how did you discover Dream Theater?

[CharlesPL]

forum iron maiden 2003 year,I listened to TOT and it started.

[bosk1]

how did you discover Dream Theater?

I was looking for a passage to India, but Dream Theater got in the way.

[Zook]

I believe I first saw them mentioned on the unofficial Offspring forums, but everyone was trash talking them. The usual stupid critisisms, boring, cant write songs, LaBrie sounds like a girl. Unfortunately I based my opinion around that, and moved on. The more I got into metal the more I saw their name pop up, but it wasn't until I was getting into Symphony X that I heard my first Dream Theater song: Surrounded. On a review for Twilight in Olympus, the reviewer mentioned the striking similarities in the opening to Through the Looking Glass to Surrounded, so I checked out the DT song. I guess it was ok, so I put it on a mix CD. I wasn't sure about the vocals, but the song was growing on me. The next time I went to the local CD store I asked about DT and was recommended Live at Budokan. I was quite shocked when I looked at the track list as every song was like over ten minutes long. The only song I remember actually catching my attention was The Test That Stumped Them All, but I ended up trading it back.

I was already downloading music, but discovered some new and awesome websites where I could download full albums! Rhapsody would be the first victim (still haven't listened to any, this was in 2006), but then I found a torrent of Images and Words. Unfortunately the first track was corrupt, noted in the description, but it was cool, I just faded out the cut off. Images and Words became my favorite new album. I played the hell out of it. Then I discovered DT.net and learned that Pull Me Under is supposed to stop suddenly. I didn't ask, a bunch of people already had. But I didn't own the album yet, so I just continued listening to the faded out version. Soon I bought my first DT album, Scenes from a Memory (technically second if you count LaB), got IAW for Christmas and the rest of their discography over the next year, including Live at Budokan again.

[jmasterx]

My cousin, back in 2005 showed me Octavarium (Album).

But, I actually really got into them by looking up A7X and learning more about their replacement drummer M.P.

From there I went out and bought a couple albums and now I have them all.

[jsbru]

Seems like getting used to JLB's voice is somewhat of a rite of passage.    That, and the fact that so many people in this thread mention taking a while to get used to DT in general.  The music is so complex that it takes a couple of listens to get used to it.

I have friends that would forsake their own mother to see a Yes show or a Metallica show, but after about 5 years of trying, I simply couldn't get them into DT.  The #1 complaint was JLB's voice.  I'm used to it by now and have grown to love it, and he has unbeatable range, but I think some of the comments MP made are sort of valid -- if DT is going to be a metal band, they could attract more fans with a different singer.  He sounds like he's singing opera.  Of course, I'd rather them not be a metal band and go back to the styles of I&W and Awake...styles for which JLB's voice is just fine.  But if they are to go the Progressive Pantera route, I think they need someone with a grittier voice.

[XB0BX]

Am I the only person that never had any trouble getting acclimated to JLB's voice? It's never seemed out of the ordinary to me. It's just a voice. A great voice, in my opinion.

[adastra]

Hmm.. Somehow I remember I had replied this post already , But here goes!

It was year 2000 and my brother had come home from his worktrip at Denmark.
at Sunday 8:00am I woked up as he stormed at my room and Threw this CD next to me saying, "You should propably check this shit out!"
It was Scenes from a memomy. So I decided to take a listen to it before getting up from bed. The Music was something like I had never before heard!
I had this rare feeling I get sometimes when I hear music that is larger than life;
1997 - Emperor
1998 - Rammstein
2000 - Dream Theater
2005 - Opeth

What a great day in my life!

[BlobVanDam]

Am I the only person that never had any trouble getting acclimated to JLB's voice? It's never seemed out of the ordinary to me. It's just a voice. A great voice, in my opinion.

Likewise for me. I never had a problem with JLB's voice at all, and I don't know why it's apparently a common thing. My first DT album was SDOIT, and I never gave a second thought to getting used to the vocals.

[The Stray Seed]

Am I the only person that never had any trouble getting acclimated to JLB's voice? It's never seemed out of the ordinary to me. It's just a voice. A great voice, in my opinion.

