Adrenaline Mob

[Detective Clarence Beauregard]

Fun? Fun?! That bassist is using a pick!

I'm not sure why you're shocked; he's the bass player from a has-been nu-metal band.

I never liked the sound of a bass played with a pick. It sounds so unnatural and inorganic. I think the only time it works is when the music has a mechanical vibe; it always fit in Megadeth, for example.

 

[The Stormbringer]

I think his interesting parts started to gradually dwindle after FII. In fact, the only album after FII that I regularly listen to is Train of Thought; the rest (for the most part) just seems so uninspired to me.

Right on. TOT is my guilty pleasure as far as DT is concerned, Portnoy and especially Myung dish out some quality stuff there. I also like Octavarium to some extent (partly because they were incredible on the tour for that album), but it hasn't aged that well. I couldn't get into anything they released after that.

 

[Zook]

I'm not sure why you're shocked; he's the bass player from a has-been nu-metal band.

Disturbed hasn't been nu-metal since The Sickness.

But, yeah, they pretty much are has-beens now. I hope something comes of this hiatus. They had too much potential to have recorded the same album 3 times now. It's really puzzling. Ten Thousand Fists was great, but then they went Nickelback on us... Indestructible had some good songs, but was TTF Part 2, and Asylum was crap... I don't even know why I'm typing this. No one gives a shit about Disturbed here. In fact, you probably stopped reading a while ago, so I could say anything right now, like "You’re all complete tools."

 

[Wander]

Disturbed hasn't been nu-metal since The Sickness.

But, yeah, they pretty much are has-beens now. I hope something comes of this hiatus. They had too much potential to have recorded the same album 3 times now. It's really puzzling. Ten Thousand Fists was great, but then they went Nickelback on us... Indestructible had some good songs, but was TTF Part 2, and Asylum was crap... I don't even know why I'm typing this. No one gives a shit about Disturbed here. In fact, you probably stopped reading a while ago, so I could say anything right now, like "You’re all complete tools."

I stopped reading after you said that Disturbed had potential so whatever, dude. Nobody gives a shit about Disturbed here.

 

[ItsOjMang]

Part of me respects him for leaving the wankers in DT to play music that isn't written using advanced calculus formulas,

Ouch..wankers? One of the most skilled and talented bands on the planet and they're wankers who use calculus formulas. You are right, Petrucci wanks off on his guitar all day, never practices, just wanks and does calculus. Can't play anything but calculus-driven metal...there's no feel in anything he plays. His unique style of alternate picking is probably all just a result of him wanking too. Myung, one of the best bassists ever is the same. In fact he never says much because he's always thinking about wanking. And Jordan? Well we all know why he got good. Not that he grew up playing and mastering classical music and just happened to prefer playing rock music on his keys...he got good because he's a wanker. James wanked his way to becoming one of the best singers ever due to his range, particularly in the higher notes. He didn't mess up his throat for years in an attempt to achieve that either..nope, it's because he was busy wankin it, of course. And Portnoy, well just listen to Alternate Mob...It is clear that all he does these days is wank it. But really, Omerta blows.

 

[Postulate]

I can't really think of a reason that musicians would ever literally need calculus to write anything, but then again I'm not very imaginative...

 

[Kenneth R.]

There's no calculus to be found in 99% of prog. I reserve the 1% for some really high crazies that must exist.

And yes, DT: Wankers. Not even approaching the limit (see what I did there) of technical or musical excellence

 

[Detective Clarence Beauregard]

Ouch..wankers? One of the most skilled and talented bands on the planet and they're wankers who use calculus formulas. You are right, Petrucci wanks off on his guitar all day, never practices, just wanks and does calculus. Can't play anything but calculus-driven metal...there's no feel in anything he plays. His unique style of alternate picking is probably all just a result of him wanking too. Myung, one of the best bassists ever is the same. In fact he never says much because he's always thinking about wanking. And Jordan? Well we all know why he got good. Not that he grew up playing and mastering classical music and just happened to prefer playing rock music on his keys...he got good because he's a wanker. James wanked his way to becoming one of the best singers ever due to his range, particularly in the higher notes. He didn't mess up his throat for years in an attempt to achieve that either..nope, it's because he was busy wankin it, of course. And Portnoy, well just listen to Alternate Mob...It is clear that all he does these days is wank it. But really, Omerta blows.

Listen, it's Octavarium!

Perhaps I should start adding emoticons to my posts so people won't take everything I say with 100% seriousness.



