Dream Theater self titled album discussion - [SPOILER FREE DISCUSSION ONLY]

[JPX]

Anyone notice that Along for the Ride's lyrics were the only lyrics already checked off in the video, and that Along for the Ride is the only song that kept its working title? This makes me think that it's a vocal-centric song with music written around the lyrics, perhaps a demo written in the style of Wither and Beneath the Surface.

If that's true, it would be a first.  DT has always written music first, then lyrics.

I've done this before while writing lyrics - I've come up with a working title that I really ended up liking, so then I wrote the lyrics to accommodate that title. I'm sure that happens a lot. Maybe not with DT since they normally come up with titles like Schindler's Lisp or NADS. But it happens to me. I'm sure it's happened to them before.

And this is why DT's lyrics will unfortunately continue to be sub par. Apart from sharing lyric writing duties which I personally don't condone, it seems like they are a complete afterthought.

I don't mind too much because I've never come to DT for their lyrics but I would love to see them let the lyrics and structure dictate a song as supposed to in continuously being the other way around.

[Jaffa]

Apart from sharing lyric writing duties which I personally don't condone

I do not share this sentiment. 

[wasteland]

I honestly don't think I have ever heard such an opinion before. You must love Porcupine Tree and Pain Of Salvation lyrics 

[TheAtliator]

Aw, he looks more and more awesome as his hair get's longer  As long as they don't pull a Kilroy Was Here (when DDY cut his hair) we'll survive.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

BEST EMOTE EVER

[Whatsername]

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I generally enjoy DT's lyrics. Some of them I find absolutely beautiful. And then there are some that I really don't know what they were thinking, but every band has songs like that. I don't think that sharing lyric writing duties is a bad thing. Especially in DT's case, where there are so many amazingly talented individuals working together, I think it's a really good thing and an opportunity for some awesome stuff!

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

\o

I like their lyrics too.

[Onno]

Yeah, I generally love DT's lyrics. There's only a few that I don't like, i.e. You Not Me and Outcry. I even like the lyrics of TCOT; they're a bit cheesy, but I love the story.

[LBC.]

Yeah, I generally love DT's lyric. There's only a few that I don't like, i.e. You Not Me and Outcry. I even like the lyrics of TCOT; they're a bit cheesy, but I love the story.

Outcry lyrics are way better than TCOT.

[Mosh]

I might be forgetting something, but I don't think a DT lyric has really stuck out to me since Disappear. Since then they've been pretty bland, honestly. Some of them are pretty good, but not as great as they used to be.

Edit: I actually really loved the lyrics to Beneath The Surface, come to think of it.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

It's very rare that DT (or any band, really) will write lyrics that make me say, "wow, those are really great lyrics!". Mostly their lyrics are just good. I like the way they sound, and that's really all I care about.

[LBC.]

Speaking of lyrics, it would be BEYOND AWESOME if DT can work with Kevin Moore again (as a lyricist and producer).

[Lucidity]

I think DT generally writes pretty bad lyrics. Most of the really good lyrics, in my opinion, are the work of Kevin Moore. But I don't listen to DT for the lyrics.

[wasteland]

Speaking of lyrics, it would be BEYOND AWESOME if DT can work with Kevin Moore again (as a lyricist and producer).

I am pretty much sure Kevin would feel very much like a fish out of water. Eighteen years are long indeed, and especially if lived on divergent paths.

[LBC.]

Kevin Moore.

Best and more ELEGANT musician that DT ever had.

He was the dream of the theater.

So much musical class.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I like Kevin's lyrics. I also tend to like everyone else in DT's lyrics too.

[sueño]

It's very rare that DT (or any band, really) will write lyrics that make me say, "wow, those are really great lyrics!". Mostly their lyrics are just good. I like the way they sound, and that's really all I care about.

I think that great lyrics generally have pretty good music.

It's not necessarily a given that music has good lyrics.

[wasteland]

Well, I would honestly bestow the word "great" on any song from Images, any day of the week.

Same for Awake, except for Lie and The Mirror. From there on it's been more of a mixed bag, with many average lyrics, a lot of great peaks and a few lows. But overall I would lie if I said that I'm a DT fan despite their lyrics.

[eosforum]

There sure is a distinct deterioration since 6DOIT/ToT. Maintaining these standards would be good enough, but I can't but feel nostalgic when I listen to I&W, Awake or FII. These lyrics were damn thoughtfully crafted.

[sueño]

I might be forgetting something, but I don't think a DT lyric has really stuck out to me since Disappear. Since then they've been pretty bland, honestly. Some of them are pretty good, but not as great as they used to be.

Edit: I actually really loved the lyrics to Beneath The Surface, come to think of it.

Very poignant.

[LBC.]

I love DS, JR and MP, but Myung, Petrucci, Mangini, MOORE and LaBrie are my DT Dream Team.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Well, I would honestly bestow the word "great" on any song from Images, any day of the week.

Same for Awake, except for Lie and The Mirror. From there on it's been more of a mixed bag, with many average lyrics, a lot of great peaks and a few lows. But overall I would lie if I said that I'm a DT fan despite their lyrics.

Any song on Images? I mean, the lyrics to Under A Glass Moon sound nice, but they're basically just gibberish. The same could be said for Metropolis, really. The only reason we know what it's about is because the band told us.

