James LaBrie Solo

[?]

For what reason did I receive warning if I justified why I didn't like the album? Or is it against the rules not to like/criticize an album?

I don't find this kind of criticism constructive:

Very shitty album to say the least.

[Lucien]

If you had only said why you don't like it, and not have said it's a shitty album, we would have all been like "okay" and just went ahead.

[Rhayader]

For what reason did I receive warning if I justified why I didn't like the album? Or is it against the rules not to like/criticize an album?

I don't find this kind of criticism constructive:

Very shitty album to say the least.

If you ignored completely the post where I justified why, then yes.

[Perpetual Change]

Rhayder, you said the album sounded like it came out of an Auto Metal Generator.

So, what other albums does this sound like? None, in my opinion. It's very unique.

[Rhayader]

Rhayder, you said the album sounded like it came out of an Auto Metal Generator.

So, what other albums does this sound like? None, in my opinion. It's very unique.

Seriously? Most metal albums have the same formula. In this case it is more metalcore. I wouldn't know what albums sound like it, because I would delete them after I listen, but should be pretty easy to find some album in metalcore that sounds like it.

[Onno]

I haven't heard the album yet (waiting for the CD when I come home at the end of the week), but I can say that this will not sound at all like metalcore. I generally don't like metalcore at all, and while SI was at some points exhibiting some metalcore influences, it was more of a melodic death metal vibe, and from what I've heard, this album will be catchier and with less growls. So no, I don't agree with you at all, Rhayader 

[kirksnosehair]

I may end up downloading a few of the individual tracks from the Amazon MP3 store.  "Back On The Ground" is pretty cool.  If there are other tracks on the album like this (meaning, with no grunting) I'll buy them, but I just can't take that growling stuff.  Sorry.   

[Ben_Jamin]

I'm guessing rhyadar doesn't like generic metal. What did you expect this album to sound like? Cause it is great catchy metal that deserves radio play, plus it was intended to have some pop influences by having strong melodies.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Rhayder, you said the album sounded like it came out of an Auto Metal Generator.

So, what other albums does this sound like? None, in my opinion. It's very unique.

Seriously? Most metal albums have the same formula. In this case it is more metalcore. I wouldn't know what albums sound like it, because I would delete them after I listen, but should be pretty easy to find some album in metalcore that sounds like it.

Dude, I like you because you're one of only two other Devil Doll fans here, but saying this album is generic metalcore is kind of insulting. I don't even hear much metalcore in it, to be honest. (though I haven't heard the full album, so take that for what it's worth)

[Syzzle]

It's definitely not generic metalcore, I'm not sure where he's getting that from.

[Perpetual Change]

Rhayder, you said the album sounded like it came out of an Auto Metal Generator.

So, what other albums does this sound like? None, in my opinion. It's very unique.

Seriously? Most metal albums have the same formula. In this case it is more metalcore. I wouldn't know what albums sound like it, because I would delete them after I listen, but should be pretty easy to find some album in metalcore that sounds like it.

Yeah, seriously. I'd like to know because, no offense, I kind of suspect you are just full of hot air

[tjanuranus]

My thoughts from a dt fanboy 

I really like the album a lot. It's got some great songs and I connected emotionally with a few which I don't think happened on si. So far I think I prefer it to si which I liked a lot. With only ONE exception. That magic wand song is the worst thing I've heard from a dt related project and for the most part I love everything dt related. I can't even listen to it after 2 listens. But really digging the album overall and some great work from labrie and the band

[Metropolis1928]

My feelings for this album are mixed.

On one hand I really love the direction of this album, less... brutal (?) than SI, and more melodic which, for me, it's a good choice.

But on the other hand I don't feel the urge to listen to it more than the couple of times I already did, which didn't happen with SI. I probably listened to that album even more than I did with some DT albums when it came out. IR is not that... addictive?  At least for me.

Anyway, the one thing that hasn't changed is that James is still awesome. And for me that's already enough 

(I love that smiley  )

[aprilethereal]

I may end up downloading a few of the individual tracks from the Amazon MP3 store.  "Back On The Ground" is pretty cool.  If there are other tracks on the album like this (meaning, with no grunting) I'll buy them, but I just can't take that growling stuff.  Sorry.

