Another New LTE Single (and full album)

[scole]

This song is better than the first single but still doesn't really move the needle for me. I really dislike Petrucci's tone now. Way too raw for me.

[Leon]

I noticed his tone was different on this, I think he actually turned the gain down

[metalheadpunk]

I like the first one better, this one is a bit too cheesy IMO.

[tim]

I actually think I prefer the first single, even if it was generic 90s prog metal cheese. But I'm still digging the hell out of this tune.

At this point, LTE (or really anything JP and MP together) have a very specific style of prog metal, and you'd be a fool to expect anything else. I know what I'm going to get from these guys, and that's fine with me.

[tim]

This crazy motherfucker already tabbed it out

[Leon]

I guess "the odds" are the only thing he's been beating...

[jacksonplayer]

That's nice. A very strong Dixie Dregs/Steve Morse influence, but that's true of so much of what Petrucci does.

I like Petrucci's tone here. It has some texture to it.

Looking forward to this release.

[RevDrucifer]

This one didn't do it or me much, seemed kind of generic/stock. Still really stoked for the album though. Even if I don't dig most of it, getting to hear those drums with those guitars is enough to make me happy.

[Chris]

Oh good, another unwatchable video with a zillion pointless transitions. I like JP's lead tone but not the rhythm tone here.

[Chris]

1:11 sounds pretty damn close to them straight up ripping off Orphaned Land too.

[Markus]

A big meh from me.Feels like a youtube free backing track with a bunch of shred on it.

[Jeff]

The lead tone is fine, but the rhythm tone is a bit fizzy and too raw.

[scole]

Oh, hey- another boring new LTE single-

[pjr]

LTE is the perfect example of just because you can does not mean you should.

I'll listen to this album precisely once and then forget it ever happened similar to the previous albums. At this point, the only purpose the old material serves to me is to provide a medium by which I can look at that JPM style 7 string he had in some of the live videos wishfully.

[Leon]

Different strokes, I really like it, and can't wait to hear the rest

[RevDrucifer]

I'm a HUGE fan of the first one and dig the second one, but so far I haven't been impressed by these. The first one had all this space within the songs, they took you on adventures. These have just seemed like they wrote everything out on a dry erase board instead of jamming the songs out like they did on the first two albums.

Regardless, I've watched a bunch of the interviews and I'm quadrupling down on my assumption that Portnoy is going to end up back in DT. All the "It was like the last ten years never happened. We walked in and it was right back to where we left off without missing a beat" stuff they were raving about. Maybe I'm just REALLY wishful thinking because I'd want nothing more for Mike to come back and they finished out their careers re-living the first 10 years of it.

[pjr]

Regardless, I've watched a bunch of the interviews and I'm quadrupling down on my assumption that Portnoy is going to end up back in DT.

Do you think he'll end up back in because Mangini chooses to leave or because Mangini gets Sherinian'd by the rest of DT where they call him, "Hey...we're all at practice...and you're not...because you're out..." Just wondering because I know I've read in past interviews that Mangini isn't super happy with the amount of creative input he is allowed.

Personally, I think Portnoy is the right choice for DT but Mangini is hell of a lot more likeable and every live video I've ever seen makes it look like he's having the time of his life up there.

[jacksonplayer]

Portnoy's got his fifty zillion separate projects going on, and I question whether he'd want to scale all that back to get back on the album/tour/album/tour cycle for DT. Money might be a motivating factor.

[RevDrucifer]

Do you think he'll end up back in because Mangini chooses to leave or because Mangini gets Sherinian'd by the rest of DT where they call him, "Hey...we're all at practice...and you're not...because you're out..." Just wondering because I know I've read in past interviews that Mangini isn't super happy with the amount of creative input he is allowed.

Personally, I think Portnoy is the right choice for DT but Mangini is hell of a lot more likeable and every live video I've ever seen makes it look like he's having the time of his life up there.

Hahaha, they did ditch Sherinian over a phone call. I just read Lifting Shadows, the authorized biography and it went over that. And the same way that Derek was bummed out but understanding and continued to be friends with everyone, I doubt Mangini would be any different.

So like the Sherinian thing, but add on lighting up their fan base like they did with SFAM, but a hell of a lot more. They’ve steadily been growing in popularity with each album, but I know there’s a lot of us longtime fans who have taken a take it or leave it attitude with the band. I certainly have and social media seems to paint that picture as well. All of those people would be shitting with joy.

While I dug the last album quite a bit, I still want to hear Portnoy’s drums in that band. For me, Petrucci/Portnoy is like Page/Bonham, they’re playing and sounds are just perfect for each other. That said, I’m saying this through pre-6DOIT tinted glasses. Maybe that time is gone for good, but I’m hoping a return from Portnoy would spark some of that earlier feel.

[Leon]

So, when do they drop JR and get KM back in the band...

[tim]

So, when do they drop JR and get KM back in the band...

This is hilarious, because I was thinking this same thing while I read this thread...and then I got to your post

This is what DT needs. I really love MP and JP together, but Moore added a whole new dimension to the band that they haven't been able to achieve since.

[RevDrucifer]

I think it’s safe to say at this point that Kevin will never have anything to do with DT again. They’ve invited to fly him from across the world (literally) to attend their anniversary shows/DVD’s and he’s refused every time. He didn’t even take part in the Lifting Shadows book and they had to pull quotes from him from previous interviews. After reading that, I think the bigger DT got, the less likely it was that he’d want to participate in anything with them. It’s odd the way he pulled away from the band. Him and Petrucci were friends since like middle school, but once he left DT, that was it. Done. No more communication. I guess he barely contributed to Awake, which is crazy because some of my favorite keyboard playing is on that record and it’s not like it’s minimal, but during the writing sessions he was often not there or sitting on a couch reading a magazine.

Bit of an odd character, the whole thing with “Space-Dye Vest” and how he carried around that ad with the model on it. I could see a 10 year old doing something like that, but for an adult it’s a bit weird.

I really couldn’t pick between Sherinian or Moore as I love all the sounds those guys came up with. I REALLY love Sherinian’s sounds on FII, I mean, “Lines In The Sand”? For real? That shit is outstanding. I told Derek that when he was offering to play on people’s music, so when he sent back the clip of him playing over one of my songs, it was THAT sound and I was creaming all over the place. I still listen to it occasionally just to hear Derek on one of my tunes. It’s only a 30 second clip and he kinda went nuts all over where the vocals would go, but it’s still cool as fuck to listen to. I’ll post it up tonight when I get home. I just couldn’t afford the price he was asking to do it for real, not for one song.

[Leon]

Yeah, I think even Sherinian would be a better fit for DT than JR, in terms of putting the music/song first over some grand concept or how many notes can I shove into this passage

[pjr]

What you guys don't like endless ragtime dandies and carnival music? I don't like JR's playing especially, but I can respect him for at least trying to act like a rock star despite the fact that he's up there reading sheet music because most of DTs catalog is too long to remember...

And yeah, everything I've read about KM seems to point that he is indeed a silly goose.

[Leon]

What you guys don't like endless ragtime dandies and carnival music?

I think JR's an amazing fit for LTE, but Dream Theater kinda started to lose the "this is a song" edge when Rudess joined.