Likewise for me. I never had a problem with JLB's voice at all, and I don't know why it's apparently a common thing.

Count me in too.

[Podaar]

Likewise for me. I never had a problem with JLB's voice at all, and I don't know why it's apparently a common thing. My first DT album was SDOIT, and I never gave a second thought to getting used to the vocals.

It could have something to do with when you got into DT. Six Degrees is a completely different animal than the early albums and partially why it is my favorite. JLB tamed.

When I&W came out I really loved it and listened to it a lot but JLB did get on my nerves sometimes. I remember turning down the music when my wife (at the time) came into the room because she would scowl whenever she heard James...and this coming from a big Geddie Lee fan (her not me).

Then when Awake came along and I heard Caught In A Web I literally laughed out loud at the unintelligible and unnecessarily high pitched delivery (4:11 for those who like time stamps) of the melody. This was also the beginning of the breathy-exaggerated-vibrato James which has been revisited many times over the years and is probably my least favorite styling of his...although it's not bad.

It took time but all those moments are now part of the charm of Dream Theater but I will admit I do not lament the passing of screechy JLB. The whole F# worship has never made sense to me. His work since SDOIT is way more my taste.

There is no question that when he is on, there is no one like him. Beautiful, powerful and expressive voice but for many of us it was an acquired taste.

[BlobVanDam]

I don't even understand this fanbase.

IaW was just about the most awesome thing ever to hear for the first time, because of JLB.

[Onno]

I don't even understand this fanbase.

IaW was just about the most awesome thing ever to hear for the first time, because of JLB.

This, completely.

[Podaar]

I don't even understand this fanbase.

IaW was just about the most awesome thing ever to hear for the first time, because of JLB.

This, completely.

  Gentlemen, I bow to your superiority! I'll even break into the superiority dance in your honor

[Polis]

In 9th grade, 2 years ago, my friend randomly was like "dude, on this one album, a guy talks to you in the first like minute. isn't that weird? then he comes back later halfway through the album. actually, the album's pretty cool, you should check it out.."

[Lowdz]

Am I the only person that never had any trouble getting acclimated to JLB's voice? It's never seemed out of the ordinary to me. It's just a voice. A great voice, in my opinion.

Definitely not. I got into the band with CD on vocals and when I heard 2 tracks fom I&W played by a dj in a pub I didn't recognise it as the same band at all. I had to ask him what those 2 awesome songs were and was amazed to find it was DT. I'd heard nothing about them for like 3 years and then blam, new sound, new singer, same awesomeness.
I was into the hair bands of the 80s so JLB was not a shock to me. I thought he was agreat singer. The amount of people I played the Surrounded intro to- "check out this singer!"

If DT had gone the gruff metal singer route I would've likely jumped ship faster than Bruce Ismay on the Titanic.

[Lowdz]

I don't even understand this fanbase.

IaW was just about the most awesome thing ever to hear for the first time, because of JLB.

This.
Those other vocalists DT tried out would have massacred an awesome album. I won't have a bad word said against the Steve Perry of Prog-Metal. 

[Lucien]

I don't even understand this fanbase.

IaW was just about the most awesome thing ever to hear for the first time, because of JLB.

This, completely.

  Gentlemen, I bow to your superiority! I'll even break into the superiority dance in your honor

 

[Whatsername]

Am I the only person that never had any trouble getting acclimated to JLB's voice? It's never seemed out of the ordinary to me. It's just a voice. A great voice, in my opinion.

Definitely a great voice and I loved it from the get-go. However, it threw me for a serious loop when I realized how old he was. I assumed someone with a voice that high had to be younger. It made me respect them even more.

[efx]

For me, the first time I heard about them was when I read an interview or rather a short blurb with some comments from JP and JM in Guitar Player in 89 around the time WDADU came out. Didn't impact me one bit and I probably forgot about this new group right then and there. A couple of years later in 92 a friend of me who was like an older metal-mentor at my dads job told me about this group Dream Theater who had released a new album and it was literally the greatest thing ever. I went out with my dad that day to the record store and we found I&W newly released in the import bin which was twice as expensive but I (or rather my dad) bought it for me. There was something intriguing about long songs and keyboards that I wanted to hear so we took a chance. Still to this day turning that record on without knowing anything and being floored the way I was is a unique experience that I'll cherish forever. As a 15 year old at the time it impacted me a lot in terms of how I listen to music.