Agony is actually the only song that features a significant amount of growling, so you might give the whole album a chance and if you can't stand Agony, just skip it.

While I wouldn't put it quite as harshly as Rhayader, I have to say that I'm underwhelmed as well. This was my first exposure what JLB and Matt do together and it just didn't capture my interest enough. I enjoyed each track seperately, but taken as an album, it did become a little samey. Agony and Undertow are killer though.

That said, I might come back to this to see if my opinion changes, because, on paper, I feel that I should like this a lot more than I do.

This this this. Although I'd add Back On The Ground, I Got You, Say You're Still Mine, Amnesia and I Will Not Break to the list of "killer" tracks

[OsMosis2259]

Man the album is catchy! I listened three times and I think I like this one at the same level as SI. Depending on mood and the day of the week, it's good have a good collection of songs to choose from.

Awesome music, production and vocals.
Some of the lyrics did throw me off a little like the chorus in I Got You and Back on the Ground but that's just a minor nitpick from me

[aprilethereal]

I think I should get SI sometime soon. Another album on my never ending to-buy-list

[JonesyAZ]

This is a non-$#!tty album...LOL

Seriously though, what really blows me away with this record is how James and co. have created an exciting new musical landscape that showcases James' beautifully melodic voice moreso than SI.  I have always been a huge european metal fan (ala Swedish death metal, Norwegian black metal) so with the James LaBrie band embracing the gothenberg style with SI and now IR, it's been a dream come true on so many levels!

The melodies on this album are tasty, the production of the instruments have balls and are crystal clear and the music is refreshing and enjoyable!  I can't wait to buy the CD next week (been listening to the Spotify stream in the meantime )

[kirksnosehair]

I may end up downloading a few of the individual tracks from the Amazon MP3 store.  "Back On The Ground" is pretty cool.  If there are other tracks on the album like this (meaning, with no grunting) I'll buy them, but I just can't take that growling stuff.  Sorry.

Agony is actually the only song that features a significant amount of growling, so you might give the whole album a chance and if you can't stand Agony, just skip it.

Fair enough.  When the entire album is streaming somewhere legit, I'll have a listen and see what I think. 

I've been doing this a lot lately, though.  Buying individual tracks, that is.   

For example, I recently discovered a band called Persefone that has fantastic music, but I can't take the vocals (screaming/grunting).  But their album "Spiritual Migration" has two instrumental tracks (#6 and #7) that are jaw-dropping.  So I bought them.

[Madman Shepherd]

https://www.bravewords.com/news/207916

Not sure if people have seen this interview but its really good and insightful. 

I've got a question for Matt though.

This interview is the first time I have heard the band referred to as you being the main composer.  It has usually been described as a 50/50 collaboration but James has been very open it seems to say that you are the main force behind this effort. 

Also, you seem to have more lyrical contributions than James. 

We all know that this isn't really a "solo" effort and a lot of the music is recorded without James present (he records vocal separately).  So is James just a really easy going guy that doesn't mind you getting a little more credit?  Or was it a matter of not being able to work out the logistics of getting together and writing since he was busy with Dream Theater? 

Also, what was the dynamic like with Elements of Persuasion?  I seem to remember the band recording together for the most part (I think Mangini may have recorded his drums seperately but I may be wrong about that). 

Anyway, I still don't have the CD yet but that interview has made me more psyched.  Argh, just one more week

[Matt]

https://www.bravewords.com/news/207916

Not sure if people have seen this interview but its really good and insightful. 

I've got a question for Matt though.

This interview is the first time I have heard the band referred to as you being the main composer.  It has usually been described as a 50/50 collaboration but James has been very open it seems to say that you are the main force behind this effort. 

Also, you seem to have more lyrical contributions than James. 

We all know that this isn't really a "solo" effort and a lot of the music is recorded without James present (he records vocal separately).  So is James just a really easy going guy that doesn't mind you getting a little more credit?  Or was it a matter of not being able to work out the logistics of getting together and writing since he was busy with Dream Theater? 

Also, what was the dynamic like with Elements of Persuasion?  I seem to remember the band recording together for the most part (I think Mangini may have recorded his drums seperately but I may be wrong about that). 

