Which auditioned vocalist do you like most?

[splent]

There have been three official vocalists of Dream Theater... Chris Collins, Charlie Dominici, and James LaBrie.

There have been several others that have auditioned. Which of these members do you like? Talk about your analysis.

Remember, this isn't necessarily a comparison to James, because obviously they made the right choice. But... what if they went with Chris Cintron? Or Steve Stone? What do you think? Who's voice did you like? Or do you like none?

[SystematicThought]

I like Cintron's voice. I love his version of A Change of Seasons, he does a great job giving it emotion. He reminds me of Ray Alder a bit.

[CharlesPL]

Chris Cintron, but i like Hendricks also.

[Madman Shepherd]

Technically, Steve Stone was an official vocalist for about a week.  He was even announced at the one and only show they did together as "our new vocalist!"

Chris Cintron grew on me a lot.  His voice sounds kind of thin, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.  He really used it well.  I like Hendricks but he is a little too poppy.  I love John Arch but not what I heard from the Dt demos.  Then again, he didn't like it either.  Who knows what he could have done had he been able to prepare better. 

I guess Cintron gets my vote.  Here is the band he was in before DT:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE_K6ypP-Fg

[ZKX-2099]

James LaBrie.

[Setlist Scotty]

I'd say John Hendricks - perhaps it's because he's the first of the vocalists I heard (from his version of Don't Look Past Me on the bootleg "Subconscious" back in 1995), but I don't think so. Steve Stone doesn't impress me, and quite frankly I have never been a fan of Jon Arch's vocals. I do like Chris Cintron's voice, but I'd give the edge to John Hendricks.

[The Dark Master]

Easily Chris Cintron.  I've always felt that John Arch, while a talented singer, was very overrated.  John Hendricks had a nice voice, but I feel that, like Charlie, he would have sounded out of place on the more metal songs.  Steve Stone was ok, but despite all the hype about him being the second coming of Geoff Tate, I felt he just sounded kind of... generic.  Chris Cintron had a very unique and bluesy voice that I felt was strong enough to tackle the band's metal side while still possessing a sensitivity that worked well on their lighter and more emotional material.  I feel his voice could potentially have served both sides of Dream Theater's musical identity well, which is something that cannot be said of the other singers they had before James, including Charlie and Chris Collins.

[Bertielee]

None.

B.Lee

[Stadler]

Sorry to be blunt (and harsh) but there is a reason you haven't heard of any of these guys outside of the DT hardcore fanbase.   They made the right call by a long shot, and it's not as if there was a "close second".  If James hadn't come around, they would still be looking. 

[hefdaddy42]

The only one that is halfway decent is John Arch, and he is hit or miss.

The rest are borderline awful.

[Evermind]

Sorry to be blunt (and harsh) but there is a reason you haven't heard of any of these guys outside of the DT hardcore fanbase.

Um, I don't know. I thought John Arch was pretty well-known. I didn't even know he auditioned for DT, and I've heard about him and I'm not even a big FW fan.

[Ben_Jamin]

John Hendricks. 

I enjoy his To Live Forever audition moreso than James.

[mrrct]

I listened to one song from each on YouTube.  All of them were horrid to say the least.  The poor sound quality of the Steve Stone song (Metropolis) may have influenced my decision slightly, and if there was a clearer version with less feedback he might have got the nod as the best of the sorry bunch, but still awful.

[Stadler]

Sorry to be blunt (and harsh) but there is a reason you haven't heard of any of these guys outside of the DT hardcore fanbase.

Um, I don't know. I thought John Arch was pretty well-known. I didn't even know he auditioned for DT, and I've heard about him and I'm not even a big FW fan.

Yeah, you're right.  I'm not a FW fan, much, but as for the rest...

[Madman Shepherd]

Sorry to be blunt (and harsh) but there is a reason you haven't heard of any of these guys outside of the DT hardcore fanbase.

Um, I don't know. I thought John Arch was pretty well-known. I didn't even know he auditioned for DT, and I've heard about him and I'm not even a big FW fan.

Yeah, you're right.  I'm not a FW fan, much, but as for the rest...

There are a lot of great vocalists that never make it big. 

The reason you haven't heard of John Hendricks might have more to do with the fact that he gave up on the music industry and became a music professor. 

[Stadler]

Sorry to be blunt (and harsh) but there is a reason you haven't heard of any of these guys outside of the DT hardcore fanbase.

Um, I don't know. I thought John Arch was pretty well-known. I didn't even know he auditioned for DT, and I've heard about him and I'm not even a big FW fan.

Yeah, you're right.  I'm not a FW fan, much, but as for the rest...

There are a lot of great vocalists that never make it big. 

The reason you haven't heard of John Hendricks might have more to do with the fact that he gave up on the music industry and became a music professor.

No doubt; there are exceptions to every rule.  I went to college with a kid who was the best guitar player I've ever been in the same room with, and I google him periodically to no avail.   But I generally believe that the cream rises to the top, and I know some of the guys DIDN'T turn their back on the music industry, and so I stand by my comment, for the most part.  Personally, not a fan of ANY of the auditioned vocalists, and I think the band made the right choice by a long shot (I've been a fan since the release of I&W, and in large part it was because I thought James was an incredible singer and still do, even if I'm not the biggest fan of him personally).

[lucasembarbosa]

I'll go with Chris Cintron... His interpretation of ACoS is very nice!

[Dani Helios]

Yup, Chris Cintron. I love to listen to his ACoS demo every once in a while.

[pcs90]

While James is the best by far, Chris Cintron wasn't bad, and I'm pretty sure until James' tape came in they were going to choose him as the new vocalist. John Hendricks isn't bad but I definitely prefer the versions of the songs with James. Steve Stone is awful. None are anywhere near James in my opinion.

[Madman Shepherd]

While James is the best by far, Chris Cintron wasn't bad, and I'm pretty sure until James' tape came in they were going to choose him as the new vocalist. John Hendricks isn't bad but I definitely prefer the versions of the songs with James. Steve Stone is awful. None are anywhere near James in my opinion.

Chris Cintron was all but the official vocalist of DT for about 6 months.  After the Steve Stone debacle they weren't going to rush into naming him the official vocalist but for all intents and purposes he was.  Still, their manager at the time was very hesitant and thought he resembled Charlie too much as well as his stage presence leaving a lot to be desired. 

Thats when they got the tape from James and made the tough decision to part with Cintron.  I would kill to hear more demos with him. 

[wolfking]

I've only know John Arch as a singer out of those vocalists.  Never bothered to listen to the others.

[mrrct]

DT's management and the record label wanted to replace LaBrie with hair band veteran Robert Mason (Lynch Mob, Warrant) just before or during the recording of I&W.  It's a distinct possibility that there wouldn't even be a forum dedicated to the band if that happened, or at the very least there would have been a lot fewer people on it.

[bl5150]

Robert Mason has a great voice , but him in DT is very hard to imagine.   I remember reading about that .

[Infinite Cactus]

Cintron and Hendricks. Both are solid singers. John Arch is good in FW. Steve Stone was alright in the studio, but he seemed to have poor breath control.