YTSEJAM Digest 656 Today's Topics: 1) posters, transcriptions and queensryche. by email_address_removed.ac.uk 2) Re: Awake Tour - some retroactive observations... by email_address_removed.ac.uk 3) Re: Fates Warning (Plus: guit... by email_address_removed 4) Re : YTSEJAM digest 654 by Kaoru Kobayashi 5) Help! by William Kriski 6) RE: DT Posters by Corporate Community Relations 7) The Silence is Broken by "Richard A. Rivera" 8) Re: Mike Bahr's DT cd & Magellen by Michael Bahr 9) Re: Mike Bahr's DT cd & Magellen by William Wright 10) Re: DT CDs!! by William Wright 11) Re: CDs! by William Wright 12) Re: The Silence is Broken by William Wright 13) ELAN review by email_address_removed (Michael McCormick) 14) ge by email_address_removed 15) Tablature by email_address_removed 16) Re: Mike Bahr's DT cd & Magellen by Andrew Keegan 17) Re: Greetings! by email_address_removed (Zack Gemmill) 18) RE: DT Posters by TIM LODGE SGA/PRE-LAW/MICRO/MAC LABS 19) WOW!!! DT CD in full high gear! by Michael Bahr 20) Fates Warning (DO NOT DOUBT!) by James Peele 21) "Weirdness & Wakefulness" by richard grayson 22) Weirdness & Wakefulness by richard grayson ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 20 Jan 95 17:08:59 GMT From: email_address_removed.ac.uk To: email_address_removed Subject: posters, transcriptions and queensryche. Message-ID: Greetings all, more news and views from the UK... I've seen an I&W poster, for those who're interested. It was black and white picture of the band with Dream Theater at the top and Images and Words at the bottom. It was sort of standard, glossy smallish poster sized and is currently gracing the DJ's podium at the Rock Cafe in Birmingham. I haven't asked if I can have it, but I can guess what the answer would be. :) Way, way thanx to Mark for the competition details, and on a related note, is anyone thinking of meeting up before any of the 'ryche shows? I have no idea which one I'll go to yet, but it's most likely the Nottingham, Wolves or London one. Anybody....? Ooh, on a transcription note, do any keyboard wizzards out there have any of Kevin's solos transcribed? As I've said before, I'd love to learn some of them, but find it to difficult to get the intricacies worked out. Jen, any chance of a transciption from the man himself in support of a budding prog keyboardist...?:):) Hey, I can wish can't I.... See y'all later, Matt P.s If anybody wants to mail me about anything (not that they would, but what the hell) PLEASE, PLEASE use email_address_removed.ac.uk. If you try using the SE2 address, it gets sent to the entire department, lecturers, tutors and all!! "For the first time in a long time...It's about music" ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Jan 95 16:21:53 GMT From: email_address_removed.ac.uk To: email_address_removed Subject: Re: Awake Tour - some retroactive observations... Message-ID: Dr. Mosh was kind enough to write... >>7. Backstage passes are cool... uh huh huh huh... (shut up Beavis!) heh heh, heh heh, other peoples backstage passes suck... :) :) Matt "For the first time in a long time...It's about music." ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Jan 1995 15:42:56 -0500 From: email_address_removed To: email_address_removed Subject: Re: Fates Warning (Plus: guit... Message-ID: Go ahead and tab it if you have the time!!! Thanks Trey ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 21 Jan 1995 05:29:00 +0900 From: Kaoru Kobayashi To: email_address_removed Subject: Re : YTSEJAM digest 654 Message-ID: I'm still confusing by the earthquake, but reading Ytsejam, I feel I can calm down. :) Date: Wed, 18 Jan 1995 22:22:40 EST Rob wrote: >Hey out there, does anyone know if and/or when the transcription of Awake >is coming out. Any information will be apreciated. I am dying to learn the >piano part on Space-Dye Vest. Do these transcriptions usually contain the >piano parts or just guitar??? I don't know much, but I made a transcription of SDV by myself. I'm a keyboard/piano player so I only wrote piano/key parts. I think it's not so difficult. Well, here in Japan, the score of WDADU and I&W are sold, but both have SO MANY mistakes. Use your ears, it will be good traning.:) Date: Thu, 19 Jan 1995 12:41:39 +0100 (MET) Mats Rydstr\vm wrote: >Judging from the posts from our japanese friends they and DT seem to be >alright, and I also saw that one (or more?) shows were cancelled. Is >that all? Will the remaining tour continue as scheduled, or will they do >the cancelled dates later. Just cancelled a show on 17th and the ticket will refund. The remaining tour will continue as scheduled for