[jsbru]

I don't even understand this fanbase.

IaW was just about the most awesome thing ever to hear for the first time, because of JLB.

I&W and Awake are simply awesome.  I had to get used to it, but now that I am, I greatly prefer JLB unleashed to how they've tried to disguise his voice in the most recent albums.  But I think it's mostly due to the music I was into before--Metallica, Megadeth, Pantera, Nirvana, etc.  Mostly I was used to the hyper-alpha male growl voice of thrash metal or the hungover dude voice of Kurt Cobain.  And I was an insecure teenager, so anyone who actually tried to sing really good sounded "wussy."  You had to either growl or pretend like you didn't care to sound cool.

It still boggles my mind how someone who grew up listening to Jon Anderson (my Yes friends) can be so against JLB.  They both can hit the roof of the register, but Anderson sounds like a choir boy when he does it, while JLB sounds like an opera singer.  Still, they don't seem all that different to me.

[PixelDream]

I saw the 'Pull Me Under' played on a late night metal show on TMF, my country's (back then) music channel. The metal show soon disappeared, and nowadays we don't even have a station in the basic channel packet in Holland that plays music, since MTV stopped playing music too.

I soon downloaded Images & Words and listened to some tracks, didn't click right away. So I went on to Symphony X's V, which I liked right away.
A few weeks later I found 'Scenes from a Memory' in my local library, which instantly converted me to a DT fan. I listened to that album for months almost exclusively.

Following that, I began reading DT interviews about their upcoming album 'Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence'. I bought it when it came out, and now it's my favorite DT album (along with I&W and Awake), and while SFAM still holds the honor of getting me hooked on DT, I don't really like it that much nowadays as a recorded piece of work. It is a classic, yes, but I think LSFNY is much more interesting, and that the definitive version of TSCO is on 'Score'.

[Onno]

I saw the 'Pull Me Under' played on a late night metal show on TMF, my country's (back then) music channel. The metal show soon disappeared, and nowadays we don't even have a station in the basic channel packet in Holland that plays music, since MTV stopped playing music too.

I soon downloaded Images & Words and listened to some tracks, didn't click right away. So I went on to Symphony X's V, which I liked right away.
A few weeks later I found 'Scenes from a Memory' in my local library, which instantly converted me to a DT fan. I listened to that album for months almost exclusively.

Following that, I began reading DT interviews about their upcoming album 'Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence'. I bought it when it came out, and now it's my favorite DT album (along with I&W and Awake), and while SFAM still holds the honor of getting me hooked on DT, I don't really like it that much nowadays as a recorded piece of work. It is a classic, yes, but I think LSFNY is much more interesting, and that the definitive version of TSCO is on 'Score'.

Wow, you actually saw music on both TMF and MTV? That was well before my time man. Jammer

[Duhk]

Well this seems like a good thread for a first post.

I read about them in some rock magazine that was actually bagging on them, saying something to the effect of "blah blah wankery blah blah blah...only for guitar nerds". I was 12 and had picked up guitar a few months before and thought "hey, I'm a guitar nerd". I bought Images and Words and it exploded my face. Then I got SFAM, which was the most recent album at the time and it's been my favorite album since. I kinda fell out of being obsessed with them after Train of Though, but I kept up with their albums more or less. I picked up ADTOE a few months after it was released and it was absolutely awesome and now I'm way back into them. TOT thru SC have grown on me a lot since then as well.

[TheGreatPretender]

Very cool! Welcome aboard!

[Podaar]

Mr. Duhk

[Zydar]

Nice, we need more ducks around here. Welcome!

[ytserush]

Looks like I'm the third longest fan here (fourth when Scotty gets here.)



