Dream Theater ''Octavium''

Isn't it funny how "commercial" used to denote a guy in spandex with really big hair singing power ballads, whereas now the exact same term is used for grunting Neandertals trying to sing over warmed-over Helmet riffs? :D
 
Well....maybe I should listen to more than the three songs.....but to analyze something like "Alone:"

1. Drop tuned whole note power chords
2. Electronic beats
3. Turntable scratching
4. One bar repeated keyboard melody
5. Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Bridge-Chorus structure

The only thing different is that it has a guitar solo and James LaBrie singing. I don't see how that song can possibly get any more commercial besides those two issues.
 
i fail to see how those are commercial indications except for 4&5, which are not the case for the whole album. how can you call yourself a prog fan and discount anything you aren't accustomed to in rock music to be "commercial" because several not-so-good bands also use it? if linkin park used a sitar, would you suddenly hate all bands that use it? as for powerchords, well that eliminates a huge percentage of metal. considering the digital editing stuff, i think it adds a new, fresh perspective on the genre and it's done tastefully. if thats not your thing, thats cool. but you can't simply stamp it commercial because it uses such things.

and yeah, not all the songs are the same. they vary from borderline thrash metal to nearly pop.
 
DeathDevil said:
Dream Theater hasn't put out a good album since Images & Words...

LOL sorry but I will have to disagree with you indubitably (love that word) ... Awake, SFAM and Train of Thought kick ass. Not even to mention the live albums. Your just not a fan.

Bear
 
I'm really glad to hear Octavarium is heavy. I was afraid after seeing all the bitching about ToT on the various DT forums that they would tone the next one down too much.


I can see how Elements of Persuasion sounds more commercial. The first time I heard Alone, I was (loosely) reminded of that X-Ecutioners song that used to be on the radio/mtv with Wayne Static and the guy from Linkin Park. That being said, the 'commercial' aspects of the album are done well and sound great, so who cares what we call it?
 
Barking Pumpkin said:
Well....maybe I should listen to more than the three songs.....but to analyze something like "Alone:"

1. Drop tuned whole note power chords
2. Electronic beats
3. Turntable scratching
4. One bar repeated keyboard melody
5. Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Bridge-Chorus structure

The only thing different is that it has a guitar solo and James LaBrie singing. I don't see how that song can possibly get any more commercial besides those two issues.

The turntable scratching is enough for me to be turned off from it! Is he trying to be Linkin Park now? Geeze....
 
DeathDevil said:
Dream Theater hasn't put out a good album since Images & Words...

Now that's a dumb statement! How can you like I&W, and not like Awake, A Change in Seasons, and Scenes From A Memory? I think you need to go back and listen to those CD's to know what you're talkin' about!
 
Bear said:
LOL sorry but I will have to disagree with you indubitably (love that word) ... Awake, SFAM and Train of Thought kick ass. Not even to mention the live albums. Your just not a fan.

Bear

Try almost all of DT's album kick ass. I mean, except for TOT, every other DT album is very very good.
 
It amazes me that people, who are suppossedly progressive music fans, bitch about DT's albums not sounding like previous efforts. I guess some people would be happy with DT making I&W every time out...how fucking boring.

I also find it pretty silly to avoid an album because there may be scratching on a song. If it bothers you that much, just skip that song...problem solved. The new LaBrie is a very good album and is not nu-metal.
 
I'm starting on listening to the rest of the album since some of the people here really like it.......and I don't think it's good at all.

I wouldn't call it prog, as it doesn't really have anything "prog" about it. At least half of the songs on the album seem to be like "Alone" more or less. I'll keep listening, but it seems to be pretty awful.

And the turn table scratching reaction is natural. It's past experience in addition to context. I haven't heard anything in metal with turntable scratching that's good outside of Avant-Garde type stuff. So since I'm confident James LaBrie wasn't doing Avant-Garde on this album, I think a negative reaction is natural. And it really doesn't matter, since "Alone" is such a godawful song even without the scratching.
 
And commercial is a justifying factor for what they did with the music. If you don't want me to call it that, I would say it was bland music, and completely lacking in musical ideas, which is a worse insult for me than that they wanted to make something more commercial or "fun."

At best, I think it's sounding to be a mediocre album. Certainly few musically redeeming aspects, as it's not really bringing anything new to the table.
 
The following is not directed at anyone in particular, just general observation.

I just think people , esp. those who like the kind of music that we all like on this board, tend to get over-analytical of rock n roll. Just relax and enjoy. If you don't like something that's cool, but lighten up a bit. Not everything has to be ground breaking or monumental in it's impact.

I don't think AC/DC was trying to break any new ground or bring anything new to the table, and I'm sure they weren't trying to make any intellectual, conceptual masterpiece, when they recorded 'Back In Black'. They were making a rock n roll album and succeeded in spades. It is not new or revolutionary, but it is one of the best pure rock n roll albums you're likely to ever lay ears on. Sometimes you just wanna ROCK! :headbang:

I mean, a nice meal in swank restaurant is nice, but I still like a quater pounder with cheese, from the drive thru, every now and then.
 
Barking Pumpkin said:
And commercial is a justifying factor for what they did with the music. If you don't want me to call it that, I would say it was bland music, and completely lacking in musical ideas, which is a worse insult for me than that they wanted to make something more commercial or "fun."

At best, I think it's sounding to be a mediocre album. Certainly few musically redeeming aspects, as it's not really bringing anything new to the table.

Dude, what's wrong with the song if it's commercial? I'm seriously getting annoyed with this bulshit that has been going on over and over again for years... It's not like that's a sin or anything... The band has to do whatever is best for THEIR interest... Quit that whole "everything that's commercial sucks" attitude... It won't get you anywhere... Nor will it make you "less metal" ..

I disaggree with your opinion on the album, I think it is a great effort... It kicks Mulmuzzller's ass big time... If you don't like the experiments, you're not as open minded for music in my opinion... It comes to a point in which stuff like that is actually good, to break the routine... And again, doing stuff like that does NOT make you less metal like I said before if that's your concern...

edit : LaBrie's solo album is NOT a prog album, nor it is a METAL album... It is a solid hard-rock disc WITH prog, trashy, electronic, modern and metal elements mixed in... He stated that before... It was never meant to be a "metal" album.
 
I am going to have to call bullshit on getting Octavarium early. Its friggen James Labries solo cd, you've been had.

Bear
 
Bear said:
I am going to have to call bullshit on getting Octavarium early. Its friggen James Labries solo cd, you've been had.

Bear

I guess we'll find out when the review gets posted. Any idea when that will be, Spoink?
 
AngraRULES said:
Dude, what's wrong with the song if it's commercial? I'm seriously getting annoyed with this bulshit that has been going on over and over again for years... It's not like that's a sin or anything... The band has to do whatever is best for THEIR interest... Quit that whole "everything that's commercial sucks" attitude... It won't get you anywhere... Nor will it make you "less metal" ..

I disaggree with your opinion on the album, I think it is a great effort... It kicks Mulmuzzller's ass big time... If you don't like the experiments, you're not as open minded for music in my opinion... It comes to a point in which stuff like that is actually good, to break the routine... And again, doing stuff like that does NOT make you less metal like I said before if that's your concern...

edit : LaBrie's solo album is NOT a prog album, nor it is a METAL album... It is a solid hard-rock disc WITH prog, trashy, electronic, modern and metal elements mixed in... He stated that before... It was never meant to be a "metal" album.

I am going to have to respectfully disagree. Its metal up your ass in places!!!

Bear