the moment. Don't worry! >Another thing: Who will be opening, FW? Are they opening in Japan now, and >will they in Europe too? I'm so dissatisfied with this fact, but there is NO opning act in Japan. In Japan, there are so many rules on the tour, for example: usually any band can't play over 2 hours long. What do you think about this? Date: Thu, 19 Jan 95 12:00:21 GMT Graham B. wrote: >I just got a letter from EastWest, Dream Theater's label here in the UK, >offering me free tickets to the special covers-only gig on 31st Jan (since I >subscribe to the official fanzine 'Images and Words'). Great!! I don't know whether it's true or not, but I heard that Steve Howe will be guest at the show. Are you going to record the show? If so, I'm anxious to hear it! Date:Thu, 19 Jan 95 09:07:05 EST Steve Lukas wrote: >Anyone heard possibly when they're coming back to New York to play ? Well, I'm going to interview DT during their staying in Japan, so I'll ask about next US tour. If they are touring east coast this summer, perhaps I will be able to see them in US again. :) Date: Thu, 19 Jan 1995 13:56:41 -0500 (EST) Mike Burstin wrote: >and he mentioned one called "Kick Into A Dream" Has anyone heard >anything about this one? I got it, and someone already mentioned about it... The date is Oct 29th 1995, at Manhattan Center in NY. Very good audience recording I guess, and completed gig is recorded. Set list has "The Ones" but no Innocence Faded. It's good boot as LoS in my opinion. :) Sorry for long post again! Kaoru Kobayashi ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Jan 1995 14:41:38 -0700 (MST) From: William Kriski To: email_address_removed Subject: Help! Message-ID: Hello there, The other day I borrowed 5 CD's from the library, 2 of which were by John McLaughlin and Pat Metheny. I must say that I was NOT impressed since the tunes seemed so out of control (a lot of jazz, with everyone playing different things at the same time). At this point in time I've heard 2 Pat Metheny discs and I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good guitar based cd by those guys (if any). I'm looking for something in the jazz category (such as Chick Corea) but with a little more guitar oriented music and more technical. I know I should be more tolerant of weird rhythms etc as a DT fan, but I felt they were a little extreme (atonal, etc). Will ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Jan 95 16:52:54 EST From: Corporate Community Relations To: email_address_removed Subject: RE: DT Posters Message-ID: Michael Burstin wrote: >Well, I know of at least 2 DT posters that are avaliable... One is >from I&W and is the CD cover... (I bought it at a CD shop at home for >$2... they had it up on the wall, and I asked the guy if they had any >others to sell... they didn't buy he told me I could have the one >from the wall!!!) and the other is the band photo from the Awake CD >liner. This poster is a long and narrow one... I have one from C-Man >(havn't seen you here for a while... you still w/ us?) and another >that I conviently got from the Strand in Providence at the 1st show of ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >the tour when a security guard turned around... ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ THAT WAS YOU?!? Damn, I was thinking the same thing, but before I could execute my plan, YOU did it!! 8^( Well, good going... Happy rails, .... Buck .++++++++.\ -- .+++. .+++++++++++++++.\ ... .+++++++. .+++++++++++++++++++++.\ .+++++. .+++++++++++. .+++++++++++++++++++++++++++. .+++++++++. .++++++ William J. Buckley, Jr. +++++++++++++++++++. .+++++++++++++...++++++++ email_address_removed ++++++++++++++++++++++. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Support an American Tradition ... RIDE MORE ROLLER COASTERS !!!!! ----- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Jan 1995 16:42:28 -0500 (EST) From: "Richard A. Rivera" To: Dream Theater Subject: The Silence is Broken Message-ID: Hello all! Having just finished reading everyone of the digests that I missed over Christmas Break (that's one month's worth), I thought I would throw in a couple of opinions/thoughts: Favorite bands: I was suprised to see that people on this list listen to some hard rock (and for the one person who refered to it as "butt rock" my hat is off to you; I thought that only I had heard that expression before). Being that this is the type of music that I love more than any other in the world, the bands on my list are classified under that catagory (DT is my exception, of course). By the way, if anyone has any bootlegs on these bands I