Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos

deathstrike from hell said:
dream_theater_p2007_054.jpg


Dimmu_Borgir_galder01.jpg


Twins?
Click to expand...

Ha!
 
I purchased this cd Friday along with the Iced Earth ep and must say the new DT is pretty good, The Dark Eternal is a bad ass song and the cd overall is great. I wont be checking out this band live(cause they annoy me live) but the cd is great.
 
this is getting into a real lame discussion about how people look :p...its about the music people!! :P

and since i dont care for dream theater that much..it isnt even about the music for me
 
So finally, I got a chance to listen to my second favorite band of all time's most recent release, Systematic Chaos twice so far today.

First of all, let me say that this is a very good album. I think it is a very solid release. However, I see some problems here and there that have been rooted since Octavarium and are becoming more apparent on this one. (I have not watched the "making of" documentary yet)

1. in the Presence of My Enemies - What a great start! Cool progressions, all band members got to be involved-very cool. Starts of with a hammer in the forehead blasting. Great. The beginning of an epic. So I have got the mood of the album... (I assumed. I mean shit, there is a part two at the end.) the lyrics were different. Somewhat fantasy oriented, rare for Dream Theater, not for my other stuff-I liked it-but somehow something seemed... awry.

2. Forsaken - eeee. The pop side of Dream Theater shows its face once again. I am not against pop music or great melodies but this was an Evanescence rip off!! Come on guys. It did not shock me like "The Answer lies within" did last time-and honestly by the second time I heard it it really wasn't that bad.

3. Constant Motion - When i heard this released as the single, I freaked out. It sucked so bad. As a single. But when i heard it this time, I loved it! (Maybe because of the stuff before...) It was raw, different-and some technical stuff finally thrown in! I had been waiting for Portnoy to go off, but it took him until the third song to even warm up it seems. And Portnoy's debut on vocals by himself melodically on the chorus was horrible. Portnoy, please stick to backup and... rapping? (Another trend...)The chorus was overall lackluster. I liked the Hetfield-esque stuff going on in the verses though. Although the song was good, it did not fit the whole overall mood of the album. It felt just kind of thrown in there.

4. The Dark Eternal Night - Best one. To me, this is the first song since ItPoE pt1 that actually fit in with the album. This one was the first one that was ACTUALLY heavy like has been claimed numerous times. Obviously Dream Theater does not know what "heavy" really means I guess. So far it's really a softer album-like Octavarium. But this one really fit the mood of the first track and the lyrics also kind of related to the first track - I think. All the instrumentation was good, good technicality and originality.

5. Repentance - Teh Suck. the worst part of the 1000 part series about Portnoy making sucha big deal about his past where he oh my god, drank... alcohol! Really on the depths there... This one pissed me off it sucked so bad. No instrumentation, rehashing of old shitty material. No where does it fit in the album.

6. Prophets of War - uh. Hold the phone, what's going on? Did James Labrie take over on this one? Actually it wasn't that bad. Sounded like partial rip-off of Disco Queen by Pain of Salvation which sucked. But really it was different, and interesting. Does not even come close to fitting on the album, it sounded like something Labrie would have put on his solo album.

7. The Ministry of Lost Souls - Eh... another slow poppy ballad thing that's really long and boring. The second time around I liked it a lot better-and the mood definitely fits the album. I won't knock it too bad. DId sound like there was some rehashing going on.

8. In the Presence of Enemies Part II - Good track. 2nd best one. I feel like ItPoEpt1, tDEN, tMoLS, and ItPoE pt 2 should have been on this album. The rest should have waited for another one. Pt 2 was like the first cept longer and better. Great stuff.

