Cause Jesus he knows me...

june gloom on 23/4/2013 at 20:30

If they'd just get rid of James LaBrie they'd be well on their way to listenability.

faetal on 23/4/2013 at 20:53

I don't mind Porcupine Tree in a kind of "put on in the background when you have some friends over and not really listen to" kind of way.

june gloom on 23/4/2013 at 22:12

"not listen to" is pretty much the only way to enjoy porcupine tree, yeah

froghawk on 24/4/2013 at 01:10

dethtoll is right.

Quote Posted by dethtoll

If they'd just get rid of James LaBrie they'd be well on their way to listenability.

Except this statement isn't extreme enough. Petrucci is a tasteless shredder with awful guitar tones, Rudess is a good musician with the worst keyboard sounds I've ever heard, and Portnoy is the definition of overrated.

With that said, Mangini is one of the best drummers I've ever heard in terms of both technicality and creativity, so they've got at least one brilliant talent in their ranks now.

Early Genesis is amazing (though The Lamb is one of the weaker entries IMO), Rush is one of the weakest prog bands of the decade, and why isn't anyone here talking about King Crimson????

fett on 24/4/2013 at 03:18

I'm curious if you guys have listened to anything post Train of Thought? LaBrie has been WAY more tolerable the last few albums. I never understand how people can put up with Geddy Lee but not LaBrie.

froghawk on 24/4/2013 at 16:41

I can't stand Geddy Lee, either, but I like Rush's music much more than Dream Theater's (and I'm not even much of a Rush fan). And I have heard Systematic Chaos and some stuff from Octavarium - I don't remember the vocals at all, but the music was awful. Even Scenes from a Memory is awful. I don't think I like anything DT has done - it's dressed up '80s pop, made excessively long and complicated despite having no real substance.

faetal on 24/4/2013 at 16:58

Did whoever started the thread plan for any of this?

SubJeff on 24/4/2013 at 21:21

Quote Posted by froghawk

why isn't anyone here talking about King Crimson????

Name one good song.

fett on 24/4/2013 at 22:03

Quote Posted by Subjective Effect

Name one good song.

EXACTLY

froghawk on 24/4/2013 at 22:22

Quote Posted by Subjective Effect

Name one good song.

The entire Discipline album, the entire In the Court of the Crimson King album, The ConstruKction of Light, Level 5... actually, most of their songs are good. More than good... head and shoulders above most of the other bands mentioned in this thread.

The goal of progressive rock was to bring influences from classical and jazz into a rock context, and no one pulled that off better than King Crimson. They actually incorporated those influences in a really quantifiable way. It wasn't just 'oh, we like classical music so we made a long song and we like jazz so we threw in an excessively long solo', they were actually using specific musical techniques from these genres. Some of their compositions are so complex that they may as well be modern classical works. They were far more innovative than their peers.

Yes, many people find their music to be a bit sterile and overintellectual, but I think a great deal of it is very emotional. Even if you don't enjoy the more technical side of their music, I have no idea how you can deny the quality of their debut album, which is much less intellectual than their later work.