would appreciate you e-mailing me privately. My fav. list is (in no paticular order): Poison Motley Crue Warrant Lillian Axe Skid Row Dream Theater "Surrounded:" This is, in my opinion (sorry, but I can't stand these IMO-type abbreviations) DT's masterpiece. For those of you who are going to future DT concerts and manage to talk to the band, please ask them why they've dropped it from their set list. My guess is that since it's so keyboard-oriented, and that since Derek has enough to worry about trying to play Kevin Moore's parts on the newer songs, that they decided to drop it. Talk them into adding it (PLEASE!!!!) MISC: I just got back from my english class where we had to copy the lyrics to a song that we really liked and give a short presentation conerning its content and then play a recorded version of the song. I picked "The Silent Man." (Note: this was actually an accelerated college english class). Only one guy had heard of DT before and he looked a little sketchy. Thanks for reading and I'm sorry aboutthe length. Richie Rivera email_address_removed 0ne final thought: Since some DT tour dates have been cancelled, maybe they'll use the off-time to work on "Surrounded" and "Scarred." ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Jan 1995 17:15:51 -0700 (MST) From: Michael Bahr To: email_address_removed Subject: Re: Mike Bahr's DT cd & Magellen Message-ID: > Mike, > What is going to be the track listing on the cd of unreleased > material? Do you know yet? I promise all Ytsejammers that as soon as I spin the master disc, I will post a _full_ track listing. Including sources! Promise! :) (the reason for the huge old delay is because I'm moving again. This whole moving thing is getting pretty repetitive. :( oh well) Mike Bahr, email_address_removed ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Jan 1995 19:37:52 -0600 (CST) From: William Wright To: email_address_removed Subject: Re: Mike Bahr's DT cd & Magellen Message-ID: > Also I would appreciate if any ytsejam subscribers could write a review > of Magellen's IMPENDING ASCENTION. > > Thanks for your time everyone! I'll give it a try... Magellan is a progressive rock (at best) band that are very competent musicans and they do some really great stuff. And to complement that, they do some good stuff. The first three songs on the CD I would say stand out the most, the best of the 3 being Estaduium Nacional with a close second being Waterfront Weirdo's, the second song on the CD. Both are 11 minute epics that are in the style of Yes, only heavier. However, they are primarily keyboard dominant and it never gets too heavy. For those who need new songs like the ones Yes or ELP wrote 20 years ago, get this CD. The other 12 minute epic, entitled Storms and Mutany just sort of wanders for me. I also think the chours is rather bad. The singing is top notch, sometimes reminding me of Jon Anderson, and always great. It seems that production they added a sort of metallic texture to his voice that compliments the keys very nicely. The drums are, unfortunetly, a drum track since they have no drummer. The production is good also. Some of the songs, however don't do much for me, including Virtual Reality, a hi-tech love song, and the aforementioned Storms and Mutany. All and all, a great CD, especially for the lonely Yes fan yearning for more of the great music that he grew up on. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Jan 1995 19:40:50 -0600 (CST) From: William Wright To: email_address_removed Subject: Re: DT CDs!! Message-ID: > > Confirmed to be on it are A Change of Season, To Live Forever > acoustic version, Eve studio , Eve live with samples, TLF live with > instrumental jam, Wanted Dead or Alive and Don't Look Past Me demos, > remixes and edits of Lie, CIAW, Status Seeker, and Afterlife (Broon), > some vocalist auditions, and if I can fit anything more on there, I will. > (ACOS is 20 minutes long! whoa!!) ok... you've sold me (but only cause I loved TLF with JP guitar solo!) Sign me up. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Jan 1995 19:48:33 -0600 (CST) From: William Wright To: email_address_removed Subject: Re: CDs! Message-ID: > > "please add me to the adult gif mailing list" > > on alt.sex on the USENET... > > > > Mr. Garion will notify the list when he is ready to begin > > production!!! > > THANK YOU! :) > > I will indeed keep everyone as up to date as I possibly can. > > Again, the plans right now are for the first disc to contain > unreleased rarities, special tracks, and miscellany. The When Dream And > James Unite disc will probably be SECOND or THIRD since I want to get > good versions of every song on it beforehand. Oh, while you're adding me to the CD order list, can you sign me up for the adult gif mailing list? Thanks! Sorrrry.... i just had to. