Pretty awesome. Looking forward to seeing Donati, Roddy, and Aquiles Priester audition. From the end of this video, it looks like Donati knocks it the fuck out of the park. Labrie goes up to Petrucci after, all intimidates, and whispers "that was like, BEYOND the best thing I've ever seen". LOL
I'd rather masturbate with a cheese grater than listen to Dream Theater
topical AND relevant.
post by Mark_R at Apr 26,2011 11:35am edited Apr 26,2011 11:35am
Full disclosure, I'm a big fan of DT.
I grudgingly admit that I found this video genuinely entertaining. I was all set to hate it and find it totally obnoxious (and there are plenty who do) but I can't be one of them. I'm entertained.
i'm a little suspicious that, after reading some forum posts, Derek Roddy is being set up as a heel. Not to be a 'villain' obviously, but rather to have one guy who DT is sure to pan.
i watched yesterday. mangini is awesome and i can't imagine he wouldn't get the gig. he's been friends with them for a long time and i can't think of any other reason why he would have left the berklee faculty. roddy and minneman both said they didn't get the gig.
Now that's an interesting lineup...Mike Mangini, Marco Minneman, Derek Roddy, Aguiles Priester, Virgil Donati, Peter Wildoer, Thomas Lang. (Derek Roddy and Peter Wildoer kinda surprise me a little...well, Roddy moreso because Wildoer worked with LaBrie before)
Also, the video was a decent bit less irritating than the trailer made it out to be.
(And supposedly Marco let it leak that he didn't get the gig. I'm sure it's probably Mangini.)
This was awesome. It's been a while since I've listened to DT. Forgot how much I loved them. Mangini is so passionate in his drumming. Can't wait to hear DT with exciting drum parts. (anything not Portnoy)
Who didn't see that coming a mile away...I was hoping it was someone else if exclusively for the fact that it would've been totally contradictory to all the hints. (I'm totally cool with Mangini being their new drummer, though, don't get me wrong)
It's a decision that doesn't cause me to re-evaluate where I think DT is going. I think they made the choice that wouldn't introduce any curveballs to their style. And I understand why they made it. I think getting one of the other guys could've really brought unexpected dimensions to their future music, but I can also see why they don't feel a need for that.
I enjoyed the mini-documentary and happy it's Mangini. He's a passionate guy who will hopefully bring a new flavor to Dream Theater.
post by Mark_R at Apr 29,2011 9:13pm edited Apr 29,2011 9:15pm
As someone who was already a DT fan, I think that the potential for net positive here is past the specific level of Mangini's ability or the other band members' abilities. It's the potential that being so enthused and re-energized might get them to make a more exciting album.
From the video, I was hoping for Minneman. Just so I could spend a month cracking jokes about them trading cheesy cookie monster vocals for cheesy cookie monster t-shirts.
One thing I was picking up from the jamming and new riffs is how "rock" they are. I think that going in a heavier direction the last 10 years has really hurt their sound. I'll be interested to see if that's actually where they're going with this album.
One thing I was picking up from the jamming and new riffs is how "rock" they are.
A lot of people have been over-examining those riffs on other forums. Personally, I don't think they're anything the band will be using. Think about it, if you're releasing a DVD/documentary, would you include new unfinished riffs from your new album before it's even done?
My guess is that they are just throw away riffs they came up with strictly for the audition.
post by Sinistas at Apr 30,2011 11:23am edited Apr 30,2011 11:24am
While I see your point, the point of jamming was to see what the drummers could provide on new material. If they're sticking with the heavier stuff, I imagine the throwaway riffs would be heavy as well.
The heavy stuff (as us metal guys should know) involved a lot of working parts out, and orchestrating them. Rock stuff is always easier for "jamming" or improv. From the audition, looks like they were using the one techy riff to test their ability to do the tricky stuff, then using jammy rock riffs to see what the drummer can do on the spot. I'm pretty sure everything but the odd-time riff in the "test" was likely made up on the spot.
As for audition tunes, Nightmare IS one of the heaviest to date. And Mangini is NOT KNOWN for hitting drums softly. You ever see a Mangini drumstick (the dark ones in the video)? They're like 50lb chunks of mahogany. They're King Kong sticks.
I'm really just looking for more progressive metal stuff. I've always looked at their sound as pretty consistent. My first take on Under a Glass Moon was "holy shit, it's fates warning but MUCH MUCH heavier". People keep saying they are trying to be heavier, but I think they've always pushed the heaviness of progressive metal. They've just added in the 7 strings and baritone tunings as they go.
Dream Theater is very versatile. You've got guys who all write, and all know music very well. But like in any band, they don't necessarily have the same tastes. So while some DT has always been much heavier than their peers, other stuff has been very mellow, thematic, spacey, and more.
And with Mangini in the band, I think they'll continue with this. I don't think that Mike had much to do with the musical direction, moreso the funky changes, odd times, and convoluted arrangements. It looks to me, from the videos, that Rudess is going to be taking over this role in the future.
