Rock, Metal

Dream Theater - A Change Of Seasons (EP) [1995]

2009-12-08T11:10:26Z

Dream Theater - A Change Of Seasons (EP) [1995]


1. Dream Theater - A Change Of Seasons (23:09)
2. Dream Theater - Funeral For A Friend / Love Lies Bleeding (10:48)
3. Dream Theater - Perfect Strangers (5:33)
4. Dream Theater - The Rover / Achilles Last Stand / The Song Remains The Same (7:28)
5. Dream Theater - The Big Medley (10:33)

Track 1 is divided into the following sub-tracks:
I The Crimson Sunrise
II Innocence
III Carpe Diem
IV The Darkest Of Winters
V Another World
VI The Inevitable Summer
VII The Crimson Sunset

Track 2 is a Elton John cover
Track 3 is a Deep Purple cover

Track 4 part 1 is a Led Zeppelin cover
Track 4 part 2 & 3 are Jimmy Page/Robert Plant covers

Track 5 is divided into the following sub-tracks:
I In The Flesh? (Pink Floyd cover)
II Carry On Wayward Son (Kansas cover)
III Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen cover)
IV Lovin, Touchin, Squeezin (Journey cover)
V Cruise Control (Dixie Dregs cover)
VI Turn It On Again (Genesis cover) 

Bass – John Myung
Drums, Percussion – Mike Portnoy
Guitar [Guitars] – John Petrucci
Keyboards – Derek Sherinian
Vocals – James LaBrie

A Change of Seasons is a strange disc. There are only five tracks but with a total time that approaches an hour anyway. The first track, the 23-minute, seven-part epic "A Change of Seasons," is one of the most impressive pieces of music ever written in the progressive metal vein. With the same heavy sound that marked Awake, but with many other styles mixed in, the track features incredible playing, dramatic, complex instrumental arrangements, and soaring vocals. New keyboardist Derek Sherinian (formerly of Kiss and Alice Cooper) adds his own stamp to the Dream Theater sound as if he'd always been with them. The remainder of the tracks are live cover tunes, recorded from the band's "Uncovered" gig at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club; the material varies widely and includes Elton John's "Love Lies Bleeding" and Deep Purple's "Perfect Strangers." The final track, "The Big Medley," has to be heard to be believed; Dream Theater shift musical styles on a dime to cover Pink Floyd, Kansas, Queen, Journey, the Dixie Dregs, and Genesis all in ten minutes. ---Phil Carter, AllMusic Review

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Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn Of Events (2011)

2011-09-19T11:22:13Z

Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn Of Events (2011)


1. On The Backs Of Angels 8:42 
2. Build Me Up, Break Me Down 6:59 
3. Lost Not Forgotten 10:11 
4. This Is The Life 6:57 
5. Bridges In The Sky 11:01 
6. Outcry 11:24 
7. Far From Heaven 3:56 			play
8. Breaking All Illusions 12:25 
9. Beneath The Surface 5:26			play

Musicians:
James LaBrie - Vocals, percussion
John Petrucci - Guitars
John Myung - Bass
Jordan Rudess - Keyboards and Continuum
Mike Mangini - Drums and Percussion

A Dramatic Turn of Events, the 11th studio long player from progressive hard rock act Dream Theater, is understandably among the most anticipated in their decades-long career. Founding drummer Mike Portnoy -- long considered, with guitarist John Petrucci, to be DT -- left the band and was replaced with veteran Mike Mangini. This is the set that answers the question about his impact on their sound. Interestingly enough, it's not that much. Mangini is as much a complex, intricate drummer as Portnoy was, though he is more an ensemble player; he plays more on the beat than behind it.

A Dramatic Turn of Events is a much more keyboard-driven offering, though there is plenty of good old-fashioned prog metal here, too. Given its nearly 80-minute length, there is something here for virtually every fan -- or detractor -- to grab hold of. Singer James LaBrie doesn't indulge his high metal screech here that often, and prefers to sing plainly -- a good thing. Three tracks -- “Outcry,” “Breaking All Illusions,” and “Lost Not Forgotten” -- feature wildly long instrumental segments with more odd time signature changes than you can likely count.