Anyway, I still don't have the CD yet but that interview has made me more psyched.  Argh, just one more week

Quite honestly, I've been the main composer for a while - including Static Impulse. My approach to writing has changed a lot since EoP and it's become much more focused on vocals, and more often than not, I am writing vocal melodies before even picking up an instrument, and then I fill in the instrumentation to support them in the strongest way I can. Because of this approach I take, many of the songs are done (at least melodically) before I send them to James. If James is not feeling a song musically, he would totally let me know... but it hasn't happened. If I feel a particular attachment to a song, I'll do the lyric for it, otherwise James and I do try to split things up lyrically.

So it's not about logistics or him being busy. He's comfortable with where I have been leading with the songs and musical direction.


With EoP, we were all together for the recording (minus Bryan Beller and Mike Mangini). It was a lot of fun hanging in James' brother-in-laws beachfront cottage. A memory I will never forget.

Cheers,
Matt

[Mladen]

Great interview there. 

I personally found the album a bit too poppy for my taste, but I still enjoyed some of it. Agony rocks, I still love it as much as I did the first time I heard it. Other highlights are the extremely powerful I will not break, and the gorgeous Say you're still mine. But overall, it wasn't in my ballpark stylistically, so I'll stick with Static impulse until Impermanent resonance maybe starts growing on me. 

[Elite]

I'm seriously enjoying this album, on my second playthrough now. Oh shit, I have another contender for AOTY.

[ariich]

The new album is really, really catchy! On first listen I liked it quite a bit, but wasn't sure if it stood up to SI, and I thought maybe it got a bit samey by the end. But actually the more I listen to it, but more I don't agree with either of those initial impressions, and the more I get drawn back to it.

Matt, thanks for your latest post, definitely a really interesting insight to your recent writing approach, often focussing on vocals as a starting point. I really feel like that comes across with this album, some of the tunes are just fantastic!

[TheGreatPretender]

Well, unlike you fancy Europeans, I don't have the album yet, since I'm in Canada. But I've been listening to Back On The Ground, and the more I hear it, the more I love it.
Honestly, I like James' vocals on this one song, better than anything he did on ADTOE.

[MoraWintersoul]

SI inties were not so specific on writing so my brain just filled it in as the same writing dynamics as EoP/earlier, so this definitely cleared stuff up in my mind! I gotta say three things:

1) File under *not genre snobism/preference for distorted guitars in my music*: there's like 89385729 lessons for modern pop composers to be learned from the pop you guys do.

2) You're absolutely better at writing with James' voice in mind that anyone who's ever done that. Highlighting everything awesome about it in 3-4 minutes, then repeating it during each song on the album while ample space is left for other important stuff is not an easy balance to achieve.

3) Aaaaaaare you by chance going to sing on your solo album you've been mentioning? I recently introduced my ex-boyfriend to JLB-the-band (as in, a couple of weeks ago, after a few years of "you're totally gonna love this why aren't you checking it out already"), he's paid special attention to EoP and SI and recently he's asked me about "who sings the Jeckyl & Hyde demo" and then we both concluded the world needs to hear you sing lead in a more "officially official" capacity

[Madman Shepherd]

Matt,

Thanks for your response.  It's incredibly interesting to do the vocals first.  I wouldn't even know how to begin to write a song that way so major props for that. 

I can only imagine how cool recording EoP was, assuming the cottage was in Canada.  I love that country! 

[Matt]

SI inties were not so specific on writing so my brain just filled it in as the same writing dynamics as EoP/earlier, so this definitely cleared stuff up in my mind! I gotta say three things:

1) File under *not genre snobism/preference for distorted guitars in my music*: there's like 89385729 lessons for modern pop composers to be learned from the pop you guys do.

2) You're absolutely better at writing with James' voice in mind that anyone who's ever done that. Highlighting everything awesome about it in 3-4 minutes, then repeating it during each song on the album while ample space is left for other important stuff is not an easy balance to achieve.

