Heirs to the DT throne?

[KingsGene]

Just curious where people think Mastodon fit in this equation...?

 

[dtguitarfan]

Nope. Yes never held the throne.

BURN.

I'd advise you never to say that on the progressivearchives forum or you'll be lynched - they'll find you and string you up! ;-)

 

[AngraRULES]

I'd advise you never to say that on the progressivearchives forum or you'll be lynched - they'll find you and string you up! ;-)

Prog rockers lynching *anyone*?

 

[dtguitarfan]

Prog rockers lynching *anyone*?

You're right...they'll probably just...uh...throw flowers at you or something. But it would be slightly annoying, so...don't do it.

 

[Dominick_7]

Prog rockers lynching *anyone*?

Lol. Nice.

 

[Dominick_7]

I'm gonna say one more thing, and then I'm done. Bringing Adele in, you're not even comparing fruit any more - with AAL and DT I may be comparing apples to oranges. In fact, I know I am. But here's the thing - if we had a discussion in the early 90's about who would take the throne from Rush, and I said DT, you might have said "DT has more in common with Iron Maiden than with Rush!" And you might have thought I was ridiculous. But styles change. The next Progressive band to be the most influential and noteworthy of it's day may not belong to the same sub-category or subgenre as DT. That's all I'm saying. Who would I LIKE to take over the throne from DT and who do I think makes the most sense as far as being stylistically similar? Seventh Wonder, Circus Maximus, Symphony X, or Redemption. But I don't think that's realistically going to happen. Why? SW and CM have families and jobs - things tying them down and keeping them from throwing themselves 100% into their music career. SX and Redemption have already been around for a while and haven't taken over the throne yet so I'm not sure that's happening. I can't say who is going to take over, and neither can anyone else, it's all just guessing. But AAL is a progressive band, and they have earned some recognition pretty fast so I think it's possible they might be very influential in days to come, that's all I'm saying.

Haven't several of the members of DT had a family of their own for many years now? Can that really be the reason? Or you saying DT are horrible people unlike CW and SW, because they neglect and abandon them every time they tour?

 

[dtguitarfan]

Haven't several of the members of DT had a family of their own for many years now? Can that really be the reason? Or you saying DT are horrible people unlike CW and SW, because they neglect and abandon them every time they tour?

Seriously? No, I'm saying that because DT started young and before they had things holding them down, that may have contributed to their success. I'm not questioning ANYONE'S dedication here.

 

[No Username]

I can tell you who was...and then blew it.

Pain of Salvation.

Wow that is confusing. I was hooked the second I heard DT. Not a doubt in my mind that these guys were killer, and would be one of my top shelf groups. That was ten years ago and they are still on top.

Some other groups I had to listen a few times before I was hooked, or at least I could understand why others might like them.

On the other hand, I have heard probably 3 PoS albums and thought each was worse than the other.

No offense to the Haken fans, but DT like? WTF?. They are ok, but the band comes nowhere near the complexity, energy or talent that DT has.

 

[Harvester]

Some other groups I had to listen a few times before I was hooked, or at least I could understand why others might like them.

Two things:

I answered the "heir" question from both a historical commercial standpoint & public perception during their high point (releases 2-4). Pain of Salvation were selling lots of records (relative for our scene), garnering critical praise in print media, & developing into a solid live draw in Europe. They went from being a Japanese release only band to getting a big push from IOMA. They simply had the "buzz" in the underground. Those that hung around the larger progressive metal forums a decade ago can attest to their universal popularity with the prog fans based simply on reading posts (good or bad).

I don't have a dog in the DT/Haken hunt. However, I do think that the last Haken was more prog than the last DT (and I enjoyed both).

 

[sccaldwell]

I listened to every band mentioned in this thread (hoping to get turned on to some new music) and while there are some talented musicians in the bands, I do not think any of them can come close to Dream Theater in musicianship, talent, and songwriting.

Listen to Seventh Wonder again.

I'd say they're closer to DT than even Circus Maximus (and I *LOVE* me some CM), although I'm ashamed that I forgot to include CM in my list (been too long since they released a CD, dammit!!!).

Seriously, though...listen to SW's The Great Escape a few times....a truly mind-blowing CD from every perspective.

Craig

 

[sccaldwell]

No offense to the Haken fans, but DT like? WTF?. They are ok, but the band comes nowhere near the complexity, energy or talent that DT has.

Seriously? Are we listening to the same Haken?

Perhaps Haken doesn't flaunt their musicianship to quite the extent DT does (and that's neither a good nor bad thing), but it's definitely there...and while I'll still give DT the nod as far as being in a slightly higher tier as far as pure musicianship, I'll also give Haken the nod as far as songwriting and experimentation (without going overboard).

The complexity is totally there for Haken, too...seriously, have you actually *listened* to both the Aquarius and Visions CDs??

 

[dtguitarfan]

Listen to Seventh Wonder again.

