Fox
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Post by Fox on Jan 27, 2006 10:47:37 GMT -5
What do people think of it, seems to have been a quiet release for these guys, I'm very 'meh' to it.
"Sacrificed Sons" is a great song though.
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SethFWF
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Post by SethFWF on Jan 27, 2006 11:56:59 GMT -5
Seems like there were a few good songs on it, and a couple I didn't like at all. I haven't gone back to it in awhile, need to re-check it out. Overall, it impressed me less than anything they'd done prior...but I may not have given it enough time.
Seth
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BenMech
At Fates Hands http://www.fat
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Post by BenMech on Jan 27, 2006 15:23:19 GMT -5
it angered me less than Train of Thought and Six Degrees did, but those were abominable
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DTJesus
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Post by DTJesus on Jan 28, 2006 22:50:37 GMT -5
Since Scenes From a Memory, the role of a Dream Theater fan has expanded to that of an apologist. A tough position, knowing that when it came to the band's latest albums, "DT bashers" around the world had a pretty good leg to stand on. Luckily, the success of Octavarium allows me to talk about all of that using the past tense. While this 2005 offering may not be the second coming of 1990's Dream Theater, this album hints that such an advent may be near. This is most evident in the 24-minute title-track that closes the album. Wearing their influences on their sleeves, Dream Theater stands on the shoulders of giants to reach new heights. The recipe for this song: start with a spacey Pink Floyd intro and then launch into 20 minutes of super-melodic old school prog goodness (marked by some serious Genesis homage). The result is a side of Dream Theater not seen before, and an epic that rivals any 20+ song ever done. This song alone makes the album a must-buy, but despite one or two songs I might categorize as filler, there is plenty of other good stuff along for the ride. The immensely poppy "I Walk Beside You" is a huge winner in my book, though its commercial, U2 style might be a bit too un-prog for some. The somber "The Answer Lies Within" left me wanting a little bit more, but worked effectively for me as a "Dust in the Wind" for the new century. "Never Enough" and "Sacrificed Sons" are two more choice cuts, with the first fairly heavily influenced by Muse and the second being an emotional 911-inspired piece clocking in at ten minutes ("who would wish this on our people? And proclaim that His will be done?" ... very moving). Add it up, and that's easily over 50 minutes of high quality material from a band whose previous two albums were arguably 80-90% filler. Some might say it's about time. I'll just say it's great to be a DT fan again. (8/22/2005) [8.8 / B+] from www.progpages.com
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OG
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Post by OG on Jan 29, 2006 9:48:14 GMT -5
i'm with ben on this one.
less "dust in the wind." more "dust on my 'octavarium' cd."
sss
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SethFWF
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Post by SethFWF on Jan 29, 2006 10:34:12 GMT -5
i'm with ben on this one. less "dust in the wind." more "dust on my 'octavarium' cd." sss Classic...LOL! As far as the review, I'm definitely in the minority in that I do like much of "Six Degrees..." and ToT. They did kinda burn out on me though. Probably can give the new one some more spins to see if the songs I did like are better with time, but it hasn't called me back yet. The title track is different and not bad at all, but while the songs are hard to compare...I would say "Change of Seasons" blows it away overall. Course, that's one of DT's best songs period IMO...so it'll take a lot more to change that. I think the review was far to nice about it in saying it is 'an epic that rivals any 20+ song ever done". No way. And there are at least 2 songs if I remember that I disliked immediately, rarely do I do that and note to myself never to listen to them again. I'm pretty patient, but sometimes I just know...and I'll give the rest more time to see if it's really a return. I do remember thinking the opening track, while I know it's a continuation from prior album's songs...was simply rehashed. There were a few good ones though that deserve more attention. Seth
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Fox
Monument http://www.fateswa
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Post by Fox on Jan 30, 2006 8:36:17 GMT -5
Six degrees sounds like they just haphazardly jammed songs out, not a big fan of that one.
