On the Backs of Angels Thread

[emindead]

It could be either one, we still don't know.

How could it be either one? It says "A Dramatic Turn of Events"

if it was the single cover it'd have the name of the single on it.

That was what I was thinking.

[darkshade]

The most boring opening song in the DT catalog.

**cough** New Millennium **cough**

New Millennium has an awesome style and groove that DT has never captured before or since.

This is the second time Ive been involved in this discussion. I never said New Millennium was a bad song or anything, I love it actually; but it shouldn't have been the opener

[Nighthawkwill7]

Listened to it twice already, that bit at around 3:00 sounded like something from Rudess's Feeding The Wheel. I also got a Mega Man vibe from certain sections 

[Miyazaki74]

Oh and the mix is not very good either.

This is were I started laughing. Nice troll.

Just because I don't much care for the song or the mix doesn't mean I'm trolling. I don't or ever will Troll on message boards. I'll leave that to the teeny boppers with no life. Anyway the rest of the album could kick major ass for all I know, I'll just have to wait and see.

[Dream Team]

Oh and the mix is not very good either.

This is were I started laughing. Nice troll.

Just because I don't much care for the song or the mix doesn't mean I'm trolling. I don't or ever will Troll on message boards. I'll leave that to the teeny boppers with no life. Anyway the rest of the album could kick major ass for all I know, I'll just have to wait and see.

So what's wrong with the mix, other than the drums being a little soft?

[Miyazaki74]

The most boring opening song in the DT catalog.

I'm guessing you prefer the recent more riff based and metal oriented DT rather than the classical DT (more melodical and more awesome DT)?

Nope not at all. My favorite DT albums are I&W, Awake, FII, SFAM, and SDOIT. I enjoy TOT, Octavarium, SC, BCSL but not as much as the earlier stuff. I just thought the song was a little boring, it's not like this is the only DT song I find boring. Like I said the rest of the album could be great, I hope it is.

[RazielSR]

I have listened to the song 3 or 4 times now and I can say it is amazing and shows that DT is wanting to return again to their more proggy side. This album is gonna be amazing!

[rumborak]

It was pretty standard for DT. I'm sure the album has some wow moments though.

This, yeah. I was actually expecting a wow song to announce the existence (and skill) of the new drummer. Mangini played very song-oriented; not a bad thing, but I didn't expect that.

rumborak

[Miyazaki74]

Oh and the mix is not very good either.

This is were I started laughing. Nice troll.

Just because I don't much care for the song or the mix doesn't mean I'm trolling. I don't or ever will Troll on message boards. I'll leave that to the teeny boppers with no life. Anyway the rest of the album could kick major ass for all I know, I'll just have to wait and see.

So what's wrong with the mix, other than the drums being a little soft?

Maybe I'm to quick to judge on the mix since I am listening to it through youtube. It just sounds a little muffled to me.

[King Postwhore]

It was pretty standard for DT. I'm sure the album has some wow moments though.

This, yeah. I was actually expecting a wow song to announce the existence (and skill) of the new drummer. Mangini played very song-oriented; not a bad thing, but I didn't expect that.

rumborak

Rumbo, I'm surprised by your remarks.  When has DT ever released a wow track as a single?  Most have been a rock formulaic song. The only one I can think of is Home and they cut that down taking away the proggier moments.

[Bone_Daddy]

Yes, nothing special.

Pro:
JMX bass audio level in the mix is audible.

Con:
Rhythm is stiff and not organic (I blame JP and the programming of the drums).

[Miyazaki74]

The most boring opening song in the DT catalog. Mangini's drumming did nothing for me. Other than the lyrics being less cheesy than usual this song is pretty forgettable. Oh and the mix is not very good either.

Mangini's playing did nothing for you? WUT?!

Come on now.

It just didn't excite me the way Portnoy's playing does. Is MP's style somewhat predictable? Well yea, but he's still fun to listen to.

[dvargas]

Mangini's drumming did nothing for me.

What --- actually kudos to JP for programming it like did... Mangini's input is supposed to be limited on the album. Yes, he is hitting the drums but apparently from what they said the beats were laid down by JP.

As somebody said before... if you didn't know that MP had left, you probably wouldn't call it at least on this song.

[King Postwhore]

I love MP as a drummer but MM's playing is just fine on this.  I like that he has more of a "Swing" to his hi hat playing.

Mangini's drumming did nothing for me.

