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  1. #26
    Musicaholic Forums Moderator ForeverAutumn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr Peabody
    No one willing to try or comment on Scar Semetry ?
    No comment because I've not heard it. But you'll be happy to know that I finally heard a Disturbed song on the radio that I liked. I couldn't tell you which song though.

    As for the DT disk...After three spins, I like this one a lot. This is way better than ToT, IMO Kex. But to be fair, I should give ToT a fresh listen since it's been a long time since I've heard it.

    This is a nice mix of heavy and melodic. There is one section of The Shattered Fortress (aprox. 8:30 - 9:30) where the melody is taken directly from another song (off of Octavarium, perhaps) which surprised me until I realized that this tune is part of Portnoy's suite about his alcoholism. Once I realized that, the melodic connection made more sense.

    So when they get to the word "Philosophers" in A Rite of Passage, does anyone else just want to automatically sing "and Ploughmen" instead of "and Leaders"?

    Overall I love the music that this band puts out. But they really need to work on the lyrics. I just find them juvenile for the most part. It's a good thing that lyrics are one of the last reasons that I listen to a band of this genre.

    I haven't had time to get to the covers or instrumental disks yet. I want to spin BC&SL a few more times, but perhaps I'll crack open the covers disk on the weekend.

    Hearing this disk has renewed my excitement about the Progressive Nation tour later this summer.

  2. #27
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    I am luke warm with DT. I don't know if it's the vocals or the melodic isn't that good, I can't put my finger on it but I'm pretty much convinced to put this one on my list though.

    I agree on juvenile lyrics, especially these bands who try to make a come back. It's a bit strange to be 45 and still singing about the stuff one has on their mind as a teen.

  3. #28
    Musicaholic Forums Moderator ForeverAutumn's Avatar
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    I didn't mean Juvenile in the sense that the topics are juvenile. I guess that I just figure that after more than 25 years of song writing Petrucci could come up with something better than,

    A nightmare to remember
    I'd never be the same
    What began as laughter
    So soon would turn to pain

    The sky was clear and frigid
    The air was thick and still
    Now I'm not one to soon forget
    And I bet I never will

    Picture for a moment
    The perfect irony
    A flawless new beginning
    Eclipsed by tragedy

    The uninvited stranger
    Started dancing on his own
    So we said goodbye
    To the glowing bride
    And we made our way back home


    I'm not going to put the whole song here, but this stuff just reminds me of something that I might have written for a high school poetry class (hence the reason that I'm not a professional songwriter today).

    Now, musically, this is a killer tune! But lyrically, it really sucks.

  4. #29
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    Now, musically, this is a killer tune! But lyrically, it really sucks.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    BUT...........those lyrics are better than what Portnoy wrote in that tribute to his Father.
    Nice song -- nice tribute -- bad lyrics.............simply undeveloped.



    Like the old Deep Purple................

    "Some stupid with a flare gun.............."

  5. #30
    Musicaholic Forums Moderator ForeverAutumn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MasterCylinder
    BUT...........those lyrics are better than what Portnoy wrote in that tribute to his Father.
    Nice song -- nice tribute -- bad lyrics.............simply undeveloped.
    When ToT came out, I remember thinking that Honor Thy Father must have been about Portnoy’s childhood and that he was an abused child. Another song with dreck for lyrics.

    I guess they spend more time on developing the music than on the lyrics...which is just fine with me. It would be nice if they could do both however.

    I was just scanning some lyric sites and some of their best lyrics were penned by Kevin Moore. I guess when he left the band, he left a void that the remaining members just didn't have the talent, or didn't really care, to fill.

  6. #31
    Loving This kexodusc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ForeverAutumn
    As for the DT disk...After three spins, I like this one a lot. This is way better than ToT, IMO Kex. But to be fair, I should give ToT a fresh listen since it's been a long time since I've heard it.

    This is a nice mix of heavy and melodic. There is one section of The Shattered Fortress (aprox. 8:30 - 9:30) where the melody is taken directly from another song (off of Octavarium, perhaps) which surprised me until I realized that this tune is part of Portnoy's suite about his alcoholism. Once I realized that, the melodic connection made more sense.

    So when they get to the word "Philosophers" in A Rite of Passage, does anyone else just want to automatically sing "and Ploughmen" instead of "and Leaders"?

    Overall I love the music that this band puts out. But they really need to work on the lyrics. I just find them juvenile for the most part. It's a good thing that lyrics are one of the last reasons that I listen to a band of this genre.

    I haven't had time to get to the covers or instrumental disks yet. I want to spin BC&SL a few more times, but perhaps I'll crack open the covers disk on the weekend.

    Hearing this disk has renewed my excitement about the Progressive Nation tour later this summer.
    Yeah, lyrically they have always been hit and miss in my mind - when the songs are about something fictional or political they're ok. When they get too deeply personal, well, it's a good thing they write awesome music.