To clarify, I don't think that lyrics actually have to mean anything to be good. But it does bother me when these sort of "nonsense" lyrics are regarded as great. But, that's just my opinion.

Edit: To clarify further, I really love the lyrics to Metropolis. "The city's cold blood teaches us to survive" "The third arrives" and such are all really good, I love the way they sound, but I have no idea what they mean, and I wouldn't necessarily call them "better" than the more straight-forward lyrics they've been doing recently.

But, I'm not really a lyrics guy, so you probably shouldn't put to much stock in what I say.

[Hanz Gruber]

Well, I would honestly bestow the word "great" on any song from Images, any day of the week.

Same for Awake, except for Lie and The Mirror. From there on it's been more of a mixed bag, with many average lyrics, a lot of great peaks and a few lows. But overall I would lie if I said that I'm a DT fan despite their lyrics.

Any song on Images? I mean, the lyrics to Under A Glass Moon sound nice, but they're basically just gibberish. The same could be said for Metropolis, really. The only reason we know what it's about is because the band told us.

To clarify, I don't think that lyrics actually have to mean anything to be good. But it does bother me when these sort of "nonsense" lyrics are regarded as great. But, that's just my opinion.

I think Images and Words lyrics were like poetry.

Some of my favorite lyrics by the band

You mentioned Under a Glass Moon....these lyrics are much more interesting than most of their recent efforts (before A Dramatic Turn of Events) in my opinion

Liquid shadows silence their screams
I smile at the moon, chasing water from the sky
I argue with the clouds, stealing beauty from my eyes

Outside the soundness of your mind Bathing your soul in silver tears
Beneath the blackened summer sky Praying for time to disappear

Beneath a summer sky, under glass moonlight Night awaits the lamb's arrival 
Liquid shadows crawl, silver teardrops fall The bride subsides to her survival

[serrano]

Well, I would honestly bestow the word "great" on any song from Images, any day of the week.

Same for Awake, except for Lie and The Mirror. From there on it's been more of a mixed bag, with many average lyrics, a lot of great peaks and a few lows. But overall I would lie if I said that I'm a DT fan despite their lyrics.

This.

And i think there was a big improvement in the lyrics in ADTOE.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I guess this is another example of how odd I am when it comes to lyrics. I love the lyrics to Lie.

Although I have no idea what they're about, they have a brilliant flow to them. "Daybreak, at the bottom of a lake, it's a hundred degrees I can't breathe". Great stuff, those.

[Voices]

Well, I would honestly bestow the word "great" on any song from Images, any day of the week.

Same for Awake, except for Lie and The Mirror. From there on it's been more of a mixed bag, with many average lyrics, a lot of great peaks and a few lows. But overall I would lie if I said that I'm a DT fan despite their lyrics.

This.

And i think there was a big improvement in the lyrics in ADTOE.

I like some lyrics from SC and BCSL, but I totally agree with you. ADTOE really improved both lyrics and instrumentals.
I think there's more to come...the new album will be even better with Mangini working in the whole process.

[Hanz Gruber]

I guess this is another example of how odd I am when it comes to lyrics. I love the lyrics to Lie.

Although I have no idea what they're about, they have a brilliant flow to them. "Daybreak, at the bottom of a lake, it's a hundred degrees I can't breathe". Great stuff, those.

I like the lyrics to Lie too. 

I love Scenes From A Memory but their lyric quality really went downhill starting with that album.  I understood why (because it was a concept album and a story) but there was a noticable drop in lyric quality after that album.  I still like most of their lyrics though and ADToE was a step back in the right direction lyric wise.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I'm always curious about how people can mock their recent lyrics, but those of Scenes From A Memory. I mean, you have a really nice lyric here and there, but mostly just sort of straight-forward "this is what's happening" style lyrics.

Which I don't mind, by the way. I just find it odd that people like those lyrics, but the new ones. Ah well, I'm probably insane. 

[MoraWintersoul]

Am i the only one who thought Mike looked awesome with that super long hair? Like seriously it was pretty great. The promo just sucked. Id love to see MM headbanging behind that drumkit swinging all that hair around. It would look so badass

YES

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

For the record, I would love to have MM's hair. It is far more than my own.

[LBC.]

For the record, I would love to have MM's hair. It is far more than my own.

Exactly this.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

If he's getting it cut, one of us needs to be there to get and make a wig out of it.

[Lucien]

I honestly love the ADToE booklet group picture with MM having his hair much shorter

[wasteland]

For the record, I would love to have MM's hair. It is far more than my own.

I would like to have any of their hair, really. I'm only 22 and my hair is falling apart in the worst imaginable way. 

But anyway, it's interesting that we got to talk about lyrics. I believe this album will have a few surprises for us with respect to that, especially in IT. I can definitely see them pushing new lyrical grounds there.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

For the record, I would love to have MM's hair. It is far more than my own.

I would like to have any of their hair, really. I'm only 22 and my hair is falling apart in the worst imaginable way. 

But anyway, it's interesting that we got to talk about lyrics. I believe this album will have a few surprises for us with respect to that, especially in IT. I can definitely see them pushing new lyrical grounds there.

Bald can be metal, too. Devin Townsend, Rob Halford, Michael Kiske. There are probably some others...