Why am I happy or why are they not rotating?
Guy got the info from the band themselves, so it seems pretty set in stone. Like I said, they'll almost certainly play the three songs on another leg. It's always been like that, at least in recent years. For ADTOE, LNF and This Is the Life wasn't played on the first leg. Prophets of War wasn't played on the first SC tour leg. I suspect the reason TSF and Best of Times were never played live is because the band wanted to save them for the next BC&SL leg, but there was no next leg. They did the Iron Maiden tour instead.
Guy got the info from the band themselves, so it seems pretty set in stone. Like I said, they'll almost certainly play the three songs on another leg. It's always been like that, at least in recent years. For ADTOE, LNF and This Is the Life wasn't played on the first leg. Prophets of War wasn't played on the first SC tour leg. I suspect the reason TSF and Best of Times were never played live is because the band wanted to save them for the next BC&SL leg, but there was no next leg. They did the Iron Maiden tour instead.
Because I like the setlist.
They don't seem to interested in rotating setlists anymore. Even the A/B setlist for ADTOE tour didn't have a ton of differences. There might be some changes here and there, but they aren't going to be major. If one song isn't working, then it might get replaced but those are just minor tweaks.
They're still announcing tour dates. Not as often, but some are coming in.
And if they're going to do something special like half of Awake and a big chunk of SFAM, I think it's only fair that everyone going to the show gets to see it. I wouldn't mind some changes in the first set, but even still there's a lot of stuff that should be played every night IMO.
They don't seem to interested in rotating setlists anymore. Even the A/B setlist for ADTOE tour didn't have a ton of differences. There might be some changes here and there, but they aren't going to be major. If one song isn't working, then it might get replaced but those are just minor tweaks.
They're still announcing tour dates. Not as often, but some are coming in.
Onhell
Infinite Dreamer
Black Wizard
Pleb Hunter
He once recorded 'Perfect Strangers' with them.
Collin
Chasing Ponce De Leon's Phantoms
Here is my mini review of sorts on Systematic Chaos.
1. In The Presence of Enemies parts 1 and 2
A very great song. The intro is very cool, but the first part is really nothing special. It doesn't really pick up till the section known as "Heretic" when they bring in the Dark Master riff, which is just so haunting and atmospheric. Then the best part comes in known as "Slaughter of the Damned." The instrumental section 'meh' there's really nothing special there. The outro is kind of forgettable
10/10
2. Forsaken
Forsaken is my least favorite song from the album. The main riff is pretty cool, and the chorus is pretty nice too. The rest of the song sounds pretty fillerish.
5/10
3. Constant Motion
Constant Motion is awesome, I love that intro, I think it's one of the high points of the album. The verse is pretty cool, however the chorus is amazing. The guitar solo is one of the best, and this is truly one of the best songs from this album.
10/10
4. The Dark Eternal Night
This is a perfect example of a great song ruined. It's so heavy and so cool, you can't help but like it a lot. Then here comes the instrumental, which consists of nothing but an appalling wankery. There's nothing there that connects to the rest of the song..
But then the chorus comes back and it's magically good again. Then there's a cool riff at the end. I think it's an awesome song, but the instrumental is just that bad.
7/10
5. Repentance
Repentance is pretty good. The first half is beautiful, it has cool guitar, and some thought-provoking lyrics. There's some psychedelia there during "Some times you've got to be wrong." The guitar solo is one of Petrucci's best. The apology section isn't my absolute favorite but it's definitely tolerable. Then there's the psychedelia section which I can't help but feel lasts way too long.
9/10
6. Prophets of War
This song isn't too bad, the verse reminds me of Muse. But the chorus is pretty cool, but the chanting section with that riff is what makes the song. The song isn't too bad but it's just kind of forgettable.
7/10
7. The Ministry of Lost Souls
This is honestly my favorite song from the album. As I said yesterday there's so much emotion in the beginning, and I can say that the lyrics aren't too bad. I like the build up to the Instrumental a lot! The 'chugging' section is one of my favorite DT instrumentals. I admit it doesn't fit the rest of the song too well but to me it just some how works. The rest of the song is a lot like the beginning. I can say it's one of my favorites, it's definitely a top 10 song.
10/10
Total: 8.1
1. In The Presence of Enemies parts 1 and 2
A very great song. The intro is very cool, but the first part is really nothing special. It doesn't really pick up till the section known as "Heretic" when they bring in the Dark Master riff, which is just so haunting and atmospheric. Then the best part comes in known as "Slaughter of the Damned." The instrumental section 'meh' there's really nothing special there. The outro is kind of forgettable
10/10
2. Forsaken
Forsaken is my least favorite song from the album. The main riff is pretty cool, and the chorus is pretty nice too. The rest of the song sounds pretty fillerish.
5/10
3. Constant Motion
Constant Motion is awesome, I love that intro, I think it's one of the high points of the album. The verse is pretty cool, however the chorus is amazing. The guitar solo is one of the best, and this is truly one of the best songs from this album.
