Brand New Dream Theater Fan Needing Some Direction Please!

[TAC]

Plus I disagree that they are past their prime.

[jayvee3]

Not that all Mangini(The new drummer of the last 4 albums) albums should be DQ'd from listening, you should get there eventually, but that would just be a strange place to start a new fan interested in exploring the rich history of the band. 

Not if the person asking was first drawn to the band by listening to the most current album, which is the case here.  For that person, the newer albums are an ideal place to start.

Agree to disagree here... I love everything Dream Theater does but they are a bit past their prime.   That's not an insult just a fact of life.   People get older.     Why not start with the classics that made Dream Theater the mecca of music that they are today?   I suggested listening to the new album alongside the classics as well to enjoy the discussions with everyone. 

I think MOST of this fanbase does not have the Mangini era album's in their top 3.     If someone heard a Paul Mccartney song from Chaos and Creation and it peaked their interest in Paul Mccartney I wouldn't tell them to listen to all of his stuff from the 2000's..... I would tell him to listen to his early solo stuff and the Beatles.   

OR if somebody heard a great Maiden song from one of their newest albums I would tell them to check out Number of the Beast.. same thing maybe more applicable to this forum

I get what you are saying.  And I'm not trying to change your opinion on current DT.  I'm just saying that I find your approach a bit strange.  If someone likes the sound of a particular song, I think it makes more sense to refer them to more stuff that sounds similar to what they like, instead of first referring them to something that sounds completely different. 

I was just about to reply the exact same thing. It’s why I recommended D/T, Scenes and ADTOE as it is more likely to be in line with the style that attracted this particular listener in the first place. I grew up loving I&W but also understand I first listened to it in the early 90’s off the back of a glam rock, hair band era. I can definitely appreciate it’s what got me into the band and new listeners may indeed love it. But even I don’t revisit it that much any more. I would tend to go more with a sound akin to what they heard and enjoyed, plus a bit of a different concept experience with Scenes. I sort of liken it to the two, fun rapper guys who do the video reviews - they loved As I Am and Fall into the Light, but had a hard time getting their heads around Metropolis...

[lovethedrake]

Fair points all around.

Also TAC, dream theater is always amazing no matter when it is but I consider their prime to be late 90s/early 2000s.  Crazy to say but we are 20 years past scenes from a memory.

I haven’t heard D/T yet though but even if it’s as good as the 90s albums I would call a great album by a veteran band rather than an album of a band in its prime.  Although I loved the astonishing also so don’t mistake my comment as insinuating they aren’t still rocking out strong.

[Herrick]

I’d honestly pick up the new album Distance over Time on Friday first of you like what you’ve already heard and spend some time with that. I would then actually recommend Scenes From A Memory and A Dramatic Turn of Events. They give a good cross section with a more modern sound. If you like those, then explore away - I&W is actually a little dated and I love Awake, but I still think those albums are a good start 👌

I agree, I'd actually argue that I&W would turn off someone who's interest got sparked with the new singles.

Trust me, Images and Words has not worked as a starter pack for kids raised to the last two decades' music in my experience. PMU and Metropolis is ok, but Another Day and LtL is just dated for them.

Herrick agrees with these mangs. I started out with Images and Words and the overall sound was pretty dated even back then in 2001. Some of Moore's keyboard sounds still make me cringe to this day despite how much I love that album. At the time I was listening to lots of Death Metal and stuff. I wasn't into anything light-sounding as far as Metal goes. Some how I really got into Images & Words. It didn't take months or years to grow on me. But yeah, I wouldn't recommend it for a noob.

[lucidlydreaming]

So cool!  Enjoy your journey OP!

I'm an old fan from '99 who's just now rediscovering DT...I kinda strayed away from prog and metal after Systematic Chaos and just listened to more pop music.

This new album is the most I've been excited about a DT release in a looooooong time (I keep tabs on the band from time to time out of nostalgia).