9. Wait. The album is over? Wtf.

There was a lack of technicality of olden days. Basically like a slightly rougher version of Octavarium. Do not know why it was considered that heavy. Sure some parts to it but NOTHING compared to Train of Thought. Usually Dream Theater tries to keep a central idea- or theme if you will. Not on this one. It's like the band members keep pressing in seperate directions with less and less connectivity. Scenes and 6 Degrees had it. Train of thought had a "rock-out" idea that made it work. Octavarium began to lose it-but made up for it with all the interesting little connectiosn with the album artwork and key progressions of the album itself as a whole. Plus the track octavarium made up for everything with it's greatness. First of all, Systematic Chaos? Wow, leave of the Systematic and replace randomness. Dream Theater needs a shocker-something to get them back on the same page. Roadrunner might make them into trivium wanna be's like the metal world is right now.

I NEVER though i would say this, but Portnoy needs to go home and practice! It's not that his parts are bad, or shabby, but we HAVE heard them ALL before! Octavarium was the same way. He is not pushing the envelope anymore. Petrucci, same shit man. New ideas. It's like Dream Theater has almost used it up because they include so much in each song. I can understand. But Neil Peart really kicked Portnoy's ass this time around. JLB shined on this album-sometimes too much(I don't like a whole lot of emphasis on vocals) This album definitely was about some vocals. LB- keep it a little straighter-not as much eh's and ah's like a female. LB you are the least important part of this band-stay that way. Myung and Rudess both did well as always.

Like I said, I liked the album I bet it will grow on me. But the small problems from octavarium have gotten bigger on this one. I hope it does not become a trend. If so, I would suggest a new band member-getting rid of an old one (that hurts just to even think of that), or some fire getting under these motherfuckers to practice and start making ALBUMS and not just some songs here and there to form together on a cd. It's all up to Portnoy, it always has been. He's got to shake them up out of the rut-but lately it seems like he's leading them into it. And the cover art is cool-but what the fuck does it have to do with anything? I just finish hearing about the Dark Master and I turn the page and there is ants at a picnic crawling around with food happily. Okay then.

Good Luck Dream Theater.
 
Starman2112 said:
So finally, I got a chance to listen to my second favorite band of all time's most recent release, Systematic Chaos twice so far today.

First of all, let me say that this is a very good album. I think it is a very solid release. However, I see some problems here and there that have been rooted since Octavarium and are becoming more apparent on this one. (I have not watched the "making of" documentary yet)

1. in the Presence of My Enemies - What a great start! Cool progressions, all band members got to be involved-very cool. Starts of with a hammer in the forehead blasting. Great. The beginning of an epic. So I have got the mood of the album... (I assumed. I mean shit, there is a part two at the end.) the lyrics were different. Somewhat fantasy oriented, rare for Dream Theater, not for my other stuff-I liked it-but somehow something seemed... awry.

2. Forsaken - eeee. The pop side of Dream Theater shows its face once again. I am not against pop music or great melodies but this was an Evanescence rip off!! Come on guys. It did not shock me like "The Answer lies within" did last time-and honestly by the second time I heard it it really wasn't that bad.

3. Constant Motion - When i heard this released as the single, I freaked out. It sucked so bad. As a single. But when i heard it this time, I loved it! (Maybe because of the stuff before...) It was raw, different-and some technical stuff finally thrown in! I had been waiting for Portnoy to go off, but it took him until the third song to even warm up it seems. And Portnoy's debut on vocals by himself melodically on the chorus was horrible. Portnoy, please stick to backup and... rapping? (Another trend...)The chorus was overall lackluster. I liked the Hetfield-esque stuff going on in the verses though. Although the song was good, it did not fit the whole overall mood of the album. It felt just kind of thrown in there.

4. The Dark Eternal Night - Best one. To me, this is the first song since ItPoE pt1 that actually fit in with the album. This one was the first one that was ACTUALLY heavy like has been claimed numerous times. Obviously Dream Theater does not know what "heavy" really means I guess. So far it's really a softer album-like Octavarium. But this one really fit the mood of the first track and the lyrics also kind of related to the first track - I think. All the instrumentation was good, good technicality and originality.

5. Repentance - Teh Suck. the worst part of the 1000 part series about Portnoy making sucha big deal about his past where he oh my god, drank... alcohol! Really on the depths there... This one pissed me off it sucked so bad. No instrumentation, rehashing of old shitty material. No where does it fit in the album.

