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Dream Theater vs Tool

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Greekboy

Banned
I have a friend that loves Dream Theater and told me that they are comparable to Tool and even better. So I decided to give them a listen and I am still puzzled as to why he'd even think they're better than Tool.

Any opinions?
 

Hooker

Member
Tool = God

Tool is the epitome of music. No wait, isn't even music, it stand above the term "music".
 

Diablos

Member
Tool... but only because I haven't heard much of anything from Dream Theater, and for some reason the way they have their guitars tuned sounds way too "generic 80's metal band"-ish. And by "metal" I don't mean hair metal, so please don't misunderstand.

Plus, I don't get their drummer. He has two seats because his drum setup is so massive, but why is it every time I hear a Dream Theater song it sounds like he's using less than half of it?
 

karasu

Member
Dream theatre are probably more proficient technically, but their songs aren't very well written IMO. The Lead singer doesn't even compare to Maynard.
 

Greekboy

Banned
Tre said:
Their Vocalist sucks but Portnoy, Pattruci, and Myung make up for him.

That's enough to turn me right off. As the poster after you said, Maynard is much better than the DT guy and consequently can allow me to get into the music. It really doesn't quite work the other way around as you've explained above.
 
I don't even find them comparable. They're both "progressive", but are going for completely different types of sound. Sometimes I'm in the mood for one, but not the other. I think, overall, I do prefer Dream Theater though. I'd much rather listen to Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence than any Tool album, but that's me.

James LaBrie is the current vocalist, by the way. Depending on what material you have, there might be a different vocalist on it (but it's unlikely since that stuff is not as abundant).
 

nitewulf

Member
TOOL is one of the best progressive rock bands of all time and Dream Theater is a bunch of lame dudes from long island...there is no comparison.
 
Yeah, yeah, I know saying that is blasphemy.


Nitewulf: pffft


blog_picture.jpg
 

Ill Saint

Member
I've always found it really ironic, and amusing how Tool fans are generally so zealous... calling the band or Maynard "God". Elevating them to the level of some weird omnipotent being. Heh.
 
You can call Portnoy cheese/wanktastic all you want, but Petrucci and Myung are *killer*.


"I've always found it really ironic"

Where's the irony?
 

nitewulf

Member
pretentious music IMO. i never got their music or their following. technically they may be whatever, ie, gods according to some fans, but its sorta pointless if their music has no soul.
 
I know they're not that comparable, but I'd listen to Tool over Dream Theater most days. Mainly due to the fact that I'm not the biggest fan of their vocalist.
 
nitewulf said:
pretentious music IMO. i never got their music or their following. technically they may be whatever, ie, gods according to some fans, but its sorta pointless if their music has no soul.

I don't really care if one doesn't like the band, but I don't understand this "soul" comment whatsoever. Completely disagree.
 
Commenting on the "Soul"'s a cop out insult. It's basically a way to criticise music with no actual backing or using any thought. They can hide behind it forever because of the loose definition of what the soul of music is.

No offense, Nite :p

Ill Saint: Ah, gotcha.
 

nitewulf

Member
well as i said, i think DT's music is music that exists for the sake of existance...if that makes any sense to you. it's just pretentious, overly technical music. as an analogy, a band like Type O' Negative at least knew they were just having fun with the whole goth thing, so i can immensley enjoy their music, cause i know those guys were having as much fun making the music as i am having while hearing it. dream theater on the other hand is just sheer pretense w/o any passion behind it IMO.
you dont have to agree with it, but i always thought Dream Theater lacked soul. and i have been introduced to their music like way back around 94, i tried to give them a chance on and off for years, but i could never like what they do.
technicality for the sake of technicality is boring, same reason i hate guitarists like malmsteen etc.
 

jett

D-Member
I love Dream Theater...the only Tool song I've ever listened to was "Schism", and I thought that was aboslute garbage. So how about some recommendations from this "godly" band? :p

Zealous biznitches take note: I didn't call Tool garbage, just the one song.
 

