Dream Theater
I like listening to music. I like writing. I like writing
about music, and have been wanting to get my thoughts down on this particular
band for a while now. Plus, I was supposed to do another 'Tyre Tech' post and really couldn't think of what to write. Hence the title.
There are two types of people in this world: Dream Theater
fans, and music fans who just haven’t heard Dream Theater yet. Being classified
by many and labelled as ‘Progressive metal’ is, I believe, doing them a great disservice.
If you must classify and sort them then they are without a doubt progressive,
as anybody who appreciates the likes of King Crimson/Pink Floyd etc will
immediately recognise when listening to 20min epics such as The Count of Tuscany, Octavarium or Illumination Theory (off their latest
album); and likewise nobody with even a passing interest in rock music could
listen to John Petrucci’s playing and fail to pick out the metal
style/influences. It is my opinion however, that Dream Theater are a band that
transcends categorisation. The sheer range, diversity, volume-however you
choose to express it-of musicality, creativity, skill and deep understanding of
music that they bring to the table with every release seems to redefine the
genre of what could be loosely described as ‘progressive metal’. They don’t worry about fitting into any
specific mould, they don’t worry about (or indeed face) criticism from fans and
the media when they do something different (like many well known ‘metal’ bands)
and they most certainly do not follow any sort of trend. They are, and have
been since inception, on their own rather unique trajectory; and whilst they
undoubtedly take nods from other artists, contemporary and otherwise, they are
one of those rare examples of a group of hugely talented professional musicians
coming together and gelling perfectly. Why is it that ‘supergroups’ (as I’m
pretty sure examining the component parts of DT would ordinarily result in
their being classified as a ‘supergroup’) normally don’t last very long? I
would say it’s because you can only really have one or two strongly driven
creative forces in a group...ordinarily. Lennon and McCartney, Plant and Page,
Lynott, Mustaine, Bellamy, Hetfield, Grohl-all strong creative minds that
drove/drive their respective groups’ directions to success-yet Dream Theater’s
work as a collective is always just that, collective. Most of the band members
have pursued other projects (which gives you an idea of what they bring
individually to the DT writing process), yet they somehow still manage to come
together and successfully fuse all that creative genius time after time. And I
don’t think there is a word better than ‘genius’ in this case.
I must admit however that I am only a relatively new fan,
having only bought their last three albums as new releases-but how they manage
to consistently create such masterpieces is beyond me. Not only do they craft
songs with catchy riffs and passages each time, and not only do they manage to evoke
a unique ‘feel’ to each album-but they
also manage to write songs with real meaning, or as I heard a musician once say-real
‘heart’. And while it’s nothing new for artists to really reach out to and
connect with fans with their work, it is rare in my personal experience for an
artist(s) to bring something so finely polished and with such a strong unique
direction with each release. They simply
never miss a beat. I am yet to come across a ‘filler track’, I am yet to think
‘oh come on, this was clearly written in half an hour the day before recording
deadline’-and this is made all the more impressive when you consider they have
just released their 12th studio album, with a largely unchanged
creative core. Their work follows broad templates, or perhaps I would do them
better service by saying each album has their unique ‘sound’. With each album
you can expect among other things orchestral flavourings, thunderously heavy 7-string
riffage and...keyboard solos. Don’t let that put you off though, think more
Pink Floyd than Emerson Lake and Palmer (apologies to ELP fans out there, but
you can probably appreciate what I’m driving at.)
One of the noteworthy things for me is that I don’t have ‘favourite’
Dream Theater tracks. I also hardly ever skip one when it comes up on shuffle (only
my iPod will know what praise that is).
I arrive at the explanation that despite being a fluid creative force that changes,
develops and adapts; they remain very strongly true to their form, their sound
and their true nature. They are Dream Theater and everything that has come to
mean (to me). If I pick one of their songs to listen to I do not do so
necessarily because I want to listen to that song per se...more that I want to
dive into the rich musical experience that is DT. I thought about using some
sort of ‘rich hearty soup’ metaphor there, but was pretty sure it would sound a
bit shit, and would also be a bit out of place talking about music. (FYI).
They are not a band to listen to if you are after background
music and they are most certainly not a band for your fan of contemporary
processed ‘clone’ music; but if are willing to just sit down, listen and let
your ears soak it all up then you will be rewarded with something quite
special. They are not a band to listen to with preconceptions of what
‘progressive metal’ should sound like,
and are, I find, best listened to with a ‘clean mental slate’ if you will; and
will definitely not appeal to fans of ‘quickfix’ music. You have to surrender
yourself to the music, feel your way through it, engage with it, understand it
and take what it has to offer. If you can, then I trust and hope that you will
enjoy as many wonderful music experiences listening to them as I have.
Thanks for reading. And congratulations if you made it this far.
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