As most of you probably know by now, Dream Theater have an extreme following of prog fans, many of whom go balls to the wall crazy over every note the band plays. That’s why it shouldn’t be too surprising that many fans are putting Dream Theater’s new album A Dramatic Turn Of Events under the microscope, especially since it’s their first without founding member/drummer Mike Portnoy. However, one particular analysis makes a pretty bold claim: that most of the new album was written based off of the charts of songs from 1992’s Images And Words.
The discovery was first reported by Thiagos Campos, a guitarist/producer/mixer/editor of the “VRA! Split-Screen Covers” (an online collaborative project that records cover performances and post them on YouTube). After noticing a few similarities, he further investigated the six songs off the new album given to him and compared them the Images And Words. Campos then came to the conclusion that at least these six songs, if not the entire album, feature “nuggets” from songs off of Images And Words. You can read his entire analysis in an article he posted online, but here’s an excerpt of his explanation:
“I know this might come across as an absurd accusation to many of you, but I wouldn’t be coming out in public with this information if I hadn’t done my homework, and if I wasn’t confident this approach to writing the new album was a conscious/intentional decision, maybe even humorous, by the band.
When I say the songs were written-off-the-charts I mean arrangement-wise, their structures, sometimes even orchestrations and nuances that make the parts what they are, and their roles within the songs. This doesn’t mean they will sound alike at all, because within a given guideline for arrangement you could write virtually an infinite amount of different songs, and mainstream/pop has been doing so for decades to back me up on this statement. :)”
Campos isn’t the only one who apparently thinks the similarities between the two albums are undeniable. In fact, even a former member of Dream Theater thinks so. Though he previously said he wouldn’t share his feelings on new Dream Theater music, Mike Portnoy himself responded to Campos’ article in his forum. Here’s his two cents on the issue:
“Well done Thiago….great post and spot on! I *immediately* noticed everything you wrote about upon my first listen… and found it all incredibly strange… :O
If they are indeed intentional ‘nuggets’, then I guess that’s a pretty cool idea… However, if they were desperate attempts of secretly re-writing the past…hmm, maybe not so much… I guess only they will know the real reason for it….”
Well now we know Mike Portnoy’s thoughts on the new album. At the moment, Dream Theater have not responded to neither Campos’ article or Portnoy’s response. We should note, though, that Campos seems to be giving the band credit for intentionally putting in little hidden nuggets for fans. Portnoy, on the other hand, seems to not be convinced that his former band mates had the fans in mind. Whatever the case may be, we’re sure that the debate will continue on once A Dramatic Turn Of Events is released this Tuesday, September 13.
