TheWinterSnow
Den Mørke Natt
damn .. whats with all the Rudess bashing?
No Rudess bashing. He is a great musician and I prefer his musicianship over Moore's anyday, but musically what he has brought to dream theater since he entered the band has slowly taken the band in a very wrong direction. No I don't say this like every typical oldschool fanboy that thinks all bands newest music sucks and their old music was the best (every band has these fanboys) as I am the guy that typically likes the newer albums of most bands that I listen to and dislike the older stuff. I am inclined to want to like their newer stuff over their older works, but the majestic feature of their signature sound and "atmosphere" has gotten hazy and lost. Their old stuff was huge and epic, with the newer music being too straight forward, the atmosphere doesn't bring any sort of nostalgia even the first time listening to that album. I think that the music isn't as personal to the fans on a musical level where they have gotten more personal on a lyrical standpoint, but most of the conviction of those lyrics are truly lost in the too straight forward music and production.
But it could be Jordan's preference in synth sounds (I preferred Moore's, they were much more atmospheric), and their production, as their newer albums have beens extremely dry and reverb deprived, and as each new albums progresses, their track listing gets smaller, their songs get longer and most of the time are only longer because 70% of the song is atonal riffing and shredding that sounds like they are just a jam band that recorded a 20 minute improv session and threw vocals on it and called it a song. Their writing has become as tasteless as Zakk Wylde's pinches.
When I saw them live at Berkley it was epic as fuck to see Jordan pull out a keytar and shred dueling solos with Petrucci on stage and that was something you didn't see with Moore ever, where Moore compensated for it in songwritting. And the more recent atmospheric songs are still too dry, but again that might be the keyboard patches and production, but the atmospheric songs are too slow and depressing where the older stuff was dark and tranquil but still very upbeat.
With that in mind I have to say:
Lifting Shadows of A Dream > Ministry of Lost Souls
But this is exactly what I don't like....the direction they've taken. Now, don't get me wrong, I have and will continue to buy every DT album that comes out. But I'm still not a big fan of the stuff. It's just mainly out of some absurd loyalty.
+1
I still buy every new album that comes out and I still enjoy the fuck out of them, it sounds like I don't but I am just criticizing. There is at least one song on every new album that I love the fuck out of and will put in the CD to listen to it and a few others if I am not in a huge DT mood. If I am in the mood however, I will listen to it all the way through, although I cannot listen to Falling Into Infinity or Systematic Chaos all the way through, I have tried it but I just can't, every other album, is golden, some are just more golden than others.
