Dream Theater - A Choose Your Own Adventure - musical tour
I am music freak. I'd like to try a new way of introducing a band. I'm going to follow in the lines of the old choose your own adventure style books and make this post kind of a musical game.
If you like this I may make other posts like this. By doing this it also is more than me simply sharing pieces by well known bands without adding my own content.
Dream Theater - Choose Your Own Adventure
Choice Number One
Do you prefer mellower music? If so go to [1]. If you like heavier music go to [2].
[1]
This song is called Hollow Years. It is from the album Falling Into Infinity. One of my sons liked to sing this a lot. Dream Theater studio albums are brilliant but they are a force of nature live. So most of what I will show you with them will be live performances...
Studio Version Below:
If this is the style you like and you'd like to hear more go to [3]. If you would like it a little heavier go to [4]. If you want mind melting intrumental technicality go to [5]. If you want it much harder go to [2].
[2]
This song is As I Am from the album Train of Thought and is live at the Budokan in Japan. Kind of has a bit of an old Black Sabbath feel to me. It is a heavier song. I remember the first time I heard this song the first intro slow part reminded me of Sabbath and then the tempo picked up. I heard this before I knew it was out and identified it as Dream Theater as soon as the tempo picked up.
Studio version below...
If this is way too hard for you then consider going to [1]. If you would like it slightly mellower than this go to [4]. If you want crazy instrumental action go to [5]. If you want more heavy sounds like this go to [6].
[3]
The Silent Man from the album Awake. This is a live version.
Studio Version:
If you want something slightly heavier go to [4]. If you want it significantly heavier go to [2]. If you want crazy instrumental action go to [5]. If you have already listened to [2] and you want something also heavy go to [6].
[4]
This song is Pull Me Under and is actually their only radio hit. It is from the album Images and Words and as with the others I am showing you a live version first.
Studio Version:
If this is not heavy enough for you go to [2] or [6]. If you want some crazy instrumental action go to [5]. If you want something mellower go to [1] unless you have already heard that one In which case, go to [3]. If you have heard all of these go to the exit song [7].
[5]
This is a live performance called Intrumedley and is an amazing live performance medley of instrumentals across multiple albums. This is a mind melter. Each time the album cover changes behind them on the stage that is them moving onto a different song on a different album.
Studio of version of The Dance of Eternity from the album Scenes from a Memory.
If you liked this and want to listen to more go to [1] or [3] if you want something mellow. If you want something heavy go to [2] or *[6]. If you want to go to the exit song go to [7].
[6]
This song is Nightmare To Remember from the album Black Clouds and Silver Linings.
Studio Version
If you would like to hear mellower songs [1] and [3] are mellow. If you would like to hear a crazy instrumental go to [5]. If you would like to hear a slightly mellower hit song go to [4]. If you would like to go to the exit song go to [7].
[7]
This is the song Strange Deja Vu, Through My Words & Fatal Tragedy from the album Scenes from a Memory.
Studio Version:
Exit
Thank you for taking a tour of one of the most technically skilled bands in the world. They are the pinnacle of Progressive Metal. I can tell you as a musician I am in awe of the skill of this band. I have watched them live several times and most of the time my mouth was hanging involuntarily open. This band may be a bit too technical (too many notes) for some people to enjoy. That is also partially why I approached it like a choose your own adventure. This is a band that musicians go to watch in awe.
I LOVE you for featuring Dream Theater. As a musician I've always been completely fascinated with their signature "where's the beat???" style of music composition. And as a VERY heavy prog fan (seriously, you cannot be a metal head and musician without loving prog, am I right? :p), but never being able to pull it off myself (I'm simply terrible at off-beat time signatures, I would sadly disappoint my fellow drummers out there), I'm always striving to improve at my craft. It does prove difficult though, considering I'm the vocalist in Dawn of End now, rather than the drummer. But I digress....
Dream Theater have always been a huge influence on where I strive to be someday.... even if I never fully reach that goal, it would still feel good to at least try. And I've always been obsessed with their song "The Root of All Evil". I was so stoked when they released that live 3 disc album with the Octavarium Orchestra and they played TROAE WITH the symphony behind it! Completely EPIC, for lack of a better term. Anyways, kudos my friend. \m/
Hahaha... they'd likely tell you "What do you mean offbeat?" All I know is they are doing some crazy counting while playing. Changing times signatures and keys 5 or six times (maybe more) per song. Pretty crazy stuff. I find it amusing that the core song is more of a solo than many other bands' solo break... then the solos which are not really solos because everyone get's involved show up and they melt your mind.
