To me the following observations stand out: Their lyrics are bland and uninspired. The music is derivative and self-indulgent. Apparently they believe masturbatory riffs and solos are somehow to equal music. The singer is just plain awful. Where did they find that guy? Their look... anyone for D&D? The last point is not significant in terms of music. Honestly, I don't care what people look like if they can create something that captivates me. But there's this vibe of "trying too hard" that probably further taints my view of the band as a whole. The singer on the other hand ... what to say? He reminds me of that episode of South Park where Timmy becomes the lead singer for "Lords of the Underworld". I almost feel too sorry for the guy to make fun of him. Almost. And Jordan Rudess? Dude, the keytar. Wow, just wow. Apparently the pitch bend switch is the new whammy bar, eh? Guitar solos on a keyboard are not impressive, and above all sound like ass. If you want to play a guitar, why not just play a fucking guitar? One instrument masquerading as another is just sad. Dream Theater is what happens when a bunch of professional music instructors listen to Return to Forever once too many, and so decide to get together and start a band to show off how bad-ass their licks are. And to me, that's what Dream Theater's "music" is: a collection of riffs to showcase their individual talents, occasionally punctuated by the shrill and off-key warbling of their deranged front man. Through this mess of sounds, I have completely failed to hear any real music.
hehe, never heard of these guys but reading this.. I do not think I will bother either... :chk: Thanks for the heads up... Might as well watch that episode of South Park... I never made it past the first season...
Eh, never really cared for them much. Can't say I've listened to enough of their music to make an elaborate post. Kinda like I'll hear 30 seconds of a song and just switch stations/songs.
I think they fall under the classification of bands that get rave reviews, but you listen to them and can't figure out what the hype is, but the ones you do like get the crummy reviews. I dunno, I'm not a musician, so it's possible there's something I don't get, but what I have heard, I didn't think I needed to pick up one of their albums.
I must wonder your motives as your reasons suck. You give no clear-cut precise musical definitions for your position, but instead, only nebulous abstracts with no foundation. What is the musical significance of "...music is derivative and self-indulgent."? How about "... masturbatory riffs and solos are somehow to equal music."? an odd musical statement that again, means nothing. Each one of the members is the top of their field and famous as well. Jordan Rudess is considered by people who play keyboards no less), to be the greatest keyboard player of all time:http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/the-27-greatest-keyboard-players-of-all-time-484228/28 He started attending Julliard School of Music at age 9, what's your qualifications? Sorry, they are way beyond "Return To Forever."
Personally I think that dream theater are too difficult to listen to because there is too much going on. I mean on top of the so called "vocals" we have a bassist thinking he's a guitarist playing mismatching grooves to a guitarist soloing away a keyboardist emulating a guitar and a drummer playing irregular beats. As well as this their time signature changes to frequently to follow and it's all really just a massive mess, you really have to focus really hard to follow the music, music is supposed to be easy to listen to.
Dream Theater is unlike any other band in the world. Their level of musicianship is off the charts; not only with their skills, but with their ability to incorporate so many different genres into their music. Anything from ballads to speed metal. To say they formed Dream Theater to "show off" their talents is simply proving that you have no real argument. I don't want to sound like a tool, but if you understand music theory, you know that what they do is anything but a "massive mess". If you really dislike James Labrie, listen to Liquid Tension Experiment and calm down. By the way, where in writing does it ever say music is supposed to be easy to listen to?
