Camp

Well I’m leaving for camp in about an hour and a half. It’s three weeks without much computer access at all. I won’t be updating this at all while I’m gone, and I won’t be able to check it either. I’m pretty excited though. I went to the same camp last year, and as I’ve said it changed my life.

While at the camp last year I befriended a kid who was a huge progressive rock fan. He recommended me Dream Theater’s “Octavarium”, and needless to say it opened a whole new world of music that got me out of my classic rock elitism. My musical taste have completely changed due to that one kid.

I’ll also be doing musical activities at the camp. One of which will be getting together with a band, writing a song and performing it at the end of the camp to everybody. It will most likely be a challenge, due to all of us having different tastes that we will want to incorporate. I’ll be writing a 10 minute progressive metal opus while the bassist will be writing a 4 minute pop song =) I am looking forward to working with other musicians though.

So I’ll update this on the 21st when I get back!

Review: “Octavarium” (Dream Theater)

I felt the need to review this album because I first got it just a little less than a year ago. This is the album that introduced me to music outside of mainstream radio. It got me interested in progressive rock and metal and in turn changed my musical taste and life in general forever. Ironic, considering it is probably Dream Theater’s worst album.

Dream Theater’s “Octavarium” is widely panned by fans as one of the bands worst albums. While it’s true that as a whole it does not live up to bands previous outings, it still has some of the best songs in their catalogue. “Octavarium” is an inconsistent album, with incredible highs but also an excessive amount of filler.

The album begins with “The Root of all Evil”, which acts as the perfect way to start the album. It’s heavy, powerful and progressive; everything one could ask from a great Dream Theater song. It is also the third song from Mike Portnoy’s AA Suite, and fans will find references both musically and lyrically to previous songs in the suite, though the song never finds itself bogged down with references and still stands by itself as a strong song.

Unfortunately the album slows down considerably with “The Answer Lies Within”. Dream Theater obviously was trying to recreate the feeling of their other incredible ballads. However the song is rather bland and generic and never comes close to previous Dream Theater ballads. Thankfully it is also the second shortest song on the album only clocking in around five minutes.

“These Walls” is one of the stronger songs on the album, but is not without its problems. The highlight of the song is no doubt the great piano lead by Jordan Ruddess. Besides the keyboards however, the song never really obtains the spark that a great Dream Theater song has. It’s certainly an entertaining song to listen to but it’s not one you’ll ever find a reason to listen to outside the context of the album.

“I Walk Beside You” is probably the worst song on the album. While I have nothing against bands being influenced by other musicians, there comes a point where a song is just plain derivative. The band being ripped off here is U2, and the song just feels too “mainstream” and “poppy” to be on a Dream Theater album. Though it is only four minutes long, you’ll probably find yourself skipping it.

“Panic Attack” is just what Octavarium needed at this point. With half of the songs so far being soft and ballade-esque, “Panic Attack” provides a nice contrast being probably the heaviest song on the album. With a strong bass line, the song is a strong addition to the album. It does, however, suffer the same problem as “These Walls” in that it never recreates the spark that a great Dream Theater song has, it feels that something is missing. While it is a strong song on this album, on another Dream Theater album it would probably be considered filler. Good filler, but filler nonetheless.

“Never Enough” is by far the worst case of Dream Theater ripping off another band in their entire catalogue. Play this song and Muse’s “Stockholm Syndrome” and one will find the guitar riffs to be way too similar to be coincidence. If I want to listen to Muse I’ll listen to Muse; not Dream Theater. Because of this blatant rip off, “Never Enough” has the dubious honor of being one of the worst of their catalogue.

Thankfully things start to get much better with “Sacrificed Sons”. The lyrics are written in reflection of 9/11. The samples at the beginning of the song are quite moving. While the same technique of splicing news clips together was used at the beginning of “The Great Debate” on Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, it is used to much greater effect here. The first half of the song is slow and soft, but the latter half becomes quite heavier and contains some great guitar parts by Petrucci. One of the albums highlights.