I actually met Dream Theater back on their Octavarium tour. So much fun.
Me <- Jealous. For pure technicality they are my favorite band. I still listen to them quite often. Anytime I need to hear raw skill at work they are my go to band.
Do you like Symphony X?
Kind of like asking me "do you like to breathe?" I am a guitarist though I haven't played or practiced in more than a year. I need to, I miss it. When I was at my top skill wise I'd set my vision I learning Set the world on fire as a song to push me into new areas. I think I could pull it off, but I needed a guitar with a decent tremolo/whammy bar to pull of some parts and all I have in the electric guitar department is a beat up B.C. Rich Warlock. That guitar has sentimental attachments for me, so I'll keep it but I do need a nicer electric. I also have a Guild Nylon Classical, a 12 string acoustic, and two 6 string acoustics. Yet I haven't practiced... my fingers are tingling thinking about it. And yes Symphony X was what I was going to push myself with. I think I could perhaps pull off some Symphony X and perhaps some Dream Theater, but there are some DT songs I couldn't touch with a 10 foot pole. Petrucci is just too damn good.
When i was young and niave i thought i could learn michael romeo or petrucci... oh how starry eyed i was!
That is close to the sound of stuff I wrote myself when I make stuff up and do what I call doodling on the guitar. That guy is better than I ever was, but I wasn't too far from that.
You're making me want to practice again... this is a good thing. It would make various members of my family happy.
EDIT: I actually know I could play that with a month of reconditioning my hands. That was well within my capabilities. I really like this guy. He makes up stuff that sounds like what I do. Yet I really don't like the vocalist of Psycroptic. :)
Ooh... you do realize you are opening pandora's box by talking about music with me? I can geek out over music almost non-stop.
Joe Haley put out a new video...
Romeo... I could likely do some of his stuff... I chose Set The World On Fire as a goal as it was just slightly beyond where I was at the time so I thought it'd push me to get better. Iconoclast that song... that's beyond me. :)
Haha. Im a music nerd too. As ive gotten older, ive branched out a lot. I was way into harder stuff like Meshuggah for a while.
I like hard stuff, I like soft stuff. I like some Messhugah. My main criteria is if it is not Prog Metal/Prog Rock then it needs to sound unique. If it is unique then I like it. The band I do tomorrow I'm pretty sure you'll be familiar with. They are unique, not as technical as DT or Symphony X, but sometimes classified as Prog Metal, sometimes something else. :)
Doing it tomorrow simply because I've already done my 4 posts for today.
Did you check out the Arch/Matheos album Sympathetic Resonance?
Another band you should check out is Leprous. They are not as technical as DT, but great song writers and the vocalist just kills it.
Definitely will do. What usually appeals to me is when a band has a sound that doesn't sound like anyone else. If you can say "They sound like X" then I might like them, but I won't get excited. If it is a band that sounds like no one else then I get excited. I actually have a band I might do another one of these Choose Your Own Adventures for tomorrow. Will leave it as a surprise.
Looking forward to it!
You're right I like these guys. I'm a sucker for anything close to a Prog Metal sound. Without a doubt my favorite genre.
If you haven't heard this song... listen to it all the way through... it is VERY good
I think you'll like it
And no this is not my post tomorrow. I only found out about Haken a few months ago.
I love Haken. Earthside is amazing as well.
How about Ayreon? It'd be cool to take some of those albums since they are concept albums and turn them into a post with supporting images, links to the vocalists and musicians that participated, etc.
I like Ayreon but i could never fully get into them like i could other bands. Im not sure why really.
I got into the 01001 album quite a bit. The Theory of Everything album is pretty cool too.
@dicebot 1D8 what should I listen to? or not at all?
Dice Bot Rolled : 5
Nice choice buddy!
And yes 5 is a good choice. It is a mind melter. If you play an instrument and have ever performed with anyone that live performance at number 5 should leave you appropriately stunned.
hahaha.... nice. :)
Cool idea for a post! I love dream theater been a fan for years. I do a band of the day post if you're interested! I'll be posting lots of metal/hardcore bands! Subbed!
Sure I just thought Dream Theater has a wide variety of stuff so maybe let the people choose a path through it. I have another band I might try this with in the future.