Ja! Pt. 2 of my DT blogs!

The song "6:00" kicks this album off with a small drum solo that sounds heavily jazz influenced to me. This jazz influence carries on with James' singing. When I first heard this, I thought the album was going to sound like "Take The Time" from Images and Words. "Innocence Faded" has my least favourite Dream Theater opening, just something about it makes me not like it. When it is gone James starts to sing in an almost whisper, and builds up as it goes on. The best thing about this song is the high pitched singing James does around the halfway point. This part makes me realise that the album is going to be great. The song "The Mirror" furthers this jazz influence, by having a very off key drum and guitar intro that while sounding off, it adds to it making it brilliant. This song seems to be heavier than the rest, having very aggressive sounding riffs when compared to the others. It flows into the next song "Lie" and continues the heavy sounding riffs, nearly making it one song with two parts. James' vocals in both of these songs are very aggressive, also. The chorus on "Lie" has a very nice high pitched part, which makes it the better half.

"Lifting Shadows off a Dream" could easily qualify as the ballad song for the album. It is probably the softest song on the album, but it isn't as soft as some of the songs on "Images and Words" James' starts singing in an almost whisper, and builds it up just like in "Innocence Faded" This song is one of my favourites from the album because the chorus is very catchy. "Scarred" is the longest song on the album by 1 minute, and shows. The song kind of drags on for a good 3 minutes. This song can easily describe the album as a whole. The very last song "Space-Dye Vest" is mostly only a piano and James singing. Some parts have the rest of the band, but they don't stand out as much. This song also features some clips from something, I think it is films (I'm not sure about which).

Overall. This album starts off very strongly, but around the middle point it starts to lose its unique-ness. If the album lost about 3 tracks, it would be the perfect length.

Rating: 7/10

Dream Theater Rating: 6/10

Also, I left out some tracks (I'll be doing this with the longer albums) because there was too many tracks, so I just chose the ones that stood out the most.

Other Stuff

Last night I went to see a stage show called "Shaolin Warriors". I've never been to a thing like that before, so it was a new experience for me. I came out satisfied, as it was a very amazing show. They showed off their acrobatic skills (I'm wondering should I put a Z so it should be skillz....) and their martial arts skills. They kept it very entertaining by taking people from the audience to try and do things such as pull a bowl from one of their stomachs. I wouldn't turn down the offer to go see something like that again. Have any of you been to something on a stage? If so, what was it like?

Thanks for reading!

Knowing that making a full blog about all the albums would be very lengthy, and would probably turn most commenters away. I decided to split that blog into parts, dedicating each blog (until the last album) about their albums. After the album, I shall say other normal blog stuff just to give you something to comment about if you aren't interested in DT.

Dream Theater

Images and Words

This album starts with the critically acclaimed "Pull Me Under" and since this is their only hit song, I was expecting alot from it. It is probably my least favourite song from the whole album, and only the chorus is really good. While a good song, it isn't one I'd listen to normally. The following song "Another Day" is more of a ballad, and this is where the album starts to really pick up. It is the second shortest song on this album, but it packs a punch. James Labrie shows off his high pitched vocals like he wont ever get a chance to, and the instruments play together beautifully. "Take The Time" is probably my favourite song from the album. It starts off with a very Jazz influenced vocals which garner your attention. This song also shows off James' vocals in full shine. The chorus is has a very choir feel to it, and the song feels the perfect length. "Surrounded" is another semi-short song, that has a very ballad feel to it. While not as good as "Another Day" it still holds up.

The epic "Metropolis, Pt.1: The Miracle and the Sleeper" is the second longest song on the album and it shows. The verse has a marching feel and gets you into the song as it continues. James' strong high-pitched vocals make an appearance again in the chorus of the song, sort of making you fall in love with it. Around the middle, the song goes into a drum/guitar/bass/keyboard duel. While the bass doesn't have as much time in the spotlight, it packs a very groovy riff. "Under a Glass Moon"doesn't stand out to me. It just feels like a kind of filler song, while better than "Pull me Under" it just doesn't pack quite a punch as the others do. It does, however feature amazing vocals from James. "Wait For Sleep" is a unique song as it is the shortest song on the album. Only spanning a mere 2 minutes and 31 seconds, it accomplishes so much within that short time. With only a piano and James singing his heart out, this song could easily be my favourite from the album. I feel that it is an opening for the next song "Learning To Live" Especially because "Learning To Live" features the piano tune around the middle of the song, which is cool. This song especially stands out because it features James' highest note on the whole album. He reaches F minor around 3/4 through the song, and it is epic. It is a great way to finish off this colossal album.

Rating: 10/10

Dream Theater rating: 9/10

(The Dream Theater rating is the rating I use specifically for DT, it is higher than the normal rating. Yeah, I like DT that much)

Other Stuff

I forgot to mention last blog that I am not getting my PS3 until Christmas, sadly. I am very, very excited! Also, I have started to read "Gerald's Game" and I am 100/400 pages through it already. So far it has been quite good, a very interesting read. Anyone want to recommend the best PS3 games for me to buy?

Thanks for reading.

No art here, I'm sorry.

I have a retainer! It is the first step in getting braces (which I have 6 weeks left until I get them fully installed). Could someone explain what a retainer does before the brace is in, exactly? I'm not exactly sure...

I have nearly finished "Rose Madder" by Stephen King (and I recommend it to anyone). Which book should I read next? Misery, Gerald's Game or 'Salems Lot? They're all by Stephen King. If you've never heard of them, just randomly choose one.

I'm still not fully commited on commenting on blogs just yet... my bad. I'm sure I'll get back into the swing of things soon, don't worry.

Also! My parents confirmed that I am finally getting my own console! A Playstation 3, of course. I've wanted one since it has came out (I've never had a chance to play most games this gen because of my brothers not letting me on the 360). I'm pretty damn excited for it.

My next blog will probably mostly be about Dream Theater albums. I recently listened to them all in order, so I'll just give my thoughts on them all individually.

Thanks for reading.