"The Spirit Of Rush Fanzine Number 8 which I bought in New York City about August 1989. On the back inside cover was a Dream Theater feature and When Dream and Day Unite album review that was reprinted from an issue of Kerrang (Never found out what issue it was)
There weren't too many recent bands recording music that I liked in the late 80s save for maybe Kings X, Queensryche, Faith No More and Living Colour.
The feature and review mentioned influences such as Rush, The Dixie Dregs, Kansas, Emerson, Lake and Palmer and at that time it didn't seem like anyone new was recording music with those influences so I was easily suckered in.
I couldn't find the CD anywhere and was forced to spend $17 at a mall chain store for it. I listened to it constantly for about 3 solid months until Presto came out. I never heard another word about them until I stumbled on their mispelled name on the marquee at the Ritz November 14, 1989 opening for the Hogarth-fronted Marillion's debut in New York City.
Yes, I was lucky.
Never heard a word about them again until I found a promo copy of Images and Words for $5 at a spring 1992 record show. It took me a while to get used to James' voice since I'd been listening to Charlie for about 3 years, but I got used to it. James has improved SO much since then.

Anyway, I'll leave you with this amusing quote (I'm not sure who is responsible for it but I think it was the editor) regarding When Dream And Day Unite from The Spirit Of Rush Number 9 (Fall 1989)

"The aforementioned opener (A Fortune In Lies) sums up the album completely--a dense hard rockers paradise with more time changes than the entire Rush and Yes back catalogs put together. A drummer who puts Neil Peart to shame, a vocalist fully capable of holding his own and a sound so full that it actually takes 20 plays to hear everything that's going on in the mix, and all this perfectly crafted and laid down on tape in just four weeks.
Quite frankly, this album rubbishes at least three Rush albums, and the entire Yes series, Emerson, Lake and Palmer's Brain Salad Surgery being the only album I can think of in the same league. I never thought it would happen, but this album makes something like Signals sound resolutely boring; I know I'm going to get hate mail for saying so, but I have to be honest...
If Geddy, Neil and Alex have heard this album, then they probably reacted in one of two ways--become blubbering nervous wrecks, in the knowledge they have some serious young competition, or (hopefully) they have pulled out their fingers in order to show that they can indeed rise to the occasion. This album will either bring out the best in our friends or finish them off..."

That quote was what sold me being a Rush fan.



First CD 1989: When Dream And Day Unite
First Cassette 1992: When Dream and Day Unite promo
First Vinyl 1990: When Dream and Day Unite
First CD single 1990: Afterlife promo
First Cassette single 1992: Another Day
First Video 1993: Live At The Marquee
First DVD 2001: Metropolis 2000 Scenes From New York

It was this very review in Kerrang that led me to DT. I was heavily into the Neo- Classical widdly guitarists and loved Rush so this album sounded right up my street. Bought the cassette version from my local record shop and the rest is history.

You are the ONLY other person I've heard about that got into them because of Kerrang.

Quote from: BlobVanDam on August 20, 2013, 09:13:25 AM
I don't even understand this fanbase.

IaW was just about the most awesome thing ever to hear for the first time, because of JLB.

Lowdz:
This.
Those other vocalists DT tried out would have massacred an awesome album. I won't have a bad word said against the Steve Perry of Prog-Metal. 

That was my initial reaction. Why the hell did this band turn into Journey? Took more than 6 months to get over that.

[LTE3]

WSOU Pirate Radio Seaton Hall college radio station, 1994. A great day had just played golf and heard Caught in A Web. Saw my first show in 98 leaning against the stage right in front of Petrucci. Only bummer was James and Mike  and just cut their hair really short and it looked retarded. Also my ears were ringing for about a week after. DT has def cost me some hearing loss over the years. Sorry going off in tangents here.

[Tis BOOLsheet]

Years back I was in a music chat room and someone suggested Take the Time to me. I listened to it online and was like wow I dont know what to make of this...I've never heard anything like this. I remember later going to Tower Records and buying Images & Words and after that it was all over for me. That album is one of the best things, musically, to ever happen to me.

