James LaBrie Solo

[goo-goo]

It's less about the "Linkin Park" reference - I'm not terribly familiar with their material, I was looking for a touchstone; think of the chorus of "In The End" to get where I was going (a song I like, by the way) - than it is understanding "what's the message?  What's the voice?"   Maybe I'm too into guys like Neal Morse or Fish, who's every song drips with their world view, their emotions, their presence.   Dave Roth, Sam Hagar; you listen to one of their solo albums and you know INSTANTLY who that person and that persona are.   

It really just seems to me to be Matt Guillory's project, with LaBrie singing, and the best marketing play was to put James' name on there, not Matt's.

To @goo-goo, no I have not heard either of those two albums, but I'm open to hearing anything.

Do yourself a favor and check out those two releases. If you are looking to hear what JLB can do with his voice, I would go with Frameshift.

[kaos2900]

Unweaving the Rainbow is fantastic! Never cared for Madmen and Sinners.

[ReaperKK]

I really enjoyed EoP but I couldn't get into the material after that, that said I will give this new album a shot.

[mikeyd23]

I think the last two solo records are his best. This band they have assembled works really well together.

[SeRoX]

This is You've Got Another Thing Coming by Judas Priest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg4cmpZjtRU

This is Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) by Journey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9de0Bw3nIA

Both are in a rare CD released only Japan and Germany. (From 1999)

[Ben_Jamin]

Pretty awesome stuff...

And it was just posted Saturday.

[MirrorMask]

This is You've Got Another Thing Coming by Judas Priest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg4cmpZjtRU

Wow! he's way better at Halford-ing than he is at Hetfield-ing!

[BlobVanDam]

Whoa, never even heard of these!
They sound like quick and rough recordings, but they're very cool curiosities.

[twosuitsluke]

Just listened to Agony from the latest album, wow! It was way heavier than I was expecting. I've never listened to any of JLB's solo albums, is Agony representive of his solo work? It was almost melo-death at times 

[wolfking]

Just listened to Agony from the new album, wow! It was way heavier than I was expecting. I've never listened to any of JLB's solo albums, is Agony representive of his solo work? It was almost melo-death at times 

It's a good representation of the last two.  EOP was nice and heavy but didn't have any growls.  If you liked Agony, get into 'em mate!  Peter Wichers from Soilwork had a hand in the last one, so melo-death is the exact style James was going for.

[wolfking]

This is You've Got Another Thing Coming by Judas Priest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg4cmpZjtRU

This is Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) by Journey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9de0Bw3nIA

Both are in a rare CD released only Japan and Germany. (From 1999)

The music is really rough, but James sounds fantastic on the Priest one, really surprising.  The Journey one was average though.

[bosk1]

I didn't like him on the Journey cover.  But I agree that the Priest one was fantastic. 

[twosuitsluke]

Just listened to Agony from the new album, wow! It was way heavier than I was expecting. I've never listened to any of JLB's solo albums, is Agony representive of his solo work? It was almost melo-death at times 

It's a good representation of the last two.  EOP was nice and heavy but didn't have any growls.  If you liked Agony, get into 'em mate!  Peter Wichers from Soilwork had a hand in the last one, so melo-death is the exact style James was going for.

Yea, I'm going to give them a go, possibly tonight. I never checked out any of his solo stuff as I just assumed it'd be maybe similar to DT but less awesome. It was a nice surprise, I'll report back later 

[Kwyjibo]

Just listened to Agony from the latest album, wow! It was way heavier than I was expecting. I've never listened to any of JLB's solo albums, is Agony representive of his solo work? It was almost melo-death at times 

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Mike Portnoy was always considered "the metal guy" in DT, but James has put out the heaviest music outside of DT. 

[twosuitsluke]

Just listened to Agony from the latest album, wow! It was way heavier than I was expecting. I've never listened to any of JLB's solo albums, is Agony representive of his solo work? It was almost melo-death at times 

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Mike Portnoy was always considered "the metal guy" in DT, but James has put out the heaviest music outside of DT. 

Yea, I'm kicking myself right now for not checking out JLB's solo stuff sooner. Just finished listening to Impermanent Resonance and it was a great listen. I'd take this over The Astonishing any day. I guess I always imagined JLB's solo output would be very vocal central with loads of ballads. I like JLB's vocals in general but my ear is almost always drawn to the instruments, especially electric guitar, so I didn't think his solo stuff would be for me. I couldn't have been more wrong. I'm just quite surprised that this is the sort of music JLB is putting out at this point in his career, it's great don't get me wrong. I just didn't expect an album with such melo-death leanings, awesome stuff!

[Dublagent66]

You may want to check out Elements of Persuasion and Static Impulse.  Both are just as good.  I'm not so much a Mullmuzzler fan, but when EoP came along, I've been digging his solo stuff ever since.

[Kwyjibo]

I quite like Mullmuzzler, not as heavy and a little more on the proggy side than his recent releases. But he hit the nail with Static Impulse, my favorite.

[cramx3]

Just listened to Agony from the latest album, wow! It was way heavier than I was expecting. I've never listened to any of JLB's solo albums, is Agony representive of his solo work? It was almost melo-death at times 

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Mike Portnoy was always considered "the metal guy" in DT, but James has put out the heaviest music outside of DT. 