6. Prophets of War - uh. Hold the phone, what's going on? Did James Labrie take over on this one? Actually it wasn't that bad. Sounded like partial rip-off of Disco Queen by Pain of Salvation which sucked. But really it was different, and interesting. Does not even come close to fitting on the album, it sounded like something Labrie would have put on his solo album.

7. The Ministry of Lost Souls - Eh... another slow poppy ballad thing that's really long and boring. The second time around I liked it a lot better-and the mood definitely fits the album. I won't knock it too bad. DId sound like there was some rehashing going on.

8. In the Presence of Enemies Part II - Good track. 2nd best one. I feel like ItPoEpt1, tDEN, tMoLS, and ItPoE pt 2 should have been on this album. The rest should have waited for another one. Pt 2 was like the first cept longer and better. Great stuff.

9. Wait. The album is over? Wtf.

There was a lack of technicality of olden days. Basically like a slightly rougher version of Octavarium. Do not know why it was considered that heavy. Sure some parts to it but NOTHING compared to Train of Thought. Usually Dream Theater tries to keep a central idea- or theme if you will. Not on this one. It's like the band members keep pressing in seperate directions with less and less connectivity. Scenes and 6 Degrees had it. Train of thought had a "rock-out" idea that made it work. Octavarium began to lose it-but made up for it with all the interesting little connectiosn with the album artwork and key progressions of the album itself as a whole. Plus the track octavarium made up for everything with it's greatness. First of all, Systematic Chaos? Wow, leave of the Systematic and replace randomness. Dream Theater needs a shocker-something to get them back on the same page. Roadrunner might make them into trivium wanna be's like the metal world is right now.

I NEVER though i would say this, but Portnoy needs to go home and practice! It's not that his parts are bad, or shabby, but we HAVE heard them ALL before! Octavarium was the same way. He is not pushing the envelope anymore. Petrucci, same shit man. New ideas. It's like Dream Theater has almost used it up because they include so much in each song. I can understand. But Neil Peart really kicked Portnoy's ass this time around. JLB shined on this album-sometimes too much(I don't like a whole lot of emphasis on vocals) This album definitely was about some vocals. LB- keep it a little straighter-not as much eh's and ah's like a female. LB you are the least important part of this band-stay that way. Myung and Rudess both did well as always.

Like I said, I liked the album I bet it will grow on me. But the small problems from octavarium have gotten bigger on this one. I hope it does not become a trend. If so, I would suggest a new band member-getting rid of an old one (that hurts just to even think of that), or some fire getting under these motherfuckers to practice and start making ALBUMS and not just some songs here and there to form together on a cd. It's all up to Portnoy, it always has been. He's got to shake them up out of the rut-but lately it seems like he's leading them into it. And the cover art is cool-but what the fuck does it have to do with anything? I just finish hearing about the Dark Master and I turn the page and there is ants at a picnic crawling around with food happily. Okay then.

Good Luck Dream Theater.
Click to expand...

LOL. I have a feeling you haven't been listening to Dream Theater very long. With the exception of Jordan, (and James to an extent), they've been playing together for almost 25 years. Why would they kick someone out.

And dream theater needs to practice? What? hahahaha. John petrucci plays guitar (most days) for no less than 3 hours. Whens the last time you picked up a guitar?

"Obviously Dream Theater does not know what "heavy" really means I guess. So far it's really a softer album-like Octavarium." = Train of Thought wasn't heavy?? Distortion doesn't equal heavieness. It's acheived through ambience. What mood the music is portraying, and what the story is unfolding. Parliament were heavy. Robert Johnson is heavy. Johnny Cash is heavy. Heavy isn't detuned korn style fucking bass hanging down to your knees.
You obviously don't understand the message of the album yet.

"There was a lack of technicality of the olden days" Are we listening to the same album? Could YOU play 1 (if any) solo on this cd on any instrument?

The album cover art makes perfect sense to me. Systematic Chaos= A controlled chaos. Ants= People Roads= Life and choices. Put down the remote and pick up a fucking book. Jesus.

