Would you prefer if DT had just one lyricist?

[Mebert78]

So, I've been thinking about this lately.  It seems like every prog metal band I listen to uses a single lyricist -- Queensryche has Geoff Tate, Fates Warning has Jim Matheos, OSI has Kevin Moore, Porcupine Tree has Steven Wilson, Rush has Neil Peart, Pain of Salvation has Daniel Gildenlow, etc.  Except for DT.  They use multiple lyricists.  My question is: Would the band benefit from using a single lyricist?  Would you prefer a single lyricist?  I say yes.  With one lyricist, the lyrics are written in a more cohesive and consistent style and vision instead of jumping around to various styles and writing abilities.  I mean, you can clearly tell the difference between lyrics by Petrucci, Portnoy, LaBrie and Myung.  Some use more cliches, while others are more poetic, while others are more info fantasy, etc.  Personally, I prefer the lyrical consistency one a one-lyricist band.  Thoughts?

[orcus116]

Probably but I have no idea who I'd trust nowadays. Not Petrucci because the way he's been writing shows a rapid decline in either his skills or passion for lyrics. I feel like that's like taking away an old person's driving license but the guy needs to put the pen down.

[Jarlaxle]

Doesn't matter to me. If you were to choose who would you have as DT's main lyricist? And don't answer Myung

[Mebert78]

Doesn't matter to me. If you were to choose who would you have as DT's main lyricist? And don't answer Myung

Hmm, I would probably go with Petrucci.  He's proven that he can write a large portion of a lyrics for each album, while Myung has never proven he can write more than a song or two.  It's tough to write for a whole album, I bet.  I feel like Portnoy writes in cliches many times.  So I'd go with Petrucci.  I'm willing to overlook some of his recent so-so lyrics.  He's written some gems in the past and I'd love to see what he'd do, or what direction he'd go, if he were allowed to write a whole album of lyrics himself.

[Perpetual Change]

I'd like everyone to contribute to writing all the lyrics. Dream Theater's collaborative lyrics, like Take the Time, Caught in a Web, and Octavarium seem to never fail.

[orcus116]

I couldn't imagine the quality being any better than the 4/6 tracks he penned on Black Clouds. I gave him a pass on the Systematic Chaos lyrics because those were fantasy based even though I didn't really like them but I gotta say I was let down with the new album, especially because they said they were writing more personal and serious. Serious back in the day made stuff like "Voices", "Scarred" and "Lines In The Sand". Serious nowadays gives us stuff like "Wither" and "A Nightmare To Remember".

[ACID_FOX]

Has Rudess written any lyrics?

[bosk1]

I'd like everyone to contribute to writing all the lyrics. Dream Theater's collaborative lyrics, like Take the Time, Caught in a Web, and Octavarium seem to never fail.

This.  I like the variety of different points of view and what that brings to the table instead of getting a single point of view all the time. 

And even some of those other bands you mentioned are not really "single lyricist" bands.  Queensryche is primarily Geoff nowadays, but not in the past.  Their lyrics were far better when DeGarmo contributed heavily with his own lyrics, DeGarmo worked with Tate to shape Tate's lyrics, and the others contributed here and there.  Now that Tate has been doing all (or at least most) of the lyrics himself without any filter or feedback, IMO, the lyrical quality has gone WAY downhill.  With Fates, you have Matheos writing most of the lyrics, but my understanding is that he doesn't write them all.  Same with Peart in Rush, right? 

And to cite some examples you didn't mention, what about Transatlantic?  There, you have two primary lyricists (Morse and Stolt) and contributations from the other two.  Even going back a bit old school with Floyd, you have more than one lyricist. 

I guess a notable exception for me would be Redemeption.  If I'm not mistaken, I think Nick writes most if not all of their lyrics, and I think he does a great job.  But for the most part, I prefer the multiple lyricist or collaborative approach, and the members of DT have all shown that they can contribute some good stuff.

[LudwigVan]

No, I don't think DT has that one really strong lyricist or point of view like a PT or PoS, so the fact that there are multiple lyricists (resulting in multiple perspectives) kind of makes up for that. 

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

Porcupine Tree prog metal?

And no, I like the way they're going now.

[tri.ad]

No, not really. Stylistically and thematically, having more lyricists results in more diversity, and I quite like that. And I'd love an all-member lyrical contribution to a song in the future, similar to Take The Time.

