The biggest disappointments by your favorite bands (in real time)

[bodiesinflight]

Don't know if I'm the only one, but Dream Theater has never disappointed me with anything.

At the time it didn't disappoint me because I was fairly new to the band but having heard the entire discography I can't help but think 'disappointing' whenever I listen to Systematic Chaos


With regard to 'The Incident' discussion...I really like the first half and think it's the most cohesive disc of music PT have put together and combines everything they do so well into one awesome whole. I certainly prefer it to Deadwing and FOABP

[Zook]

Definitely Ghost Opera by Kamelot. Even though I became a fan after The Black Halo was released, I loved the album and hoped they'd come back with something awesome like it, but Ghost Opera is a borefest.

Godsmack - IV: Even though Sully Erna's lyrics were still anti-social angst, Faceless was a kick ass metal album that showed that the guys weren't fucking around, especially with new drummer Shannon Larkin. Then they followed it up by going backwards to a muddy produced and recycled mess.

Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos: My first real time Dream Theater album, and although it did get several spins, it lost it's steam very quickly until I only listened to In The Presence Of Enemies, but then that lost its steam as well. I never liked The Dark Master section, and Prophets of War was atrocious. The only part of Ministry I liked was the instrumental section. I don't mind Constant Motion or The Dark Eternal Night, but I just have no desire to listen to them. Forsaken was pretty bad too, and Repentance isn't a multi listener.

The Offspring - That Shitty New One: By far my biggest disappointment is The Offspring. My first favorite band and obsession. I've been following them officially since Ixnay On The Hombre, and although they started decreasing in quality, I still enjoyed them greatly. Even Splinter had some good tunes. For their newest, they completely changed their style while ripping themselves off in the process, and became just another pop punk emo trend. I've claimed that Mr. Microbiology, Dexter Holland is smarter than that, but his wits aren't in question as he knows what'll make him more money. The Offspring have serious potential and have always been more than just an average punk band, with traces of classic metal thrown in, but all that fame and fortune has gone to their heads.

[Gwii]

The Offspring - That Shitty New One: By far my biggest disappointment is The Offspring. My first favorite band and obsession. I've been following them officially since Ixnay On The Hombre, and although they started decreasing in quality, I still enjoyed them greatly. Even Splinter had some good tunes. For their newest, they completely changed their style while ripping themselves off in the process, and became just another pop punk emo trend. I've claimed that Mr. Microbiology, Dexter Holland is smarter than that, but his wits aren't in question as he knows what'll make him more money. The Offspring have serious potential and have always been more than just an average punk band, with traces of classic metal thrown in, but all that fame and fortune has gone to their heads.

I wouldn't say their style completely changed on RAFRAG.  It has similarities to Spinter, and I see it as a progression from that.  Some of the new songs still have many remnants of their old sound.  If you're blaming them for selling out, I'm pretty sure they did that long before their newest album.  That being said, I actually like the new album.  Half-Truism is one of my favorite songs of theirs, and I like a lot of the others on the new album as well.  For as long as The Offspring have been around, I can give them a break for changing their sound a bit.

[Zook]

The Offspring - That Shitty New One: By far my biggest disappointment is The Offspring. My first favorite band and obsession. I've been following them officially since Ixnay On The Hombre, and although they started decreasing in quality, I still enjoyed them greatly. Even Splinter had some good tunes. For their newest, they completely changed their style while ripping themselves off in the process, and became just another pop punk emo trend. I've claimed that Mr. Microbiology, Dexter Holland is smarter than that, but his wits aren't in question as he knows what'll make him more money. The Offspring have serious potential and have always been more than just an average punk band, with traces of classic metal thrown in, but all that fame and fortune has gone to their heads.

I wouldn't say their style completely changed on RAFRAG.  It has similarities to Spinter, and I see it as a progression from that.  Some of the new songs still have many remnants of their old sound.  If you're blaming them for selling out, I'm pretty sure they did that long before their newest album.  That being said, I actually like the new album.  Half-Truism is one of my favorite songs of theirs, and I like a lot of the others on the new album as well.  For as long as The Offspring have been around, I can give them a break for changing their sound a bit.

