Dream Theater "Images & Words" 2007 Remix

[aramism]

metaltastic i was there. i've been to every DT concert in the NYC regions (including some in NJ and PA) since i'd say 2000 when i got heavy into them. believe it or not my first show was at the beacon theater when they played all of master of puppets.

but nonetheless i liked TOT a lot it's a quality album. 6DOIT is a great disc. see i don't expect them to keep makign awake, or iaw.

i am not a fan who wants the same album over and over. for me it isn't about heavy or not heavy. i mean truth be told awake is a HEAVY fucking album. so for me i'm not a person that likes to say let them keep making something they did 15 years ago. my point is that they are a progressive band. i got no problems with them progressing musically but they always had this creative signature. and to me with a couple songs on 8VM and nearly all of SC they lost that. it seems forced and fake. i'm sorry but, even a "grand epic" like in the presence of enemies seems so stupid. all of the lead lines and melodies are cliche. it is a psuedo-epic type song. the lyrics are cheesy as all hell, the vocals are so dumb, the songwriting structure is very ABAACBA and it is very cut and paste. there is no organic flow at any point in the album less a few instances namely in repentance (which is a great song) and some parts of ministry of lost souls.


listen to a song like innocence faded, there is not one forced part in that song. the whole thing sounds like it was written by a human being and flows. THAT is my point. not about heavy or not.

 

[mintcheerios]

Is there someone else who thinks that their lyrics have lost a lot of quality?

Yes. Especially when they are copied verbatim from an uncredited comic book. I thought their lyrics lacked subtlety before, but this puts it at a whole new level. Good thing I never listened to DT for the lyrics. I still like newer DT, but I have to admit that I skip tracks more often on their newer cds. I disagree that they are constantly going downhill though. It's more like a hill with lots of peaks and valleys now. Also DT has not hit their St. Anger yet. To feel that way is to simply forget just how awful St. Anger is.

 

[Exocaster]

I never liked Images And Words anyway. Pull Me Under's alright, as is Metropolis. That's about it as far as I&W and I are concerned. I like Dream Theater's mixes since they've been working with Kevin Shirley, and I'm not a fan of '80s style metal mixes, so I'm all for this.

 

[ronnan]

i imagine one of the resaons for re-mixing it,is the fact mike portnoy hated the triggerd snare...

 

[slashvanyoung]

listen to a song like innocence faded, there is not one forced part in that song. the whole thing sounds like it was written by a human being and flows. THAT is my point. not about heavy or not.

You nailed it right there! And yet they always stress out that everything comes together so effortlessly in the studio. Maybe they should allow themselves more time for the songs to grow. This in-studio group-effort sounds more and more like a puzzle.

But I'm far from giving up on this band. There are much much worse examples out there of bands living of there past.

@mintcheerios: I didn't know that with the comic book. Got to have a closer look on that later. Thanks for the link!

 

[F.E.T]

I totally lost interest after "A Change of Seasons"... None of their "newer" albums even come close to I&W or Awake.

 

[abyssofdreams]

I traded my Images & Words copy with Dismembers' Death Metal
I know, you'll hate me now if you didn't anyways

For some reason... as hard as I try to get into them DT doesn't do it for me.
Sounds like typewriters eating tinfoil being kicked down the stairs.

 

[Flat Fifth Fury]

I got into DT when they were still underground. I was a huge fan and they inspired me up until 6 Degrees. Then it went to heck. Jordan is a hell of a player, as they all are, but what was thrown out the window was subtlety. Kevin was atmospheric and gave them air between the wall of notes parts. Even Derek was more of a band player and the songs on FII were overall quite good. Then Jordan came in and songwriting became more of an exercise in making up parts that Jordan and John can solo over.

How many bands start off as better songwriters than on their 6th record? The songs on I&W and Awake were excellent and there was no lack of complex parts and solos. DT musically has gotten progressively, ha - irony!, less mature and interesting as they have gone along. I stopped buying their stuff and will continue to until they give me something worth listening to for more than solos. That is one of the reasons why I love Opeth - it's not about endless solos, complex parts for the sake of complexity or "Watch me do THIS!" grandstanding; it's about great songs that musically take me somewhere. The musicianship is there to elevate the song not to use the song as a vehicle for virtuosity.

 

[Metaltastic]

Hear hear

 

[aramism]

sick post flat

 

[Virgil.]

... The musicianship is there to elevate the song not to use the song as a vehicle for virtuosity.

100% Agreed...

 

[abyssofdreams]

to each his own I guess...
I know plenty of people who love DT to death yet when I would tell them that (for me) they aren't quite emotional they would hunt me down, cut my head off and stick it on a pole for everyone to see.

 

[Where She Wept]

I like new DT. Sue me.

The new album kicks ass! I'm mad i left my copy in a rental car ( along with This Godless Endevor) , now i have to buy them both again

I want a Mark IV after hearing Systematic Chaos, best DT guitar tone ever.

 

[aramism]

i will say the guitar tone is totally juicy. makes me want to make love to my mark iv.

 

[t-rave]

hopefully they use better drum samples for the remix...Images and Words has the worst sounding v-drum snare ever....

 

[R-Stuur]

hopefully they use better drum samples for the remix...Images and Words has the worst sounding v-drum snare ever....

This might be true, but I think good songs beat any good productions. If you write good shit, it´ll translate through any decent mix. People tend to forget their priorities and Dream Theater are amongst them.

I used to despise most black metal bands (except the Emperor/ish bands) during my DT period... but goddamn do I get what theyre about these days.

Systematic chaos is a shit Only DT cd I´ve NEVER bought (I even have doubles of some cds, imagine that...) and will never do. The kick drum is way too fucking loud as well.

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

Don't forget the original song was mixed in one day, the entire record in less than a week...

 

[Where She Wept]

Don't forget the original song was mixed in one day, the entire record in less than a week...

Really? it's still great sounding record. a reissue with some bonus tracks would have been great too.

 

[Fragle]

what's wrong about the original I&W mix? ok, the snare might scream 80's, but with a voice as high-pitched as labrie on that record, i think it doesn't stick out in any odd way whatsoever.

 

[Metaltastic]

Oh I disagree - it's not so much that the snare is bad sounding in of itself, it's just that it's so obviously the EXACT SAME sample every time, and it's so blaring; no, I hate that snare sound, and I'd love to hear a new one (like a Slate snare, for instance! )