Hooker

Member
There isn't a Tool song you can pick out to let someone get aquainted with them. You need to listen to the album as a whole.

Same way Pink Floyd did, the album itself is a trip you can not compress into 1 song. If you're up to this, I reckon Ænema is the best album to begin with. Then Lateralus, Undertow and Opiate, throw in Salival as well.

Be warned though, Undertow and especially Opiate (being the first EP and full length album) are a lot rougher and not as slick as the latter (Ænema & Lateralus) Lateralus is almost perfect production wise, but then again, the raw Undertow also has it's charms :)

My favourite Tool song?! I think Third Eye, why?! Because it's the longest :p
 

sefskillz

shitting in the alley outside your window
nitewulf said:
TOOL is one of the best progressive rock bands of all time and Dream Theater is a bunch of lame dudes from long island...there is no comparison.

haha.. oh man, that post is like the perfect example of the stereotype i associate with diehard tool fans. what a joke.

anyways, I could pick out tool songs I like and all that jazz, but as far as albums go I couldn't claim to really love one until Lateralus, which imo was pretty much saved by the amazing drumming.
 

Dead

well not really...yet
Tool is a good band, but Dream THeater are better. Most everything from Tool is pretty decent but the two thirds of Lateralus is complete garbage
 

nitewulf

Member
sefskillz said:
Lateralus, which imo was pretty much saved by the amazing drumming.

this is the thing. we listen to music for different reasons. see, i would expect you to find dream theater better, and that is exactly why i also wouldnt like dream theater. its all good though...
BTW im not a die hard TOOL fan per se, I really loved Undertow (Undertow and Rotting Pinata by Sponge pretty much got me through high school) and didnt really care for any of their subsequent albums.
its just that i would pick many other bands over dream theater.
 

Greekboy

Banned
I'm not a "hardcore" Tool fanatic but I must admit that their drummer is quite impressive. As for solid Tool songs, I like "46 and 2," "Aenema," "Eulogy," "Parabol/Parabola," and "Stinkfist" is always tight.
 

Eminem

goddamit, Griese!
DeadStar said:
Tool is a good band, but Dream THeater are better. Most everything from Tool is pretty decent but the two thirds of Lateralus is complete garbage

Lateralus? Garbage? Wow...what parts do you consider garbage, if I may ask.


Dream Theater is a good band. I've seen them twice. Put on a helluva show. Portnoy and Petrucci live is something else. They're more skilled technically, but Tool wins this no contest. The song writing ability of Tool is just so much better than DT's.

Though, Glass Prison by DT is an awesome, awesome song.

There's not really one song to get "into" Tool. I always say listen to Lateralus(the song, not whole cd), Ticks and Leeches, Disposition, and Pushit. One of those has to be pleasing to the listener.

Disposition is one of my top 3 songs ever. It's so calming and the melody is fantastic.
 

Dead

well not really...yet
Eminem said:
Lateralus? Garbage? Wow...what parts do you consider garbage, if I may ask.
Schism, Lateralus, Dispostion, Reflection, and Triad. i guess thats more like half than two thirds.... but yeah, i really really dislike those. Most of all Disposition, Reflection and triad, the so called 20 minutes song. I loved this album back in 01, but I cant listen to any of those anymore.

The Grudge, The Patient and Parabol/Parabola are fucking top notch though, ticks and leeches too to a lesser extent, so id say its worth it for those tracks.

for the record I really like undertow and love aenima.
 

Greekboy

Banned
DeadStar said:
The Grudge, The Patient and Parabol/Parabola are fucking top notch though, ticks and leeches too to a lesser extent, so id say its worth it for those tracks.

for the record I really like undertow and love aenima.

Yes. I think the coolest part of the CD is when "Parabol" goes right into "Parabola." Just so excellent the way the songs blend in and are both so different. I also prefer the "Aenima" CD to that of "Lateralus" for whatever that reason might be.
 

Kefkaff

Banned
Though, Glass Prison by DT is an awesome, awesome song.

Everyone thinks that is an awesome song, because it happens to be their heaviest. Well, it was until Train of Thought was released.