I can deal with the mainstream pop they've churned out (not including turds like Original Prankster and Hit That) but I hate that Fallout Boy sound and after listening to half the album, I had to turn it off. The only thing keeping them from being another Fallout Boy clone is Dexter's voice. I remember buying Ignition after Ixnay came out and being blown away.

[Perpetual Change]

Okay, everybody on the Fail boat!  Perpetual Change has taken the wheel from Nick and is now our captain!

Lol. I really did try to get into the Incident, though! I swear, I did!!!

Really though, I think Zero Degree of Liberty through Circle of Manias might be the most boring stretch of songs on a PT album ever.  I do love those interludes in the beginning, though. Your Unpleasant Family, Kneel and Disconnect and Great Expectations could have all been stellar songs. I really wish they would have fleshed those out instead of writing a bunch of samey-sounding "dark" music for the post-Time Flies portion of the album.

[AwakeFromOctavarium]

Pain of Salvation joining that Swedish music contest. Honestly, I don't have an idea why they joined, and probably I wouldn't care because it was disturbing. Of course, PoS cannot go mainstream or sellout just by joining that one contest, but I just didn't like the fact that PoS got exposed to the mainstream crowd.

Edit: Death Magnetic was a disappointment too. It was implied that the album would be their comeback to their old thrash style. Not saying it wasn't good, but after listening to it I realized that this band cannot achieve or even get near their old glory.

[AcidLameLTE]

I agree with Zook about The Offspring's latest output. I knew I should have never listened to it

[skydivingninja]

I think I'll add Muse to my list.  When The Resistance came out I was expecting OoS/Absolution levels of greatness, especially since Matt said in interviews it would be more classical/orchestral sounding, but also have the harder kind of edge that Origin had.  Unfortunately the album did not deliver in these respects, which would have been fine but in every interview he gave, those were the two qualities he always focused on.  He never said "we're working more with synths and some dancey parts."  Of course, "Undisclosed Desires" is the best song on that album, but most of it was pretty average.  Then again, OoS and Absolution set  pretty high benchmarks.

I'd almost consider adding Coheed & Cambria to the list, but while there's no "instant classic" Coheed song on YotBR, its still a damn good album.  Again, like Muse, when you have perfect albums like IKS and GA1, it sets a very high standard.

[Perpetual Change]

Ah yes, Muse.  Add "Black Holes and Revelations" to my list.  I remember a conversation I had with my brother (we both love Absolution) when it came out going something like this.

(I spot BH&R in the record store)
Ma Brotha: Dude. Don't get it.
Me: Why not? Knights of Cydonia is awesome. So is Starlight.
Ma Brotha: I know.
Me: So?
Ma Brother: Those are like the only two good songs on there.
Me: Okay, whatever.
(I buy it anyway)
(in the car..., first two tracks go well)
(Supermassive Blackhole comes on)
(I immediate regret my purchase)

After the first two songs, the album COMPLETELY runs out of energy, like a..... spaceship floating through frictionless dead space    It's like they were just saving everything they had for Knights.

Soooo yeah. That makes The Resistance more like the nail in the coffin for me. Revelations was a disappointment, but thanks to Resistance I don't even follow Muse anymore.

[Portrucci]

Map of the Problematique is the best song on BH&R

[skydivingninja]

Map of the Problematique is the best song on BH&R

Second after Knights.

[Perpetual Change]

Map of the Problematique is the best song on BH&R

I'll admit there's cool sounding parts there, but nothing that's really interesting enough to carry a full song.

Of course this is all just in my opinion.

[KevShmev]

Okay, everybody on the Fail boat!  Perpetual Change has taken the wheel from Nick and is now our captain!

Lol. I really did try to get into the Incident, though! I swear, I did!!!

I hear ya.  I just couldn't resist the urge to give you some crap.

As for Muse, I absolutely love Black Holes and Revelations from start to finish.  Every song is a gem, if you ask me.  I would say The Resistance was more underwhelming than disappointing.

[Perpetual Change]

I hear ya. I think we talked about BH&R before. I know Muse have always been known for playing several different styles of music, and tbh I've never liked everything they do. But it seems lately that they've been focusing on the dancey-synthy styles which I've never really liked.  I like the synths, but only over the softer and/or more punky stuff.

 

[SoundChaser]

DT's The Shattered Fortress. 