Repentence is awesome. Steven wilson, joe satriani, mikael akerfedlt, and mike portnoy talking about mistakes they made in life. The song fits the mood of the album entirely. Alchohol was a big part of portnoys life at a time. Its a very controlling substance (ask metallica). He's proud to be clean. Whats wrong with that?

God, it would take me a month to comment on your stupidity for the paragraphs your wrote.
 
Starman2112 said:
So finally, I got a chance to listen to my second favorite band of all time's most recent release, Systematic Chaos twice so far today.

First of all, let me say that this is a very good album. I think it is a very solid release. However, I see some problems here and there that have been rooted since Octavarium and are becoming more apparent on this one. (I have not watched the "making of" documentary yet)

1. in the Presence of My Enemies - What a great start! Cool progressions, all band members got to be involved-very cool. Starts of with a hammer in the forehead blasting. Great. The beginning of an epic. So I have got the mood of the album... (I assumed. I mean shit, there is a part two at the end.) the lyrics were different. Somewhat fantasy oriented, rare for Dream Theater, not for my other stuff-I liked it-but somehow something seemed... awry.

2. Forsaken - eeee. The pop side of Dream Theater shows its face once again. I am not against pop music or great melodies but this was an Evanescence rip off!! Come on guys. It did not shock me like "The Answer lies within" did last time-and honestly by the second time I heard it it really wasn't that bad.

3. Constant Motion - When i heard this released as the single, I freaked out. It sucked so bad. As a single. But when i heard it this time, I loved it! (Maybe because of the stuff before...) It was raw, different-and some technical stuff finally thrown in! I had been waiting for Portnoy to go off, but it took him until the third song to even warm up it seems. And Portnoy's debut on vocals by himself melodically on the chorus was horrible. Portnoy, please stick to backup and... rapping? (Another trend...)The chorus was overall lackluster. I liked the Hetfield-esque stuff going on in the verses though. Although the song was good, it did not fit the whole overall mood of the album. It felt just kind of thrown in there.

4. The Dark Eternal Night - Best one. To me, this is the first song since ItPoE pt1 that actually fit in with the album. This one was the first one that was ACTUALLY heavy like has been claimed numerous times. Obviously Dream Theater does not know what "heavy" really means I guess. So far it's really a softer album-like Octavarium. But this one really fit the mood of the first track and the lyrics also kind of related to the first track - I think. All the instrumentation was good, good technicality and originality.

5. Repentance - Teh Suck. the worst part of the 1000 part series about Portnoy making sucha big deal about his past where he oh my god, drank... alcohol! Really on the depths there... This one pissed me off it sucked so bad. No instrumentation, rehashing of old shitty material. No where does it fit in the album.

6. Prophets of War - uh. Hold the phone, what's going on? Did James Labrie take over on this one? Actually it wasn't that bad. Sounded like partial rip-off of Disco Queen by Pain of Salvation which sucked. But really it was different, and interesting. Does not even come close to fitting on the album, it sounded like something Labrie would have put on his solo album.

7. The Ministry of Lost Souls - Eh... another slow poppy ballad thing that's really long and boring. The second time around I liked it a lot better-and the mood definitely fits the album. I won't knock it too bad. DId sound like there was some rehashing going on.

8. In the Presence of Enemies Part II - Good track. 2nd best one. I feel like ItPoEpt1, tDEN, tMoLS, and ItPoE pt 2 should have been on this album. The rest should have waited for another one. Pt 2 was like the first cept longer and better. Great stuff.

9. Wait. The album is over? Wtf.

There was a lack of technicality of olden days. Basically like a slightly rougher version of Octavarium. Do not know why it was considered that heavy. Sure some parts to it but NOTHING compared to Train of Thought. Usually Dream Theater tries to keep a central idea- or theme if you will. Not on this one. It's like the band members keep pressing in seperate directions with less and less connectivity. Scenes and 6 Degrees had it. Train of thought had a "rock-out" idea that made it work. Octavarium began to lose it-but made up for it with all the interesting little connectiosn with the album artwork and key progressions of the album itself as a whole. Plus the track octavarium made up for everything with it's greatness. First of all, Systematic Chaos? Wow, leave of the Systematic and replace randomness. Dream Theater needs a shocker-something to get them back on the same page. Roadrunner might make them into trivium wanna be's like the metal world is right now.

