The new Dream Theater album

[FreeThoughtTH]

Any of you had a chance to check it out yet?

DT's not too far removed from Frost* in many aspects. Jordan Rudess (and Sherinian and Moore before him) have contributed some excellent milestones in modern progressive rock/metal keyboards through the band. Thought some of you might be interested.

As a long time Dream Theater fan, I have been waiting for this album for a while. However after the somewhat disappointing "A Dramatic Turn of Events" (some standout tracks but overall a step in the wrong direction if you ask me), I didn't see much potential coming from this new album.

I've listened to a few of the tracks from the live stream so far and to be honest....

It's stale.

There's nothing interesting left in the songwriting any more. It's like they're just churning out what they think fans will enjoy, without any of the joy, originality, or forward thinking that really defined the band in the Portnoy era (IMO anyway).

I feel like Portnoy was the real driving force (creatively) behind the band. While the rest of them are all great musicians, I feel like it was his ideas that really pushed it forward.

To be fair I haven't listened all the way through yet. But my opening thoughts aren't boding well.

Any thoughts?

[Fogeyspasm]

For me DT went downhill after Images and Words. I keep dipping my toe into their work but find I dislike each release more than the last. I had a listen to a Dramatic Turn Of Events and didn't mind a couple of tracks but the others were just cold, unemotional technical work outs. Not my cup of tea anymore.
Heard some clips of this album and the bits I heard I liked but I really dislike the chugga, chugga  metal guitar style they started using on previous albums which I am sure will appear and at that point I will switch off.
Time will tell.

[RacingHippo]

When Frost* supported DT a couple of years ago, I asked Jem if he could perhaps teach them about the importance of writing a melody....

[rogerg]

heh

I guess it didn't happen...

[Fogeyspasm]

Mr Hippo. I applaud you!

[BrendanGee]

I'll admit to being a large fan of Dream Theater (a will accept any flack that this confession may entail).

I think from an instrumental standpoint the band is outstanding but I wouldn't have said their writing was devoid of melody (at the very least they have gotten better in that respect in the last while or so IMO).

Sure, their work isn't exactly groundbreaking stuff every time but there's always something about them that I wholeheartedly enjoy.

There's some twangs of Rush at times during the new album which is kinda nice but yeah, there's quite an abundance of low-tuned guitar grungey-ness going on too.

It took a couple of listens but I'm still on board with DT as it stands at the moment.

[FreeThoughtTH]

Well the "grungy low tuned guitars" aren't really an issue for me (I'm a pretty big metal fan), but I see what you guys are saying with a lack of melodies. There's been a few good ones on the albums pre-Black Clouds but not too many that really stand out.

My main problem is that their music just seems to be stuck in a rut. They're not going anywhere sonically, just rehashing the same old sound. And it's too mechanical. I seriously attribute a lot of this to a lack of Portnoy, but hey each to his own.

They also appear to be writing to please their fans, which bugs me. If you want to be one of the world's front running prog bands, you should at least stick to some of the ideals of prog (namely composing without giving a rats about social expectation. Writing to break your own boundaries, etc.)

[D S]

Only just put the CD only so too early to comment - but it's already obvious that they haven't decided to make this their r'n'b polka album... 
But the one thing that immediately jumped out at me was the artwork.  First picture inside the booklet screamed 'Hugh Syme' and indeed, he has provided the artwork.  Other than being Vitamin P's hero, he's done work for DT before but is probably best known for his work with Rush.  So when I saw the artwork for The Looking Glass with a boy beside a window in a dark room with a TV, the Power Windows cover rather came to mind.  Then you get to Along For The Ride with a big sunset sky, a single building and a car.  Hmm.  I dug out Rush's Snakes and Arrows CD and the artwork for We Hold On has (you guessed it!) a big sunset sky, a single building and a car. 
Either Hugh has run out of ideas or he is doing some deliberate self-referencing!  I know DT are big Rush fans but...!

[BrendanGee]

I would hope that it's self-referencing (perhaps due to some of the Rush influences in the music this time around?). It would be a shame if the talented Mr Syme had run out of ideas. 

[FreeThoughtTH]

Probably self referencing. This album screamed Rush to me so I think that's probably a deliberate decision