This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.
Without much digression, here’s moving on to number nine in the marathon for me and given the whole musical theme I’ve had, I’ve naturally jumped to one of the richest sources of inspiration and impact in my life off late, Progressive Metal aristocrats Dream Theater.
Enjoy. Taste the Majesty. Feel the Royalty.
A band formerly known as ‘Majesty’, formed by three Berklee College of Music (Boston, Massachusetts) drop-outs, ‘Dream Theater’ is a Progressive Metal band that has been around since 1986.
In keeping with the trend of musicians to have dropped-out from the aforementioned (from Al di Meola to Steve Vai to John Mayer), the band John Petrucci (guitars), John Myung (bass) and Mike Portnoy (drums & percussions) formed was (and is) path-breaking.
After the inclusion of Petrucci’s childhood friend, keyboardist Kevin Moore and the experienced (and much older) Charles Dominici, Dream Theatre released their first album ‘When Dream and Day Unite’.
This was the first effort by this ‘Rush’ and ‘Yes’ influenced outfit to fuse Progressive Rock, a la Pink Floyd, with Heavy Metal. In time, they did not just created the genre of progressive metal, but continue to push its boundaries and be the premiers of Progressive Metal. They have influenced many and set standards for everyone in the genre with their increasingly technical, complex and often lengthy compositions characterised by changing time signatures, keys and sheer, blistering instrumental virtuosity.
Their music, largely unappreciated by the untrained listener, is richly textured and varied. Categorizing them as merely a metal band is intensely misleading – they have an abundance of lyrical ballads (such as ‘Another Day’) and passages (in epics such as ‘Octavarium’ and ‘The Count of Tuscany’). In keeping with Progressive genres’ eclectic tendencies, not only is their music heavily jazz influenced, but also incorporates ‘Cartoon-ish’ feels and also blues and country music.
It is increasingly hard to portray the true nature of Dream Theater’s sound via mere words, which is natural enough considering their deep, layered tapestry of music is hard enough to truly comprehend even when actually listening to it.
They have concept albums (with a central theme and story) and circular albums (starting and ending on the same note), all influences from Progressive Rock giants, which add to their overall technicality and generally meticulous, obsessive and rather unique approach to music. They often draw musical passages directly from influences and incorporate them into their lengthy live performances – everything from entire albums (from the likes of Pink Floyd, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin) to small pieces in lengthy improvisations (such as the theme from ‘The Simpsons’).
They also have long-standing, intricate links across albums, resulting in spectacular suites. Some of their albums are written to be heard in succession as a single song and are often performed that way. Their lyrical themes vary from fantasy and fiction to soulful introspection, tributes and poetic worldliness. They have many dark elements in their music, not only in keeping with them being a metal band, but also as a result of extensive use of exotic scales, jazzy modulations and syncopation.
mohanbhaskar 