Trapped inside this Octavarium.
Well, the new Dream Theater album has finally arrived! For those of you reading this who don't know me too well, you must know I am a HUGE fan of this band! This morning I took a small detour on my way to work in order to scoop it up on the first day of its release. It was 9 am and as I approached Best Buy I noticed the hours on the door: Mon-Fri Open-10 am. Bugger! Luckily Borders is next door and it opens at 9. Ok, good so far. When I look for the CD they haven't shelved it yet so I had one of the employees go in the back and get me a copy. Therefore I believe that I was the first person to buy a legal copy of Octavarium in Tallahassee! I say 'legal' because I have read that a first-master copy has been circling the net for days now.
As I am writing this post I am wrapping up my second listening straight through. I believe it to be a very good album. However, it just doesn't sound like a DT album, at least not for the time being. I really am enjoying the new melodic twists they have chosen to use, and when the album gets heavy I hear the DT-ness shining through. I guess my two major beefs with Octavarium are that there isn't a really strong presence from guitarist John Petrucci, at least not in the solo arena, and that it sounds like a different band's album. I am missing the clear guitar-melody-soloist-leader aspect of DT's music from before this album, and a few more time signature changes would have been nice. I know this album will continue to grow on me but I am unsure as to whether or not Octavarium will live up to the Dream Theater legacy in the long run. Similarly to their previous album Falling Into Infinity this album will probably prove to be a sidetrack in the usually straight-ahead road DT has chosen to travel.
If anyone wishes to respond to my assessment, feel free to do so, but please be kind and courteous as these are merely my opinions and are not to be interpreted as fact, written law, or otherwise set in stone.
presented to you by DooDooDoo70s at 5:54 AM
7 Responses:
I dunno. At first, I did have a few reservations - maybe just because it was new. BUT, I like it a lot more than I did the first day.
Actually, backstory:
I swung by Best Buy on Tuesday around 5pm (after class) to get my copy and immediately popped it into the cd player. As some of you know, R-box isn't a sound-dampened car, and I could not easily hear the intricacies of DT's songs - hence the slight disappointment. BUT, when I got home, I popped it into my stereo and had a listen. I already liked it a lot more.
I do find it to be a blend of DT-goodness with a side of "normal" music. Normal meaning more towards mainstream by today's standards. In one of the tracks, U2 even came to mind in the melodic and vocal sense. In that perspective, I am a bit disappointed, but then again, maybe DT thought that they needed to bring their stuff to be a little more modern... Or maybe, like you said, it'll end up a sidetrack. *shrug*
I know that by DT's standards, there isn't super-Petrucci time, but yeah - I do like the album and I do give it two thumbs up.
Opinions-shmopinions!
6/10/2005 4:07 AM
In response to your comment:
What I commented on this post originally ran through my head a billion times tonight while I was studying. I realized I wasn't accurate in calling DT "more normal" because I felt more like how you said, They're like, "Lets do straight up rock and pop and kick it up a notch and kick the shit out of all the bands who play in this style for their entire career. Let's do this for one album BECAUSE WE CAN and then go back to where we are most familiar."
DT puts out great albums no matter what. In the overall scheme of things, all of their albums (with James Labrie) are good in their own way. I like that they don't continually clone their own style album after album. *cough* like-most-bands-today *cough*
While I did mention that one part struck me as U2-ish, I forgot to mention the part that reminded me of Styx (some of the keyboard/synth stuff iiiin #6? not sure, the album is in the other room) - and that's not bad. Like you said, the homages to other bands doesn't make it bad.
Furthermore, I too like the tie-ins to previous albums and the continuing politcal stance they portray. It really makes me happy to know that there is a band out there who doesn't produce mainstream shit just for money. These guys do it because they love it and nobody else can ever compare. They sing about the REAL problems in life - not the trivial stuff a lot of bands portray.
Dt's music gives me chills outside in the 100 degree sun. How is that not great stuff?!
6/10/2005 10:36 AM
A DooDoo...
Doo.
...
SEVENTIES!
6/13/2005 12:31 AM
hi from Bulgaria!! I was extremely excited to read about the new album of DT.Anyhow, given the facts that I am now in the kingdom of far far away the album is not accessible for me yet. Can't wait to hear it when I come back to the "glorious" FSU. Greetings! (:
6/13/2005 12:54 PM
Bulgaria! If you're going to be there a while you should have someone send you the copy of the cd. OH MAN you gotta get it asap!
6/14/2005 3:11 AM
it's okay, sister of my friend, I am patient. I will hear it when I get back. Take care!!!
6/16/2005 5:10 PM
Hey, Skanktown (aka DooDoo), when ya gonna update, foo'?!
6/18/2005 2:58 AM
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