perhaps someone can tell me sth about dream theatre?

[Kaboom]

The other day i mentioned Spock's beard in class and only ONE guy out of 20 knew them. i wasnt too surprised by that though. it cant exactly be considered "mainstream" music. He told me
"if you like new prog, you should give dream theatre a try" so here i am, dloading away to see if the 20 € they'll rip me for the CD are worth it. so anyone can give me a little intro to dream theatre? you like, you hate? what makes them special? any specially cool albums?
thanx!

[Finch Platte]

...pertaining to DT. Here's one: Listening to the new Dream Theatre More if you use the search funk-sean.

The general consensus is that the singer sucks big donkey dick out loud, but the band behind him is golly-gee terrific, if you like prog-metal.

fp

[ForeverAutumn]

The other day i mentioned Spock's beard in class and only ONE guy out of 20 knew them. i wasnt too surprised by that though. it cant exactly be considered "mainstream" music. He told me
"if you like new prog, you should give dream theatre a try" so here i am, dloading away to see if the 20 € they'll rip me for the CD are worth it. so anyone can give me a little intro to dream theatre? you like, you hate? what makes them special? any specially cool albums?
thanx!

You'll find varying opinions about DT around here. But I think that we would all agree that you'll be hard pressed to find a better group of musicians from a technical standpoint. Where our opinions differ is when it comes to the singer (James LaBrie) and how stand-offish the musicianship can be.

Personally, I like LaBrie's voice, but I'm in the minority. A classically trained singer, he can be a little croonish at times and others will argue that his voice is not suited to this type of music. You only need to see him live once, to understand that his stage presence and lack of ego (leaving the stage completely during the instrumentals) make him the perfect match for this very talented group of musicians. There's a synergy there that I don't think would be possible with other singers.

Another criticism often spoken around here is that the music is complicated for the sake of being complicated to show off the talent, rather than because it adds any value to the songs. I'll agree that may be true at times, but I am still always amazed at the proficiency of the talent. And John Petrucci has to be one of the fastest and most talented guitar players of our time.

From a musical standpoint, if you like Prog-Metal, you'll like this. I don't know a lot of Spock's Beard's material. I only have Snow and Day For Night, myself. But I can certainly see how, if you are a fan of Spock's Beard, you would enjoy DT.

From an album standpoint, if you're looking for a place to start...there are three CDs that I can highly recommend. Scenes From A Memory is their signature release. It's a concept CD and is (IMHO) their best. Falling Into Infinity is their most commercially accessible CD. Released in 1997, I think that it has a bit of a hairband sound to it. Many songs on this CD would adapt to FM classic-rock-type stations really well. Lastly, I really liked their last release, Train of Thought. Very well constructed and well played.

The best way to experience and appreciate DT is live. If you don't have the opportunity to take in a live concert, there are several excellent DVDs available.

I'm sure that others here will pipe up with their own opinions. But mine is that, your friend is right, if you're a fan of Spock's Beard, Dream Theater will be right up your alley.

[Dusty Chalk]

In order (my favourites):

Scenes from a Memory
Images and Words -- probably their most "signature" release
Falling into Infinity
A Change of Seasons -- EP, should be cheap, don't pay full price, title track is killer, covers are fun
Awake -- one of their heaviest

Oh, and it's spelled Theater not Theatre.

[Finch Platte]

I thought it was internet for "something".

fp

[MasterCylinder]

cosigns with Autumn.............outstanding band........saw them live last September.


The albums and discs that are reflected above are the most accessible........they went out on a limb with SIX DEGREES OF INNER TURBULENCE but in many ways, it is my favorite release from them.


The singer is much better than he used to be, not in talent, but he is not lost in the 80s hair-band-mode any more. He has matured and, IMO, provides a solid front for the band.

The musicians, as well-said by Autumn, are top-notch and frankly show tremendous virtuoso-level abilities. The bass player & guitar player grew up together in Long Island.......they both met the drummer at the Berklee school of music in Boston, only to discover that he too was from Long Island. The current keyboardist was added much later. Obviously, they are all well-trained technical musicians.

[Kaboom]

sth is short for something. Yap, theater indeed. Sorry! i learnt english in an old-school british boarding school and anything spelt the american way would get SEVERELY penalized. (i think that teacher had serious issues...)
I'm listening to Scenes from a memory at the moment, and i have to admit that the guitar BLOWS ME AWAY! in fact, ALL of the musicians do. i would say the vocalist is "appropriate". not stunning, but appropriate.
Perhaps the music can get a bit too "metal" for me. i used to be a metal-head till i discovered Pink Floyd. nowadays i have to be in the correct mood or otherwise it'll feel like too much noise (goddamn i'm only 18 and that phrase makes me look 60...)
thanx a lot for the responses!

[ForeverAutumn]

Hey Kaboom,
I hear you on Theater/Theatre front. I'm in Canada, where Theatre is considered the correct spelling. I am constantly correcting myself when writing about Dream Theater.

If you like this type of music but want something a little less metal, try a band called Porcupine Tree, if you can find them. Many of their older CDs are now out of print. But Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun sound like they would be right up your alley. These two disks are more spacey-prog than metal. They don't sound like Pink Floyd, but they have the same type of ambience. Their last CD, In Absentia, is pretty easy to find and is a top-notch disk, but is a little heavier than the other two mentioned.

They have a new disk scheduled for release in the next few months. A lot of us here are really looking forward to it!

Happy Listening!
FA

[Dusty Chalk]

I just mentioned it because I thought maybe perhaps if you were searching for sth (MP3's, perhaps?) you might have better luck finding them.

I'm listening to Scenes from a memory at the moment, and i have to admit that the guitar BLOWS ME AWAY!

You should definitely check out Change of Seasons.

i would say the vocalist is "appropriate". not stunning, but appropriate.

Well said.

The singer is much better than he used to be, not in talent, but he is not lost in the 80s hair-band-mode any more. He has matured and, IMO, provides a solid front for the band.

I concur with this as well. I, too, agree that he has grown, and I like him now.