Train of Thought I though was easily the best thing they've done since Awake.
This one seems to put a little more thought into the arrangements, but not enough.
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BenMech
At Fates Hands http://www.fat
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Post by BenMech on Jan 30, 2006 11:09:34 GMT -5
Fox: you are wrong about T of T. Simple as that.
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sabredog
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Post by sabredog on Jan 30, 2006 14:54:26 GMT -5
I loved it myself. Best release they've put out imo. Good songs, tight songwriting, but definitely still DT. The title track is the best single song they've done, too. Just my opinion though; I think the general consensus is that it was pretty average. Nothing wonderful, but a good, listenable DT album.
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Post by journeytoarcana on Feb 4, 2006 23:04:34 GMT -5
Is Dream Theater still making albums? Wow! Ain't that some shit! I've been DT free since 1997, and I don't think I'm going back.
jta
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BenMech
At Fates Hands http://www.fat
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Post by BenMech on Feb 5, 2006 0:48:17 GMT -5
Thrax: they had to burn through their major label contract someway or another
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sabredog
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Post by sabredog on Feb 5, 2006 6:06:24 GMT -5
Seems like there were a few good songs on it, and a couple I didn't like at all. I haven't gone back to it in awhile, need to re-check it out. Overall, it impressed me less than anything they'd done prior...but I may not have given it enough time. Seth It's definitely not an album for everyone as many of the songs (These Walls, I Walk Beside You, etc.) sound a bit more poppy than the Dream Theater standard, but I fail to understand how anyone could not like songs like the title track and The Root Of All Evil. In the way of headbangable tracks, Panic Attack is one of the best that Dream Theater have done, too - raw energy yet still melodic, which is of just the right length to remain interesting, not like songs such as This Dying Soul and Home which kinda drag on for too long. Panic Attack is in itself kind of a weird one though - it never really "clicked" with me until I saw it live. Now I can't get enough of the song. Still, from what I gather there are a lot of people for whom it clicked instantly, so eh.
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SethFWF
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Post by SethFWF on Feb 5, 2006 11:19:15 GMT -5
The "Root of all Evil" just seems like too much of a re-hash of "This Dying Soul", which I do like as well as "The Glass Prison". Of course that whole trilogy hits home with me, so that helps...but I do think the music and vocals on the first 2 were pretty damn good. "Panic Attack" is also good, and a couple others were...still need to re-listen again especially to the title track. I still don't think I'll ever rate that anywhere near "A Change of Seasons" though. BTW, "Home" is one of my favorite DT songs. Goes to show how this band has split the opinions probably more than any prog band... Seth
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BenMech
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Post by BenMech on Feb 5, 2006 12:28:48 GMT -5
Of all the Al-Anon songs Portnoy has badly written, the only decent one was Glass Prison.
Home is a great song, written better twice before as King Crimson's "Frame By Frame" and Tool's "46 & 2"
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sabredog
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Post by sabredog on Feb 6, 2006 11:25:29 GMT -5
The "Root of all Evil" just seems like too much of a re-hash of "This Dying Soul", which I do like as well as "The Glass Prison". Of course that whole trilogy hits home with me, so that helps...but I do think the music and vocals on the first 2 were pretty damn good. I think The Root is far tighter than This Dying Soul. It's a lot more melodic imo, and it doesn't drag on so relentlessly. This Dying Soul starts out pretty good, but the last four or five minutes kinda bore me to death. The Root on the other hand manages to be an eight minute long song yet actually seem short, not to mention I tend to prefer the more melodic TROAE stuff to the darker, crushing riffs of This Dying Soul. Does borrow from the TDS a lot, though, definitely - that "duggaduggaduh, duduh, duduh, duggaduggaduh, duduh, duduh, NYAAAO" thing's still there, and there's the reprise of the chorus etc. Home... everything about the song is awesome (all the melodies, the build up, the WOMP WOMP riff), but it kinda repeats itself too much. The section with the samples is also really dull.
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