefully-underrated Train Of Thought", "curiously-overlooked gem Live At Luna Park", haha, no.

Also, the way he worded the review wasn't to my liking either, lot of fancy words, little substance, almost reads like a parody article ("introspective lyrical vernacular", "my now unthinkable aversion for their unabashed Progressive wizardry at last eroded within the histrionic strains of "This Dying Soul"", "relentlessly pummeling, PTSD-fueled "The Enemy Inside"", "maddeningly infectious tirade "The Mirror"" and my favorite, "the group consistently punctuates their now-trademark tonalities with a veritable wealth of choral and orchestral flourishes").

Instantly made me think of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKqhHhLNA7o

Sorry it wasn't worded to your liking. I've been at this for a very long time and have had very few complaints.

[Sycsa]

It's an impressive display of self-indulgent grammar gymnastics. I'm not familiar with that site and your target audience, but as far as reviews go, I couldn't pick up anything informative from that endless tirade of empty words other than you liked DT and you have your way with words. Well, I guess a pretentious band like DT warrants an equally pretentious review.

[WhatsAnOwlVent]

It's an impressive display of self-indulgent grammar gymnastics. I'm not familiar with that site and your target audience, but as far as reviews go, I couldn't pick up anything informative from that endless tirade of empty words other than you liked DT and you have your way with words. Well, I guess a pretentious band like DT warrants an equally pretentious review.

Well, I am a bit pretentious myself.

[rumborak]

Yeah, gotta chime in here, it was almost impossible to get information out of that review. There almost isn't a single noun that isn't preceded by two to three modifying adjectives. Or to write the previous sentence in the style of the review, there almost isn't a single written-down noun that isn't untimely-enough preceded by two to three incredulously modifying awe-inspiring adjectives, respectively.

[Sycsa]

It's an impressive display of self-indulgent grammar gymnastics. I'm not familiar with that site and your target audience, but as far as reviews go, I couldn't pick up anything informative from that endless tirade of empty words other than you liked DT and you have your way with words. Well, I guess a pretentious band like DT warrants an equally pretentious review.

Well, I am a bit pretentious myself.

Hehe, that's the prog mentality!

[WhatsAnOwlVent]

It's an impressive display of self-indulgent grammar gymnastics. I'm not familiar with that site and your target audience, but as far as reviews go, I couldn't pick up anything informative from that endless tirade of empty words other than you liked DT and you have your way with words. Well, I guess a pretentious band like DT warrants an equally pretentious review.

Well, I am a bit pretentious myself.

Hehe, that's the prog mentality!

[hefdaddy42]

Based on the comments in the thread, I will refrain from reading the review.

[bosk1]

Sycsa and rumborak pretty much nailed my thoughts.  Sorry for being so blunt.  Had I realized it was your writing, I might have been more tactful in the way I said it.  But from your post, especially use of the emoticon

https://www.bigmusicgeek.com/reviews/dreamtheater.html

...it implied that you were inclined to bash the review but were holding your tongue.  But, yeah, tact aside, what Sycsa and rumborak said.

[me7]

I don't recognise the two covers in the top left corner. What are they?

[Sycsa]

The blue one is Pawn Hearts by Van der Graaf Generator, the other one escapes me as well. I also recognize Tarkus, Power & the Glory, Nursery Crime and Tales of Topographic Oceans, so 3 are missing. Could you fill me in?

[me7]

The two at the bottom are Meddle by Pink Floyd and Farewell to Kings by Rush.

[The Letter M]

I don't recognise the two covers in the top left corner. What are they?

Start at the top going left to right:
Pawn Hearts by Van der Graaf Generator
Minstrel In The Gallery by Jethro Tull
Tarkus by Emerson Lake and Palmer
The Power And The Glory by Gentle Giant
Nursery Cryme by Genesis
Meddle by Pink Floyd
A Farewell To Kings by Rush
Tales From Topographic Oceans by Yes

Oddly enough, no King Crimson, but the border of the meme is oddly reminiscent of Mahavishnu Orchestra's Birds of Fire.

-Marc.

[Sycsa]

Well played, thanks! Now, if you could also tell me the breed of the dog and the diopter value of his glasses.

[me7]

You can actually tell that the diopter value is zero

[Rodni Demental]

"woefully-underrated Train Of Thought", "curiously-overlooked gem Live At Luna Park", haha, no.

Hey man, you only help prove it's underrated by disagreeing.

[Sycsa]

"woefully-underrated Train Of Thought", "curiously-overlooked gem Live At Luna Park", haha, no.