What --- actually kudos to JP for programming it like did... Mangini's input is supposed to be limited on the album. Yes, he is hitting the drums but apparently from what they said the beats were laid down by JP.

As somebody said before... if you didn't know that MP had left, you probably wouldn't call it at least on this song.

Guys, I'd think that JP laid down a basic drum track with just time signatures and a few accents.  Then MM took it and put his spin on it and worked with the guys on the fills.

[ReaPsTA]

Interesting that JP programming the beats is being brought up so much.  Yeah, honestly some of the beats sound like things I'd program in Superior Drummer, but Mangini's style is also everywhere in this, especially the cymbals.

[DoctorAction]

I love it. Very proggy and twisty. I giggled with happiness several times on my 3rd listen. Nothing about it made me want to leave the DT club, which is the first time since 8VM for me, and it sounds better than that. Cannot wait to have a CD of this.

Still hoping for more soaring vocals and lyrics that mean something sensitive in the album. Thanks, fellas. Welcome back!

[ronrule]

As for whether we could notice a change in drummer:

Where is all the china cymbal work?  It's NOT Dream Theater and it's definitely not ballsy and/or chunky if I don't hear this thing banged uninterestingly for every heavy DT moment!!! /sarcasm

[TheOutlawXanadu]

If I can get into the vocals, I'm going to love this song.

[Zeltar]

The intro and the chorus are my favorite parts of the song. Especially the intro. Overall, it's pretty solid.

[Mebert78]

Finally decided to come out of lurking mode to give my thoughts on the song:

First time through, I was mainly in "oh wow, new Dream Theater!" mode, so I can't really give my initial impression other than that. My second listen through is where the WOW began. That huge moment when the heaviness hits and the choir swells, the epic piano solo, Petrucci tearing it up, Myung quite audible in the mix, Mangini proving he deserves the job from the first tom rolls-so much goodness. I too get the sense that it's a LaBrie lyric, it just feels like something he'd write, so I imagine I'm way off because I suck at predicting things like that.

An interesting thing I've noticed: when people compare it to earlier Dream Theater, you get a bit of a variance of opinon in which era it actually sounds like. To me, it felt a bit like I&W meeting Awake, others say SFAM or FII, others yet say 6DOIT. Which suggests to me that it sounds like, well, Dream Theater. It doesn't sound like Dream Theater sounding like Metallica or Muse or what have you-it sounds like Dream Theater. That gives me a lot of hope for the CD's musical direction. I've loved Dream Theater since the first time I heard "Pull Me Under" way back when, but I have to admit that SC and BCSL took a bit of effort for me to get into. If the rest of the CD matches this, then I suspect I won't have to put in as much effort.

Welcome, and really good first post.  I gotta say I agree with everything you said

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

I rated the song 8/10 for the first like 10 listens. Now, it's like a 9/10. 

[Kosmo]

Finally decided to come out of lurking mode to give my thoughts on the song:

First time through, I was mainly in "oh wow, new Dream Theater!" mode, so I can't really give my initial impression other than that. My second listen through is where the WOW began. That huge moment when the heaviness hits and the choir swells, the epic piano solo, Petrucci tearing it up, Myung quite audible in the mix, Mangini proving he deserves the job from the first tom rolls-so much goodness. I too get the sense that it's a LaBrie lyric, it just feels like something he'd write, so I imagine I'm way off because I suck at predicting things like that.

An interesting thing I've noticed: when people compare it to earlier Dream Theater, you get a bit of a variance of opinon in which era it actually sounds like. To me, it felt a bit like I&W meeting Awake, others say SFAM or FII, others yet say 6DOIT. Which suggests to me that it sounds like, well, Dream Theater. It doesn't sound like Dream Theater sounding like Metallica or Muse or what have you-it sounds like Dream Theater. That gives me a lot of hope for the CD's musical direction. I've loved Dream Theater since the first time I heard "Pull Me Under" way back when, but I have to admit that SC and BCSL took a bit of effort for me to get into. If the rest of the CD matches this, then I suspect I won't have to put in as much effort.

Welcome, and really good first post.  I gotta say I agree with everything you said

I think that's more text then what I have written if you'd put all my posts together. And you know, the post was actually good.

[GasparXR]

6:45. Solitary Shell instrumental section, anyone?