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Jan 1995 19:53:09 -0600 (CST) From: William Wright To: email_address_removed Subject: Re: The Silence is Broken Message-ID: > MISC: I just got back from my english class where we had to copy > the lyrics to a song that we really liked and give a short presentation > conerning its content and then play a recorded version of the song. I > picked "The Silent Man." (Note: this was actually an accelerated college > english class). Only one guy had heard of DT before and he looked a > little sketchy. Well.... write your essay for us! I would love to hear some interpretations of Silent Man... because I have NO idea what its about! :) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jan 95 20:10:48 PST From: email_address_removed (Michael McCormick) To: email_address_removed Subject: ELAN review Message-ID: could someone let me know who reviewed the _ELAN_ CD recently? I missed it, but I would like to thank them, as I heard it was a good review -- :) Michael McCormick into the blue in a breathless embrace trailing chains of crystal through the mirror's face salt swells melt in a swirling web of tongues as we rise and fall in the dance of our obsession from _ELAN_ "Into the Blue" (c) 1992 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Jan 1995 21:45:07 -0500 From: email_address_removed To: email_address_removed Subject: ge Message-ID: I have no clue if this will work: Yo, what's up dudes? I'm also interested in getting DT posters and I came close to one. When I was buying DT shirts at their concert in Boston I saw one hanging behind the table. I inquired about it to the guy selling and the dude (I'm sure most of you know his name!) told me that if I could steal it that it was mine. Needless to say, it was gone before I could grab it at the end of the show. So I guess I'll have to be quicker when they come around again. Otherwise I'll just have to be lucky like a friend of mine who has his Awake poster on "reserve" in a music store. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Jan 1995 22:19:37 -0500 From: email_address_removed To: email_address_removed Subject: Tablature Message-ID: Dear jammers, I just finished typing up my unabridged transcription of "A Fortune in Lies" into a file. I tried uploading it to netcom, but it kept saying "Permission denied." If anyone could help me out, please e-mail me. Yours, Jeff =) <<<==<==<==<==<==<==<==<==<==<<<>>>==>==>==>==>==>==>==>==>==>>> Jeff Chew is: Half the world is sleeping Half the world's awake HuntNKill Half can hear their hearts beat email_address_removed Half just hear them break - Lea Salonga <<<==<==<==<==<==<==<==<==<==<<<<\-/-\-/-\-/>>>>==>==>==>==>==>==>==>==>==>>> ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Jan 1995 23:27:42 -0500 (EST) From: Andrew Keegan To: email_address_removed Cc: Multiple recipients of list Subject: Re: Mike Bahr's DT cd & Magellen Message-ID: On Fri, 20 Jan 1995, William Wright wrote: > > Magellan is a progressive rock (at best) band that are very competent > > All and all, a great CD, especially for the lonely Yes fan yearning for > more of the great music that he grew up on. > > But William, isn't that what Images And Words is for? ;) ================================================= ANDREW KEEGAN (email_address_removed) "I am but a starling, learning the currents of the air" -Castanarc ================================================ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Jan 95 21:42:39 PST From: email_address_removed (Zack Gemmill) To: email_address_removed Subject: Re: Greetings! Message-ID: > > > 2) Has anyone ever heard anything from Neil Peart about Mike Portnoy? > > I always hear him talk about Matt Cameron and Dave Abses.. > > (Pearl Jam's old drummer) and Herb Alexander as being the > > fathers of the revivalism in drumming this decade, but never > > Mike. What's Up?? > > > > You are definitely new... Neil Peart and all of Rush are big fans of DT and > vice versa... many praises have been sung about each other by both bands... What??? I've been around here about 15 months (and a.m.p. and a.m.r.) and I've never heard anything good said by Rush about DT except for Alex saying that "DT is a promising band..." in an interview once. Maybye you could point me towards some sources Doc..? > > > 3) Is there anyone else out there who simply cannot bring themselves > > to get excited about