Album Rating: 3.0

Portnoy is such a cunt lol, LaBrie has every right to be mad at him, not the other way around

Album Rating: 4.0

Probably doesn't help that a bunch of Portnoy fanboys keep bombarding all of DT's socials asking for him to return to the band. I checked out one of DT's most recent posts on Facebook, and that was literally about 60-70% of the comments, lol

Album Rating: 4.0

What's the beef with Labrie and Portnoy?

Album Rating: 4.0

Just a lot of shit-slinging on both sides. Back in 2019, Mike called James' vocals annoying and off-putting, which I'm sure rubbed him the wrong way considering how long he knew him. Then there was a Blabbermouth interview with James where he said he hasn't spoken with Mike ever since he left the band and basically said Dream Theater are better off without Mike



As much as he's criticized Mangini, I'm pretty sure James is gonna be the biggest barrier to him coming back to the band. Personally, I don't care either way, as I don't really see Portnoy's absence as being the reason for DT's lesser albums in recent years. If anything, a lot of it came down to Petrucci and Rudess' stranglehold on the songwriting - especially on The Astonishing

Two huge egos that built a lot together but couldn't share the price on the summit basically...

Album Rating: 4.0

Ooo juicy

Album Rating: 3.0

All of that beef, when it was Kevin Moore and John Myung who carried the band in the first place.

This is a decent album, and I guess that decent suffices, given how lackluster most DT has been over the last decade.

^ Agreed 100%

Album Rating: 3.0

Portnoy basically bullied LaBrie into this raspy metal singing back then. James always suffered under Portnoy

Album Rating: 3.5

Meh James just sucks at singing and it's sad. I keep wondering if it's just bad technique or if that food poisoning incident really fucked his vocals that hard

Album Rating: 4.0

The dude is also 60 years old ffs. After all the shit his vocal chords went through, I wouldn't say he sucks on the record... sounds alright to me

Album Rating: 3.5

eh he sounded bad on everything after Awake imo haha, and I really don't like the vocals here most of the times

Album Rating: 4.0

Yeah by the time you have passed 50, singing strong with good pitch becomes a progressively harder challenge.... I'd say Geddy Lee did it better than Labrie, but not many people can.

Album Rating: 3.5

This as good as their last album?

Album Rating: 3.0

"Meh James just sucks at singing and it's sad. I keep wondering if it's just bad technique or if that food poisoning incident really fucked his vocals that hard"

It's the technique tbh, I don't buy that the food poisoning alone is responsible for his decline tbh. Dude has some really bad habits, like all the breathy parts he sings. Like, dude, that shit is gonna fuck up your voice. But his timbre is very unique in general, and I think that's what makes him a divisive singer in the first place.

However, DT songs are brutally high. I have lots of respect for James' work

LaBrie sounded just fine until Systematic Chaos. That's when Portnoy started expecting him to sing like James Hetfield.

Album is missing Portnoy's signature (and literal) "roar"

Album Rating: 4.0

It's more than just one factor that killed his voice over time: food poisoning, bad technique on harsh vocals, no proper rest between shows, and yeah Portnoy. I encourage you guys to listen to a bootleg live cd called "home sweet home" from 1992, before any of that happened... it's one of the best vocal performances I've ever heard, Labrie had immense natural talent

Album Rating: 4.0

I agree that all those were a factor in his vocal decline, because despite the food poisoning incident, he still sounded fine on a lot of the band's subsequent records as well

Album Rating: 3.5

The Alien is probably my favourite track on here, love the harmonising guitars from Petrucci during the intro and outro so much.