10/10
4. The Dark Eternal Night
This is a perfect example of a great song ruined. It's so heavy and so cool, you can't help but like it a lot. Then here comes the instrumental, which consists of nothing but an appalling wankery. There's nothing there that connects to the rest of the song..
But then the chorus comes back and it's magically good again. Then there's a cool riff at the end. I think it's an awesome song, but the instrumental is just that bad.
7/10
5. Repentance
Repentance is pretty good. The first half is beautiful, it has cool guitar, and some thought-provoking lyrics. There's some psychedelia there during "Some times you've got to be wrong." The guitar solo is one of Petrucci's best. The apology section isn't my absolute favorite but it's definitely tolerable. Then there's the psychedelia section which I can't help but feel lasts way too long.
9/10
6. Prophets of War
This song isn't too bad, the verse reminds me of Muse. But the chorus is pretty cool, but the chanting section with that riff is what makes the song. The song isn't too bad but it's just kind of forgettable.
7/10
7. The Ministry of Lost Souls
This is honestly my favorite song from the album. As I said yesterday there's so much emotion in the beginning, and I can say that the lyrics aren't too bad. I like the build up to the Instrumental a lot! The 'chugging' section is one of my favorite DT instrumentals. I admit it doesn't fit the rest of the song too well but to me it just some how works. The rest of the song is a lot like the beginning. I can say it's one of my favorites, it's definitely a top 10 song.
10/10
Total: 8.1
Nice read, even though I don't like the album.
ITPOE is pretty good, the first part is awesome but after that it gets a bit uneven. The instrumental sections are unimpressive and really suffer from the same problems as every other instrumental section on this album. Even though the good parts are great, it's not enough to carry an epic that long. It's a song I can sit through every once and awhile, easily my least favorite DT multi part epic.
DT has a nasty habit recently of writing an obvious attempt at a hit single or at least a more mainstream sounding song or two for each album. I always found that weird because they're definitely not concerned with mainstream success. Anyway, Forsaken is one of those songs. Could never stand it. Lyrics are ridiculous too, JP was reading too much Twilight.
Constant Motion starts a three song run on this album that I think is alright. Always considered it an underrated track and I find it very enjoyable. One of JP's absolute best guitar solos too. It also shows that while his voice wasn't very good, MP had a really good knack for the whole call and response vocal thing.
I change my opinion on Dark Eternal Night from day to day, sometimes I love it other times I can't stand it. It has some really good riffing and a fun instrumental section, but something about it doesn't sit right with me. One of the better songs on the album, but not a favorite.
Love Repentance. It fits nicely in the 12 step suite and it has a very sublime feel to it. Ministry would've been a lot better had it been structured like this. Also another amazing JP guitar solo.
Already gave my thoughts on POW in another thread.
Same with Ministry, though I like the outro with the layered guitar parts.
For its flaws, I have to say the guitar work on this album is really strong. JP is one of those players who can almost redeem a bad song with a great guitar solo.
ITPOE is pretty good, the first part is awesome but after that it gets a bit uneven. The instrumental sections are unimpressive and really suffer from the same problems as every other instrumental section on this album. Even though the good parts are great, it's not enough to carry an epic that long. It's a song I can sit through every once and awhile, easily my least favorite DT multi part epic.
DT has a nasty habit recently of writing an obvious attempt at a hit single or at least a more mainstream sounding song or two for each album. I always found that weird because they're definitely not concerned with mainstream success. Anyway, Forsaken is one of those songs. Could never stand it. Lyrics are ridiculous too, JP was reading too much Twilight.
Constant Motion starts a three song run on this album that I think is alright. Always considered it an underrated track and I find it very enjoyable. One of JP's absolute best guitar solos too. It also shows that while his voice wasn't very good, MP had a really good knack for the whole call and response vocal thing.
I change my opinion on Dark Eternal Night from day to day, sometimes I love it other times I can't stand it. It has some really good riffing and a fun instrumental section, but something about it doesn't sit right with me. One of the better songs on the album, but not a favorite.
Love Repentance. It fits nicely in the 12 step suite and it has a very sublime feel to it. Ministry would've been a lot better had it been structured like this. Also another amazing JP guitar solo.
Already gave my thoughts on POW in another thread.
Same with Ministry, though I like the outro with the layered guitar parts.
For its flaws, I have to say the guitar work on this album is really strong. JP is one of those players who can almost redeem a bad song with a great guitar solo.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
New video for The Looking Glass:
Cool video, very straightforward and simple. It's officially time LaBrie and Petrucci cut that hair.
Cool video, very straightforward and simple. It's officially time LaBrie and Petrucci cut that hair.
Yax
Ancient Mariner
Petrucci - Yes. I'm not sure the length of the goatee suits him either. Labrie is fine - I mean, did you see how he looked during A Dramatic Turn Of Events, when he cut his hair? Looked... Odd, to say the least.
It's about time they made a decent music video.
Petrucci should've never grown his hair out again in the first place. It looked awesome when it was short.
JLB looks fine but I also liked his hair when it was kind of medium length during the ADTOE shows. Generally it looks like he's in better shape lately as well, which is cool.