[purzel]

1993 a friend of mine went to DT concert in Rockfabrik Ludwigsburg Germany to their IaW Tour. He knew that I was a big Heavy Metal fan. I decided to go with him to these guys but at that time I listen more to German Trash Bands like Sodom,Kreator,Tankard and so on. Bands with Keyboards I called pop bands:)
But I thought I'll give them a try a I was hooked right at the beginning of the concert. They played so well a had a great sound I can't believe. that was the best concert in my life ok I was 18 years old but I went to much concerts listen to harder stuff. So I went home bought IaW and loved it. Last year I went to Rockfabrik Ludwigsburg again listen to Mike Portnoys new band Adrenalin Mob(we were maybe 100 people:)) a MP talled us that 20 years ago he played first time in Rockfabrik a he has a lot of memories thinking back a he asked the audience who was there 20 years ago. I raised my hands a I was the only one a he said well guy your a true fan a all people starring at me hahahahahha. so I'm now for 20 years a big DT fan a went to 42 concerts in Europe to see them live but the first one will always be very special to me.

[Lowdz]

Looks like I'm the third longest fan here (fourth when Scotty gets here.)



"The Spirit Of Rush Fanzine Number 8 which I bought in New York City about August 1989. On the back inside cover was a Dream Theater feature and When Dream and Day Unite album review that was reprinted from an issue of Kerrang (Never found out what issue it was)
There weren't too many recent bands recording music that I liked in the late 80s save for maybe Kings X, Queensryche, Faith No More and Living Colour.
The feature and review mentioned influences such as Rush, The Dixie Dregs, Kansas, Emerson, Lake and Palmer and at that time it didn't seem like anyone new was recording music with those influences so I was easily suckered in.
I couldn't find the CD anywhere and was forced to spend $17 at a mall chain store for it. I listened to it constantly for about 3 solid months until Presto came out. I never heard another word about them until I stumbled on their mispelled name on the marquee at the Ritz November 14, 1989 opening for the Hogarth-fronted Marillion's debut in New York City.
Yes, I was lucky.
Never heard a word about them again until I found a promo copy of Images and Words for $5 at a spring 1992 record show. It took me a while to get used to James' voice since I'd been listening to Charlie for about 3 years, but I got used to it. James has improved SO much since then.

Anyway, I'll leave you with this amusing quote (I'm not sure who is responsible for it but I think it was the editor) regarding When Dream And Day Unite from The Spirit Of Rush Number 9 (Fall 1989)

"The aforementioned opener (A Fortune In Lies) sums up the album completely--a dense hard rockers paradise with more time changes than the entire Rush and Yes back catalogs put together. A drummer who puts Neil Peart to shame, a vocalist fully capable of holding his own and a sound so full that it actually takes 20 plays to hear everything that's going on in the mix, and all this perfectly crafted and laid down on tape in just four weeks.
Quite frankly, this album rubbishes at least three Rush albums, and the entire Yes series, Emerson, Lake and Palmer's Brain Salad Surgery being the only album I can think of in the same league. I never thought it would happen, but this album makes something like Signals sound resolutely boring; I know I'm going to get hate mail for saying so, but I have to be honest...
If Geddy, Neil and Alex have heard this album, then they probably reacted in one of two ways--become blubbering nervous wrecks, in the knowledge they have some serious young competition, or (hopefully) they have pulled out their fingers in order to show that they can indeed rise to the occasion. This album will either bring out the best in our friends or finish them off..."

That quote was what sold me being a Rush fan.



First CD 1989: When Dream And Day Unite
First Cassette 1992: When Dream and Day Unite promo
First Vinyl 1990: When Dream and Day Unite
First CD single 1990: Afterlife promo
First Cassette single 1992: Another Day
First Video 1993: Live At The Marquee
First DVD 2001: Metropolis 2000 Scenes From New York

It was this very review in Kerrang that led me to DT. I was heavily into the Neo- Classical widdly guitarists and loved Rush so this album sounded right up my street. Bought the cassette version from my local record shop and the rest is history.

You are the ONLY other person I've heard about that got into them because of Kerrang.

Quote from: BlobVanDam on August 20, 2013, 09:13:25 AM
I don't even understand this fanbase.

IaW was just about the most awesome thing ever to hear for the first time, because of JLB.

