Here goes - hopefully it generates some discussion. None of this is meant to bash the band - I'm just trying to be as honest as possible. My opinions are also subject to change - these are my FIRST impressions.
Quite a good post, actually. I disagree with most of it, but hey, we can't all agree on everything. As I read through your points, there were things I flat out disagreed with, and others where my reaction was more, "I don't feel that at all, but I can see where you are coming from." Not worth responding to it all, but just a couple of quick points.
False Awakening Suite
I get the idea behind this, but it’s just doesn’t do anything musically. It doesn’t even function as an overture, it’s just there as a poor man’s Oculus ex Inferni.
4/10
Well, I mean, I
kind of get where you are coming from. I wouldn't put it on par with any of the full-blown songs on the album. But then again, it isn't meant to be put on par with a "regular song" either. It's just an intro to set the mood before the actual songs start. And IMO, it does a pretty good job at that. Is it necessary? No. Is it something that I would ever listen to by itself outside the context of the album? No. But is it something that, by its inclusion, makes the album better by giving a good "setup" before getting into the songs proper? IMO, absolutely yes.
Jame LaBrie
It seems to me that James now just has two modes, his breathy ballad vocals and his mid range heavier vocals. He never was the most dynamic vocalist but this record makes me wish DT had more to offer in this department.
2/10
I disagree wholeheartedly here. Does James go uber high on this album? For the most part, no. Does he go way out on a limb with some very different vocal styles or effects? No. But his vocal lines sound really good to me. And, to my ears, there are a lot more of the soaring vocal lines that were so much a part of his signature sound, which I feel has not been represented as well on recent albums. I honestly feel these songs play to James' strenghts as a vocalist VERY well--much more so than anything in recent memory.