Fates Warning? When DT came to Denver > > last November, Fates opened up. I made a passing comment > > as we waited for the show to start that went "I wonder if DT > > would be willing to have a vote to see if the audience > > would rather skip the opening band?" A young lady heard me > > and put her best Leona Helmsley face on and replied,"they're > > a GREAT BAND! Who'd you buy dope from?" Honestly...I've > > tried my best to like them (I own Parallels), but I can't > > do it. Is there any help for me? > > > > There are those who listen, and those who just put the music on... > Fates Warning is not for the average Joe, and I can understand that a LOT > of people who listen to Rush, Dream Theater, etc etc... cannot listen to > FW... it's because the subtlety just rushes by you if you're not paying > attention... > -The Doc > I *don't* understand. Fates kicks ass. I have NE and up. Parallels is my favorite (and I bought this album last of all). Since I got to meet and party with them (a little), I love them even more! *Great* Live performance (except Jim looked a little dead on stage) Zonders was the typical stoic (as he is in person) but Ray, Bones, and Frank really groove live. I don't think I could recommend anyone else I'd rather have open for DT. But that's just me... Zach ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 21 Jan 1995 0:34:13 -0500 (EST) From: TIM LODGE SGA/PRE-LAW/MICRO/MAC LABS To: email_address_removed Subject: RE: DT Posters Message-ID: Well, I happened to stumble into my favorite boot shop and there in front of me..for sale..the images and words full length promo poster FULLY AUTOGRAPHED by the band! Hey not a bad buy after all! It is nicely framed and hangs in my room..! Tim ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Jan 1995 22:40:33 -0700 (MST) From: Michael Bahr To: email_address_removed Subject: WOW!!! DT CD in full high gear! Message-ID: Kombanwa everybody!! News from ALL OVER THE PLACE! 1. New FAQ is in the works, with updates. Look for it! :) 2. WOW! I can't believe the kind of response I got on those CDs. It will DEFINITELY be a project now, and I will DEFINITELY be on time in production. It's a good thing I didn't limit production to 100 because I already have listed 147 reservations for the disc, and more come in every time I log on! "Subconscious" will be a great hit. If I can push it to 200 copies, I may be able to scrap together the spare/excess buck or two of the price that I am getting (about half of minimum wage for actually spending my time making the discs) and get a COLOR laser printer instead of relying on the B&W with glossy-paper for the liners. Chotta matte kudasai! Please let me explain: "What's this about liners", you ask? "Aren't you going to make this disc look better than Lost In The Sky?" :) Unfortunately, that is cost prohibitive at this time. However I am at LEAST going to make it look nice, professional, mystical, and collectable, in that DT sort of way. Those of you with the nihon version of Awake have that white booklet in it.. that's the grade of paper I will be using. I'll have a decent bit of artwork on the cover, probably something rendered. I hope Subconscious will be enough of a success that it will pay for at least half of a color laser, maybe that Epson 720x720 one, so that When Dream and James Unite can be suitably spectacular. If I can sell 200 CDs, that will be sufficient. I will probably end the run there, if not a little bit more, to preserve the rarity of it, and then I'll pay the rest of the printer cost on my own, and use it for the remaining discs. 3. For all of you who wrote me looking to find out what the disc project is all about (having tuned in late, I guess) I received your mail, hang on for a day or so and I'll have an info file written up for each of you with details on the project up to this point. 4. I plan on giving complimentary copies to Portnoy and Moore. Portnoy because he's a boot enthusiast, and Moore because he's no longer in a position to listen to Portnoy's copy. :) I'll be finaning the freebies myself. 