Of course they don't use calculus to write music. If you like DT, good for you. But don't get all hurt when people say they sound like equations in musical form, because to many people (myself included), their music rarely contains emotion. And when it does, it's typically drawn out and very boring after repeated listens. Their vocalist doesn't help things, either, since his emulation of a dying sparrow is usually dead on.

John Myung is the only member of the band who I like, but regardless, even he is boring. He rarely grooves with the drums or spices up the bass lines; it's all very subdued. Petrucci has had some great solos over the years (some of which do indeed contain emotion), but what killed this band in my opinion is Jordan. Since his inclusion, the band sounds more and more like a psychotic Russian monkey masturbating space circus with every album.

For the most part, the only DT I ever listen to is pre-Rudess (excluding Train of Thought). There's been a track here or there that I've thought was okay, but nothing as good as the pre-Jordan days. I think the main reason their first few albums are of high quality is because their original keyboardist (and even Sherinian to an extent) knew how to play with feeling.

 

[Postulate]

Actually, I thought of a way you could implement (rudimentary) calculus in a song. You could have the time signature shift in accordance with a "meta" time signature above it (the meter at which the meter changes), and then have a second-order meta-time signature that controls how fast the meta-time signature changes. You would then signal the listener at what stage the second-order meta-time signature was at by changing the key signature by taking the second derivative of the regular time signature (its "acceleration" if you will) every few measures. So if it was increasing at an increasing rate, you're in one key, increasing at a decreasing rate in a second key, decreasing at a decreasing rate in a third key, and then decreasing at an increasing rate in a fourth key. And when you're at a maximum or minimum, everything FREEZES momentarily.

Take notes Dream Theater

 

[Sauna]

Images & Words and Awake are undeniable, and I also really like Scenes from a Memory. I agree that DT sounds pretty uninspired nowadays (I can't fathom why the new album has been getting all this hype, I consider it one of their worst), but there are always at least a couple of really nice songs per album.

The band has definitely deserved being made fun of a bit, but don't forget how awesome they used to be.

 

[Postulate]

Images & Words and Awake are undeniable, and I also really like Scenes from a Memory. I agree that DT sounds pretty uninspired nowadays (I can't fathom why the new album has been getting all this hype, I consider it one of their worst), but there are always at least a couple of really nice songs per album.

The band has definitely deserved being made fun of a bit, but don't forget how awesome they used to be.

Same, I think the praise for the new album must be a placebo effect. The train wreck continues as far as I'm concerned.

I used to love Awake, too, but I think it's a shrinker overall. Only a couple of the tracks (6:00, Voices, and Space-Dye Vest) really hold up, and Voices has a couple of questionable sections anyway. Space-Dye Vest is the best DT track IMO, but nothing compared to what Kevin would go on to do on his own.

Images and Words is still a fantastic album with a couple flaws that aren't major. But it's not revolutionary or very progressive like people seem to think it is - it's basically DT putting all their influences together in an excellent mix.

 

[_Gentleman of_the Snow_]

Space-Dye Vest is also one of my favourite tracks by DT... along with Disappear. Many people overlook these two tracks, but they're both excellent.

 

[Progbass]

I'm not sure why you're shocked; he's the bass player from a has-been nu-metal band.

I never liked the sound of a bass played with a pick. It sounds so unnatural and inorganic. I think the only time it works is when the music has a mechanical vibe; it always fit in Megadeth, for example.

While I've always played fingerstyle...lately I've been using pick too, I think its good to learn both techiques. Yeah, it fits megadeth sound and many other metal or rock bands too. But for example if DWOT bass was played using pick...it wouldnt sound so good.

 

[Kenneth R.]

Space Dye Vest/Lines In The Sand/Learning To Live.

The rest is kind of expendable

 

[_Gentleman of_the Snow_]

I actually like 6 Degrees. A well-done epic.

 

[Postulate]

Space Dye Vest/Lines In The Sand/Learning To Live.

The rest is kind of expendable

We think alike!

Except that I also like everything else on I&W, too (except Another Day).

 

[_Gentleman of_the Snow_]

Another Day is a classic. The sax solo alone elevates the song to great heights!

 

[Postulate]

Madness! Madness!

 

[ABQShredHead]

Madness? This is Sparta!

 

[J-Dubya 777]

I never liked the sound of a bass played with a pick. It sounds so unnatural and inorganic. I think the only time it works is when the music has a mechanical vibe; it always fit in Megadeth, for example.

Two words for you - Scott Thunes

I used to think the same way, then I heard Scott Thunes play with Zappa.

If you ever meet Bryan Beller, bass player for Mike Keneally/Deathklok/Vai, ask him about Steve Vai trying to get him to use a pick for one song.....