Hey man, you only help prove it's underrated by disagreeing.

I would actually say, if anything,  ToT is much rather over- than underrated, as there are many metal-oriented fans and some casual listeners who regard it as DT's finest album (check the DT13 thread for some recent ToT lovin'). In the end, it's subjective, but to be underrated (woefully, nonetheless), ToT needs to be better than most people consider it to be, I just don't see that being the case.

[Rodni Demental]

Fair enough, I was actually surprised to see the amount of people that think highly of TOT as seen in the thread you mentioned. Because normally (being a Train of Thought lover myself as it was about my 3rd album from the band), I more often than not, see it not getting a whole lotta praise and being labeled as 'one dimensional' (which I don't entirely agree with) and that whole 'balls to wall' phrase just pisses me off to be honest, I don't know why... Sounds painful. 

So I think relatively speaking, it tends to be near the bottom third of a lot of peoples rankings which gives me the impression that it is somewhat underrated. BUT, as you said, there is actually a whole range of DT fans where TOT was literally their gateway into Dream Theater so from that point of view it still does have a fairly solid following.

Of course someone that likes it is more likely to say it's underrated, and someone who isn't as big a fan and sees other people praise it is more likely to think it's overrated. Subjective indeed.

[bosk1]

It isn't "underrated" if it is rated right where it belongs.  It is a good album, so are all of DT's albums, and they have done lots that are stronger.  So "bottom third" or so is about right.

[hefdaddy42]

I think TOT is pretty solid.  But it is kind of hard to compare to other albums because it is so one-dimensional (not sure why you wouldn't agree with that).  It isn't as good as their top albums, but it isn't anywhere near as bad as their worst.  It's in about the middle quality-wise for me, so bottom third is probably right.

But there are certainly times when I get an itch, and TOT is the only thing that will scratch it.

[kirksnosehair]

Middle of the pack album for me too.  But definitely one of the albums I put in the "strong" category with respect to DT.   


As for this review.  It's pretty awful. 

[rumborak]

I feel the term "underrated" is often just code for "this is my favorite".

[TAC]

I feel the term "underrated" is often just code for "this is my favorite".

That's an underrated statement. Actually, it's my favorite statement. Wait..what?

um..I agree. 

[BlobVanDam]

I feel the term "underrated" is often just code for "this is my favorite".

There are plenty of DT songs/albums I think are underrated that I'd still consider nowhere near my favourite. But it's always going to come down to personal opinion, so obviously it boils down to liking something more than the average person does.

[Rodni Demental]

I feel the term "underrated" is often just code for "this is my favorite".

From a certain angle, I agree with this. But that means anything that one considers overrated is just a way for someone to express their discontent for other peoples preferences.

Really though, things are underrated to the person who thinks something is not getting the praise or attention it deserves. And things are overrated to the person who thinks something is not worthy of the amount of praise or attention it receives. Entirely relative terms really.

[WhatsAnOwlVent]

I feel the term "underrated" is often just code for "this is my favorite".

From a certain angle, I agree with this. But that means anything that one considers overrated is just a way for someone to express their discontent for other peoples preferences.

Really though, things are underrated to the person who thinks something is not getting the praise or attention it deserves. And things are overrated to the person who thinks something is not worthy of the amount of praise or attention it receives. Entirely relative terms really.

This.

[AllanM]

So I've read the thread but not the review, and l'm still none the wiser as to whether BT4W is any good. I know I've seen it slated somewhere with regards to the sound. What is everyone's opinion?

[Kotowboy]

I think it's a much better concert DVD overall than Live At Luna Park which had terrible school disco lighting and amateur TV show camera angles and a really lackluster audience.

[bosk1]

So I've read the thread but not the review, and l'm still none the wiser as to whether BT4W is any good. I know I've seen it slated somewhere with regards to the sound. What is everyone's opinion?

It is fantastic.  The sound is a bit odd, but not necessarily bad.  I think JP had great guitar tone on this tour, but the guitar is a bit low in the mix and sounds more processed than normal.  But that's really the only knock on the disk.  I would definitely get it.

[BlobVanDam]

The sound is the best they've had with MM by far. MM's kit sounds great, the guitars aren't overbearing, you can hear the keys, and JLB sounds amazing. The only criticism I'd have of the sound is the orchestra. You can barely hear them, and when you do, it sounds like it's synth.
Video quality is great too, very well edited.

[AllanM]

Thanks guys, I've always intended to buy it but have kept putting it off because of the reviews I've seen.