New Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings review - Page 5

DT fans, be sure to pick up the new release "Blood" from Kevin Moore's band, OSI, it is one of the better recorded/mastered heavy albums I have heard in quite a while. And the music is pretty swell also, my favorite of 2009 thus far.

I have to agree that the sound quality is just ok. The recording seems a bit bright, with not enough low end. I always thought Images and Words was produced like a pop record, it had a very smooth sound to it. Awake, still their best recorded album as far as sound quality goes.

The new cd has a lot of nice musical moments, but does anybody just shake their head when Portnoy tries to do the growling(cookie monster)vocals. It is almost laughable bad. Sometimes I wonder what the band thinks sometimes....they moments of brilliance followed moments of pure cheese and not good cheese I might add. I really do love this band most of the time it is just the little things they do that grate on my nerves. The musicianship on this record though is just plain stunning. They are awesome players no doubt. I think the best thing they have done with this new cd is if you buy the 3 disc set, you get the whole album instrumental without any vocals. This is a great decision and that disc will definitely get more play.

No doubt, the Portnoy attempts at the death-metal growl are NOT well advised. There was a huge internet debate on this, and Portnoy himself even replied to it on his site:

The story behind my vocals on "A Nightmare To Remember"

I've read through, the actual attempt to a death growl was quite good indeed, they sould have kept that. Otherwise, a guest appearance by Akerfeldt himself would have been really cool.

I agree with Portnoy that some gruff or death style vocals would not be out of place on that song (and even a few of their other recent tunes). If executed well, it would have added to the song. However, MP's butchered attempt does just the opposite, disctracting the listener with a "WTF?!?!?" moment.

I have a problem with his rationalization of using his own voice, rather than a more competant guest vocalist. I mean, boo hoo, he'd have to do that part on the road, that is no reason to lower the quality of their studio album. And if he thinks his voice is as good as Akerfeldt's, then the self-delusion is even worse than I thought.

Of course anyone CAN sing. It doesn't mean that they can do so in a way that has the character, personality, or whatever else MP thinks make up a good, non-virtuoso vocalist. All those people he cites sing much more effectively than he does, and it is rather presumptuous of him to imply such a comparison.

More than anything, it illustrates the primary problem, in my view, with DT in recent years: a seemingly ear-plugged sense of self-delusion and tone-deafness to the real world. If DT had a voice they trusted and would listen to, like a good producer, their last few albums would have had a lot fewer instances of sloppiness, lacking creativity, and just flat bad decisions (like the vocal in question). Instead they just plug along, seemingly doing whatever, without really being pushed to excel. And it is sad, because we all know they are capable of such great heights.

Outstanding post. It summarizes my thoughts perfectly.

They are capable of SO MUCH, yet they are in a rut, and their hubris (and creative bubble) will not let them see it. Same old crap over and over. They think they are a death metal band, when they are clearly a progressive rock/metal band. Drop the posery and stick to where the strengths are. And for Christ's sake, bring back the genuine melody. It is so forced and contrived.

Yeah, as much as some might poo-poo Falling Into Infinity for the commercially-driven Desmond Child tracks, the balance of that album is melodically awesome in a way they haven't really touched since Scenes. Granted, I really enjoy 6 Degrees and Train of Thought, but they do lack that melodic magic that characterized early DT.

my opinion about this is...keep the growls for the death metal scene.
growls sound good only in more extreme metal IMO, dream theater should do what they do best: melodic progressive metal. and stay away form any growls or screaming!
by the way...i didn't even know that he tried to do growls vocals, i thought that it is just "pain of salvation" kind of shouting. this is not sound like growl to me. but if that what he wanted he defenitely should have bring a professional for this.

I think the album in general is pretty good and got some great melodies, but i still don't like its sound. not open and metallic as images and words or awake which are IMO their best sounding albums. (images IMO is also their best album!)

Actually, the start of the album had me thinking they'd turned into a black metal band. Then Labrie's voice came on and shattered that particular illusion

Still not 100% sold on the album, but I haven't listened to it enough. Initial thoughts are that it rambles too much, and the melodic/hook sections are too blatantly hooks (Rite of Passage chorus, for instance).

I've received my vinyl, ripped it 24/96 as i usually do, the gatefold sleeve is top quality heavy cardboard, sound wise it's quite good, not very loud or compressed by todays standards...

So far i liked A Rite of Passage, The Shattered Fortress and the Count of Tuscany, on these tracks the band managed to blend melody and heavy riffs with enough variation. I found the remaining tracks extremely cheesy, still not bad however...

I lost complete interest in Dream Theater since Octavarium.

Each album before had great concepts and melodic uniqueness; I don't even have to say things their first 3 albums (perhaps excluding the first one). Falling Infinity, despite the harsh critiques, had songs that were pleasurable and considerably epic to listen to (Trial of Tears, Peruvian skies, Lines in the sand, etc.). Train of Thought was fresh and interesting just because I liked hearing DT's complete metal sound. Octavarium was okay; I thought it was kind of having a DT twist to artists like U2, Muse, and Pink floyd, and the title song was very much enjoyable.

Now the last two albums sound just the same, with no real theme, cheesier than usual lyrics, and nothing to grab my attention. Yes they're still technically proficient, but I don't think the albums deserve the critical acclaim they've been garnering.

Never liked Dream Theater (tried their last three albums), and I tried to like them again with this album, and although they do some nice guitar work, I just can't take them seriously. They remind of a wanna-be version of Tool. And especially with that kind of light voice for such a genre, it just doesn't equate to my ears and mind.

Their last 3 albums are their weakest ones, they sound like a wannabe version of Tool because they are pathetic whenever they try to do anything that's heavy. But you should try out their early albums, especially Images and Words. That's back when Labrie actually has the ability to sing and isn't the worst vocalist of his genre.

Well I wouldn't call Train of Thought pathetic. It's their heaviest and also one of their best albums. I do agree that their earlier albums are better than the new ones.