Dream Theater

[Nicky007]

so I still donno 

Well, this wasnt a secret for long, it's pasted all over progworld 

Yeah, understandable, the guys want a drummer who's top professional; they are themselves 

Grats and Welcome, NewMike, let's see what you bring to this great band 

I'm sure stoked for their upcomin album .....

Nicky.

[Nicky007]

Man, these DT videos really grip me 

Great to see Mike I again, and hear the guys' thoughts re this surprising situation. And the music snippets bring back sweet memories and remind me how much DT have filled my life with pleasure and wonder. Whew 

Nicky.

[maddox]

I'm quite happy with the outcome, really.
At first I was placing my bets upon either Mike Mangini or Marco Minnesmann. I've saw quite a few tubes from him and he was really fun to watch! A bit clownish.
He could bring something new to the DT table, some new vibes!
But Mike Mangini is worth to mention as well.
Never new this dude before the auditions but in the last few weeks I got a crash-course into him and man, he's good!
Did you know that he holds the world record of the most single strokes in one minute? 1247 times!
I'd be lucky if I would reach 200!!!

But it did made me wonder though: towards the end of episode three they were recording in the same studio where they also recorded Train of Thought.
But they were without Mike Mangini. 
I know that filling him into the Dream Theater world in just a few months can be a difficult task but still, I would've guessed that he also would be in the studio's with his new bandmates.

Just curious... 

[Nicky007]

Mike Mangini or Marco Minnesmann

Yeah, they seem to have some Mania 

Did you know that he holds the world record of the most single strokes in one minute?

What really matters is that he masters all the small nuances of the drumming craft, and is attentive and creative. My sense is that he is that fully. And he seems to be a cool guy too. So I'm very happy with their choice.

I just wonder why they didnt take him straight on, without creating that high pitch of expectation about other drummers. Of course it was fun to experience all those excellent drummers, and it probably adds substantially to their CV to have been to a DT audition, but it must be a terrible downer to have been so close ... and then "Sorry ...".

Maybe they wanted to see just how much Mike II wanted the job. And he sure did want it !

Or maybe there's other stuff involved that I can't see 

I have a hunch that a major part of it was to check out drummers for future side and solo projects 

Iac this band remains legendary, and the guys, including Mike I & II, are supercool 

Nicky.

[PH]

I've seen the three episodes and it was actually very fun to watch. Didn't expect that. I didn't know any of these drummers at all, but the ones who made a great impression on me were indeed Mike Mangini and Marco Minnemann. Mike Mangini clearly is Dream Theater's greatest fan, so it's a great choice for the band. But if they had chosen Marco Minnemann, it wouldn't have been bad either!

What I liked about Marco M. is that he really enjoyed it and was so obviously having fun. The guy was constantly happy! And funny too. His attitude would have worked with Dream Theater really well. No doubt!

To me it seems that Mike M. puts the rest of the band on a pedestal too much. That can be a problem in the future. I mean, he's a great drummer! He is on the same level as Mike Portnoy! Or any of the Dream Theater members for that matter. There's no question about that. When he idealizes and idolizes the band too much it can be at the expense of his creativity, his initiative in the writing process for example.

Marco M. was much more relaxed. So for that matter he's more in line with the other Dream Theater members. And man, was it fun to watch that guy play drums!

So for me, Marco would have been my first choice and Mike a (very very VERY) close second!

The rest was great too, but to be honest, I didn't have that same *feeling* I had with Mike and Marco. I don't think any of the other drummers would fit in Dream Theater.

All in all, I can say that these episodes made me very curious to the next Dream Theater offering! Can't wait to see the new Mike doing the best he can! I think it can only be great! (In the least!)

[maddox]

Everybody knows that Mike P. had an impressive drum kit(s) but the new mike, Mike M. has a pretty one himself as well!

[Bupie]

To me it seems that Mike M. puts the rest of the band on a pedestal too much. That can be a problem in the future. I mean, he's a great drummer! He is on the same level as Mike Portnoy! Or any of the Dream Theater members for that matter. There's no question about that. When he idealizes and idolizes the band too much it can be at the expense of his creativity, his initiative in the writing process for example.

I wouldn't worry too much about that, PH, quite the contrary. Somebody with such a drum kit can't be as humble as you think he is. He played in G3, with Steve Vaï, Extreme, he is reckognized as a great drummer so I don't think he will have any complex when it comes to compare with the rest of the band  And if it doesn't fit, it won't be the end of the world for him.

BTW, what I liked most about the documentary is John Petrucci. He really seems to be a genuine nice guy  (and so does JM in his own way). Too bad he decided to lift weights one day ...

[PH]

I wouldn't worry too much about that, PH, quite the contrary. Somebody with such a drum kit can't be as humble as you think he is. He played in G3, with Steve Vaï, Extreme, he is reckognized as a great drummer so I don't think he will have any complex when it comes to compare with the rest of the band  And if it doesn't fit, it won't be the end of the world for him.

From what I've seen, this guy is talented and he will fit very nicely in Dream Theater. I just noticed he is so excited about it and clearly dreamed about joining the band. It is his dream come true. (You can only love him for that of course!) As I said earlier, I don't know the guy, so what you say might well be true.

I am also very excited!

