I agreed with that
Mosh post, just maybe
Instead of the classic DT method of fitting lyrics/vocal phrasing to melody no matter how awkward or difficult it is for LaBrie, the vocal melody is actually driven by the lyrics here.
with this I kinda disagree - it might be better than elsewhere, but I still find the phrasing somewhat awkward and struggling against the music (or maybe it's just the delivery?) I don't mind it, though.
Maybe this is better for the DT thread, but I kinda disagree with the general feeling that they had a linear decline. I can get on board with SDOIT being the last great album, they certainly haven't matched it since then, but they've had ups and downs since then. Train of Thought and Octavarium were both solid, with Train of Thought being very strong for what it is IMO. SC was a huge dip in quality, but BC&SL had some of their best material since Six Degrees (and maybe arguably some of their worst). ADTOE and DT12 were both a return to form, then I think the next three albums are among the weakest they've put out period, with View being a step in the right direction. Since JP and JR are still the main songwriters in the band, and View was a really "classic" sounding Dream Theater album, I expect the next album to kinda be similar in style but maybe with a bit more conceptual direction from Portnoy. At the end of the day I don't think the Mangini era was all that different from when Portnoy was in the band so I doubt the general sound is going to change at all, but maybe they'll be more inspired to put a little more effort in this time. I definitely miss how conceptual the albums were when MP was in the band.
I kinda both agree and disagree, I personally think the last truly great album (in a... say, musical reviewer meaning of that word) would be Octavarium, despite (or maybe even
because of) its poppy inclinations, but despite me being the outlier in my love for SC, so I won't be pushing that point further, I'd say that both Black Clouds and
especially ADTOE were amazing (ADTOE used to be in my top... 3? Maybe?).
It was only after when it went downhill, kinda, and not because of Mangini in particular - DT12 felt rushed and underbaked, The Astonishing was a questionable idea with an even more questionable execution,
Velocity felt really insignificant, like a compilation of studio outtakes, nice, but forgettable and
View was mostly good, but felt like jumping the shark for the Mangini era, with the musical/structural incohesiveness reaching an all time high and it all feeling like going through the motions by a somewhat spent band. I hope MP's return will rejuvenate them a bit, but I don't think they can return to the "freshness" of SDOIT or Octavarium or even just the compact punch of Black Clouds.
And yeah, hate me all you can, I know I'm alone in that, but I'd still take the bizarre wanderings of The Astonishing over the second half of
Awake (cca after Silent Man) - which is still the most dreadful slog of a sequence DT have ever released. I don't get how Trucci could have something as excellent as Voices and something as dreadful as Scarred on the same album. But whatever, I know, 90s DT are the best, everybody tells me so.