    Know what FA, I've had it over a week now, but I like this album more than ToT, too. The songwriting from start to finish is as good as any prog album I've heard in years. There were spots in Systematic Chaos and Octavarium where I was wondering what they were trying to do. It was just filler to me. But BC&SL strikes the right blend of melody, aggression, complexity, and switches gears at just the right spots. I like every song, a lot.

    The musical journey on "The Count of Tuscany" is killer, it just screams to be heard live. That might be the highlight.

    I think most of the melody in "The Shattered Fortress" is lifted from the other alcoholism songs....It starts with "This Dying Soul" from Tot and goes to "The Glass Prison" from Six Degrees too.

    I believe in the past MP talked about performing the whole suite the way they interlock as intended at some shows or releasing it as a bonus feature on an album or something.

    It's early, but this is album of the year material for me and is going to be very tough to beat. I haven't been this happy with a new purchase since Porcupine Tree's In Absentia.

  7. #32
    Loving This kexodusc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr Peabody
    No one willing to try or comment on Scar Semetry ? Good stuff not quite as artsy as Opeth, melodic lyrics with mixed clean and growling vocals, the music sticking to Metal, soring guitar and keys which give me a DT reference.
    I have "Pitch Black Progress" and "Holographic Universe". They aren't bad at all, but the songwriting is just ok...the problem I have with these guys is after listening to better bands pull off blending complexity with melody in a death metal context, these guys just don't sound as good to me. Unfair to compare them to Opeth, but I reach for their stuff a lot more. I'm all Scandinavian metalled out I think, it has to be damn good now for that stuff to make it on my playlist.

    Still if I was to think of a death metal band today to recommend to kids I guess they're as good as any. I like them better than, say, Children of Bodom.

    I still listen to Scar Semetry a lot for workout music though.

  8. #33
    Musicaholic Forums Moderator ForeverAutumn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kexodusc
    ...and goes to "The Glass Prison" from Six Degrees too.
    Want to hear something funny (or pathetic, depending on your POV)?

    I never bought Six Degrees because it's always been over $30 and I just didn't want to spend that much dough for it. Last December my favourite indie CD store went under and during their clearance blowout, I picked up 6 Degrees at a nice discount (along with some Ayreon, OSI, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, and a few others). In the chaos of renovating our house, the bag of new disks was put in the basement with my boxes of CDs that were still waiting to be unpacked. We finally got around to beginning to unpack the CDs earlier this week and I came across this bag of goodies that I had TOTALLY forgotten about. It was like coming across a lost Christmas present!

    I thought it was exciting and funny. My husband just rolled his eyes and shook his head at me. I think that he thinks it was pretty pathetic.

    It's a sickness. Maybe I should write a suite about my own addiction.

  9. #34
    Loving This kexodusc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ForeverAutumn
    Want to hear something funny (or pathetic, depending on your POV)?

    I never bought Six Degrees because it's always been over $30 and I just didn't want to spend that much dough for it. Last December my favourite indie CD store went under and during their clearance blowout, I picked up 6 Degrees at a nice discount (along with some Ayreon, OSI, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, and a few others). In the chaos of renovating our house, the bag of new disks was put in the basement with my boxes of CDs that were still waiting to be unpacked. We finally got around to beginning to unpack the CDs earlier this week and I came across this bag of goodies that I had TOTALLY forgotten about. It was like coming across a lost Christmas present!

    I thought it was exciting and funny. My husband just rolled his eyes and shook his head at me. I think that he thinks it was pretty pathetic.

    It's a sickness. Maybe I should write a suite about my own addiction.
    Six Degrees was a bit of a miss with me...but it has a few highlights. 2 or 3 songs on Disc 1 are ok, a bit experimental even for them.

    There's 2 or 3 others on the 2nd disc (parts of the title track) that I dug. "Solitary Shell" is a neat tune and the album closer was good.

  10. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by kexodusc
    Six Degrees was a bit of a miss with me...but it has a few highlights. 2 or 3 songs on Disc 1 are ok, a bit experimental even for them.

    There's 2 or 3 others on the 2nd disc (parts of the title track) that I dug. "Solitary Shell" is a neat tune and the album closer was good.
    6DOT has some material that is very strong.
    The first time I saw DT live was on the ToT tour............they did most of that stuff plus a bunch from SCENES FROM A MEMORY............but what was really awesome (and I did not expect) was they came back for the encore and played the entire 2nd disc of 6DOT.............and did it extremely well.............very impressive.

  11. #36
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    Quote Originally Posted by MasterCylinder
    6DOT has some material that is very strong.
    The first time I saw DT live was on the ToT tour............they did most of that stuff plus a bunch from SCENES FROM A MEMORY............but what was really awesome (and I did not expect) was they came back for the encore and played the entire 2nd disc of 6DOT.............and did it extremely well.............very impressive.
    Yeah, the 2nd disc is much better IMO. I did like a few on Disc 1, every now and then I still spin it, it's not bad, just not my fav.

