Even though I just posted First Impressions today, I am now basically 4 plays through the songs.
I thought I'd share where I am with this.
I really enjoyed my first couple of listens. The music is really good, the hate on the vocals was overrated, and the songs were pretty strong.
I am noticing some warts though.
There's a reason Dream Theater are the standard bearers of this genre. Mostly, it's Dream Theater's musicality. They are melodically superior while still displaying virtuosic chops. And for me, they have a vocalist that pulls emotion out of me.
1. Seems like Ross is a lightning rod around here. The positive.. I think he sounds fine. He's an excellent vocalist with range and variation. I don't have an issue with his voice.
BUT... I'm not saying he doesn't sing with passion, because I think he does, but for the most part, it's not really drawing it out of me. There's a handful of melodic choruses that are really effective though, but not every song is blessed with one.
2. The keyboards... Again, my point of reference is again, Dream Theater. No one is more wanky than Jordan, but 95% of the time, he's doing what is right for the song. I think of the brilliant piano outro to Transcending Time. There's nothing even remotely as moving in these songs. As much as Jordan stands out, his accompaniment is amazing. With Haken, I feel like this guy has no idea how to...blend. I don't mind keyboards in my music, but there's a tastefulness that is lacking generally. There ARE exceptions to this though. But generally..
And I am frankly not a fan of electronic elements in my music. 7:15 of ITNOG is as much electronica as I want in my music.
3. I'm hearing low tuned guitars. That is grating.
4. The drumming is fantastic, as is the bassist.