The latter of these sounds almost like Meshuggah with keyboards and stacked with multi-part harmonic vocals. Opening track and single "On the Backs of Angels" contains all the DT trademarks: disciplined drumming, intricate seven-string guitar riffs that grow increasingly more explosive, a Gothic chorale, and John Myung's insistent basslines, which are nearly buried in the mix. Jordan Rudess' keyboards counter Petrucci's guitar and Mangini's drums for dominance and come out on top. That said, the melodic structure of the tune harkens back to DT albums previous to the last decade's. As melodic as it is, it's almost knotty compared to the sheer melodicism of “Build Me Up, Break Me Down” that follows it. One does have to wonder about the inclusion of the ballads "Far from Heaven" and the string-laden "Beneath the Surface," which have clunky, trite lyrics, sappy instrumentation, and feel like filler; it would have been better to have trimmed them to keep the album a reasonable length. In sum, a Dramatic Turn of Events, while not a perfect offering, has enough of what makes Dream Theater attractive to make it a necessary purchase for fans. ---Thom Jurek, allmusic.com

Jedenasty studyjny album zespołu jest jednocześnie pierwszym nagranym bez współzałożyciela, znakomitego perkusisty Mike'a Portnoya, który odszedł jesienią 2010r. Zastąpił go Mike Mangini, znany m.in. z grup Extreme i Annihilator. Produkcją napisanych przez członków grupy utworów zajął się gitarzysta John Petrucci. Sesje nagraniowe odbywały się w większości w Nowym Jorku w Cove City Sound Studios. "Włożyliśmy serca i umysły w nagranie tego albumu. Wszystkie wydarzenia, które w ostatnim czasie nam się przytrafiły, mocno na nas wpłynęły i zmusiły, by zajrzeć wewnątrz siebie i nagrać najlepszą muzykę, jaką potrafimy", mówi klawiszowiec Jordan Rudess. "Odczuwam ekstazę, gdy słyszę, jaka płyta nam wyszła", dodaje wokalista James LaBrie. A wyszła naprawdę znakomita, jedna z najlepszych w dotychczasowej karierze zespołu. --- rockserwis.pl

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Dream Theater - Images and Words (1992)

2009-12-08T11:22:46Z

Dream Theater - Images and Words (1992)


1. Pull Me Under
2. Another Day
3. Take The Time
4. Surrounded
5. Metropolis Part 1
6. Under A Glass Moon
7. Wait For Sleep
8. Learning To Live

Bass – John Myung
Drums, Percussion – Mike Portnoy
Guitar – John Petrucci
Keyboards – Kevin Moore
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – James LaBrie
+
Soprano Saxophone – Jay Beckenstein

Dream Theater's first album with new vocalist James LaBrie is an excellent mix of progressive metal stylings with heartfelt vocals and thought-provoking lyrics. Guitarist John Petrucci, bassist John Myung, and drummer Mike Portnoy, all of whom trained at Berklee, show impressive ability on their respective instruments. Kevin Moore's keyboards weave strongly through the intricately constructed songs, while operatically trained LaBrie shows an impressive range with his tenor. Standout tracks include the complex "Metropolis, Pt. 1," the Shakespeare-influenced "Pull Me Under" (also released as a single and video), the dramatic "Take the Time," and the 11-minute, thoughtful "Learning to Live." Dream Theater's musicianship and songwriting are a cut above the norm; this is a very good disc. ---Phil Carter, AllMusic Review

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Dream Theater - Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence (2002)

2017-01-21T14:38:31Z

Dream Theater - Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence (2002)

CD 1 :

01. The Glass Prison (13:53)
02. Blind Faith (10:21)
03. Misunderstood (9:33)
04. The Great Debate (13:46)
05. Disappear (6:46)

CD 2 :

06. Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence - I. Overture (6:51)
07. Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence - II. About To Crash (5:51)
08. Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence - III. War Inside My Head (2:08)
09. Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence - Iv. The Test That Stumped Them All (5:03)
10. Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence - V. Goodnight Kiss (6:17)
11. Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence - VI. Solitary Shell (5:48)
12. Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence - VII. About To Crash - Reprise (4:05)
13. Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence - VIII. Losing Time - Grand Finale (5:59)

James LaBrie – lead vocals
John Petrucci – guitar, background vocals, production
Jordan Rudess – keyboard
John Myung – bass
Mike Portnoy – drums, backing vocals, co-lead vocals on (01, 08), production

