Recent content by SyXified

If it's any consolation, everyone who participates in recording the tracks gets the same amount of money from the SR stream. So MJR probably has to put in a heck of a lot more effort than, say, Lepond, on the recording, but Lepond gets just as much as MJR. I'll have to give Pinnella's...

I think the "at one point so was stereo" comment is right on the money. I personally have not delved into the 5.1 setup yet, but I do not think it is a gimmick and I think eventually that sort of omnipresent aural experience will become quite common place. I bet it is going to take one band...

In regard to Pinnella, Rullo, and Lepond needing to be more active in the song writing process, I'm somewhat torn on that notion and not sure that addresses the root of the issue. Songwriting credits can be pretty difficult to interpret. Technically speaking a person is supposed to receive...

Iconoclast has exactly zero outstanding songs; at least PL had Set the World on Fire and Serpent's Kiss. The technology theme is clearly tacked on spuriously based on a couple of keyboard samples that were probably stumbled into in the later stages of writing. I mean, it's not a terrible...

I'm surprised that in this day and age record labels still have the clout to have control over the content of a band's website, especially with a band like Symphony X. It's one thing if Warner Brothers shells out a mammoth deal to Selena Gomez and image is everything so they have their team of...

That's interesting Jax. It makes sense that pricing would be at the discretion of the label, but format? I've heard of labels pulling for particular tracks to be included or to not be included, but never of a label having influence over, say, track order. I would think the division of tracks...

$12 for the regular version, $15 for the deluxe. Two CDs of fairly comparable length but one treated as the main material and the other as bonus. While I do not have a strong opinion on either of these moves as definitively "good" or "bad," I do think they are interesting decisions to say the...

I think your point about them being in their 40s and wanting to be able to eventually retire, rather than being the post office worker who gets "hey, weren't you Michael Romeo?" on occasion. The style Symphony X plays now is far more appealing to the mainstream metal audience; there is no...

Yes, we are on the same page. To put it another way: I think it would be much easier to produce/mix IC well than it would be to produce/mix V. IC is not particularly unique or extravagant in the production techniques used. Though it sounds quite good, it is also produced in a manner similar...

I get where you are coming from on this, but it is a difficult task to draw a definitive line between the two concepts. I tend to think the best way to define a "good mix" is a mix that best communicates the purpose of the work. In that sense, IC and V are both good mixes because they are...

Over the years I have moved to the opinion that the overall picture painted by the sonic landscape is far more important than any individual instrument's sound in isolation (which is, in truth, a ridiculous way to look at things, seeing there is no value to having that sound in isolation; there...

Usually these "arbitrary grouping--pick a side" threads are stupid, but this one actually brought two very interesting concepts to light. First, I think most would agree that it is remarkable how close the first half and the second half are. Either that speaks to the band's consistency, or...

While I personally consider Morse the single greatest songwriter in the prog world and beyond by leaps and bounds, I do not think Portnoy is just "along for the ride" with respect to his work on Morse's solo material and Transatlantic. Particularly in Transatlantic I don't think it would be...

This is certainly a step in the right direction for Dream Theater. The song is not incredible, but it has elements that spark reminders of Falling into Infinity, and that more mellow, proggy vibe is I think what DT does (or did) best. Amazingly it really seems like it was the right move for...

I would be quite content with that exact setlist. I don't even mind the first three tracks from PL, I think Set the World on Fire and Domination are both completely badass live, and since they are newer I am not worn out on them. But I think I have heard Inferno at least 10 times live now...