[rush-signals]

First impressions having been a DT fan since 1989. I'm glad to hear the band sound more organic.  The song doesn't feel so pieced together as the past 5-6 albums have. JP plays a tasteful, reserved solo for once. I feel they've gotten back to the basics again that made DT great. The mix is really good. Mangini is not as high strung as MP seemed to be on the drums. I felt the drums on this grooved with JM and the band more than they have in a long long time. The song seemed to just flow along at times, then the sick progressiveness comes out again and again. Bottom line, I like it!

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Just listened to the tune with a good pair of headphones.


Even though it's a youtube mix, the drums sound fine to me. Some of these "technical" arguments just seem to be for the sake of having something to complain about. 

[Jaq]

First impressions having been a DT fan since 1989. I'm glad to hear the band sound more organic.  The song doesn't feel so pieced together as the past 5-6 albums have. JP plays a tasteful, reserved solo for once. I feel they've gotten back to the basics again that made DT great. The mix is really good. Mangini is not as high strung as MP seemed to be on the drums. I felt the drums on this grooved with JM and the band more than they have in a long long time. The song seemed to just flow along at times, then the sick progressivenewww comes out again and again. Bottom line, I like it!

Organic! That's the word I've been looking for about this song. And you raise a good point about what bothered me about a lot of BCSL in particular, the way it felt pieced together rather than flowing naturally. That had been nagging at me and I couldn't put a finger on what it was.

[rush-signals]

Organic! That's the word I've been looking for about this song. And you raise a good point about what bothered me about a lot of BCSL in particular, the way it felt pieced together rather than flowing naturally. That had been nagging at me and I couldn't put a finger on what it was.

It always bugged me to see MP charts of songs. It just seem everything was pasted together. Then using other bands names for sections just rubbed me wrong.

[Perpetual Change]

This is were I started laughing. Nice troll.

Myazaki isn't a troll. Looking at his post history, he's just one of those guys who thought the "Mike Portnoy presents..." version of Dream Theater (i.e., SFAM-BC&SL) was the shit, and thought the sky was falling when Portnoy quit the band. 

Organic! That's the word I've been looking for about this song. And you raise a good point about what bothered me about a lot of BCSL in particular, the way it felt pieced together rather than flowing naturally. That had been nagging at me and I couldn't put a finger on what it was.

It always bugged me to see MP charts of songs. It just seem everything was pasted together. Then using other bands names for sections just rubbed me wrong.

Agreed with everyone in this quote pyramid, 100 percent.

[lonestar]

Just gave it my first listen, and I can't say how stoked I am about the regression into the more prog sound it seems they are taking.  Though I enjoy the later albums, it was the first albums that I fell in love with.  This DT fan is happy.

[rush-signals]

It's funny seeing all the praise the song is getting on MP's forum.   Here's a quote from MP's forum that hits the nail on the head when it comes to JLB.

Further thoughts: I fucking love the James' voice on this and was trying to figure out why... then it hit me. He's not trying to be a metal singer! The last few DT albums have had James trying to growl and sneer and be the big mean metal guy and it just doesn't suit him. His vocals and totally righteous on this track. It really does sound like I&W or FII. I absolutely cannot wait for this album!

[FiberglassMoon]

If this song is to ADTOE what AROP was to BCSL, then this album will fucking rock.

Or, if this song is ADTOE's Pull Me Under, then it will fucking rock.

Overall, I liked the song a lot...but I do agree that the vocal melodies are rather plain and forgettable.  

Keys sound awesome....hopefully piano is a recurring theme throughout the whole album.

Bass is finally audible again, which is very relieving because I felt that if JMX didn't make a return on this album then we probably wouldn't ever hear him again.

I hope that not all songs have such a low, ballsy guitar sound though.  It works great on this song, but a whole album of super crunch guitar would be too much for me.

Oh, 8:15-8:20 is ridiculous.

[Quadrochosis]

Song Sounds Good.

[rush-signals]

Overall, I liked the song a lot...but I do agree that the vocal melodies are rather plain and forgettable.  

Read my post just before yours.

[JimmyJava]

Well...I really don't know what to think. There were some parts that were REALLY cool (pianobreak for one) but It feels a bit stock to me. Vocal melodies were, as some have said, rather forgettable. It really sucks because I wanna like this song than I do right now. Oh well, I guess it will get better with time

[Adami]

So far I really like the music, but the drums are pretty damn low in the mix. I hope it's just a youtube thing. Hopefully the CD will have more audible drums.