  12. #37
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    Quote Originally Posted by kexodusc
    Yeah, the 2nd disc is much better IMO. I did like a few on Disc 1, every now and then I still spin it, it's not bad, just not my fav.

    I don't totally disagree, kex................on the other hand, I've noticed that when you see these guys live on stage (twice for me), even their "bad" stuff is good.

  13. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by MasterCylinder
    I don't totally disagree, kex................on the other hand, I've noticed that when you see these guys live on stage (twice for me), even their "bad" stuff is good.
    Yeah, for sure. I've seen them 4 times now, and I'm amazed how they can play an old song I've heard before and make it seem like I'm hearing it for the first time. I'm also glad they're not like some bands that refuse to play the old tunes...Last time I saw them they switched to Metropolis Pt 1 in the middle of something off Octavarium...the place went nuts, then finished the rest of whatever tune they interrupted.

    Sometimes you go to a show and the place is packed with a lot of people that have never heard material by the band, or at best are casual fans of whatever group is playing. With DT, you can bet it's mostly die hards and I think that's lead to the high-energy in crowd at the shows I've been to.

  14. #39
    Musicaholic Forums Moderator ForeverAutumn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kexodusc
    Sometimes you go to a show and the place is packed with a lot of people that have never heard material by the band, or at best are casual fans of whatever group is playing. With DT, you can bet it's mostly die hards and I think that's lead to the high-energy in crowd at the shows I've been to.
    The last time I saw DT was the Systematic Chaos tour (I missed Octavarium ). There was a kid (late teens/early 20's) sitting next to me who I started chatting with before the show started. He was a big fan and had never seen them live before. Petrucci was just a god to him. He was so excited to be there that he couldn't sit still in his seat (and it wasn't just the weed). He was asking me what my favourite album was and my favourite song off each album. I think that he was more than a little surprised that an old lady like me (and an old man like BarryL) knew as much about the band as we did.

    I guess I've been to so many concerts in my lifetime that I just don't get that excited any more. It was really cool to watch this kid and listen to him gush about how how happy he was to be there and it reminded me of what I was like 20+ years ago when some of my favourite bands rolled through town...before I became so jaded. It was really cute!

  15. #40
    Loving This kexodusc's Avatar
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    Ha ha...guess I'm not that old yet, I still mark out like a school girl for bands I like.
    Should see me mark out for school girls that I like...

  16. #41
    Man of the People Forums Moderator bobsticks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kexodusc
    Ha ha...guess I'm not that old yet, I still mark out like a school girl for bands I like.
    Should see me mark out for school girls that I like...

    So, I broke into the palace
    With a sponge and a rusty spanner
    She said : "Eh, I know you, and you cannot sing"
    I said : "That's nothing - you should hear me play piano"

  17. #42
    Loving This kexodusc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bobsticks
    Oh yeah, like you never...

  18. #43
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    I don't know Kex, I like Holographic Universe quite a bit. I like SS at least as well as Opeth and I think it's because their songs seem to stay together better, or flow better. Opeth sometimes sounds like their songs were spliced together. I like Prog but give me a bridge or something. Other than Damnation, I have Watershed and Still Life. Still Life is the one I like the best. Maybe it isn't a good comparison between them and SS, SS rocks throughout the song even when it's slow where Opeth seems to take you places. Opeth also keeps a feel about the music where SS gets almost Pop in the melodic passages. What are people calling that style of Metal that SS or Cynic do? Some call Opeth death metal but I don't think they quite fit the mold. In that since that's what SS would be. Sorry to hijack but you guys never come to my threads and talk about my trashy music. You haven't picked up last year's album of the year yet. Let me know if you ever get Indestructible. Pretty certain it's their best or at least as good as Sickness.

    Do you have, or even like, Nightwish, Tristania, Sirenia or Epica?

  19. #44
    Loving This kexodusc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr Peabody
    I don't know Kex, I like Holographic Universe quite a bit. I like SS at least as well as Opeth and I think it's because their songs seem to stay together better, or flow better. Opeth sometimes sounds like their songs were spliced together. I like Prog but give me a bridge or something. Other than Damnation, I have Watershed and Still Life. Still Life is the one I like the best. Maybe it isn't a good comparison between them and SS, SS rocks throughout the song even when it's slow where Opeth seems to take you places. Opeth also keeps a feel about the music where SS gets almost Pop in the melodic passages. What are people calling that style of Metal that SS or Cynic do? Some call Opeth death metal but I don't think they quite fit the mold. In that since that's what SS would be. Sorry to hijack but you guys never come to my threads and talk about my trashy music. You haven't picked up last year's album of the year yet. Let me know if you ever get Indestructible. Pretty certain it's their best or at least as good as Sickness.

