I think some are still under the foolish impression that just because we can't hear him singing that that he means he isn't singing, rather than the obvious, which is that he singing, but very low in the mix at times or singing along to a pre-recorded backing vocal that is higher in the mix.
Honestly, I fault DT for this, same as I fault Rush at times with Lifeson. We know they are singing because *at times* you can hear them, however if you're going to use a backing track you need to adjust levels so that the people singing can be heard at least on level with the backing tracks, otherwise it ends up looking silly.
I don't know that there is anything to "blame" them for. The thing is, John doesn't
want to be higher up in the mix. He wants to do a harmony that is much lower in the mix. I realize it may look odd at times when we cannot pick his voice out, but we can see him totally going for something that
looks like it is challenging for him. But he just wants his voice to blend in lightly in the background. That's what he explained to me when I asked him about it. And I get it.
Here's an example that kind of illustrates what they are doing: I will submit to you that most of us do not hear a lot of what is going on in backing tracks on albums. An example that helped me see this point rather vividly was when I entered a contest years back where Queensryche would send you an instrumental backing track for some of their songs, and you could record your own lead part and send it back, and if it was good enough, you got picked as a finalist to compete to sing onstage with the band. I got mine, and when listening to the instumental only demos, I was
shocked at the fact that with the lead vocals missing, I could hear backing vocals
very low in the mix that I had never even realized were there. I could not consciously hear them because of the much more clear and dominant (and louder) lead. But they absolutely enhanced the lead vocal once the whole thing was mixed together.
The last time I saw DT, I was there when they were sound checking On The Backs Of Angels and part of The Enemy Inside. For whatever reason, James did not come out for soundcheck, so it was only the band. Without James singing lead, and with a
much quieter auditorium (there were only three of us there, not counting Frank Aresti and his wife, who were watching from stage left), and standing just a few feet from John, I could hear exactly what he was singing and could hear how low he was in the mix, and how his harmonies would not necessarily be very audible once we had James loudly singing lead and an auditorium full of screaming fans. And I could also hear how his harmonies, despite being very low in the mix, would enhance the lead vocal even if you could not pick them out, much like the soft harmonies in that Queensryche instrumental track that I mentioned above.
So, we might not necessarily agree with the decision as fans, but it is a conscious decision by the band, and I get the rationale.
Again, JP with the lip synching. 
He even makes the "screaming face" as if he's singing the high part.
Yeah, my guess is that he's making that face because he's actually singing the notes. You might want to check your facts before you make silly accusations.
Relax!
On LALP, are you saying JP is ACTUALLY singing the screams on BMUBMD?
'Cause he does it there too.
I am quite relaxed, but I find it comical and misinformed to make such a dumb statement.
And as to your question, I think it is highly unlikely that John is doubling the
main scream that we are hearing in James' voice. That is James on the backing track. But based on what I know from what I have seen and heard myself, I can say two things with different degrees of certainty: (1) I am fairly certain (I would say in the 80-90% range) that he is actually singing
something and not lip synching. (2) My educated guess is that he is not mirroring James' scream that you hear in the backing track, but is "screaming" a harmony with it that is much lower in the mix. (he does a similar thing on the parts in "The Mirror" where the lead "spoken word" part is definitely the backing track, and JP is doing a low harmony. It is
much harder to hear because he is so low in the mix
and is also basically "speaking" the note at low volume on top of that, but he is definitely not faking it)
Topic: New Live Release: BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL discussion thread (Read 219454 times)