Dream Theater self titled album discussion - [SPOILER FREE DISCUSSION ONLY]

[fadetoblackdude7]

This is what I meant earlier when I said the actual cover could be embossed with the band name. Or some thing like it.

Now THAT would be amazing!!!

[Lucidity]

Everyone is saying that this album seems like it will be really heavy... I'm feeling more of a super proggy vibe, based on these titles. I feel like it can be dark without being heavy. If it is heavy, I'm feeling more of an Awake vibe than a Systematic Chaos vibe.

[DeanTheater]

SPLOOOOOOOGE!







Well, I am prtetty damned psyched.  I love the Cover.  I love just the use of the Majesty symbol.   No need for anything else. As far as the tracklist is concerned, I am intrigued about JP's statemts that it is cinematic and atmospheric.  I believe this may be a turn for DT more to early prog elements.  Possibly in the realm of early YES or Genesis but with a heavier edge.  I cannot wait!

[Mister Gold]

This is what I meant earlier when I said the actual cover could be embossed with the band name. Or some thing like it.

Now THAT would be amazing!!!

Eh, I'm sorry, but I think it looks a lot better without the band name there. Sorry.

[425]

No, I don't think it will sound like Systematic Chaos, because that was more of a "heavy but fun" album. I think this could very easily be a lot like Awake combined with a little of something like Black Clouds & Silver Linings.

[Podaar]

Eh, I'm sorry, but I think it looks a lot better without the band name there. Sorry.

Actually, I agree with you!  No sorries.

I was just speculating on the empty space below.

[Mister Gold]

Eh, I'm sorry, but I think it looks a lot better without the band name there. Sorry.

Actually, I agree with you! 

I was just speculating on the empty space below.

Alrighty then!

Everyone is saying that this album seems like it will be really heavy... I'm feeling more of a super proggy vibe, based on these titles. I feel like it can be dark without being heavy. If it is heavy, I'm feeling more of an Awake vibe than a Systematic Chaos vibe.

This. I'm getting a really strong Pink Floyd vibe from the cover and song titles.

I'd also like to point out that "dark" doesn't automatically equal "heavy." For example, Jackson Browne's Late for the Sky is a pretty dark and depressing album, but it's a pretty 'light' sounding rock album.

[Estiui]

Ok, let's see it from another point of view. It's gonna be their gayest album easily.


Seriously, I don't think it's gonna be as heavy as you're expecting. It is supposed to be some sort of DT's essence, it can't be purely heavy, it has to have a lot of prog. I can see a fusion of SFAM and Awake.

[SystematicThought]

Paradox of the Black Light sounds interesting.

[MajorMatt]

The artwork is pretty cool, definitely doesn't need the band name on there. The majesty symbol does bother me a bit, as soon as I saw the cover I thought it looked a bit...off. Certainly an Awake feel coming from this album.

[Rhayader]

The album cover sucks. Period.

[Setlist Scotty]

Overall I'm pretty psyched by this new album. The album titles are far better than what we saw on SC and BCaSL - hopefully the lyrics match the names of the titles in terms of quality.

As for those of you assuming that the first and/or last tracks will be epics just because they have subtitles for the different sections, need I remind you that Rush's Natural Science had 3 subtitled parts and was about 9 minutes in length and La Villa Strangiato has 12 parts and clocks in at 9.5 minutes. So I wouldn't bank on either of them being epics, tho it is a possibility. I could imagine the guys doing 2 separate songs with subtitled sections and having a different song as an epic, just to screw with the fans.

Regarding the cover art debate, overall I like the artwork or the idea behind it. Kinda reminds me of Testament's New Order album cover. When it was announced that the album was going to be self titled, my gut feeling was that the artwork was going to be relatively simplistic with the Majesty logo taking center stage. I love the idea that the band's name is nowhere to be seen on the cover - they're that confident in their statement of who they are. I still wish the album was untitled rather than self-titled as it adds a little more mystery to it, but I digress... All that said, I fully agree with Blob that using this version of the symbol for official artwork is amateur, as is the image of the globe cutting off at an angle. The idea is fine but the execution is poor, whether done by Hugh Syme (I'm guessing not this time) or someone else. As for those who argue that the logo should be changed over time, that's fine if that had been the case with every album showing some evolving (as is the case with Queensryche's tri-ryche symbol), but to do so now doesn't make sense. Even if they had done so beginning with ADToE, it would have made more sense than to do it at this stage. Thankfully they didn't use the wonky symbol from the crappy DT font (the one with the middle stroke being super thick and the cross strokes not lining up) but this one isn't much better.

[Mindflux]

JP: Hey guys, remember how MP always wanted an album cover with just the Majesty logo and something "epic" like the earth in the background and we always said no?
JLB, JMX, JR: Yeah?
JP: *reveals new artwork*
Everyone: *cracks up*
JP: That'll show him!

[Scorpion]

While the titles sound a little pretentious, my excitement for this album has undoubtedly risen for this record. While I doubt that it can reach any of the albums in my Holy Trinity, I do think that this will be a very interesting and diverse album and I'm looking forward to hearing it - though I'm still keeping my expectations in check.

I like the cover as well. I doubt that I would have noticed the Majesty thing if Blob hadn't pointed it out, tbh.

[Aythesryche]

  @ the people calling the track titles pretentious. I don't think the context of that word holds much weight when you consider the source of the track titles. DT aren't a bunch of hipsters that bike around the same blocks in Portland all their lives while pretending to be more cultured than they actually are.