BTW, what I liked most about the documentary is John Petrucci. He really seems to be a genuine nice guy 

That's what I noticed too. Man, he is so nice. Musically he sets the bar really high for those musicians but he sets them at ease. He is so down to earth about it. He treats everyone with respect and consideration. I love him.
He goes one up on my respect-list.

[PH]

The new Dream Theater album can be streamed here:

http://www.lustforlifemagazine.nl/artikelen/specials/9040-exclusieve-stream-nieuwe-album-dream-theater

[PH]

A nice blooper vid!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qP6pmJdQZ0



James LaBrie can't control his laughter anymore.
Hilarious!

[PH]

A nice blooper vid!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qP6pmJdQZ0



James LaBrie can't control his laughter anymore.
Hilarious!

I love these guys, I really do! Probably the 15th time I watched this blooper video. Everytime with a smile on my face.

[Nicky007]

Thanx a lot, Paxi, I havent laughed that much for a long time. Man, I just about fell down from my computer chair. And there isn't even any punchline or anythin, it's just that their freakin out is so natural and funny 

And you'r right: Petrucci really seems like a nice cool guy. He's so relaxed with Jamie. It seemed to me that Mike P was bossin Jamie around.

Interesting that their next album is self-titled. Wonder what that means .... 

- Nicky

[PH]

Time to dig up this old topic.
I was listening to Dream Theater's latest three albums (selftitled excluded). And I thought about how I absolutely love some songs, while some others (in my opinion) are not that good. I couldn't help but think about what a Dream Theater album would look like if they took a four years (or so) interval between albums instead of two.
I was wondering what a 'best of' of these three albums would look like.
I came up with this:

1. The Ministry Of Lost Souls (14:57)
2. A Nightmare To Remember (16:10)
3. The Count Of Tuscany (19:16)
4. Bridges In The Sky (11:01)
5. Breaking All Illusions (12:25)

Total: 73:49

Wouldn't that have been their best album ever?!

I left out the self titled album because I don't think I know this album well enough yet. Right now, any of the above mentioned songs beats any song on the self titled album by a mile if you'd ask me.

I limited myself to a single disc. Which, unfortunately, was not that hard...

What would your 'best of' (2007-2013) album look like?


Man, reading this over I thought I looked like a bitter fan... Which is not really the case. I love this band. I really do. And I'm looking forward to new releases (probably 2015 eh?). But I'm with Portnoy here: I think Dream Theater could benefit from a temporary break.

[Nicky007]

Paxi, play Self-titled five times thru. I think that'l make you change your mind 

- Nicky

[PH]

That's not an answer to my question.

I'm not complaining about their latest album here. "Dream Theater" is a nice album (does a bad Dream Theater album even exist?). I simply think that the above mentioned songs are better than anything that's on the self-titled album. The songs on "Dream Theater" are most of the time much better than the ones of 2007-2011 that are not mentioned above.

My top 3:
1. The above mentioned songs of the 2007-2011 albums
2. "Dream Theater"
3. The rest of the songs on the 2007-2011 albums

[Nicky007]

To me, "best of" doesn't make any sense when we're talking about a top-league band: Dream Theater, Bal-Sagoth, Outworld (past 30 years). With such groups, everything they put out is best of, i.e. top quality

- Nicky

[PH]

Ok. Fair enough. But you must have a few favourite songs right?

So what's your favourite songs on "Dream Theater", Nicky?
And what are your favourites on "ADTOE"? And "BC&SL"? And "SC"?

[Nicky007]

Well, they usually have a catchy song on each album. Not that the catchy songs necessarily are less durable than the others, they'r just more accessible.

On Self-titled it's of course Along For The Ride - a wonderful song that, after playing, courses around in your head for quite a while.

On Dramatic it's not so obvious, but it would probably be Lost Not Forgotten. But also On The Backs Of Angels has a lot of catchiness.

On Scenes it's obviously The Spirit Carries On, and on Black Clouds The Count Of Tuscany.

But in the last end, each DT-album since I&W is marked by such supernal craftsmanship that every single moment is magic

- Nicky

[Bupie]

Time to dig up this old topic.
I was listening to Dream Theater's latest three albums (selftitled excluded). And I thought about how I absolutely love some songs, while some others (in my opinion) are not that good. I couldn't help but think about what a Dream Theater album would look like if they took a four years (or so) interval between albums instead of two.
I was wondering what a 'best of' of these three albums would look like.
I came up with this:

1. The Ministry Of Lost Souls (14:57)
2. A Nightmare To Remember (16:10)
3. The Count Of Tuscany (19:16)
4. Bridges In The Sky (11:01)
5. Breaking All Illusions (12:25)

Total: 73:49

Wouldn't that have been their best album ever?!

What would your 'best of' (2007-2013) album look like?

Interesting questions, PH.

To the first, I would answer no, Images & Words would still be better.

To the second, here's my take :

In the Presence of Enemies - Part I (9:00)
A Rite of Passage (8:36)
Wither (5:25)
The Best Of Times (13:09)
The Count Of Tuscany (19:16)
Breaking All Illusions (12:25)
Beneath the Surface (5:26)

Total time : 73:17

I tried to build a balanced album : a superb intro (ITPOE Pt 1), an energic rocker (AROP), two short ballads (Wither and BTS), a huge epic (Count) and two semi-long great epics (TBOT and BAI, the latter being possibly DT's best song ever). I entitled it Black Clouds and Lost Illusions and am rather proud of the result 

Oh, and we share two songs : not so bad after all