5. Finally, I REALLY want to thank all of you for your interest in this. If it weren't for your incredibly devoted fandom of DT, this project simply would not have come about. I can only hope that if I were in a band, my fans would be _that cool_. I think that, even though 3 of the 4 members of DT frown on bootlegging, they will probably be pretty happy that their fans are solid enough to engage in this sort of venture. Thank you all! Oyasuminasai. Mike Bahr, email_address_removed ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 21 Jan 1995 02:40:16 -0500 From: James Peele To: email_address_removed Subject: Fates Warning (DO NOT DOUBT!) Message-ID: Well, I have noticed some dissension concerning Fates Warning. IMHO, if I had to start ranking bands as my favorites it would be something like: Rush Pink Floyd Yes Fates Warning For anyone who doubts Fates Warning, go buy 'Perfect Symmetry' on CD and listen to it through head phones while reading along with the lyrics. You'll never be the same again! DO THIS NOW! Thanks - Jay Peele (INFERNO) E-mail email_address_removed for information on INFERNO ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 21 Jan 1995 00:07:34 +0800 (PST) From: richard grayson To: email_address_removed Subject: "Weirdness & Wakefulness" Message-ID: Fellow members of the Ytsejams mailing list: The following is a small excerpt from my fantasy and weird fiction fanzine _Yawning Vortex_ (though the 'zine is usually not concerned with music), consisting of reviews and commentary on the latest albums of Dream Theater and Fates Warning and the last date of the first leg of their U.S. tour, which I attended at the Palace in Hollywood, CA on Dec. 9th. Both bands have always struck me as being very literate and evocative of horror, fantasy, and science fiction in a sense. As evidenced from the DT FAQ, it does seem that John Petrucci in particular was impressed with Rod Serling. Allow me to say that I have never experienced a finer concert that that December night with Dream Theater, whose music has had a profound impact on me. As a young writer (of both fiction and songs) and guitarist, I am particularly stirred and amazed by the imagery and emotion present in Dream Theater's songs. For any familiar with the author H.P. Lovecraft, there are times when I wonder if that bizarre character Erich Zann may have crafted certain sections of DT's songs! No doubt this will come as old news to some, but since I just discovered the progressive metal newsgroup (I am not particularly active on the net) I thought some of you who are similarly inclined to reading things of a fantastic nature would be interested in my musings. It isn't often that I find a particular piece of music that can actually embody the sensations printed on the page of a book such as Thea von Harbou's "Metropolis"--or that early film of Fritz Lang's. Dream Theater has proven themselves to be strikingly intelligent and unique (they do not require the trappings that many bands do to survive). Kudos to James, John, John, Mike, Kevin, and Derek--keep the flame alight! "Weirdness and Wakefulness: Beyond the Wall of Sleep with New Releases from Dream Theater & Fates Warning" by Perry M. Grayson Exploding and transcending progressive metal to new heights come new albums from two bands--one young, one veteran. Dream Theater's "Awake" renews a field of music that has long been ignored in favor of what the masses call alternative. With sister band Fates Warning, Dream Theater's new disc, two years in the making, ensures the continuance of that melodic form of progressive hard rock/metal. Fates Warning continues to grow accessible with their new release "Inside Out." "Awake" is a milestone in hard rock recording. It represents the longest of all such albums in recent years, including behemothic opuses by the likes of Metallica's eponymous release of 1992 and Queensr: Mindcrime" & "Empire". Measuring a total of 75 minutes of surreal complexity, "Awake" tows new headway into the musical unknown. The eleven songs evoke a cosmic grandeur, wonder, and terror that is similar to the written work of Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Frank Belknap Long, and bears much in common with newer horror writers like Ramsey Campbell and Thomas Ligotti. The dexterity and tasteful phrasing of guitarist John Petrucci covers nearly every millisecond of "Awake". Petrucci is a prime catalyst in what makes Dream Theater succeed in being both 'heavy' and melodic at the same time. He has taken the music to new heights by using custom 7-string guitars, and his chunks of low "B" string rhythm flow from his pick and meld with the other facets of the band. This is part of what distinguishes DT from a number of faceless bands who persist in purveying a detuned, monotonous drone--complete with shouting, growling, gurgling, or whining "vocals". The balance between subtle clean-tone passages, acoustic strains, and searing solos are John Petrucci's textural contributions to the complete sound of Dream Theater. His phrases of melody, even in the most rapid of all his solos are startlingly coherent--they are at times feverishly