That AA suite has featured pretty much all of my favorite songs from each of their respective albums.  The final installment was by far the thing I was most anticipating for BC&SL.  I remember I got the leak early and started it up.  Intro was awesome and I was so excited to see where it was gonna go, then it cuts into the throwbacks from the previous songs and I was cool with it.  I figured they would elaborate on these themes maybe, instead what I heard was a mishmash of the older songs that seemed to lack any original content outside of the introduction.  While I can understand the value and significance of the recap this song does, I was left in utter disbelief the first time I heard it.  I wasn't even sure the song was the real thing, I seriously thought that it was a hoax that someone made up using samples of the older songs. 

[antigoon]

I couldn't disagree more. Best song on the album for me

[SoundChaser]

I don't think its a bad song, I just was extremely disappointed that it wasn't the epic ending to the suite that I had hoped for.  I was expecting something like Octavarium was to its album, an original song that incorporated themes from its precursors and wrapped the whole thing up at the same time.

[KevShmev]

I think as a finale to the AA suite, it is a bit weak, but I was never a big fan of half of the previous songs anyway, and this song takes some of the best parts from the two previous AA songs I never listen to, so it's all good for me; I am not someone who would ever listen to all five songs in a row, so it doesn't bother me that it might be a bit of an anti-climatic ending to the suite.  As a stand-alone song, it is very good, if you ask me.

[Nic35]

I remember I got the leak early and started it up.

[SoundChaser]

I remember I got the leak early and started it up.

Cool yer jets, of course I bought it too.  Just because you want to hear something early doesn't mean you are stealing it.

[Dark Master Of Sin]

I remember I got the leak early and started it up.

Cool yer jets, of course I bought it too.  Just because you want to hear something early doesn't mean you are stealing it.

2b. With regard to "leaked" material, you are not allowed to discuss the leaking or sharing of an album by any artist, or that an album has leaked.  In addition to the above, with regard to Dream Theater and side-projects by the members of Dream Theater, you may not discuss the leaked material whatsoever.  For other bands, you can in most cases discuss the content of the leaked material as long as you do not reference the leak, where you obtained the material, or sharing the leaked material.

Nothing personal, just a heads up.

[skydivingninja]

"The Shattered Fortress" was awesome when I first heard it, and is still awesome now.

[ytserush]

Disappointments:

Kevin Moore leaving Dream Theater - I thought the band was toast (I found out a few months before Awake came out). I didn't fully accept it until I heard Kevin's demos and then understood completetly why he had to leave.

That's a good one.  I, too, was pretty disappointed when I found it.  And the kicker is, we found out literally minutes before buying tickets to our first DT concert.  Nothing like a huge killjoy, eh?

That almost makes me glad to find out when I did.  I would have been REALLY pissed if I found out at the show. I can't even imagine what something like that would be like. At least I had time to process it.

[crazy climber dude]

I know this thread was buried big time(!), but I am new and wanted to reply.

My biggest disappointment by far....for those of you who follow this band.....was Redemption "This Mortal Coil". Not because it's horrible.....but for me it was such a dramatic departure from the progression of Fullness to Origins to Snowfall (my favorite).

Most of the songs just seemed like they were just constantly moving forward, with nothing to break them up at all. Let it Rain is the only track I enjoyed. I missed the progressive elements of their previous work......the creative structures to the songs. The guitar tones were muddier, and many felt it sounded overly compressed (similar to Death Magnetic). Nick was pretty defensive about all of that at the time, and I understand why he was proud of the album regardless of those claims. It's what he and the other band members wanted to express at that time, so I certainly don't want to sound like I'm dissing it in that context.

You can tell how I feel about it because I refer to it in past tense. I have tried to go back and give it a fair shake.....but I can't seem to get into it. Thankfully, Art of Loss and Long Night's Journey are more like what I hoped they would sound......though I certainly miss Ray!

[TAC]

First off, welcome to DTF bro!

This Mortal Coil is actually my favorite Redemption album! 

[jakepriest]

Periphery III: Select Difficulty
Muse - Drones and the latest album
Deftones - Gore (how can you follow up a gem like Koi No Yokan with such a bad album I don't know)
Coheed and Cambria - TCBTS
Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful

All of these albums I spun like once/twice and then never came back to them except for a song or two.

