A Dramatic Turn of Events

[Lax]

He shouldn't have answered this honestly...Beginning calmly the interview, to say at the end that he had no communication with "those bitches" and that only JP and him are the essence of the band...
On the dvd bonuses, I always felt he talked like there was in the band a bass guy, a keyboard guy and a singer guy, but they were accessories...Ruddess has been here for more than 12 years man !
This interview is worth the confrontation mustaine - hetfield on some kind of monster DVD

 

[whitestrat]

What would you guys say is the overall best DT album as this one is the only one i have heard.

Go back to where it all began. Chonologically. Forget "When dream & day unite" and come back to it later, because that was certainly not their finiest writing, but it's still key to where they were heading. Go for "Images & Words" first and foremost. The ultimate ground breaking album for them. Then Awake, then jump to "Scenes from a Memory", and then back to "A Change Of Seasons". After that, everything else can come in almost any order, but be sure to check out the "Octavarium" track itself.

 

[Roubster]

Actually the way I really got into Dream Theater was when I stummbled across a used Once In a Livetime double CD that I bought. I used to go to this CD store and buy all these used albums after work. I really have not heard any DT before this, and it just completely blew me away the way these guys sounded live. It took me a while to get used to LaBrie's singing, but they were just unbelievable.

 

[dmcguitar]

FWIW I love the tones and mixing on this album, its got the aggressiveness from the last album, but its not as in your face. after reading about thiagos's comments i can hear the similarities, its not like they said lets re-do images, but rather, this album worked, lets right songs with this structure. how many of us write original music on this board? does anyone else use the same format for a large number of songs?

Eitherway, I think petrucci wrote most of this album, and he and Portnoy WERE the essence of the band, JP wrote many of the riffs and made demo drums with software for everything... and then brought it to the rest of the band. But you can definately here how Rudess was set free, there is some wicked guitar / keyboard stuff on there. (even though i think the lost not forgotten unison part is compeletely unneccessary and a little detracting from a very cool riff) The songs were written before mangini came on board, so he is playing on songs that were "predefined," and only had a chance to change up a little bit and do some fills....

the real test for him is the next album, after a full tour, assuming they go back to writing by jamming, that's where MM's input would be greater, when everyone has a real "feel" for each other.

 

[Slingy]

The album is really good and has some great moments. Overall I like the sound of it, but I still think the drums are mixed a little low. Im not convinced Wallace was the best choice.

 

[ThatsAgood1jay]

FWIW I love the tones and mixing on this album, its got the aggressiveness from the last album, but its not as in your face. after reading about thiagos's comments i can hear the similarities, its not like they said lets re-do images, but rather, this album worked, lets right songs with this structure. how many of us write original music on this board? does anyone else use the same format for a large number of songs?

Eitherway, I think petrucci wrote most of this album, and he and Portnoy WERE the essence of the band, JP wrote many of the riffs and made demo drums with software for everything... and then brought it to the rest of the band. But you can definately here how Rudess was set free, there is some wicked guitar / keyboard stuff on there. (even though i think the lost not forgotten unison part is compeletely unneccessary and a little detracting from a very cool riff) The songs were written before mangini came on board, so he is playing on songs that were "predefined," and only had a chance to change up a little bit and do some fills....

the real test for him is the next album, after a full tour, assuming they go back to writing by jamming, that's where MM's input would be greater, when everyone has a real "feel" for each other.

Agreed totally, As much as I love MP's work, after going back and listening to older albums (specifically from ToT forward) the drums are just always in your face and grinding. Even during Rudess and Petrucci Solo's the drums are higher in the mix than the solo itself. I was fearful of their future after BCSL because of how metal intensive it was, I was noticing the decreasing of the prog elements of the band, which I think is more key to their success than the metal elements.

As Much as I enjoy MP's work, I am wondering if his departure is what DT needed to get more prog and less metal. ADTOE is quickly turning out, to me at least, to be their best album since Six Degrees.