    Do you have, or even like, Nightwish, Tristania, Sirenia or Epica?
    Don't mind Epica and Nightwish, but in that mold I prefer one of the originals in Therion.

    I have Tristania's last 2 albums (I think, Illumination and Ashes?). I like them, these guys are interesting to me, not just the multiple vocalists but because their one of the few goth-oriented bands that, to me at least, rely more on the musical structures and songwriting than image, look, and lyrics, and they have a unique thing going.

    Sirenia, don't care for at all, don't hate them, just found them boring.

    A lot of the Scandinavian metal acts are very talented, but I don't find them as interesting as I did when I was younger. No staying power after the first few listens. I really find a a lot of the heavier, goth/death/black/symphonic metal stuff has lost it's way in recent years. In Flames is still doing their thing, and I don't mind them.

    Not really any of the above genres but of recent years, but for modern metal acts Mastodon is probably my fav - they're not as heavy but they have a more unique, creative spin on the genre in my mind (and I love the drums). I don't get tired of their stuff.

    I do have a soft spot for Iced Earth for some reason, cheesy as it is.

    Think I'm just outgrowing the music. Opeth is a whole other animal though for me. It's not something you can just throw on for 4 minutes to rock-out too admittedly.
    But their use of dissonance and consonance, the contrast of discord and harmony, timely transition heavy and mellow, and knowing when to apply tension and when to relieve it in their songs makes for a roller-coaster ride musically. I never get tired of them. Their music has so much going on at so many levels. Would love to see them live.

  20. #45
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    The Scandanavian thing renewed my interest in Metal. So far it has good staying power with me.

    I like the use of chorus when done correctly. I have Nightwish, Once. So far their other albums only heard by sample hasn't interested me. Like you, Tristania is probably my favorite, I have Beyond the Veil and..... World of Glass. I like them both really well. Viland left Tristania and formed Sirenia some time back. I admit their songs are more hit and miss although I can usually listen to the entire album with out skipping a track. I think Sirenia tries to be more experimental. I have Elixir for Existence and recently Sixes & Sevens. I'll have to check out the bands you mentioned. i got the impression Nightwish and Tristania were the originals in the Gothic type sound. I also found Mastadon real heavy from the samples, are they more Prog? Which is your favorite, i find we are similar in taste on most Metal.

  21. #46
    Loving This kexodusc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr Peabody
    I also found Mastadon real heavy from the samples, are they more Prog? Which is your favorite, i find we are similar in taste on most Metal.
    Mastodon is a bit proggy, but not like what you'd think of when you think prog-metal. More so than some of the above, but they don't get into the lengthy and complex song structures like Opeth does. Nothing like some of the Scandinavian metal stuff we're talking about, Mastodon has more of a Rush meets Pantera, thrashy thing going on. Hard to explain, you just have to buy an album and dive in. I'm sure you'd dig them.

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    You didn't say which Mastodon to buy. I forgot to say, Opeth came through here toward end of last year, I am still kicking myself for not making the show. I have a Therion song on my mp3 player that came from a sampler, it didn't sound like the Goth stuff, with the chorus accents etc. Is there more to them?

    Have you ever heard Echoes Of Eternity? I have Forgotten Goddess. It's not for every one I'd say but I found it interesting and fun. I recently picked up a Lamb Of God album, Ashes of the Wake and I think their drummer is good and this album kicks butt.

    I bought the last In Flames album which was my first and i really like it. I also picked up Bullet For My Valentine, Scream, Aim, Fire, this is a really good album and their drummer is impressive as well. A review I read labeled bands like this "Screammo". Two very good Rockin albums though, great for work out. Can to liken Iced Earth to any one? I saw them given as a recommendation but haven't given them any attention yet.

  23. #48
    Man of the People Forums Moderator bobsticks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kexodusc
    Oh yeah, like you never...

    That was a classic post and you know it...and, much like Jimmy Carter, I've sinned in my mind...but try provin' it...
    So, I broke into the palace
    With a sponge and a rusty spanner
    She said : "Eh, I know you, and you cannot sing"
    I said : "That's nothing - you should hear me play piano"

  24. #49
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    Kex, I checked out Therion, excellent, they seem to embody aspects of all the other bands into one and even go further with instruments the others don't use. I'm going to try Deggial and it was hard to decide between it and Secret of the Ruins. There are several others I didn't check out. I did listen to the 2007 album Gothic something but the earlier stuff sounded a bit better. i also listened to Crack The Sky samples and it sounds a bit different than what I remembered of Mastodon. Didn't there earlier stuff have more growling?

    Know anything of Gojira?

  25. #50
    Musicaholic Forums Moderator ForeverAutumn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bobsticks
    That was a classic post and you know it...
    I know it made my skin crawl.

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