'Surrounded' got new intro and an excerpt from Pink Floyd's song. I guessed it's Floyd's, by the white brick wall image on the video screen that resembles 'The Wall' album cover. Here's the lyric that I can make out of it:
Cos I know what I want
know what I feel
know what I am
???
Cos I know what I feel
know what I want
know what I am
???
???
???
???
I think, I got a special slot in my memory for this song (and almost all 'Images and Words', and 'Awake' for that matter, anyway). It was early 90s' and I can still remember every word now.
I always miss the guitar solo, because JP never played it live as is. I think he kinda dislike it. I remember, he mentioned something about 'Images...' had too much delay effect.
Most of the improvisation led by JP, bringing back his 90s melody.
I think the presence of these personal faves in this DVD made it more listenable than my last one ('Budokan' 2 disc edition) and as listenable as 'Score'.
Furthermore, it also appealing enough to me that I learned something of a bigger picture about Dream Theater: The progressive band.
It was the era of 'When Dream and Day Unite', 'Images...', 'Awake', 'Change of a Season', 'Falling into Infinity'. DT was swaying melodies, sounds, and lyrics. In the era of 'Metropolis Pt.2: Scenes from a Memory', & 'Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence' DT was still swaying melodies and sounds, but there was more disturbing (for me) lyrics about mental illness, scandal, & tragedy. And then at the era of 'Train of Thought', 'Octavarium' & 'Systematic Chaos', there were less swaying melodies and sounds.
DT is as technical and virtuosic as before, but I miss the swaying/melodious element. They become more metal with depression theme, rough rhythm, and simple (though still hard to play).
I do believe that they always true to themselves. To me, they more alike those progressive bands that they admire: Pink Floyd, Metallica, Iron Maiden, etc. Sadly, I don't admire most of those bands, the sound they brought.
I never really memorized 'Six Degrees...' (only the 2nd disc), 'Train...', 'Octavarium', or '...Chaos'. I found them too flat (I won't say stale or boring to DT, but those term did came to my mind, sorry).
So this DVD, and any previous ones, showed me that now those flat albums are more interesting to watch than listened. The technique that made up those flat melodies and lyrics are still hard to do and only able to be appreciate and admire through visual, not audio. That's what I think.
Turning to old ones doesn't really worked either. What's listened for too many time will lost charm. So having them played live with improvisations really made my day.
I decode the DVD chapters into mp3s. I've done it to 'Score', some chapters of '5 Years in A Livetime', and 'When the Dream and Day Re-unite'.
Live performance have flaws, especially the vocals, but it's natural, rich, and swaying.
So, I lost interest to '...Chaos' charm, this DVD rekindles my passion as a fan of DT, the most progressive band today.
DT has captured many hearts with melodies, now they has the freedom to go to many direction, less beautiful, but still (or more?) progressive.
I'll always be their fan, in a hope that they'll be able to somehow finally mix the melody and the metal into something that is not 'going back' or 'sounds like', but something that truly DT and progressive.
Keep up guys!
| - | Baldy | : | Keyboard, continuum, lap steel guitar, zen riffer, kaoss pad. |
| - | JMX | : | Bass, chapman stick. |
| - | MP, The Camel | : | Drum, cymbal, vocal, video. |
| - | Capt. Starbuck's, Cappy, Pirate, Cowboy | : | Vocal, percussion. |
| - | JP, Mr. YouTube | : | Guitar, vocal. |
No comments:
Post a Comment