Hey folks.............been a lurker here for a little while but decided to join up. I think in the past I have felt that the forum is so huge that I wouldn't have a hope of keeping up , so I just checked out the odd thread of interest but I suppose that's no reason not to be a member. When I join a forum I usually like to be a "regular" and really take part but not sure how I'll go time wise but it's obviously a very cool place to "hang" .
I'm in Australia and am a long time DT fan , although my tastes do seem to be quite different to most here and perhaps that also had something to do with me holding back on posting. I saw a couple of posts in the "back to back" albums thread that struck a chord and had quite a bit in common with my views - I thought I'd "take the time" to sign up and agree with him
My first DT album was I&W around the time of its release. I used to listen to the "Metal For Melbourne" show here at the time on 3RRR radio - one of the few dedicated hard rock/metal radio shows - and when they played Pull Me Under for the first time I was thinking something along the lines of HOLYYYYY SHIT!! This band is made for my ears. My musical taste is pretty varied although guitars must be present
Anything from Toto/Foreigner to Annihilator/Megadeth.
Off the top of my head I think I might have maybe 5 or 6 albums in my collection of around 2500 where I rated every song 5 stars - the way I tend to rate albums is I'll average my iTunes track ratings , multiply by 20 for a rating out of 100 and then have 5 points of adjustment for how I think the album works as a whole. Of those 5 or 6 "perfect" albums I think there's only two I would rate at 100% and that's Van Halen I and Images and Words. So I think that says a lot about how I rate these guys. I don't think there will ever be another album that combines heaviness, prog , musicianship and catchy songs in the way that Images and Words did and with zero need for the skip button , which I seem to be using more and more these days.
From there though my DT experience has been a bit of a roller coaster ride and a bit love/hate at times. I viewed Awake as inferior to I&W but certainly not a huge disappointment - that was reserved for Falling Into Infinity and most of what followed . Although I have tracks on each album I like I just never felt (after Awake) that they got close to the perfection of Images and Words and it was rather sad and frustrating at times........one of my all time top couple of bands kept disappointing.......until recently
How much Portnoy's exit had to do with it I'll never know but for me ADTOE was a huge return to form with a more song oriented sound that was taken even further on DT12 and to say I have a renewed enthusiasm would be an understatement. The DT I love is BACK! ADTOE was possibly a little too derivative of I&W but hey - I was rapt anyway.
In terms of memorabilia etc.... I do have a bit of a problem- once I start I tend to go crazy and it just gets ridiculous. I have a massive Van Halen memorabilia collection that has cost me a fortune over the years but with DT in some ways there is even more stuff and you could go totally nuts getting every little trinket and collectible , so I have drawn the line and (aside from stuff I bought early on - official bootlegs/demos/videos) I have kept a tight focus on their pinnacle for me and that's Images and Words. So I have I&W shirts , CD, cassette , original vinyl , white Brookvale vinyl and two of the 500 red swirl vinyls. That should do!! I also have the Live Scenes recalled cover which isn't worth much but I still find pretty cool/spooky in terms of the coincidence with the tragic real life events on the day of release.
I've seen a whole heap of posters rate all the albums in order so I might as well too while I'm here - using the rating system I mentioned above and make a note or two here and there. Aside from Live At The Marquee (an early favourite) I'll keep it to studio albums.
1) When Dream And Day Unite: Seems to get a lot of derision and bad press here but I actually rate it much higher than most of DT's mid-life efforts. Ordinary production - yes but in the context of the time , a debut album and how advanced it was at the time I give it a solid
90/1002) Images and Words: What can I say?
100% 
Live At The Marquee: Quick mention - great live album and Bombay Vindaloo made it that little bit special
90/1003) Awake: Not as consistently brilliant and well structured to my ears - still it does justice to a I&W follow up. The mid section of Erotomania remains one of my favourite guitar moments ever as is the outro to Innocence Faded. I'm attemtpting to get back into my guitar playing and an attempt at that is a distant goal
Probably a couple of tracks too long and 6.00 does very little for me. A solid
91/1004) A Change of Seasons : not something I play very often. When I do I enjoy it but there's always something else I'd rather be hearing
83/100And this is where my ratings might just go off a cliff.........5) Falling Into Infinity At the time of its release I found this a massive disappointment and likely would've rated it 60% - it was a real WTF! moment the first time I heard this. Like a watered down version of the band I worshipped but I have grown to like it more as the years have passed. Would be a lot better without the first two tracks.
83/1006) SFAM : I know this album is rated very highly for the most part but again I felt it was missing something. I liked the return to something resembling their classic sound but my impression was that the concept overtook the songs and that it felt like the songs had been written around the lyrics too much - I didn't feel the songs stood on their own as well as say an Operation Mindcrime. Decent enough album and had me really pumped for the next one as I could see a return to form coming. I really only have Fatal Tragedy on any sort of regular rotation 79/100
7) SDOIT: Oh dear!! This was the last straw for me as far as Dream Theater albums being an automatic purchase. I'd been disappointed with the last two but could see light ahead but boy - the first disc of this album was one of my biggest ever disappointments in music. How could my equal favourite band ever produce THIS!! It's stupid I know but I didn't listen to Disc 2 for many years - I was so pissed at how much I couldn't get into disc one that my attitude was "Well if they can't get me to listen to a bunch of shortish songs then I can't put myself through an epic version. My next disappointment was in myself for being such an idiot as years later when I finally played Disc 2 I quite liked it
DISC ONE: 60% DISC TWO: 90%8) Train of Thought: Two tracks I like : As I am and Endless Sacrifice - the rest...........meh! The skip button was on overdrive here.
72/1009) Octavarium: not an album I listen to much. Nothing rated terrible (as I did on one or two from ToT) but also no top rated tracks either.
72/10010) Systematic Chaos: Enjoyed the first couple of tracks and a decent enough cover of Creeping Death on track 3 but tailed away badly from there .
72/10011) Black Clouds........ My expectations were low and looking at the tracks lengths I was anticipating the worst but this album surprised me. The first album since Awake (or the 2nd SDOIT disc) that I felt was really consistent.
88/10012) A Dramatic Turn of Events: Thank God!!! A return to the brilliant combination of more song based playing but still plenty of progressive elements on display. Sits well in the company of I&W and Awake - THIS is the DT I love. 94/100
13) DT12 This one is still sinking in but I certainly like it. It's got all the elements that I like from them and yet it's different enough from I&W/ADTOE to not sound too familiar. Unlike the majority I've read here I think The Enemy Inside is awesome and helloooooooo Mr Mangini at the start! Least favourite track would likely be Along For The Ride (or Enigma Machine if you count that) but I certainly don't dislike it. All the rest I either liked immediately or are growing on me (Surrender To Reason). I'll give it a tentative
94/100 which could go higher although the production will prevent it from getting too close to 100.
I've recently upgraded what was already a high end stereo system and played DT12 and I&W back to back and it was only then that the muddy production on DT12 became so obvious. That's the real let down for me with this latest instalment.
So there you have it - I know I'm in the minority with my indifference toward SDOIT/SFAM and Octavarium but hey - just being honest. Like I said above it feels so great to be rediscovering my love for this band - it had never gone (how could it - they can never undo Images and Words ) but had been tested severely.
This post has taken ages and I won't make a habit of "mega posting"......................just got all this out the way so it's out there. I'll enjoy reading the discussion here and perhaps making the odd contribution.
Will purchase LALP DVD soon thanks to the helpful reviews on here.
Cheers
Brent
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