Being a drummer myself, one of the things that drew me to DT was their huge, emblematic drum sound. But what exactly is their signature drum sound and how did it come to be?
It's quite an uncommon feat to find your signature sound on the debut album (out of all the bands I listen to, only ELP managed to pull that off) and the infamously bad production on When Dream and Day Unite hinders that cause even more. MP said that some of his cymbals at the time were really cheap and, indeed, the china at the the beginning of Only a Matter of Time is by far the worst sounding cymbal I've ever heard on a studio recording.
Things drastically improved with Images & Words, it's still one of my favorite DT albums production- and otherwise. As for the drum sound, the snare and the kick were triggered, giving it a very unique, atypical sound. David Prater, the producer claimed that the rookie MP was unable to keep his hits constant and the drumming sounded like a mess, thus he had to trigger it. I have a hard time swallowing that explanation, but I don't mind it too much, the triggered drums enhance the album's unique atmosphere even if MP himself hates them. They replaced the triggered samples on the Greatest hit... release with sounds that resemble a real kit and are closer to MP's taste, but it flat-out doesn't work. The toms weren't triggered, but they have plenty of tone and ring compared to the deeper, more muffled tone which would come later on, thus I think we're still pretty far from the typical DT sound.
The drum sound on Awake is outstanding. Everything is clean, crisp and sharp. The kick has the perfect balance of attack and power and plenty of both (it rattles my chest like nothing else when I crank the volume up). It's still a pretty classic sounding kick and would change quite a lot later on. The snare, for me, is an acquired taste. It obviously sounds a lot more organic than on I&W, it's powerful and it cuts, but it's a bit dry and the decay at the end is completely and obviously eliminated, giving it a bit of an artificial flavor. Same can be said about the toms. Overall, the kick and the cymbals slay, the rest is so-so. A Change of Seasons sounds similar in character, everything is a bit weaker and thinner, but it sounds great nevertheless. The snare and the toms are somewhat warmer, with a more natural sounding tone.
In my view, Falling Into Infinity marks the point when Mike Portnoy found the his signature drum sound and, with a few alterations over the years (like dampening and fattening his snare and tom sound), stuck with it for the rest of his tenure with DT. The kick got a lot more attack, with that typical clicky sound that can be heard most prominently on Live Scenes, but also on OAILT, LTE 1&2, SFAM and SDOIT. This is the classic MP bass drum sound, which, albeit, changed a little in character, remained essentially the same on ToT, SC and BC&SL. MP's snare sound was the by far the most organic on FII, with plenty of ringing, rich overtones, lots of decay. I love it! Overall, my all-time favorite DT drum sound.
An interesting change occurred on Octavarium and Score. MP's kick drum sound was mostly stripped of that powerful, clicky attack sound and instead pulsated, so you could rather feel it than hear it. Perhaps MP wanted to experiment and thought that this classic approach complemented the sound of Octavarium more. I would agree. The kick drum came back with a vengeance though on Systematic Chaos, louder, more powerful and with more attack than ever before. This trend would continue on BC&SL.
The next big -and anticipated- change in DT's drum sound would come with the arrival of Mike Mangini. Unfortunately, his drum sound on A Dramatic Turn of Events was underwhelming. While the tooone was OK, the drums were low in the mix and thin sounding (by DT standards, of course). The overall character of the sound, while noticeably different, was still reminiscent of the classic MP-DT sound, which many anticipated would change once MM gets full reign.
Which it did, as it became apparent with the release of Dream Theater. Like a large chunk of the fan base, I was a bit disappointed with the new sound as well at first, but it grew on me a lot since. One thing it has got going for it is that it's completely unique and defines the mood of the album, much like with Images & Words. Come to think of it, if I had to describe the drum sound, it's a bit like recreating the I&W sound acoustically (which, in return, makes the whole kit, including the toms, sound electric in a few places). One thing is for certain, this was DT12 exclusive, unique drum sound. It will indubitably change and I can't wait to experience the next step in its evolution.
Topic: DT's drum sound evolution (Read 10014 times)