The godfathers of progressive metal have been amazing and delighting their dedicated fans since the late '80s. Throughout their impressive and unlikely career they have continued to push themselves and the genre into new and challenging directions. While arguably hitting their peak with 1994's Awake, the band continued to grow with each new release (save for perhaps Falling into Infinity). Their previous studio effort, Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From a Memory, was a milestone in their career, finding all of the band's best attributes amalgamated into a fully realized whole. Although "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" may not be another magnum opus, it is still another fine addition to their impressive discography. The band continues to explore new directions, but the results are not always consistent on the two CD's worth of material. Their overall sound is heavier, for better or worse, than it has been and they make some interesting compositional and lyrical choices, but their usual afflatus is missing. Petrucci in particular seems content to recycle his already-established pyrotechnics, which mostly come off as ostentatious and often out of place. With the exception of the high-octane "The Glass Prison," disc one is made up of more experimental tracks, with influences such as Radiohead and Tool being explored. The band also offers up one of their only political tracks in "The Great Debate," which deals with stem cell research. Disc two is comprised of the eight-part "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" epic and is more in line with their traditional approach. The "Overture" incorporates a full orchestra with surprisingly effective results and is the recording's standout track. Keyboardist Jordan Rudess gets more of an opportunity to demonstrate how valuable he is to the band's compositional and sonic depth. Fans of Pantera may cry foul when they hear "The Test That Stumped Them All," but this is meant more as a tribute than the blatant thievery it appears to be. While each member of Dream Theater has proved to have a more sophisticated and mature side -- as evidenced by side projects such as Transatlantic, Platypus, Liquid Tension Experiment, and Mullmuzer -- they understand where their proverbial bread is buttered. So exists Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, an intentionally pretentious, somewhat juvenile, but undeniably likeable recording. Despite the nearly impossible task of satisfying their mostly youthful fan base while still nurturing the band's natural maturation process, Dream Theater has mostly managed to deliver once again. --- Robert Taylor, AllMusic Review

Zespół zaserwował nam płytę niepodobną do żadnej wcześniejszej i to mu się chwali. Gdybym miał jednak porównać ją z poprzednim, genialnym albumem "Metropolis pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory", to zdecydowanie wygrał by ten drugi. Dlaczego? Historia, która została na nim opowiedziana, jest bardzo wciągająca, a pomysły i wykonanie po prostu niesamowite. No i na "SFAM" zgromadzona jest jakaś kosmiczna ilość emocji. :) Pod tym względem nowa produkcja zespołu wypada zdecydowanie gorzej. Poza tym "Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence" ma moim zdaniem więcej słabych punktów, jak np. "The Great Debate", ale o tym później.

Krążek zaczyna się od "The Glass Prison", utworu niezwykle ciężkiego, z trochę topornymi riffami i melodią. Ale ja na ten kawałek nie narzekam. Z powodu genialnej partii instrumentalnej (gzieś ok. 9 minuty), z powodu bardzo dobrze pomyślanego zakończenia, w końcu z powodu krzyków Jamesa LaBrie w środku utworu, które, mimo że to tylko jedna, czy dwie bezlitośnie powtarzane nuty, to jednak robią wrażenie. Jednak mankamentem tego rozpoczęcia jest za mała ilość emocji. Za dużo tutaj "zwykłego" dreamowego kombinowania i technicznych sztuczek. Numerem, który robi na mnie największe wrażenie z pierwszej płyty jest zdecydowanie "Misunderstood". Ma naprawdę wspaniałą melodię, najpierw wykonaną spokojnie, a potem ostrzej, z przesterowaną gitarą. Nowością w stylu zespołu jest również utwór "Disappear". Spokojny, z akustyczną gitarą i klaiwszowymi plamami dźwiękowymi, zagranymi tak, jak tego Jordan Rudess nigdy wcześniej nie robił.

Najsłabszy punkt albumu, to moim zdaniem "The Great Debate" (chociaż wiem, że dla niektórych to najlepszy moment "6DOIT"). Ja naprawdę nie rozumiem, po co umieszczać w utworze cztery minuty gadania z jakichś wiadomości. To dla mnie nie ma najmniejszego sensu. Melodia też jest dość toporna. Zdecydowanie najsłabszy punkt albumu.