Anyway, Dream Theater is greater then Tool is pretty much every aspect possible. Maynard's a bit of a whiny vocalist, nothing against him, but he is. I'm not saying that Labrie is my favorite vocalist, cuz well, he's not.

I don't really see how a comparison between Tool and Dream Theater can exist. Both a VERY different musically, lyrically and everything else.

Tool has Danny Carey and Maynard.
Dream Theater has Portnoy, Myung, Rudess and Petrucci.

My favourite Tool song?! I think Third Eye, why?! Because it's the longest

Heh, Dream Theater has atleast one song about that long on most of their albums (except WDADU)

well as i said, i think DT's music is music that exists for the sake of existance...if that makes any sense to you. it's just pretentious, overly technical music

Replace music with lyrics and you have Maynard. Writing pretencious, pseudo-intellectual lyrics.

Oh, and just an aside... Rush is better then both bands combined.
 

Eminem

goddamit, Griese!
DeadStar said:
Schism, Lateralus, Dispostion, Reflection, and Triad. i guess thats more like half than two thirds.... but yeah, i really really dislike those. Most of all Disposition, Reflection and triad, the so called 20 minutes song. I loved this album back in 01, but I cant listen to any of those anymore

ah, gotcha. yeah, i know a lot of people that dislike the so-called "holy trinity" of disposition/reflection/triad

Parabol is awesome though. Just the perfect build up.
 

Dead

well not really...yet
Eminem said:
ah, gotcha. yeah, i know a lot of people that dislike the so-called "holy trinity" of disposition/reflection/triad

Parabol is awesome though. Just the perfect build up.
theres this part in parabola (bleh youre making me get the cd out of my shelf, lol) at 1:25. When maynard does this whoa yell. Fucking gets to me every time. Im not that big a fan of his voice but that part is great
 

Eminem

goddamit, Griese!
Have you seen the Parabola fuck up video? that is classic. Maynard faintly sings "mother fucker" to Parabola after he fucks it up. then he slams the mic down and walks off the stage.
 

Dead

well not really...yet
Eminem said:
Have you seen the Parabola fuck up video? that is classic. Maynard faintly sings "mother fucker" to Parabola after he fucks it up. then he slams the mic down and walks off the stage.
haha no. But the music video is awesome. I think with tricky in it, as hes walking in the woods slowly transforming into the dude on the lateralus cover. I need to get a copy of that, ive only seen it once.
 
Dream Theater by a landslide. Tool has always been an interesting beast to me, because I've always rather liked what I've heard from them, but never enough to actually use the energy to put their music on.

I respect them as musicians (though I think people splooge over maynard far, far more than he is worth), but Dream Theater is just on another level. Be it the mid section of scarred, the absolutely orgasmic guitar solo of home, the intro to the mirror and the ending to lie, in the name of god pretty much as a whole, theres always something in most dream theater songs that just simply strikes me dead. Not that the rest of the song isn't fantastic...but it's the type of parts where you could put that 1 minute segment on repeat for an hour and be awestruck each time.

Anybody who says dream theater's music lacks passion simply hasn't heard any good songs of theirs. Check out Lines in the Sand, In the Name of God, or Learning to Live. All are dripping with feeling. Not to mention Hell's Kitchen which is probably the most emotional rock instrumental I've ever heard, it's only a few minutes long, but in those few minutes is some of the most devastating material I've heard from anyone.

Like I said, Tool is good, but Dream Theater just can't be compared.
 
Maynard isn't really involved in the videos. They're mainly done by Adam Jones.

Oh, and Tool > Dream Theater IMO. Maynard's certainly given more credit than he's worth though, but they're still one of my favourite bands.
 

nitewulf

Member
alright, alright recommend me some melodious and/or edgy dream theater tracks w/o too much progressive stuff...one of the few tracks that i like is "lie".
and most TOOL listeners here seemed to have heard mostly the latter two albums, i cant see how Undertow is at all pretentious, lyrically and otherwise. its freaking raw and bursting with passion.
 
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