And last comes “Octavarium”, the true saving grace of this album. “Octavarium” is arguably one of the best Dream Theater songs and my personal favorite song by any artist. The best part of the song may be its progression. It starts off very slowly with the first few minutes being a Continuum solo by Jordan Ruddess that acts a sort of homage to Pink Floyd’s “Shine on You Crazy Diamond”. This is a good example of an influence being used appropriately. The connection between the two songs is obvious but Octavarium still sounds much different. The song slowly adds the drums, guitar and bass, and the song gets heavier as it goes. After the vocal part of “Full Circle”, there is a jaw dropping instrumental section with incredible keyboard and guitar parts. This all builds up to an amazing climax that starts with James LaBrie almost whispering and ends with him full on screaming. While one might not think this suits his vocal style, he actually manages to pull it off surprisingly well. The song ends with an incredible guitar solo backed by an orchestra, truly a breathtaking song.

After examining “Octavarium” song by song it is easy to see why this is considered to be the weakest Dream Theater album. Only three of the songs are true standouts. However the title track alone makes this worth the price of admission. It is truly an incredible progressive rock song that easily stands as some of the bands best work.

Track Listing:

1. The Root of All Evil   (8:24)

      VI. Ready

      VII. Remove

2. The Answer Lies Within   (5:33)

3. These Walls   (7:36)

4. I Walk Beside You   (4:29)

5. Panic Attack   (8:13)

6. Never Enough   (6:46)

7. Sacrificed Sons   (10:42)

8. Octavarium   (24:00)

      I. Someone Like Him

      II. Medicate (Awakening)

      III. Full Circle

      IV. Intervals

      V. Razor’s Edge

Rating: 3.5/5

Recording – Day 5

Well I think I’m turning into a studio perfectionist. After playing through what I recorded over the week I spent the whole day re-recording parts I didn’t feel came out well. Even now, I’m not entirely happy with everything and will probably re-record more tomorrow. And then it’s off to camp! 

I’m thinking about bumping the songs up to 6. After going through everything the album seems almost one dimensionally minor and bleak. I want at least one happy sounding song or else I fear the album will just be to depressing to be much fun to listen to. This has me thinking though, if I’m at 6 songs that’s pretty close to being a full blown full length album. While I want to release something quickly, I don’t want to sell my self short.

For that reason I’ve decided instead of planning how much I’ll record I’m giving myself a timeframe. Whatever I have done by September 1st I’m releasing. Whether that be a full album or just a few songs, I have no idea. 

I’ll release some teasers when I get back from camp to keep things interesting. I’ll post something tomorrow before I go, too.

Recording – Day 4

Unfortunately it doesn’t look like this EP is going to be done by the time I go to camp. As I’ve said before, the EP will have 5 songs. Right now only 2 of them are recorded and I’m in the process of recording the 3rd. Since the two I haven’t started yet are also the 2 longest, and I just have two days…well do the math =)

That being said I’m having a great time recording and it’s coming out better than I thought it would. I can’t wait to finish and share it. I’m also hoping to do an instrumental demo for Lifting Shadows sometime in the next few months. Probably “What You Leave Behind” and “Perpetual Succession”, since I think those are our strongest songs, and would make for a good 15 minutes or so.

And no new music has really come out the last few weeks so I haven’t had anything to review. Although I’m not really a fan I might pick up the new DragonForce album in August. While their last three albums I found to be cheesy, repetitive and somewhat annoying, I do think they have potential. I will be picking up Metallica’s new album in hope it matches the quality of their first four albums. I’ll tell you if it does =) Besides that I can’t think of any other major releases coming out soon, though I’m sure I’m forgetting something.

Recording – Day 3

Got a little less accomplished than I planned today =( And with Lifting Shadows practice pretty much all day tomorrow, Thursday and Friday are going to be a real grind to get this done. Oh well, I look forward to the challenge =)

Some pics of one of my two recording spots. I record all the guitar/bass/vocals in my room and the keyboard here:

Recording – Day 2

Sorry this post is a little late. I ended up not recording “Control” like I had originally planned. Instead, I wrote and recorded the second clean guitar segue that will be on the EP. It went well, and I think this piece is much better than the first I recorded for the album. 

Recording – Day 1

Okay well today I officially started recording the EP I’ve been talking about for a week or so now. Unfortunately I didn’t have as much time as I would’ve liked; I practiced with my band for mostly the whole afternoon. I did however record one track titled “New Views (Three Months)”. It’s a short segue that will be used to transition from two of the larger pieces. It is a soft, clean, guitar only song that I’ve been working on for a while now.