[Lucidity]

@ the people calling the track titles pretentious. I don't think the context of that word holds much weight when you consider the source of the track titles. DT aren't a bunch of hipsters that bike around the same blocks in Portland all their lives while pretending to be more cultured than they actually are.

Whether they are pretentious or not by definition, I think they are a bit exaggerated and silly, but not so much that it will really bother me. But if you were to compare these titles to, say, any titles off a Radiohead album, they look pretentious. It's a part of prog that I've never liked, but it's a part of who they are, in terms of just general nerdiness

[gibbs1245]

Love the simplicity of the cover. Love the track names even more. Couldn't give a damn about the cover as long as the music kicks serious ASS.

[Elite]

JP: Hey guys, remember how MP always wanted an album cover with just the Majesty logo and something "epic" like the earth in the background and we always said no?
JLB, JMX, JR: Yeah?
JP: *reveals new artwork*
Everyone: *cracks up*
JP: That'll show him!

[kirksnosehair]

Regarding the evolution of the logo:



Spock: "For everything there is a first time, Lieutenant. Don't you agree, Admiral?"

Kirk: "Mmm-hmm."


-- "Star Trek II:The Wrath Of Khan", Stardate 8130.4




I'd say the logo belongs to Dream Theater and whether or not it changes or evolves, and when that change occurs is their call to make.  Nitpicking it over what amounts to a few dozen pixels of difference from previous versions of it seems a bit....I don't know.....change happens.  You can either embrace it and accept it or let it leave skid marks on your backside.   

[Voices]

It would be great to hear some baritone riffs from JP...just saying.

[JPX]

I LOVE the new album design. I honestly couldn't imagine anything better, it represents a self titled work perfectly.

It also reminds me a lot of the Destiny imagery. 

As for the tracks, I would have liked to have seen 10 or more. The more DT write, the more I appreciate their mid length works. I feel that when they write longer songs, they have a tendency to lose direction these days. The names don't mean much to me but some of them sound cool. Emeny Inside of course makes me think of Rush, and Along for the Ride makes me think of Red Barchetta. Then Looking Glass takes me to Symphony X, as does Paradoxe de la Lumière Noire. But these are just coisidental I'm sure.

[Mosh]

It would be great to hear some baritone riffs from JP...just saying.

Hell yea! Been awhile since he busted out the bari

[Naikon]

GTA V and Dream Theater reveal at the same day... this can't be a coincidence.

[Dacling]

I wonder if JP is the only one going to be doing backing vocals on the album or if one of the other band members might take up that role this time around. I know someone had asked Jordan in the past and he never ruled out the possibility of doing it.

[atmyne]

It would be great to hear some baritone riffs from JP...just saying.

Hell yea! Been awhile since he busted out the bari

It would've been more badass if he busted out an 8-string. ah well...

[Mosh]

Seems like JP will do fine with holding down the fort as far as vocals are concerned. Jordan has a nice voice though, probably has perfect pitch, he'd probably be good at it.

Also, when Mike Mangini was touring with Nuno Bettencourt's solo band, he sang backup vocals quite often. There are some good bootlegs out there.

[Madman Shepherd]

Ok, this is becoming obvious.

French song title
French-Canadian lead singer
Petrucci wears a coat with a fleur-de-lis on it

This is a concept album about one of the following:

The French Revolution
James LaBrie's ancestors, Les Habitants
The Montreal Expos

[RoeDent]

Interesting. My observations:

1. The titles make it seem like there is a concept. Which is unusual, considering the album title does not give any hint of a concept. Unless the band have come up with a story involving their own name.

2. The titles seem more "metal".

Predictions:

Enigma Machine will be the instrumental.

The first and last tracks will be the only ones over 10 minutes. False Awakening Suite around 12-13, Illumination Theory over 20. The other songs will range somewhere between 4 and 9 minutes.

[Deve]

I don't think the French in the track title is pretentious. I think it's fucking awesome. And I hope there IS singing in French. Canada represent!

[Dacling]

Seems like JP will do fine with holding down the fort as far as vocals are concerned. Jordan has a nice voice though, probably has perfect pitch, he'd probably be good at it.

Also, when Mike Mangini was touring with Nuno Bettencourt's solo band, he sang backup vocals quite often. There are some good bootlegs out there.

Interesting. I didn't know Mangini had ever done backing vocals before. It would be really interesting if both Jordan and Mike started doing backing vocals. I imagine they could do some pretty great things with that.

[Whatsername]

I don't think the French in the track title is pretentious. I think it's fucking awesome. And I hope there IS singing in French. Canada represent!

This 100%. I love the French title.

[Jaffa]

I'm really not sure how I feel about any of this.  I think I need time to process.

The only thing I know for sure is that I really, really like Enigma Machine as a title. 

[atmyne]

Fuck I am so sick to death of seeing the word "pretentious" thrown around so often on this forum.
explain to me what makes anything about any details of this album/artwork pretentious? Where is the line of what is pretentious and what isn't? Here's the problem:
when you say something is pretentious, you are essentially saying that the names/artwork etc. don't warrant what they are trying to represent. Not only are we talking about dream theater, a successful progressive metal band, that have been around for 20+ years that make their music epic and somewhat flashy and grandiloquent/theatrical/emotive/whateveradjective etc., but how do these names not warrant what they are trying to represent when you haven't even heard the music yet OR the lyrical content?!
I would sincerely appreciate someone educating me, and others, on this.

[Naikon]

I really recommend viewing this video about the enigma machine. It's really impressive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2_Q9FoD-oQ

[johncal]

Personally i think it sounds just as pretentious to say the song titles sound pretentious.