A Rite Of Passage (Dream Theater)

[(Artie Ziff)]

Maybe the second best Prog / Rock band still around will release this to radio in three weeks says Billboard.

I have most of their albums except the live ones. They've never really clicked with radio, though. Maybe they're due.

[jvandyck87]

Nice! These guys are one of my favorite bands of all time, though their two most recent albums I've not been a big fan of as they seem to be too focused on showing off their technical chops and not enough on writing great songs. In response to the Ziffster, their first album did well at radio. They just haven't since. "Pull Me Under" went top 10 at Billboard Mainstream Rock if I remember correctly.

Just out of curiosity, what's the best Prog / Rock band still around in your mind Ziff? I'd put Dream Theater 3rd behind Porcupine Tree and Opeth (though Opeth may be considered too metal for that genre).

[(Artie Ziff)]

Yes, I remember Pull Me Under. It was huge on Mtv for a while, directed by the one and only David Lee Roth if I remember right. Billboard shows them with six top forty songs, but I only remember Pull Me Under on radio.

And Rush is my favorite band of this genre out there. A bit obvious, but they get it done for me.

[crash46]

"Panic Attack" is one badass addition to Rock Band 2 and my spoonfed first exposure to Dream Theater that I'd wished I had taken the initiative to seek out on my own before.

[(Artie Ziff)]

Panic Attack was a great choice.

[jazklash]

I remember "Another Day" from Images & Words too. The only fault that song had was to come out in the wrong year. Three years earlier or so, it probably would have been bigger than Queensrÿche's "Silent Lucidity".
Oh, and it's not as if Dream Theater need the airwaves in the first place. They've been building a loyal fanbase over the years without massive radio support, and have been doing fine. In a sense, they anticipated what has become (again) the new model: put yourself out there, make your own noise, go out there and blow their minds off. If people think you're good, you won't need any mass media outlet to tell that for them.

[jvandyck87]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYYEcIf0QP8

www.roadrunnerrecords.com/ariteofpassage/index.aspx for a free download.

It's 8+ minutes so unless there's a radio edit (and even if there is), this song won't do anything at radio.

[Ron57]

May 6, 2009 12:10:32 GMT -5 jvandyck87 said:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYYEcIf0QP8

www.roadrunnerrecords.com/ariteofpassage/index.aspx for a free download.

It's 8+ minutes so unless there's a radio edit (and even if there is), this song won't do anything at radio.

So is everything else by Dream Theater.
I like it. Great Riff.

[jvandyck87]

That's true, but the single "Forsaken" off their last album was only around 5 minutes. And it had a really catchy piano riff and chorus. If they had pushed it, it could have been a hit at active rock I'm convinced.

[unicorns]

Heard this the other night on Eddie Trunk's show. I like it! It's no "Pull Me Under" though.

[jvandyck87]

Black Clouds and Silver Linings debuted at #6 on the Billboard 200....Holy Shit!!!

[pen]

Jul 5, 2009 3:44:13 GMT -5 jvandyck87 said:

Black Clouds and Silver Linings debuted at #6 on the Billboard 200....Holy s**t!!!

That's impressive but not surprising, since their albums have been entering the chart at higher and higher peaks for a while now. Systematic Chaos entered at #19. It was only logical.

[jvandyck87]

I guess but there's a huge difference in sales. There's probably a bigger difference in sales between #100 and #20 than #20 and #5.

[pen]

Nowadays? Nowadays there's usually a bigger difference between 5 and 1 than there is between 50 and 10.

It's just a slow steady climb. The album before that peaked at #36 and before that it was #53 and then actually #46. My point is that either Dream Theater is gaining in popularity over time, which is natural, or the path to climb the charts is getting narrower, which is also likely.

[Nicholas2.0]

Jul 5, 2009 13:55:46 GMT -5 pen said:

My point is that either Dream Theater is gaining in popularity over time, which is natural, or the path to climb the charts is getting narrower, which is also likely.

It wouldn't be natural for a band like Dream Theater to be getting more popular over time, considering how long they've been around.

I have little idea, but it's probably a combination of their style of music being more popular recently and now than it was back in the '90's, the Guitar Hero/Rock Band franchise (whichever series they're featured in), and the path to climbing the charts getting narrower, like you said.

[pen]

I don't necessarily agree with the idea that they can't get more popular over time, cause it's my experience that usually the longer a band is around, the more fans they tend to gain, but you might be right. And I do agree with the rest of your post. But if you look at their run at the charts with each album, it is a pretty steady climb for the most part. Also, another factor could be the fact that the last two albums were released by Roadrunner, and the change in label might be allowing them to reach a wider audience, or perhaps more likely, a more core audience.

[(Artie Ziff)]

I still have only heard this maybe three times.