In other news, finally got around to seeing Luna Park. Very awesome DVD, not my favorite setlist but it was cool seeing a lot of material we haven't seen on DVD before. Especially the ADTOE material sounded so much better live. The string quartet parts were also fantastic and everyone sounded really great, JLB included. Definitely better than Chaos in Motion.
Petrucci should've never grown his hair out again in the first place. It looked awesome when it was short.
JLB looks fine but I also liked his hair when it was kind of medium length during the ADTOE shows. Generally it looks like he's in better shape lately as well, which is cool.
In other news, finally got around to seeing Luna Park. Very awesome DVD, not my favorite setlist but it was cool seeing a lot of material we haven't seen on DVD before. Especially the ADTOE material sounded so much better live. The string quartet parts were also fantastic and everyone sounded really great, JLB included. Definitely better than Chaos in Motion.
It's a very enjoyable DVD. I plan on getting another DT DVD soon. What's their best one?
Video works here: http://www.revolvermag.com/news/dream-theater-debut-the-looking-glass-music-video.html
They're all worth checking out, since DT changes up their setlists so much. They're also very conscious about making sure not too many songs are repeated for DVDs. So it really boils down to which setlist you prefer. My favorite is Score, from the Octavarium tour. It features a full orchestra during the second half, where they perform 6 songs including Six Degrees, Octavarium, and Metropolis. The first half is great too and has some rare gems like Another Won and Raise the Knife. Also a pretty interesting documentary on disc 2 as well as 3 bonus songs (Another Day, Great Debate, Honor Thy Father). Hard to go wrong with that.
Budokan is the other one that people point to as their favorites. It's from the Train of Thought tour and has 5 songs from that album (the remaining two are found on Score). It's also kind of heavy on FII material, not sure why. Other highlights are one of the only live performances of Disappear, a really fucking awesome Beyond This Life, and a cool medley of instrumentals. It's a great performance too, though not up to par with Score IMO.
Metropolis 2000 is another great one, featuring the entire Metropolis album, A Change of Seasons, A Mind Beside Itself, and Learning to Live. It's a perfect setlist really, so you can't go wrong with it.
So those are the big three. They're all good so I'd just say check out whichever one has the most appealing setlist. There is also I&W Live in Tokyo/Five Years in a Livetime, which is two discs that document the early (Pre-Metropolis) history of the band. It's a really awesome DVD with loads of features, but it isn't a complete concert like the other ones. Rather it is concert clips mixed with all kinds of different footage. It's one of my favorite DVDs ever though, but if you're looking for a complete concert like Luna Park, maybe save this for later.
The last one is Chaos in Motion but I wouldn't recommend it. Easily their worst DVD. JLB sounds terrible and the whole band sound like they're phoning it in really. It's too bad because it does have a good setlist, including all but 2 songs from Systematic Chaos. But the performances just suck. It's also not a complete concert, but rather a bunch of different clips from various show mixed with documentary footage. The doc stuff is pretty cool though.
They're all worth checking out, since DT changes up their setlists so much. They're also very conscious about making sure not too many songs are repeated for DVDs. So it really boils down to which setlist you prefer. My favorite is Score, from the Octavarium tour. It features a full orchestra during the second half, where they perform 6 songs including Six Degrees, Octavarium, and Metropolis. The first half is great too and has some rare gems like Another Won and Raise the Knife. Also a pretty interesting documentary on disc 2 as well as 3 bonus songs (Another Day, Great Debate, Honor Thy Father). Hard to go wrong with that.
Budokan is the other one that people point to as their favorites. It's from the Train of Thought tour and has 5 songs from that album (the remaining two are found on Score). It's also kind of heavy on FII material, not sure why. Other highlights are one of the only live performances of Disappear, a really fucking awesome Beyond This Life, and a cool medley of instrumentals. It's a great performance too, though not up to par with Score IMO.
Metropolis 2000 is another great one, featuring the entire Metropolis album, A Change of Seasons, A Mind Beside Itself, and Learning to Live. It's a perfect setlist really, so you can't go wrong with it.
So those are the big three. They're all good so I'd just say check out whichever one has the most appealing setlist. There is also I&W Live in Tokyo/Five Years in a Livetime, which is two discs that document the early (Pre-Metropolis) history of the band. It's a really awesome DVD with loads of features, but it isn't a complete concert like the other ones. Rather it is concert clips mixed with all kinds of different footage. It's one of my favorite DVDs ever though, but if you're looking for a complete concert like Luna Park, maybe save this for later.
The last one is Chaos in Motion but I wouldn't recommend it. Easily their worst DVD. JLB sounds terrible and the whole band sound like they're phoning it in really. It's too bad because it does have a good setlist, including all but 2 songs from Systematic Chaos. But the performances just suck. It's also not a complete concert, but rather a bunch of different clips from various show mixed with documentary footage. The doc stuff is pretty cool though.
Detective Beauregard
Leviathan of Doggerland
Except for War Inside My Head / Test That Stumped Them All. Those two are on like every DVD they've done for some reason.
