Okay,
so, first of all, I apologise if my english is sometimes wrong and I hope I won't make too many mistakes.
That being said, hello everyone, I'm new on DTF and I'd like to share with you my experience of DT so far 'cause I think that's a cool thing to do as a first post. Also because I have so many things to say about this amazing band even though I've only been listening to them for 4 months.
I've always listened A LOT to music ever since I discovered metal when I was around 7 years old I think. The first band I fell in love with was Sonata Arctica and I still love them to this day. Then slowly my love for the genre extended to Stratovarius, Nightwish, Edguy/Avantasia, Blind Guardian... These bands defined what made music so magic to me. So, as you can guess, I come more from a power metal background than from a prog one. At that time, the closest thing to prog I knew was maybe Stratovarius' 18-minute Elysium or some 'crazy' stuff on SA's Unia album.
Dream Theater was also a name I always knew, but somehow I was never really eager to listen to them. I looked at the covers of their albums, checked the songs' lengths and felt 'woah, these guys are something, I'll have to be ready in order to dig their music!'. I did try to listen to Octavarium (the song) twice in the past but I remember absolutely nothing of it other than that it sounded strange, damn long and confused.
Then one day I found Ayreon and when I learned that it was classified as prog but was also a project with various singers very much like Avantasia and that I already knew some of these singers, I said to myself 'this must be the time to slowly try getting in this famous prog metal!'. I listened to 01011001 and was mind-blown, albeit I had mixed feelings in the beginning because of the strange mixture of styles. But that really helped me to open my mind to another genre of music, which I now somehow consider as the logical extension of what I've always been listening to.
That was around 8 months ago I think, and when this summer I watched The Theater Equation incredible performance of James LaBrie (it's definitely something to check out) I knew that finally I had to get into Dream Theater. I listened once again to Octavarium and the song just felt sooooo different from the bits I remembered I could hardly believe it was the same thing. I don't know, suddenly it all made sense! Yes, it is long but it is really structured and the progression of it all feels so well-thought and it's like a huge logical emotional roller coaster, with a big build-up, one epic climax followed by its dramatic conclusion.
I then bought Train of Thought almost immediately, surely because it was the one I could get the fastest and because its dark cover with the distubring illuminati eye coupled with it being filled almost only with songs above 10 minutes promised an exciting experience. I knew from reviews it was not really an album that can sum up all of DT style since it's almost only on the heavy side of the thing, but damn I had looked up for this band for so long and was finally hooked it felt like the best start possible. No need to say the first listening blew me away even though it was a lot to take at once, but I knew right away after ITNOG ended with that last epic piano part from Rudess that I was going to love it.
So that's for the bit of history and now that I'm sure DT is my thing I'd like to share what I think of the 4 albums I've got so far and my general thoughts about the band.
- Train of Thought: A complete classic album from beginning to end, where you could almost say each new track is better than the previous one, or at least if feels that way at first when listened to as a whole. Very metallica-influenced (and I don't really like metallica) but with some wizardry only DT possesses that turns it into something else. Over-the-top, bombastic, epic prog metal (or maybe metal prog) with a very cohesive feeling to it. Favorite songs: TDS, ES, SoC (+Vacant), ITNOG.
- DT12: yep, the next one I listened to was DT12 because I went to a local metal music store and it was the only one they had I could afford (the other they had was SC but only the special edition so it was bit more expensive). Completely different from ToT, with a much mellower sound overall but also great in its own way. Also a logical progression throughout the album with IT summing up pretty much everything the record is about at the end, both musically and lyrically. A well-done mixture of fun and energy, sensibility, beauty, intensity. Really, a great great record which sounds 'mature' in spite of a better word. Favorite tracks: TEI, TBP, STR, IT.
- Systematic Chaos: so of course I went back and bought the special edition the next time. How should I descirbe this one? Hmm, I think the title speaks for itself in the end. I had a lot of trouble getting into it at first since every song is so different from each other (except for CM and TDEN which works well together as the heavy tandem but still they're isolated from the rest). But in the end it's also its strenght because I was constantly surprised when I discovered it. And I think dividing ITPOE into two parts was a wise choice because it feels really great when you listen to it as a whole to come back to the very first song in the end after having gone trough such a 'mess'. Favorite songs: ITPOE (full song), TMOLS, Repetance, then I love all of the rest equally (and I LIKE it!).
- Images and Words: I bought it next since it is almost unanimously considered as one of their best, if not the best. What surprised me the most was really that 90s vibe I was not expecting! I feel it is a great record as a whole and of course I had to love the most praised songs since they are not praised without reason but other than that it has still to grow on me. Pull me under is a fine song but I much prefer the verses and the pre-chorus melody to the rest of the song, the intro melody is good as well but maybe drags on for a bit too long and the riff are maybe too monotonous. I can understand why it is a classic song but it is far from being the epitome of what DT's music is. Favorite tracks: LTL (+Wait for sleep), Metropolis Pt. I, Surrounded.
So, from this I've noticed some characteristics which are part of why I love so far what I know of DT. First of all, each album is pretty unique and works very well on its own as a great experience from beginning to end. At the moment I love them all for different reasons and could not rank them whatsoever. Another thing is that they're all completely different, I'd even dare to say that each song I know so far is different and got its own distinctive aspects. The band's technique is of course impressive but what impresses even more is that they seem to ALWAYS have ideas, I guess they like to jam a lot! The only letdown could be that they do not hide their influences or that they sometimes tend to show-off a little to much in the songs but I don't even see how I could hold that against them when they turn everyhting into gold and create pure art. Plus, they seem so humble and down-to-earth you can't help but love them!
In the end, what matters to me the most is whether the music comes from the heart and is intense, whatever that may mean depending on the style, and I'm glad I've found that with DT. I know they are a controversial band since they've done so many things and some songs are almost opposites but I can't help but respect them deep down inside and be happy for everything they put out. I'm very confident I'm going to like almost everything from them (maybe WDADU aside!). I want to thank them for keeping on creating true music.
So, next I will get SDOIT which I have already ordered, now I just have to wait for it to be delivered. I'm expecting it to be epic, to explore the different aspects of their sound and that I will be completely blown away by the 42-minute self-titled song, maybe the best thing they've ever done or at least close to it. It sounds so promising I'm very excited! I also intend to get The Astonishing for Christmas since its their latest work and this huge, ambitious concept album that I am sure will not disappoint whatever the controversial opinions are once again. I'm very glad that a band that's starting to get old like them still puts that much effort into their music and wants to create a real experience from it. If the structure is well-done, who knows, it may even rise as being my favorite concept album (at the moment the title belong to Ayreon's Theory of Everything which I consider as an almost perfect record, look at my avatar!).
I've already written a lot but I'm pretty sure I've forgotten almost half of what I wanted to say originally, but anyway I think that's it.
Bottom line is: DT's got a new huge fan.