Love the USB. I am completely obsessed with guitar. Like HUGE. The music industry has gone through some serious changes (and not for the better) in the last 20 years. iTunes destroying albums, over produced songs, auto-tuned vocals, time aligned instruments, drum samples and other computer fuckery. The human element and human performance is gone. Combine that with perfect time aligned drum samples (using drum triggers to signal a drum hit, which then plays back a recording of a single drum hit....that somebody else did....then aligning it all to a fucking grid). By the end of this, what your hearing is someone else's drum hits, and a computers perfect timing. This is one of key things that is making music all sound the same these days. Along with the fact that the recording budget is dead now...it's a recipe for disaster. Fortunately, there are still a few bands that actually have a loyal enough following...Dream Theater being one of em...that they can still make albums. Most music now is in single serve form. To best explain DT, they are one of the most talented bands to ever walk the planet. The atmosphere and vibe they give off is nuts. It's a cross between Floyd, Rush, Justice era Metallica, Queen, Tool, and Queensryche. The epicness of Floyd, the proggyness of Rush, the crunch tones of old Metallica, the operatic nature of Queen and the odd time feel of Tool with some Queensryche prog guitars. That's Dream Theater.
The Scenes record I linked is more on the Queen and Floyd end...the guitar tones are ridiculous and John Petrucci is one of the best guitar players on the planet. These guys even cover whole albums by other bands...like Master of Puppets, Dark Side, Number of the Beast by Maiden. They are a 5 piece with 1 guitar and 1 keyboard, so they are very set up for the Floyd sound already. It's just a phenomenal band, and this record has been a fan favorite. I spent $160 on a pair of tickets last night. These guys give you your money's worth...they play 3 hour live shows with no opening act. It's truly an experience. And their live show is fucking incredible, they are like a machine. They have made 14 full studio albums since they started in the late 80s, and their songs don't always follow the standard song structure. Some are 20 mins long, but I would say the average is about 8 mins. You just gotta check em out, there isn't another band on the planet that does what they do, and they are cited as the fathers of modern progressive music. They are Berklee College of Music alumni...the music is lead by guitar and Petrucci will show you why he is the man...all the time. Being a 27 year guitar player who is obsessed with electric guitar tone and technique, I have been studying his playing under a microscope for the last 20 years. He has this incredible ability to ALWAYS play the perfect part. Do check em out...lemme know what ya think. Here is some other choice listening single songs from them:
Perfect example of classic DT: A Change of Seasons (my favorite!!!)
Floydy type: Space Dye Vest
Modern DT: Pale Blue Dot
Orchestral: Overture from Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
Instrumental: Dance of Eternity
Heavy: This Dying Soul or The Dark Eternal Night (both AMAZING)
Their number one hit: Pull Me Under
Fan Favorite: Metropolis
Try any one of those for a good time.
