Dream Theater - Octavarium

[kingcrim05]

I'ev had Octavarium for the past week or so and have easily listened to it 100 times already. Listened to it all day every day. It's how i absorb my music, i have to memorize it to be able to fully comprehend and appreciate it. That being said, OCTAVARIUM ROCKS.

It's a cross between Falling into Infinity and Train of Thought. Now, i know you're thinking both of these album were weaker in regard to their other albums. I agree. But take the finest points from both album and you have Octavarium. It's like two ugly parents having a beautiful baby.

I'm sure my version isn't the mastered version so i'll pick up the cd hopefully sometime within this next week here.

As far as 6DoIT is concerned Dusty, what didn't you like about the audio? Both discs were mixed well i would say. Disc two gets messy but disc one, especially Blind Faith, wow. Still gives me shivers...

EDIT: I forgot to mention how well LaBrie and Rudess sound on this album. It is easily the best album for both of these two members of the band. Petrucci is more laid back and is more "tasteful" this time around and it sits really well with me. Portnot and Myung do what tehy do best, keep the train moving while not letting it get boring...

After my first few listens i thought it was another average ALBUM, although i knew that LaBrie was really on with this one. I thought BONUS, LaBrie normally just gets in the way but here we have a decent album with a decent LaBrie...

Just wait until you hear some of the Keyboard solo's in the song Octavarium, or you let Panic Attack take hold of you and then the ending of Sacrificed Sons won't let you look away...

Only downfall is that it's going to be a 23-minute encore when they tour =/ I wish they'd do more!

[kexodusc]

I've heard a few people mention that they're shortening up their songs on this album...I don't buy it...the songs average over 9:20 in length, and about 7:30 without the last song...that's still as long or longer than most prog/art rock bands today...
Sometimes ya got to know when to keep things short too - maybe DT listened to all those people that complained about them "wanking"?

[kingcrim05]

Yeah there is absolutely no wanking on this album. Train of Thought was all wanking...

I think they realized what a piece of junk ToT was and really stepped up this album......

I'm in love....

[kexodusc]

Yeah there is absolutely no wanking on this album. Train of Thought was all wanking...

I think they realized what a piece of junk ToT was and really stepped up this album......

I'm in love....

This is funny, whenever I see one of their shows I get similar comments - DT's fanbase is pretty diverse, almost nobody has the same favorite album or songs...I really liked ToT and didn't find it to be much wanking at all...Yngwie Malmsteen is wanking.

It's probably my 3rd favorite behind Scenes From A Memory and Images And Words.
Most fans I know like their first two albums the most.
It's all good though...

[kingcrim05]

SFaM is by far their best album, without question. IaW is most likely my second favorite. I'm thinking Octavairum has a change to climb up to #2 though soon. Awake is somewhere next followed by 6DoIT. Falling Into Infinity is somewhere next (Hell's Kitchen should have been on another album..). When day and dream unite and train of thought are towards the bottom...

What do you like about train of thought? There is almost no rudess. It's all petrucci wanking around doing solo's that he can't even remember. Rudess made some comment on the DT website that he wasn't even bothering to learn the Petrucci solo's on that album because they were so bad and he wouldn't be able to replicate them anyways...

At first i said i wasn't going to see Dream THeater on this tour. Now that i'm thinking about it, i'm going to skip their huge tour and catch them on their An evening with tour....

[kexodusc]

I like every song on ToT except the the opening track and the really slow one...the finale is killer, and the instrumental is equally as good...sorry, can't remember any titles.

I thought ToT was just solid stuff for the most part, not their best but far from their worst.. At times it was heavy for the sake of heavy though, that's my only complaint.
Oh well, maybe we like the same ice cream instead?

[kingcrim05]

I just find it interesting because ToT is their album that is most like itself. Meaning, the songs from one to another are very similar in sound and structure. There isn't much variance around the album...

...and i mention this because SFaM is most likely their most diverse album. This album has it all from screaming vocals to shredding guitar to theatricals to thundering drums...it's all in there...

You say these are two of your favorites yet i don't see how that can be....What do you appreciate Dream Theater for?

The instrumental, Stream of Conciousness, is probably my favorite song on there. In the Name of God, the final song, is also one of my favorites. I could also do without Vacant (the slow song) and As I Am (it was their song to get on the radio, and it did! Here in Minneapolis it won the battle of the songs orw hatever on the local hard rock station 5 days in a row. Too bad it sucked, huh? ). And the rest of the songs all sounds the same to me.

ToT was an album without feeling yet SFaM was focused on the feeling....

To wrap up this stoned entry, i think Octavarium brings us back to a Dream Theater that isn't trying to impress others. There isn't a weak song on the album as far as i'm concerned.....Something i can't say they've done since...well...SFaM =)