Ouch. I didn't love it, but I actually thought it was a pretty decent album, albeit a bit long
With the most tracks I’ve ever disliked on a Dream Theater LP (over thirteen tracks), even the cohesive songs cannot make up for the superfluous and vapid mess that Petrucci and LaBrie have put together. It seems with Portnoy and Moore absent from Dream Theater (the latter have been gone much longer) the band has fallen into their own pompous musical ego’s and forgotten everything that made people like them as a band in the first place. Don’t get me wrong, I do like some songs off this record (“Lord Nafaryus”, “Three Days”, and “My Last Farewell” to name a few) but like I said… it simply is too little. The interludes/sequences are absolutely terrible and mind numbingly dull with laughingly bad lyricism and concept. I know this is an overused ‘joke’ but it is astonishing how bad this record is. John Petrucci has always been a great guitarist but as bandleader he is absolutely terrible; even Portnoy at his cheesiest and most sappiest was at the least engaging (“The Best of Times”, “Wither”, etc).
This will go down as one of the group’s worst albums, I can feel it.
RockyRaccoonIs it solipsistic in here or is it just me?ModeratorProfile Maryland
That I can definitely agree with, the lyrics and concept are pretty rough, like some strange, re-worked version of Star Wars and The Matrix or something.
I thought the album definitely fit into the Dream Theater "formula" but I thought it was more playing to their strengths while staying in their comfort zone. I do wish there were more instrumentals, LaBrie is pretty much the face of this album, which can be rough, but I thought that the composition and musicianship made up for the lackluster lyrics, I mean, for Dream Theater, I've always felt the lyrics were superfluous anyways.
But I think your statements are fair, I mean I can understand it, and I don't think the album is amazing or anything, but I don't think it's that bad. _________________ Progressive Rock
Chthe'ilist funnel late-80s Finnish and Swedish death metal into their debut album and it makes for some really great metal. This has the blasting beats, the rolling, aggressive guitar riffs, the gutteral, deep vocals, all the things you would expect out of a death metal album, but there are these small moments here and there where Chthe'ilist make this album their own. Whether it's the slap bass at the beginning of "Vecoitn'aphrnaat'smaala" or the hymn-type vocals on "The Voices From Beneath The Well", Chthe'ilist establish their own unique identity, while simultaneously paying tribute to their obvious influences of bands like Demilich and Crematory. Overall, it makes for a really great metal album.
Gowi and dbz, I think you guys would dig this _________________ Progressive Rock
This is and always will be one of my favorite albums ever. It's my second favorite Avett Brothers album (behind Emotionalism), but it's a close second. This is about as raw as The Avetts Brothers ever got, this is before they hooked up with Rick Rubin and he started slicking their production. This is just a guitar, a banjo, an upright bass, and maybe a light drumset, and that's it.
What I've always loved about The Avett Brothers is how honest they are, how genuine every single piece of music they make feels. Whether they're being brutally honest ("Pretty Girl From Raleigh") or acknowledging their faults as people ("Pretty Girl From Annapolis"), you don't get the impression that Scott and Seth are making anything up, this is all real. I believe every story from their songs truly happened to them, or at least, mostly happened to them.
Musically, the Avetts have one of the greatest gifts for melody and harmony that I've ever heard. They typically keep it simple, very obviously influenced by bluegrass ("The Traveling Song" and "Do You Love Him" are basically just straight bluegrass tunes), and it works beautifully. Songs like "Sorry Man", which could pretty much be the base plotline to a Nicholas Sparks book (boy falls for girl, parents don't like boy, couple runs away), are about simple things sung in a simple way. The music doesn't detract from the lyrics, which are obviously the main focus of the song, but simultaneously, the music is still good.
Like I said, this is one of my favorite albums ever, is still is, and it's a pretty good intro into the Avetts if you want, though I think "Emotionalism" is 1. a better album and 2. more reflective of what the group does now. But still, this album is virtually flawless in my eyes. _________________ Progressive Rock
Kevin Gates is blunt, and whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is really up to you, and regardless, he couldn't care less. Much like Future or Drake, Gates' album is just as much singing as it is rap, and he does that pretty well. Lyrically, the album can be impressive, Gates shows off his technical ability, and his lyrics are loaded with braggadocio, as would be expected, but there are moments of vulnerability where Gates lets you peek behind the curtain at who he really is. But this isn't an intensely personal album, there are moments, but this is tried and true gangsta rap, and as that, it's a pretty decent album. There are some weaker moments, but overall, it's not a bad album at all. _________________ Progressive Rock
This is one of those albums that makes me, as a guitarist, want to just put my guitar down and never play again. This album takes metal guitar playing to different heights, with intricately complex leads and progressions all executed flawlessly like it was nothing. The guitar takes precedent here, but it's not the only impressive thing about the album, the bass parts, the drumming, it's all furious, fast, and mind-blowing. Everything is cranked up to full speed and for 30-some minutes, Necrophagist just rip the skin from your bones with absolute fury. Exceptionally good death metal. _________________ Progressive Rock
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mickilennial
RockyRaccoon