lucid, classically-influenced, and strikingly exotic. For his fretboard work on "Awake", John Petrucci attains a place among the foremost guitarists of rock and metal, putting him in a position to rival Yngwie Malmsteen, Marty Friedman, Steve Vai, Jason Becker, Joe Satriani, Kirk Hammett, and a host of other top names in that field. Vocally, "Awake" boasts a tenured James La Brie, who after staying with DT through "Images & Words", has proven to have a singing skill that cannot be equalled by those who are not trained as well as he is. Some of La Brie's finest work shines through and touches the core of the listener with poetic words conveyed clearly, with an attitude well suited to both the lulls of slow ballad's and galloping motifs of driving anthems like "6:00" & "Lie". The lyrics falling delivered by James La Brie are written adeptly by every band member, including departed keyboardist Kevin Moore. Both images and words succeed on "Awake", just as they did on the album of that name. The songs embody a tone of solitude and the gripping questions of men and women of Earth looking out on the vast veil of stars_and within themselves. A rhythm section has rarely if ever been as solid as Dream Theater's. Mike Portnoy bashes the skins from the very beginning of "6:00" and unleashes rhythmic furies one would think well-suited to sacrificial rites in some far off country Frank Long once wrote a story about for Weird Tales. His mastery of drums is not a blind pounding coming from feet that relentlessly slap at the bass pedals; he and John Myung, who is much more than a mere adequate bassist, adeptly set the pace through mazes and hurdles of unique twists in time and feel changes. Keyboardist Kevin Moore brought new dynamics to the brand of progressive metal that Dream Theater pioneered, and though he is present on "Awake" it is a disappointment to see him go--but not if he is replaced by someone just as familiar with the keys. Fates Warning shared a vocalist in common with Dream Theater at one time. Initially singing for Fates Warning on albums between 1984 and 1987, John Arch navigated towards DT after leaving Fates Warning to let Ray Alder take over as the front-man. Alder's refreshing adaptability was brought new horizons for the band on "Perfect Symmetry", the bands 1989 album, culminating in their newest offering "Inside Out". The new songs are accessible and provide great contrasts to earlier material from Arch's furlough. The band continues to evolve and push the limits. Queensr ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 21 Jan 1995 00:13:57 +0800 (PST) From: richard grayson To: email_address_removed Subject: Weirdness & Wakefulness Message-ID: [Please ignore the garbled & aborted message sent from this address previously] Fellow members of the Ytsejam mailing list: The following is a small excerpt from my fantasy and weird fiction fanzine _Yawning Vortex_ (though the 'zine is usually not concerned with music), consisting of reviews and commentary on the latest albums of Dream Theater and Fates Warning and the last date of the first leg of their U.S. tour, which I attended at the Palace in Hollywood, CA on Dec. 9th. Both bands have always struck me as being very literate and evocative of horror, fantasy, and science fiction in a sense. As evidenced from the DT FAQ, it does seem that John Petrucci in particular was impressed with Rod Serling. Allow me to say that I have never experienced a finer concert that that December night with Dream Theater, whose music has had a profound impact on me. As a young writer (of both fiction and songs) and guitarist, I am particularly stirred and amazed by the imagery and emotion present in Dream Theater's songs. For any familiar with the author H.P. Lovecraft, there are times when I wonder if that bizarre character Erich Zann may have crafted certain sections of DT's songs! No doubt this will come as old news to some, but since I just discovered the progressive metal newsgroup (I am not particularly active on the net) I thought some of you who are similarly inclined to reading things of a fantastic nature would be interested in my musings. It isn't often that I find a particular piece of music that can actually embody the sensations printed on the page of a book such as Thea von Harbou's "Metropolis"--or that early film of Fritz Lang's. Dream Theater has proven themselves to be strikingly intelligent and unique (they do not require the trappings that many bands do to survive). Kudos to James, John, John, Mike, Kevin, and Derek--keep the flame alight! "Weirdness and Wakefulness: Beyond the Wall of Sleep