3) Aaaaaaare you by chance going to sing on your solo album you've been mentioning? I recently introduced my ex-boyfriend to JLB-the-band (as in, a couple of weeks ago, after a few years of "you're totally gonna love this why aren't you checking it out already"), he's paid special attention to EoP and SI and recently he's asked me about "who sings the Jeckyl & Hyde demo" and then we both concluded the world needs to hear you sing lead in a more "officially official" capacity

Re 1: You're way too kind. Definitely the other way around! There is so much to be learned about modern pop songwriting and production. I will always be a student of it. I could go on and on for days talking about it because it's really where my heart is, but I'll spare you all. I will say this though... from my own personal experience, it's *WAY* more challenging for me to sit down and write something that's catchy/simplistic/memorable than anything that I would consider "progressive" or "technical." OMG it's crazy difficult! But that's why it's so appealing to me. (I'm only speaking for myself.)

Re 2: That's very nice of you to say, but I think there are some very good and capable writers in DT When I'm writing a song, I absolutely *have* to be able to sing it. If I'm not feeling it and it's not working for me first, then it's more than likely not going to work for James either.

Re 3: That's the plan. Hmmm maybe I'll get James to do backgrounds? LOL j/k!

Cheers,
Matt

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

You're an inspiration, Matt. Now that I remember, I saw some youtube videos of you singing some Static Impulse songs...that was amazing. Any plans for you releasing some more of these treats to your fans? It's great to hear you singing your stuff, your voice is great. I'd love to hear you going lead for once 

That being said, it's weird to imagine James LaBrie singing background vocals  I mean, his voice has this super-unique tone that jumps to me everytime I listen to a LaBrie recording... I can't see his voice lying on the background of a song (unless he's harmonizing himself, of course).

[TioJorge]

It's so friggin' awesome that you actually take the time to talk to and answer personal questions from fans, Matt; it's something that brings the experience of being a fan to a new level. At one point, I had no idea that anyone else but Labrie was contributing anything; I hadn't kept up with the Labrie project in a while and saw it as...well, a 'solo' project with the musicians being hired hands. But to know that you're the main composer is very interesting! I am disappoint in myself for not knowing that. You've done an incredible job and have created some truly memorable passages and some absolutely hypnotic choruses. I don't mind being blunt in saying that it took me until just before this album released for me to get into Static Impulse; till that time Elements of Persuasion was on a pedestal. With Impermanent Resonance, you've reached a sweet spot. It's so fucking sweet. Amazing job, and thank you!


Haters gonna hate.

[YtseJamittaja]

The new album is really, really catchy! On first listen I liked it quite a bit, but wasn't sure if it stood up to SI, and I thought maybe it got a bit samey by the end. But actually the more I listen to it, but more I don't agree with either of those initial impressions, and the more I get drawn back to it.

Matt, thanks for your latest post, definitely a really interesting insight to your recent writing approach, often focussing on vocals as a starting point. I really feel like that comes across with this album, some of the tunes are just fantastic!

I came here just to write this kind of post but it exists already!   


It's interesting to see how well this record will age beside SI which is still my favourite album of 2010 decade.

[TheGreatPretender]

Haters gonna hate.

There's haters? I'll get the pitchforks, you get the torches.

[YtseJamittaja]

I think only thing which irritates me a bit here is that the every song in the album follows the same song structure: verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge/(solo)/chorus(x2)

[aprilethereal]

I don't hate it, but I don't think it's amazing. There are some amazing songs on the album though.

[MoraWintersoul]

That's very nice of you to say, but I think there are some very good and capable writers in DT

Re 3: That's the plan. Hmmm maybe I'll get James to do backgrounds? LOL j/k!

Cheers,
Matt

DT is my favorite band, but that's just my opinion

LOL, if you can't get James to do backgrounds, get Peter to do some screams

That being said, it's weird to imagine James LaBrie singing background vocals 

Youtube Fates Warning - Life In Still Water. You're welcome

[Bertielee]

That's very nice of you to say, but I think there are some very good and capable writers in DT

Re 3: That's the plan. Hmmm maybe I'll get James to do backgrounds? LOL j/k!

Cheers,
Matt

DT is my favorite band, but that's just my opinion

LOL, if you can't get James to do backgrounds, get Peter to do some screams

That being said, it's weird to imagine James LaBrie singing background vocals 

Youtube Fates Warning - Life In Still Water. You're welcome

Or Eden's Curse's Trinity album.

B.Lee