https://youtu.be/c1-_ge1s_9E
Track by track discussion with MM and JLB
-Marc.
When I heard the song and read the lyrics, I immediately said, "This is Dream Theater's Highway Star". It's awesome that James articulated it the exact same way.
What I don't understand is why it's a bonus track to begin with. I mean, usually, when I think of bonus tracks, I think of songs that maybe were considered for the cutting room floor, because they just felt a little bit like filler or didn't quite live up to the standards of the band. But like it or not, one thing this song isn't is filler. It certainly has its own unique presence and personality, and it's so different from what DT has done in the past, that it feels weird that they'd choose to omit it from the standard edition of the album.
To say that it's a bonus track because it doesn't really fit DT's usual style is like saying, "We should sound only a certain way, and this isn't really a Dream Theater style song," and that kind of sits the wrong way with me, because DT has always been about experimentation and doing unique things with pre-established styles and genres (heck, The Astonishing had a song with a Tango beat), and this song is no exception.
So yeah, I really hope this song receives enough positive attention to maybe encourage them to embrace some of these more out there ideas and incorporate them into the core of their next album. Even if a little bit. I mean, one of the things that really made me pay notice to the band was that ragtime solo in The Dance of Eternity. And maybe that's where some of the criticism for DT's lack of experimentation these days is coming from, is that we don't get those moments with bold stylistic choices that much anymore.
Well, in any case, I love Viper King, and I really hope we'll hear more stuff like this (or something completely different) from DT in the future.