Lowdz:
This.
Those other vocalists DT tried out would have massacred an awesome album. I won't have a bad word said against the Steve Perry of Prog-Metal. 

That was my initial reaction. Why the hell did this band turn into Journey? Took more than 6 months to get over that.

Kerrang used to be such a good mag in the 80s, then it died.

[Nofire]

In the spring of 2005, i was a huge Rush fan, and while raving on about Neil Peart to a friend, he suggested that i should check out the drummer of this band called Dream Theater. I had heard some things with them that didn't catch my attention at the time. TGP IIRC, and maybe something else. I looked them up on the internet and saw an interview where MP described themselves as being "Metallica, Rush and Pink Floyd thrown in a microwave together and turned up until exploding". These three bands being my absolute favorites, i realized that i needed to give them another chance. Found the OIALT versions of LITS and Scarred, which totally knocked me. A few weeks later, 8VM was released, and the rest is history.

[Meatrose]

For me it happened gradually so I can't refer to a specific moment. My brother started playing in a band and the other members were really into Dream Theater. My brother started listening to DT at home and I would often hear some bits and pieces of songs coming from his room. Back then I was mostly into regular metal so while I thought that some of the things I heard from his room were pretty cool I didn't become a fan back then. A year or so later I heard something new from his room that caught my interest and I asked him what it was. He told me that Dream Theater had just released a new album called Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence. This was probably the moment I became a fan but to be fair, this was also the first time I sat down to actively listen to one of their songs. 6DOIT was also the first DT album I ever bought.

Okay, so by then I was what I would call a casual fan. I enjoyed listening to their music and I was blown away by their songwriting skills as well as their musicianship but I was definitely not a Dream Theater fanatic. I listened to Train Of Thought when it was released but it didn't blow me away and I never actually went back to explore any of their older albums. A key moment that I actually can point to is the moment I felt as if the song I had just listened to forced me to redefine the word music and what it meant to me. This song was the first to move me to tears on the first listen and it's still to this date the only one to have ever done so. I was completely blown away and overwhelmed. It was Octavarium and I felt as if I had just opened a door that had previously been closed to me. This was when I finally decided to go back and explore their older albums and let me tell you, to have just been "awakened" and to get to experience Images And Words, Awake and Scenes From A Memory for the first time was something truly amazing. The rest is history.

[Kwyjibo]

Just quoting myself from another thread:

A friend of my sister called me one day and said that he had two tickets for a band named Dream Theater and if I wanted to go with him, because the original ticket holder was sick. I asked him what they sound like, because I hadn't heard of them and he replied that they sound like a mixture of Iron Maiden (the heavyness) and Yes (the proginess). Being a fan of both Maiden and Yes I was interested but unfornately couldn't make it because of other commitments. The concert in question was the European leg of the Images and Words tour in 1993.

Some months later I was at the local record store and they had both WDADU and I&W for sale. Remembering what my sister's friend said about them I thought, well, let's give it a try and bought I&W without ever hearing a single note. This was in fact the first time thatI ever bought a record where I haven't heard anything before. I chose I&W because I liked the album cover better, lucky me  . I don't know what would have happened if my first record of DT would have been WDADU.

So anyway, I went home, put the disc in the player, not knowing what to expect and listened closely. Wow, cool intro. Cool guitars and now great drumming and nice keyboards. Now if only the singer is good I'm gonna like this a lot. Then James began singing and I was completely hooked. The next week I bought WDADU and Live At the Marquee and while I liked them I was a bit disappointed especially with WDADU. But I played the shit out of I&W and from then on bought every new DT album on the first day.

Then came Awake and my first DT concert on the Waking up the world tour (2/11/1995 Düsseldorf, Philipshalle). I remember that I thought that Kevin Moore had cut his hair and that he looked different from the photos in the booklet, until I had a closer look and realized that this, in fact, wasn't even Kevin Moore but someone else and I was very surprised. But then this were the days before the internet and info on bands like Dream Theater, who weren't excactly mainstream, were hard to get.

[wasteland]

It must be really weird to go at a gig an find out there's a stranger in place of a band member

Ah, the wonders of the pre-internet era