Tomorrow the plan is to start on a song called “Control”. For you Nine Inch Nails fans out there, the song “Beside You In Time” is a huge influence on it, at least the first half. It becomes more Tool influenced at the end of the song, with the bass and drums carrying the song.

So one of the five tracks is done! So far, so good =)

Lyrics, Part 3

Yesterday I made a post which had lyrics from Lifting Shadows. Today I’m posting lyrics to a song I’ll be recording next week as part of a solo project. As you can see, these lyrics are much more personal and much darker than the Lifting Shadows song. And while these are based off feelings of mine, and how I’ve felt lately, don’t think I’m some emo or something =)

“Torture”

Pull the trigger, drop the blade

Hang me up, push me off

Let me fall

Shred me to pieces

Burn them in a fire

And I’ll try to remember a time when

I saw nothing but light shining through

And I’ll try to surface memories of you

That aren’t dripping with regret

That aren’t tainted with me

That aren’t pain personified

Helpless, shattered, crying

Naked, burning, dying

Standing, walking, trying

Pushed back down again

I have dropped to the level of a plea

With a hope you’ll just talk to me

I would do absolutely anything

For a moment of your time

Every hour that passes me by

Is an hour for you I would die

Time won’t heal me

Sun won’t cure me

Music won’t revive me

You have cursed me

And when the world ends

When no one is left

You’ll still be torturing me

There is no escape from the abyss

I die for you

—

Any comments are welcome!

Lyrics, Part 2

Just because I’m working on a lot of solo stuff right now doesn’t mean I’m not working on Lifting Shadows stuff either. I’ve also been writing lyrics for that as well while I’m on vacation. In particular is a song called “Echoes of Thought”, which I actually started writing the music for before I left on vacation. For some reason there is something about this song that I really like. I’m usually hyper critical of my own work but I actually like these lyrics. Maybe it’s because they personally mean a lot to me, but something about it just clicks. Any comments are appreciated!

“Echoes of Thought”

I saw through the street today

On the other side was a sea

Installed in me a sense of realization

I have lost ability to comprehend

I look outside and know nothing will last

Yet though the night echoes a hope

-

I cannot live without you

Everything is a constant reminder of

I cannot breathe without

Noticing that breath is a symbol of

The very thing I will never be

-

What gets me through the day?

A false security that will give away?

A fallible truth that turns into a lie?

The answer is all of the above

I want you to talk to me

I want you to acknowledge me

I want you to do anything

And if I can’t think of anything else

There’s no way that you are to blame

It’s my fault for not fully believing

In the words that I write

I can’t fully give up on the promise of hope

-

Wings of a fallen angel

I see in you

Wings of a fallen angel

I see in you

Wings of a fallen angel

I see in you

-

The car has broken down

And we’re not even halfway there

You try and continue on foot

And I just sit and cry

Remember?

I hope you can because I can’t

Look around, there is no reason to life

There is no order and there is no luck

Everything is a coincidence, everything chance

Just give up because the odds are against you

-

And wings of a fallen angel

I see in you

I should give up

The odds are against me

I look outside and know nothing will last

Yet through the night echoes a hope

Echoes a hope

Echoes a hope

That I cannot listen to

—-

 I don’t have too many outside opinions on my lyrics, so if it’s complete crap let me know so I can work on it more! I might post some more later on. 

Lyrics

Okay I think I have most of the lyrics done for my solo EP I will be making next week. One of the reasons I wanted to do something separate from Lifting Shadows was because I’m writing a lot of really personal lyrics. It’s all depressing stuff that I couldn’t really see anybody else singing without feeling just a bit uncomfortable. It’s all directly from what I’ve been feeling for the last few months, and I just don’t feel it’s appropriate for a band setting. The three songs that will have lyrics are blunt, direct, and are pretty much an honest reflection of how I’ve felt since about mid-April.

It’s killing me not being able to play music right now! I’ve already ran through the album multiple times in my head and I really want to get my hands on an instrument so I can start translating it to music but alas, I won’t be able to until Saturday night. 

Oh and I listened to all 4 LP’s by Between the Buried and Me in 24 hours. Such an amazing band!