[ariich]

I can't see what difference it would make in any way.

[ACID_FOX]

If all the lyrics were written by Myung on the next album, I'd probably smile.

[Adami]

Well, as of now MP and LP write all the lyrics. Both are failing in massive amounts. It wouldn't matter if JP did it alone, or if MP did it alone.

I also doubt that any of the other band members would be able to make enough good lyrics for full albums constantly.

I liked when they all contributed, whether it was all in one song, or when they each got songs. Unfortunatly now it seems JP or MP just don't have the ability to write great lyrics anymore. And oh god do I hope I'm wrong.

[guysullavin]

I've generally found that I enjoy songs that Portnoy write better than Petrucci, but I did like Count of Tuscany on the last album. My favorite lyrical song is still written by Myung, oddly enough.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

If all the lyrics were written by Myung on the next album, I'd probably smile.

Actually, scratch what I said before. This.

[Gorille85]

My favorite lyrical song is still written by Myung, oddly enough.

There is nothing odd with that.

[?]

If all the lyrics were written by Myung on the next album, I'd probably smile.

This. But if he couldn't be the lyricist, then I'd choose probably Petrucci. His lyrics aren't great nowadays but they aren't pure crap, either. I would like to hear at least one song that features contributions from each member on a future DT album.

[orcus116]

Unfortunatly now it seems JP or MP just don't have the ability to write great lyrics anymore. And oh god do I hope I'm wrong.

I thought the exact same thing when I saw they were writing more personal and serious lyrics for Black Clouds. I wanted them to prove me wrong since SC was fairly embarrassing as far as most lyrics go but I have no idea how you fuck up worse writing serious stuff unless you just hand your first draft to Labrie and tell him to sing.

Thing is I don't think they're truly passionate about their lyrics anymore, aside from Mike losing his father. I mean JP wrote "A Rite Of Passage" about the masons and what exactly drove him to do that? Roll back to "The Great Debate" and while that song receives very mixed reviews his lyrics are very well executed, at least as far as making a point goes. Hell even while "In The Name Of God" has fragmented viewpoints loosely connected it showed some care and attention as to the progression of revelations within the song. I'm just getting disappointed in that he used to at least appear to care about how those kind of lyrics came across but now it seems like if they make a song Mike turns to him and it's "Oh you need words to go with that? Uh, ok lemme see what I can bang out in a day or two".

[SystematicThought]

What I don't get it why JP has declined in his lyrics. If I read Lifting Shadows correctly, JP sets up a room in studio with dictionaries, pens, paper, thesauruses, and reference materials.

If I had to choose one lyricist though, it would be between Petrucci or LaBrie

[orcus116]

What I don't get it why JP has declined in his lyrics. If I read Lifting Shadows correctly, JP sets up a room in studio with dictionaries, pens, paper, thesauruses, and reference materials.

Lyrics don't come that way, at least good ones. This might be the lamest sounding thing but the best lyrics come from the heart or gut. Neil Young wrote the lyrics of "Ohio" in several minutes simply out of passion after he heard the story of the Ohio State shootings. Regardless of what you think about him or that type of music you can still hear the balls and rage from the short verses he penned. I respect that more than any mountain of dictionaries.

[yeshaberto]

I think I prefer the variety of multiple lyricists

[SystematicThought]

What I don't get it why JP has declined in his lyrics. If I read Lifting Shadows correctly, JP sets up a room in studio with dictionaries, pens, paper, thesauruses, and reference materials.

Lyrics don't come that way, at least good ones. This might be the lamest sounding thing but the best lyrics come from the heart or gut. Neil Young wrote the lyrics of "Ohio" in several minutes simply out of passion after he heard the story of the Ohio State shootings. Regardless of what you think about him or that type of music you can still hear the balls and rage from the short verses he penned. I respect that more than any mountain of dictionaries.

Maybe that's why I like quite a few Portnoy lyrics because he seems to write them out of the blue or on the go, like he did with The Shattered Fortress... on his BlackBerry

[orcus116]

I did not know that. While I do question the vocal choices on that song with him gruffing the, er, non threatening stuff ("INVENTORY!", "KINDNESS!") the "I am responsible!" part kicks ass.

[wolfking]

Couldn't care less.

[Seventh Son]

I think LaBrie is a somewhat underrated lyricist, and I'd very much like to see him get in on writing some more lyrics. But having all of them making contributions would probably be for the best.