Yea, I'm kicking myself right now for not checking out JLB's solo stuff sooner. Just finished listening to Impermanent Resonance and it was a great listen. I'd take this over The Astonishing any day. I guess I always imagined JLB's solo output would be very vocal central with loads of ballads. I like JLB's vocals in general but my ear is almost always drawn to the instruments, especially electric guitar, so I didn't think his solo stuff would be for me. I couldn't have been more wrong. I'm just quite surprised that this is the sort of music JLB is putting out at this point in his career, it's great don't get me wrong. I just didn't expect an album with such melo-death leanings, awesome stuff!

If you liked IR, you'd very likely like SI.  Both very similar and awesome albums.  EoP is also really good, but not the same band and is a bit different, but still heavy.   

[Dublagent66]

I quite like Mullmuzzler, not as heavy and a little more on the proggy side than his recent releases. But he hit the nail with Static Impulse, my favorite.

Yeah, love SI.  The MM series was pretty good and some really good moments, but I'm much more a fan of heavier prog.  I'm really happy with the direction the last 3 releases have taken.

[MirrorMask]

The Mullmuzzler albums are fantastic! I love the latest albums but those two are one of a kind. The first has the best songs, the second is better overall as an album. Shadow Gallery writing some songs for him were a match made in heaven. I hope he'll go back to that style for a song or two on the next record.

[wolfking]

Just listened to Agony from the latest album, wow! It was way heavier than I was expecting. I've never listened to any of JLB's solo albums, is Agony representive of his solo work? It was almost melo-death at times 

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Mike Portnoy was always considered "the metal guy" in DT, but James has put out the heaviest music outside of DT. 

Yea, I'm kicking myself right now for not checking out JLB's solo stuff sooner. Just finished listening to Impermanent Resonance and it was a great listen. I'd take this over The Astonishing any day. I guess I always imagined JLB's solo output would be very vocal central with loads of ballads. I like JLB's vocals in general but my ear is almost always drawn to the instruments, especially electric guitar, so I didn't think his solo stuff would be for me. I couldn't have been more wrong. I'm just quite surprised that this is the sort of music JLB is putting out at this point in his career, it's great don't get me wrong. I just didn't expect an album with such melo-death leanings, awesome stuff!

SI is better for the style IMO.  EOP is amazing too.  Glad you finally checked his stuff out mate, better late than never.

[Dublagent66]

Any word of a new album?  It's been nearly 4 years already.  I look forward more to James' new stuff than DT's.

[Evermind]

I think James said something about it in the recent interviews. It's either ready music-wise, so they just have to record it, or they're working on it. I definitely remember something like that, but I'm a bit too lazy to go search for it.

Chiming in to say Static Impulse is awesome, all the growls actually work very well.

[TioJorge]

The previous couple pages have info on it. Sometime later this year!

[YtseJamittaja]

I asked about the new album from James two months ago. He said they are working on it and should be out maybe next year. Hopefully that isn't the JP case that he just always says that he's working on it...

[CB]

JLB: Solo album "should be ready in late 2017, I think"

https://www.rockbook.hu/hirek/2018-were-gonna-make-new-album-james-labrie-interview

(the title of the interview is about the new DT they'll do in 2018)

[YtseJam]

I hope it's good. 

[Bolsters]

JLB: Solo album "should be ready in late 2017, I think"

[MirrorMask]

Excellent news!!! 

[Prog Snob]

That sounds awesome! JLB solo and something kickass from DT.

[Samsara]

Hope James actually writes lyrics and vocal melodies this time. For albums that have his name on them, he sure doesn't do much on them except sing. I realize he considers his "solo" effort to be a "band," but the least he could do if he's going to use his name is actually play more of a role than he does with DT. 

To be honest, I don't understand the point of JLB having a band with his name if it isn't really a solo project that he's driving from a creative standpoint. I mean, if he just wants to sing, then don't call it your name. Choose a band name.

[mikeyd23]

Hope James actually writes lyrics and vocal melodies this time. For albums that have his name on them, he sure doesn't do much on them except sing. I realize he considers his "solo" effort to be a "band," but the least he could do if he's going to use his name is actually play more of a role than he does with DT. 

To be honest, I don't understand the point of JLB having a band with his name if it isn't really a solo project that he's driving from a creative standpoint. I mean, if he just wants to sing, then don't call it your name. Choose a band name.

Marketing. James' name on the front is instant name recognition for a lot of fans in the metal/prog/rock community.

[Adami]

Hope James actually writes lyrics and vocal melodies this time. For albums that have his name on them, he sure doesn't do much on them except sing. I realize he considers his "solo" effort to be a "band," but the least he could do if he's going to use his name is actually play more of a role than he does with DT. 

To be honest, I don't understand the point of JLB having a band with his name if it isn't really a solo project that he's driving from a creative standpoint. I mean, if he just wants to sing, then don't call it your name. Choose a band name.

Yea, I said the same thing to Frank Sinatra.

[Samsara]

Marketing. James' name on the front is instant name recognition for a lot of fans in the metal/prog/rock community.

Don't get me wrong. I totally get it. I just wish he'd write more.

Yea, I said the same thing to Frank Sinatra.

 

[Cool Chris]

I do agree with you about his writing, especially since he has expressed displeasure at not being able to contribute as much as he'd like to DT's recent albums. But if the album is as good as the last two, I'll be plenty happy.