with New Releases from Dream Theater & Fates Warning" by Perry M. Grayson Exploding and transcending progressive metal to new heights come new albums from two bands--one young, one veteran. Dream Theater's "Awake" renews a field of music that has long been ignored in favor of what the masses call alternative. With sister band Fates Warning, Dream Theater's new disc, two years in the making, ensures the continuance of that melodic form of progressive hard rock/metal. Fates Warning continues to grow accessible with their new release "Inside Out." "Awake" is a milestone in hard rock recording. It represents the longest of all such albums in recent years, including behemothic opuses by the likes of Metallica's eponymous release of 1992 and Queensr: Mindcrime" & "Empire". Measuring a total of 75 minutes of surreal complexity, "Awake" tows new headway into the musical unknown. The eleven songs evoke a cosmic grandeur, wonder, and terror that is similar to the written work of Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Frank Belknap Long, and bears much in common with newer horror writers like Ramsey Campbell and Thomas Ligotti. The dexterity and tasteful phrasing of guitarist John Petrucci covers nearly every millisecond of "Awake". Petrucci is a prime catalyst in what makes Dream Theater succeed in being both 'heavy' and melodic at the same time. He has taken the music to new heights by using custom 7-string guitars, and his chunks of low "B" string rhythm flow from his pick and meld with the other facets of the band. This is part of what distinguishes DT from a number of faceless bands who persist in purveying a detuned, monotonous drone--complete with shouting, growling, gurgling, or whining "vocals". The balance between subtle clean-tone passages, acoustic strains, and searing solos are John Petrucci's textural contributions to the complete sound of Dream Theater. His phrases of melody, even in the most rapid of all his solos are startlingly coherent--they are at times feverishly lucid, classically-influenced, and strikingly exotic. For his fretboard work on "Awake", John Petrucci attains a place among the foremost guitarists of rock and metal, putting him in a position to rival Yngwie Malmsteen, Marty Friedman, Steve Vai, Jason Becker, Joe Satriani, Kirk Hammett, and a host of other top names in that field. Vocally, "Awake" boasts a tenured James La Brie, who after staying with DT through "Images & Words", has proven to have a singing skill that cannot be equalled by those who are not trained as well as he is. Some of La Brie's finest work shines through and touches the core of the listener with poetic words conveyed clearly, with an attitude well suited to both the lulls of slow ballad's and galloping motifs of driving anthems like "6:00" & "Lie". The lyrics falling delivered by James La Brie are written adeptly by every band member, including departed keyboardist Kevin Moore. Both images and words succeed on "Awake", just as they did on the album of that name. The songs embody a tone of solitude and the gripping questions of men and women of Earth looking out on the vast veil of stars_and within themselves. A rhythm section has rarely if ever been as solid as Dream Theater's. Mike Portnoy bashes the skins from the very beginning of "6:00" and unleashes rhythmic furies one would think well-suited to sacrificial rites in some far off country Frank Long once wrote a story about for Weird Tales. His mastery of drums is not a blind pounding coming from feet that relentlessly slap at the bass pedals; he and John Myung, who is much more than a mere adequate bassist, adeptly set the pace through mazes and hurdles of unique twists in time and feel changes. Keyboardist Kevin Moore brought new dynamics to the brand of progressive metal that Dream Theater pioneered, and though he is present on "Awake" it is a disappointment to see him go--but not if he is replaced by someone just as familiar with the keys. Fates Warning shared a vocalist in common with Dream Theater at one time. Initially singing for Fates Warning on albums between 1984 and 1987, John Arch navigated towards DT after leaving Fates Warning to let Ray Alder take over as the front-man. Alder's refreshing adaptability was brought new horizons for the band on "Perfect Symmetry", the bands 1989 album, culminating in their newest offering "Inside Out". The new songs are accessible and provide great contrasts to earlier material from Arch's furlough. The band continues to evolve and push the limits. Queensr ------------------------------ End of YTSEJAM Digest 656 *************************