I'd say they're closer to DT than even Circus Maximus (and I *LOVE* me some CM), although I'm ashamed that I forgot to include CM in my list (been too long since they released a CD, dammit!!!).

Seriously, though...listen to SW's The Great Escape a few times....a truly mind-blowing CD from every perspective.

Craig

^
THIS!

 

[Kazar]

^^ That indeed!

 

[zedowns]

Seriously? Are we listening to the same Haken?

Perhaps Haken doesn't flaunt their musicianship to quite the extent DT does (and that's neither a good nor bad thing), but it's definitely there...and while I'll still give DT the nod as far as being in a slightly higher tier as far as pure musicianship, I'll also give Haken the nod as far as songwriting and experimentation (without going overboard).

The complexity is totally there for Haken, too...seriously, have you actually *listened* to both the Aquarius and Visions CDs??

This.

DT are probably still the best musicians in the genre, but Haken is pretty much as close as it gets.

That said, DT hasn't written music as good as Visions since Awake.

 

[dtguitarfan]

This.

DT are probably still the best musicians in the genre, but Haken is pretty much as close as it gets.

That said, DT hasn't written music as good as Visions since Awake.

Whoah...whoah...have you heard the new album? A Dramatic Turn of Events is...wow. Just wow. And to the guy who doesn't think Seventh Wonder measures up, my pick for best album of the year is either ADTOE or Seventh Wonder's Great Escape - hard to pick between the two. It's that good.

 

[dtguitarfan]

I should add that I, too, LOVE both of Haken's albums. Got my copy of Visions signed! Wish I had remembered to bring Aquarius... :-(

 

[Meteornotes]

I can tell you who was...and then blew it.

Pain of Salvation.

You are 100% correct with this. The buzz on these guys after the first three discs was really strong. And then, um...

I've seen some good choices here. Seventh Wonder or Circus Maximus are probably the most "DT like" bands on this list, and of the two I currently give SW a little bit bigger chance to assume this crown.

Though honestly, I still think the two best prog metal discs of the last decade were Redemption's "The Fullness Of Time" and Andromeda's "Extension Of The Wish". Redemption could be huge if they got the right breaks. Honestly, I really thought Andromeda was going to be the new DT after that first CD, but they sort of wandered off in a different direction.

And while I love Riverside, I'd never compare them to DT. They are much more like Porcupine Tree. Though I also don't understand why Riverside isn't a lot more popular than they are, since everything they've recorded has been amazing and their live shows are stunning. I keep thinking the PT audience would latch onto these guys, but so far they haven't.

Of course, if we're looking for a band that's popular in our circle, and could be a huge breakout band it they got the chance/promotion, I will again toss out the name I always toss out: Freak Kitchen.

dt

 

[FatesFan]

Usually the crown isn't really passed on until the current King is dead... all I'm saying.

This.................

I don't really get the whole heir thing since they are still very much alive and relevant. To be honest, I don't see any band being mentioned here achieve the same level of success as DT has. Not to say that success = quality or that the bands mentioned in this thread are not quality bands. To the contrary, the bands mentioned in this thread are the cream of the crop for sure. Having said that, for my money, Seventh Wonder is hands down the best prog metal band going.

 

[farren]

Though honestly, I still think the two best prog metal discs of the last decade were Redemption's "The Fullness Of Time" and Andromeda's "Extension Of The Wish". Redemption could be huge if they got the right breaks. Honestly, I really thought Andromeda was going to be the new DT after that first CD, but they sort of wandered off in a different direction...

I was ready to hail Andromeda as the next great progmetal band when Extension of the Wish with Lawrence Mackrory (who was only going to be the temporary studio vocalist under their agreement) came out. I thought "Johan Reinholdz is fucking brilliant [and then so young]--he's somehow created a unique form of psychedelic progressive metal. He's got to have at least a couple really strong albums in him before his material sounds the least bit tired." The CD didn't leave my car's player for half a year at least.

In comes David Fremberg... "Okay, now they have a typical-sounding prog singer singing Lawrence's bits on a re-released version of Extension... This guy doesn't fit the aforementioned psychedelic vibe of the album. I'll just keep listening to the Lawrence version and I'm sure the next album will feature musicianship and originality that harkens back to the first--I'll just get used to the vocals."

In comes collaborative writing... II=I isn't a bad album, but there's nothing original about it, save the title track. And the albums to follow, particularly their newest... Well, yeah...

It's really a shame Johan Reinholdz isn't a control freak asshole like Dave Mustaine or Daniel Gildenlow... The guy is brilliant for masterminding Extension of the Wish, and it's truly a shame that once he assembled a proper band, he was willing to allow them to participate in the writing process and turn the band into "just another prog metal act." He seems like a really nice guy so I suppose it's only natural he'd be willing to share the creative process, but it appears I'm not the only one who wishes he wouldn't.

 

[ThXinc]

Good discussion everyone! As long as DT is active, I'll stay in a holding pattern I suppose. But one can't deny the strength of the ProgMetal genre. Such a diverse spectrum of perception. Love it! It 10AM EST yet?