Dla mnie najlepszym utworem na "6DOIT" jest tytułowa suita. To najdłuższy kawałek w historii zespołu i z pewnością jeden z najjaśniejszech jej punktów. Jest bardzo zróżnicowany, a jednak niezwykle spójny. Każda z ośmiu części, na które owa suita jest podzielona, ma w sobie coś niesamowitego i każda jest piękna. I z pewnością Ameryki tu nie odkryłem, ale uwieżcie mi na słowo: tego po prostu trzeba posłuchać.

Album jest moim zdaniem słabszy od poprzedniego, ale przecież mało który zespół nagrywa dwie tak samo genialne płyty pod rząd. Naprawdę zdaża się to bardzo rzadko. I DT niestety się nie zdarzyło, choć nie ukrywam, że miałem na to nadzieję. Mimo wszystko polecam tę płyte, chociażby ze względu na wspomniany, genialny utwór tytułowy. ----Domib, rockmetal.pl

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Dream Theater – Dream Theater (2013)

2013-10-14T15:37:19Z

Dream Theater – Dream Theater (2013)


01 – False Awakening Suite
02 – The Enemy Inside
03 – The Looking Glass
04 – Enigma Machine
05 – The Bigger Picture
06 – Behind The Evil
07 – Surrender To Reason
08 – Along For The Ride
09 – Illumination Theory
10 – The Enemy Inside (Instrumental)

Musicians:
    James LaBrie – lead vocals
    John Petrucci – guitar, backing vocals, producer
    Jordan Rudess – keyboards, GeoSynth App, Seaboard
    John Myung – bass
    Mike Mangini – drums, percussion
+ String Ensemble:
    Violin I - Misha Gutenberg(Concert Master), Larisa Vollis
    Violin II - Yelena Khaimova, Yevgeniy Mansurov
    Viola - Aleksandr Anisimov, Noah Wallace
    Cello - Anastasia Golenisheva, Valeriya Sholokhova
    Contrabass - Len Sluetsky

Dream Theater have had an interesting release history; from classic records like Images and Words and Scenes From A Memory, the band released what's regarded as "their last good record" Octavarium in 2005. Then came the period of their career where Systematic Chaos through A Dramatic Turn of Events seemed like a good idea, the latter being a step up from essentially the abomination Black Clouds and Silver Linings. Finally we arrive in 2013, where Dream Theater drop their self-titled record and, more importantly, return to where they left off with Octavarium by crafting a record that is front-to-back great.

Dream Theater can be summed up simply; think of the record as having the heaviness of Train of Thought, the catchy sensibilities of Images and Words, and the vocal work of Scenes From a Memory… thrown into a movie soundtrack. It's the perfect storm of what Dream Theater fans have anxiously been waiting for from the band and so much more.

Where songs like "The Enemy Inside" and "Enigma Machine" have the capability to wrap their hands around your throat and slam you into the pavement, there are Rush-influenced jams like "The Looking Glass," ballads like "Along For The Ride," and even the movie-prog closer "Illumination Theory" keeps the record interesting right up to the final piano-laden minutes.

While guitarist John Petrucci and keyboardist Jordan Rudess play their heart out as they've always done, which is constantly commendable, the rest of the band deserve equal praise. For the first time since Train of Thought, bassist John Myung is not only audible in the mix but brings the gritty, low-down riffs like no other. Dream Theater might be his best performance to date. Then there's drummer Mike Mangini, who for the first time since joining the band has written his own parts… and it shows. Mangini is an amazing fit for the band and truly takes the record to another level. Then there's vocalist James LaBrie, who usually gets a lot of flack for his performances, but lo and behold! Once more easily one of his best performances to date and some of the highest notes we've heard out of LaBrie in a long while.

The diversity strewn across the record is simply astonishing, and never once gets boring or have you checking how long you've been listening. In essence, Dream Theater have taken all the mistakes they've made on the past few records and righted them in the best way possible.

Overall, Dream Theater is a grower. It's an album that really takes a lot of you but it's worth it in the end. The performances are genuinely amazing and… it's one of those records where words simply don't do it justice. The bottom line is that if you've been disappointed in the band for the past few years and you're yearning for early 2000's Dream Theater, then this record is for you. --- Greg Kennelty , metalinjection.net

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