okay, so it's just part of the discussion. I listen mostly for the music; lyrics are secondary. carry on, gentlemen.
okay, so it's just part of the discussion. I listen mostly for the music; lyrics are secondary. carry on, gentlemen.
I don't think Daniel can be blamed for his views, considering his experiences.
The change in direction on the newer albums never threw me off since I didn't become too invested in the early albums (although my son was a huge fan for years while still living at home). I like a couple things on Be and got more interested when Scarsick came along. The last two albums are hit and miss for me. I really enjoy the live DVD they came out with a couple years ago (after the Be DVD). Great song selection (fans of the earlier era will probably disagree?).
One of these days when I'm in the mood for more prog metal I will go back and dig in to the earlier albums a bit deeper. But my tolerance for prog metal is limited.
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Personally, I love them all. I like that Daniel does what he wants with the band and doesn't always bend to fans expectations. To me, that's part of what being progressive is all about.
I thought i'd revive this thread rather thanks start a new one, basically going over everything said above. I was just listening to a bunch of the albums already mentioned, sans Be, and man are these guys effing good. I love Daniels work, his boycott, his following his own muse. Many years ago, while I was deep into Dream Theater, a friend turned me onto them. At the time DT could do no wrong, I didn't see it. I didn't like them. Now, after years later, they kick my ass, and DT has fallen far and away by the wayside. SO much broader and with much greater melodic and certainly, emotional depth. And Daniels voice is flat out amazing. I really love listening to Johan Langell, such a great drummer. I'm sorry I had King Crimson tickets while PoS was in town, I also didn't know they were here, I would much rather have spent the money to see them. Going to get into Road Salts next.
Saw them at Rosfest. They were good but the second guitarist was sick and absent. I thought it took away some if the raw power and energy. Saw them in Toronto last summer. Holy shit!!!! Outrageous. The second guitarist added the muscle but vocally the depth he added was crazy. Daniel is an amazing frontman and I'd see them again just because I could .
Checked into road salts, not feeling it, though the new one, falling home, though it's covers and acoustic, sounds like it has promise...
Originally Posted by gpeccary
Very true.
When DT does something complex, it usually comes of sounding complex for the sake of being complex. "Hey! Look what we can do!".
When PoS do something complex, it always seems to serve the music and emotional content.
And if there were a god, I think it very unlikely that he would have such an uneasy vanity as to be offended by those who doubt His existence - Russell
I boarded the train with Remedy Lane and though it took a few spins, it's probably my favourite.
The three previous albums are all very good, and a cut above the traditional prog-metal approach.
BE was a very interesting experiment, but needed the dvd presentation for it all to come together for me. Worth a few focussed listens, but not a repeater.
I didn't take to Scarsick until I watched the live DVD Ending Themes, and the songs came alive for me then.
The Road Salts were a bit raw for my ears, but I could appreciate where they were going. The songs sounded better live.
And then it all went dark for quite a while - as someone else posted, Daniel was pretty sick. But it wasn't until I read the interview in this month's Prog mag, that Daniel was actually life-or-death sick. It was that serious. He's recovering now, but you can see how much the illness has taken out of him, he's lost a helluva lot of weight.
It was his idea to send the rest of the band to the Prog Cruise without him - I think in a perverse way he liked the idea of the 'surrogate band' - and in fact he sat in with the band on their rehearsals to guide them on how the material should be performed (all the time sitting with tubes, drips etc running through him).
There's a new acoustic album just out - I think it's a toe-in-the-water kind of thing till the next record. Even though it's versions of older material it seems to be well received and they throw in an acoustic interpretation of Holy Diver!
Daniel has always impressed me with his vision and thoughtful approach, as well as his bloody-mindedness about doing things his way. I'm sure if he read the conflicting views about which PoS album is best, he'd be very happy that he's at least stirring up a reaction and challenging people's preconceptions.
I had a similar experience. Those tracks are much better live.
Still don't like Scarsick, though.
Similar to many posters here the first four releases, Entropia to Remedy Lane, are my favorites and in regular rotation. Unlike many posters here I really enjoy BE and Scarsick. Rather than in heavy rotation, I tend to pick and choose from these albums. I've heard snippets of the Salt albums and they are far from my wheelhouse and have yet to spin Falling Home.
As for their place in the Prog Metal archives, I feel they are right up there with Voivod, Dream Theater, Fates Warning and others as pioneers of the genre.
Duncan's going to make a Horns Emoticon!!!
Was lucky to see PoS at ProgDay a bit before Remedy Lane was released. They were absolutely awesome. Love those first few albums, particularly Perfect Element & Remedy Lane.
They lost me with BE, to be honest. Not a bad album at all, just not really my thing. I haven't followed them much since then. But damn...a fine stretch there in the 90's.
If you're actually reading this then chances are you already have my last album but if NOT and you're curious:
https://battema.bandcamp.com/
Also, Ephemeral Sun: it's a thing and we like making things that might be your thing: https://ephemeralsun.bandcamp.com
As often happens a thread on PE prompted me to listen to the subject band/album. I am now spinning Falling Home and while not nearly as "metal" as their first four, I'm really enjoying the Bluesy Prog flavour.
Duncan's going to make a Horns Emoticon!!!
Batts - Have you seen the BE Live DVD? It brought a new level of appreciation for the album and is the perfect example of what government subsidized music and art program allows performers to pursue.
Duncan's going to make a Horns Emoticon!!!
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