I NEVER though i would say this, but Portnoy needs to go home and practice! It's not that his parts are bad, or shabby, but we HAVE heard them ALL before! Octavarium was the same way. He is not pushing the envelope anymore. Petrucci, same shit man. New ideas. It's like Dream Theater has almost used it up because they include so much in each song. I can understand. But Neil Peart really kicked Portnoy's ass this time around. JLB shined on this album-sometimes too much(I don't like a whole lot of emphasis on vocals) This album definitely was about some vocals. LB- keep it a little straighter-not as much eh's and ah's like a female. LB you are the least important part of this band-stay that way. Myung and Rudess both did well as always.

Like I said, I liked the album I bet it will grow on me. But the small problems from octavarium have gotten bigger on this one. I hope it does not become a trend. If so, I would suggest a new band member-getting rid of an old one (that hurts just to even think of that), or some fire getting under these motherfuckers to practice and start making ALBUMS and not just some songs here and there to form together on a cd. It's all up to Portnoy, it always has been. He's got to shake them up out of the rut-but lately it seems like he's leading them into it. And the cover art is cool-but what the fuck does it have to do with anything? I just finish hearing about the Dark Master and I turn the page and there is ants at a picnic crawling around with food happily. Okay then.

Good Luck Dream Theater.
Click to expand...

I would love to pick apart at this but instead, sleep sounds more appealing. Though, as a Dream Theater fan since 1992, it might be fun. Piss, maybe I'll save it until the weekend, when I'm drunk. :lol:
 
In support of Deathstrike's claim of Dream Theater's technicality.

The solo's in Dream Theater are inhuman, there are maybe two people on this board who could tear them up, even then with a ton of practice.

Practicing Fatal Tragedy right now, and let me tell you, it's NOT fucking easy, with 7 hours a day and more on weekends.
 
I was talking comparatively, immature disciples. I have been a Dream Theater fan for a very long time. I love ToT and actually mentioned that the album WAS heavy-if you had read the whole thing, Deathstrike. And I LIKE this album, but it is just not like the former albums. Not NEAR as good. The technicality is much less prominent-similar to the "Falling into Infinity" days. Compared to most albums in the world it is a masterpiece-but for DT standards it is sub-par.

I do not enjoy Slipknot's music-nor do I think they are "heavy." But Dream Theater needs to practice- here's why. These parts are FUCKING unoriginal. I could go through each song and pick out things from previous albums. We all know it-why deny this? It's partially because they shove so much into one song (thats awesome) and now nine albums down the road they have exhausted some creativity. Portnoy used his same beats that he always does. Which are good-but after hearing them on LTE1, 2, Transatlantics albums, all the DT albums, and all the Neal Morse albums he is on I guess I wish he would explore some more with his skills, which are undeniable.

Your too tired to pick apart my response because its true and there is really nothing to pick apart.

Keep in mind, Dream theater is my second favorite band, and i really like this album. i am just concerned with the future albums if the small problems keep growing bigger. I could not play any of the guitar, keyboard or bass stuff I don't play. And I could not sing what Labrie does. However, i can play most of the album on drums-because I have been practicing his beats since Metropolis-and he has employed all the same stuff on this one. And i could sing any of the things Portnoy does. The vocals from Portnoy on ICM sound like an junior high solo.

Well maybe Petrucci is not practicing the right techniques or exploring enough. I heard in a recent interview that Portnoy practices ZERO hours everyday. Wow. Good job. Too busy marketing bootlegs of himself I guess. His lack of practice shows-since Gavin Harrison won the Prog drummer of the year-first time Portnoy has been beaten in like 12 years or something...
 
If anything, Dream Theater could use less technicality. It's a double-edged sword and them using it too much hurts them.
 
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