THE OFFICIAL DREAM THEATER DISCUSSION THREAD

[Setsu]

lol.

1. The people harping on me now clearly missed the multiple instances where I claimed to enjoy most of Dream Theater's discography.

2. Showing off just to show off is never ok, in my opinion. It's totally useless musically. It makes you go "wow, you're talented." and then, "ok, so how did that have anything to do with the song?" and/or "great, we know you're talented, so get over it and continue the song, stop stroking your ego."

I need those flashy solo's to live, I don't think you understand.

 

[Horus]

I used to be in the same boat, but after a while, it does get boring. I realized that after listening to Train of Thought over and over again. Think about it. In reality, what's the point of the end of This Dying Soul? Or half the song of In The Name of God? There really is none. It's just there to be there. It doesn't do much musically. Beethoven and Bach didn't write their classical pieces to be endless 32nd notes at a billion beats per second. The parts were there to actually serve a purpose.
Unless you LITERALLY need the solos to live, like if you're hooked up to a machine that somehow pumps you blood at an equal rate to the solo speed of Jordan Rudess and John Petrucci, then that's one thing, but if it's the only thing that impresses you, then that's another.

 

[ThornsOfSorrow]

I would think that to have your blood being pumped at the speed of Rudess and Petrucci's solos would be a very bad thing. I can just picture people exploding.

Also, I'm going to jump in the boat of people who find excessive soloing unnecessary. Once in a while it's okay, but for the most part I'd rather hear something melodic than something that's just fast. Plus I'm always more impressed when someone plays a solo once in a while rather than all the time, since the people who play solo after solo sound more repetitive than anything. In other words, it's better to be surprised by someone's skill rather than constantly reminded of it.

 

[Horus]

Exactly, that's one of the reasons I enjoy Thomas Youngblood of Kamelot so much. His soloing is simple, but it's still good, and when he does give us a nice little sweep blast, it's like fresh air. Youngblood is a prime examole of the fact that you don't need to go at a gajillion miles an hour to write a great solo.
And to date, one of my favorite guitar solos of Kamelot has to be the guitar solo in The Haunting. Not exactly my favorite song, but the way that it fits into that song, it just couldn't fit any better. It's not at a billion miles an hour, but it's just so well written that it just speaks- nay. Sings to the soul.

 

[Ascension]

Beethoven and Bach didn't write their classical pieces to be endless 32nd notes at a billion beats per second. The parts were there to actually serve a purpose.

And as l remember reading, Mozart was accused of placing far too many notes in his music at the time. l think l read where he was actually ridiculed for it. Sort of the way many are doing DT for pretty much the same thing now. Some people obviously didn't get Mozart then...

 

[Tomodo]

In reality, what's the point of the end of This Dying Soul? Or half the song of In The Name of God? There really is none. It's just there to be there. It doesn't do much musically.

YES! So true. I can easily listen to any other DT but Train Of Thought rarely gets played for me. It was great when i first heard it but all i can listen to now is As I Am without skipping.

Any other albums though it doesn't bother me that much.

I'm currently enjoying Fear Of A Blank Planet. Anesthetize is a nice example of a long song (17+ mins) that has no long solo parts but is still a very good song.

 

[Matt]

ToT is my second favorite album. lulz

 

[Kenneth R.]

what's the point of the end of This Dying Soul? Or half the song of In The Name of God? There really is none. It's just there to be there. It doesn't do much musically.

 

[ABQShredHead]

I can imagine all the Kenneths of the early 1800's saying, "there goes that damned Paganini again, showing off with another ##$%@#%ing Caprice".

 

[claudeRichard]

I'm gonna jump in on the discussion here. I don't like purely technical stuff that you can't headbang with. At first I'll maybe laugh a little, but then it's like, 'what the hell is this? This isn't cool!'. On the other hand, I like melodic stuff as long as it doesn't have too much of the following chord progression or its transpositions:

A minor - F major - C major - G major

I've heard that chord progression too many times.

Here's another thing: why the $%^* do I not have SFaM yet? I only downloaded like half the album off limewire, which I regret. I hate limewire.

 

[Ascension]

I can imagine all the Kenneths of the early 1800's saying, "there goes that damned Paganini again, showing off with another ##$%@#%ing Caprice".

LOL...exactly...refer to my post above about Mozart

 

[progmetaldan]

I always wondered why Paganini and Mozart were my favourite composers...

I love this thread...

I'm not gonna argue about this, I'm just gonna state my opinion.

I LOVE unrestrained showing off for extended periods of time at death-defying speeds. I get a kick out of playing fast whether it sounds good or not, but I love it even more when it does sound good. I think Petrucci (and many other shredders) fast playing sounds good. Even if it doesn't, I can appreciate it when Petrucci and Rudess play perfectly in time at warp-speed, harmonizing crazy tunes ie. the end of 'This Dying Soul'. I think this new album will contain solos which are just as insane, but better sounding, moving this album to second favourite behind SFAM (though I hope it surpasses it) Train Of Thought currently is about third, but I especially enjoy watching them play the ToT songs live on 'Live At Budokan' it gives a whole new appreciation for the sheer skill of what they're doing...

The End.

 

[Setsu]

Stream of Consciousness

I don't particularly care whether it's necessary or not. Jumping up and down like a moron isn't necessary, but it's still fun. Drinking beer isn't necessary, but it's still fun. There are a lot of things in life like this, so let's just leave it to opinion.

 

[progmetaldan]

Amen.

Playing air guitar is stupid, embarrassing, moronic and utterly pointless... but it's fun.
Where would we be without ultra fast, insane soloing, playing air guitar to slow melodic lines just isn't the same...

 

[Horus]

It's one thing to do crazy ridiculous endless shredding where it actually works, but what I'm saying is that when you put in a shred part just to put it in so you can say "look how awesome I am", (I.E. the end of This Dying Soul) that's when it's just pointless. Just because it's fast and hard to play doesn't justify its presence. That's like someone making a Jewish joke at a Bar Mitzvah. Just because it's funny doesn't mean that it's the right place to do it.

 

[Setsu]

I'd make a Jewish joke at a Bar Mitzvah. Maybe the stick is just too far in your ass. Not everything needs to be a serious venture into masterpiece theatre.

 

[Kenneth R.]

Stream of Consciousness

I don't particularly care whether it's necessary or not. Jumping up and down like a moron isn't necessary, but it's still fun. Drinking beer isn't necessary, but it's still fun. There are a lot of things in life like this, so let's just leave it to opinion.

the reason you'd like to leave it to opinion is it serves as a defense for those on your side, who have no actual basis for arguing other than this shaky point.

it can also be argued that an excess of all of the above is bad for you.

 

[reidie]

ahhh pretty sure the end section of "this dying soul" does have a purpose. It is the main musical link between "this dying soul" and the "glass prison" - i personally enojoy that kinda thing but can see how people find it unnecessary

 

[Anonymous]

I don't mind superfast solos if it's regulated, much like Jeff Loomis. He may shred at the speed of sound but it's not for 5 minutes straight.

 

[progmetaldan]

True, Jeff Loomis is awesome.