[Adami]

Oh man.

Metallica - Death Magnetic
Dream Theater - SC (Minus Redemption)
Pain of Salvation - Road Salts (counting it as one)
Devin Townsend - Z2
Kamelot - Haven

[jakepriest]

Devin Townsend - Z2

Sky Blue was very good imo. The Ziltoid disc was indeed very subpar for Devin though.

[Adami]

Devin Townsend - Z2

Sky Blue was very good imo. The Ziltoid disc was indeed very subpar for Devin though.

They each had good moments, but both sounded really uninspired. Sky Blue felt like "Well, the record company wants another big uplifting album like the last one, so I guess I'll just repeat myself again"

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Reading through this necrothread, I never realized the amount of disappointment there was with The Great Misdirect. That's my favorite BtBaM album and I've been listening to them since The Silent Circus came out, if that means anything to anyone

Disappointments for me?
Muse -Drones (holy crap was that album bad)
Coheed and Cambria - The Color Before the Sun (it wasn't terrible, but man was it a massive step down)
AFI - Decemberunderground (just an absolute disappointment after the masterpiece that was Sing the Sorrow)
The Dear Hunter - Migrant (just no. So many great albums preceding this and then we get mediocrity at best)
Marillion - Happiness is the Road (I was excited for another epic double album, similar to Marbles.....this is not the double album I was looking for)

I'm sure I'll think of more later...

[krands85]

DT: Black Clouds - This was the first DT album release that I was really hyped up for. I knew of the band at the time Systematic Chaos came out, but my obsession with them hadn't begun yet. TCOT was great and ANTR was pretty good too, but the rest was disappointing. Also one of the few DT albums that I think could do with a fair bit of trimming, which is very rare for me.

Muse: The Resistance - Muse had been my favourite band for a good few years (can't quite remember if DT had overtaken them by this point), but this was their first dud. I quite liked Unnatural Selection and Exogenesis, but the rest was just a direction I didn't enjoy for the band. Their latest album is probably worse and I actually enjoyed Drones which came before it, but the singles they released from Simulation Theory before it was released let me know I was probably going to hate it.

Pearl Jam: Backspacer - Their previous self-titled album was the first they had released since I became a proper fan of the band I think and I absolutely loved it, still one of my favourite PJ albums. But Backspacer did nothing for me for some reason.
Interestingly, those first 3 choices all came out within 3 months of each other, not a good time for me with music!

Deftones: Gore - I like all Deftones albums to varying degrees and, like PJ, their previous release (Koi No Yokan) was one of my favourites by the band. For some reason I could just never get in to Gore - I think there's only one song on it that I really enjoy.

Anathema: The Optimist - They were one of my favourite bands at the time this came out and they hadn't put a foot wrong since I'd been a fan. So this one was one of the most surprising and disappointing albums for ages. Didn't feel like there was enough vocals from Vincent and the parts that were there, lacked the feeling and emotion I was used to. A lot of the album just sounded too much like Radiohead for me too.

There are a few others, but I've written enough already! Other disappointments are bands splitting up (System of a Down, Reuben, Isis spring to mind), Ashe O'Hara leaving Tesseract and a lot of setlists of bands I've seen live over the years.

[robbob]

Easily the biggest was Kiss - Dynasty. Was quite young back then but a huge fan, didn't know what really was going on within the band like I do now. But, what a huge disappointment. The whole sound/production of the album was different, plus the obvious Disco influence. They were pretty much a dead band for me after that. Along with getting into many more better bands at the time.

Judas Priest - Turbo. They went for more of a Pop friendly sound with this release, and after Screaming and Defenders was a major disappointment. No reason to play any of these songs live ever again including Turbo Lover!

[As I Am]

In my 47 years of being a music fanatic, only 2 albums fall into the "biggest disappointment" category. First was Elton John' absolute disaster in 1979 called "Victim Of Love" which was his terrible attempt at disco and second was in 1982 when Queen released the dreadful "Hot Space".

[Crow]

Leprous - Malina

big time oof

[bl5150]

Van Halen 3
Queensryche - HITNF
Ozzy:  No Rest For The Wicked (I grew to like it but was super flat when I realised that Jake E Lee was gone)
Dream Theater : FII