James LaBrie, the man, the legend. I've spent most of my life being a keyboard & guitar player and over the past few years destiny has put me on a spot where I'm now the lead vocalist for a band, doing more than hundred gigs an year. I can tell you first hand - just in four years my voice has started to show considerable changes. I can't imagine how this guy has been doing it for more than thirty years with DT. Yes there are singers out there who have managed to keep their form with age, but more often that's not the case. Truly, Forever a DT (With James) fan
Man i was so worried about James vocal. I had tickets for 26/october in Rome and when i saw the London videos and he sang reeeeeaally bad i tought i wasted 80 euros but miracolously that night James kicked asses and sang reeeeeeally good, almost perfect. So glad he can still doit
Quello e' perche' sei sul momento. Vatti a rivedere i video. Poi ne riparliamo. Ovviamente quando si e' nell'arena con un'acustica mediocre e l'adrenalina e' un'altra cosa.
@@j.s.173 I am tired of hearing people say "oh but when I saw them live he was almost perfect". This is either them being in denial because they paid for it and really want to believe it was marvelous, or because somehow in the theaters with so much loudness and effects you can barely distinguish Labrie's horrible voice. Let's face it. It is not even that he can't reach high notes anymore. That has been a long-time problem but it wasn't a dealbreaker. The problem is that he can't even sound good or decent at middle and low registers. His voice always sounds restrained and painful. Truly he does sound like a cat nowadays. I thought that was an exaggeration all these years, but the current tour is a disaster. I will be seeing them live soon and I am almost regretting having purchased my tickets.
James has sung some of the most important songs in my life. I have huge respect for the guy and was blown away watching him and DT perform on their 40th anniversary tour in London.
All us Dream Theater fans must face facts about James. Age plays a huge factor in this. The fact is we are all getting to fuc King old. Our hearing sucks! I'll admit it. Man up and admit it too. We just don't hear like we use to. ROCK ON Dream Theater!!
James needs to retire with dignity if the band isn't willing to tune down. And let's be honest, he's been known for shaky vocal performances for at least the past 15 years. I'd rather he go out with some pride rather than become another Vince Neil or Axl Rose.
He has been known for shaky vocals for almost his entire career, but he was at least decent more often than note, with the occassional rough sections or even some rough nights here and there. But what we are seeing right now isa total butchering of every single song, regardless of whether it comes from the early years or the most recent albums, and whether they are ballads or not.
@@hammondOT Practically anything from their last tour, although he did improve by the end of it. His most infamous performances was the tour opening in London. I did see them live in Spain and he wasn't that terrible.
I think this is spot on. Listen to when he sings the ballads, he shines! We cannot expect him to be in his prime anymore, and asking him to leave his life's work is just cruel. Also, who could replace him? Would it even sound like DT anymore? I think this is a matter of DT having to adapt to one of their memebers not being in his prime anymore, which they are refusing to do. Still enormous concerts, still singed song after singed song, James still jumps around on stage as if he was 20, they still make songs where vocal notes are too high... I think they need to accept that age has caught up to them through James, which is nobody's fault.
He does NOT shine when he sings ballads. Have you listened to how he has been butchering songs like Hollow Years or Barstool Warrior? He sounds strained even in such relaitvely easy songs. We must stop the denial.
1. I pay for a ticket, I get to complain as much as I want 2. Age is not an excuse for mediocrity, if you can't reach those high notes (sometimes ANY note) find other solutions BEFORE selling the show, not after or during the tour 3. As for the relationship analogy, it's not only "bailing on because things aren't as smooth as they used to be..." when the other part is doing the bare minimum 4. It's not just him not having the same register or energy as 30 years ago, there's a general lack of preparation (which is sad knowing how much the other guys in the band practice to keep their skills at their age) I'm sorry but I'm not paying again to hear him scream out of tune for 2 hours, hope they can fix it tho, happy to see Portnoy in the band again.
They are really being very emotional... I wonder what they would do if they went to listen to opera and the singer was out of tune or sang very badly... Would they pay for that? People forget that they are listening to music... or it seems that they give more priority to fanaticism than to music... (prog doesn't teach us that) Prog fans have been behaving like pop fans for a long time now it seems...
Spot on comment. We must stop the denial. James Labrie sounds worse than ever, like way worse. A few years back he was consisntently decent and sometimes even pretty good live. In the Dramatic Turn of Events tour, for example, he was often in a very good level. But nowadays? He has given up any preparation or effort. He is not only showing his age, he is showing his desdain and demotivation. He should retire.
People get older and times change. I just recently returned to DT, having been a fan of their earlier stuff. I do notice he doesn't sing as high as he used to in the newer songs but that doesn't matter to me at all. I simply enjoy his voice.
I absolutely love his voice on recent albums. But he ruined the show for me, made me cringe every moment he sang. I was even too embarrased to film the show. SO I GOT TO COMPLAIN
When did you see him? I am going to see them soon with my wife (her first time seeing them live) and I am SCARED that what she will think when James starts butchering every song. I have noticed he sucks live to a point of not even wanting to show clips to anybody since at least 2015.
@@SIVA6619 Yeah, I've read that he was awful during that tour. Just like in this one. I am hoping he will perform at least somewhat decently by the time I get to see them, but expectations are very low.
I've seen DT 5 times at least. Love them but I just don't go see them anymore. Can't enjoy the shows with his voice as it is now. Don't blame him at his age
There's no "i like it or not", "it is good or not", or "acceptable or not". They are just killing the poor man tour after tours, gigs after gigs...until there will be nothing left of him. It's just so sad, and I feel really bad for him 😢
Fans have the right to complain he has been good for years. One of the main reasons i haven't seen dream theater live as i know the vocals will ruin the experience for me.
LeAVe BrITNey AloNE!1!!1!!11 Imagine wanting better for your favorite band. I know, crazy. Especially when you drop 80 bucks/euro to go to their show. How dare we!!1!11!!
Believe it or not; DT will never replace him and this the right decision. They're not in the begining of the road and don't need new fans or money either. I mean they have a huge legacy, fame and discography so they can retire the whole band whenever they want. Also after decades they are not only bandmates but family! If you've seen "Coffee with Ola" MP says "DT fans are the best and the worst!! So critical complaining..." They don't care what people say IMO, yet they are workin on him get better at show day after day, you can see the progress from first day of the tour untill now. Rock on DT we love you all together.
Sorry ,but he's been awful for a long time now ,he should show the rest of the band dome respect because he is ruining the live performances sorry but it's true however respectful we all are of his earlier performances ,It doesn't matter how you dress it up and make excuses ,he's done 😢
If you want an analogy, DT is like a relay race team of four Olympics-level sprinters and one guy that used to be Olympics-level, too, but now is on crutches because of a car accident he was in 30 years ago. LaBrie was amazing on I&W and Awake but ever since the food poisoning incident damaged his vocal cords, he's been just fine in studio and way too inconsistent live. You can hear him struggling all the way back on ACoS. So I don't believe he has issues solely due to being in his sixties. Perhaps the age compounded to the problem so that it's impossible to ignore now but I've been hearing complains about his vocal performance for decades now. Dream Theater is my favourite band despite the vocals, not because of them, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. But I don't think I have a right to demand anything from them. They've won enough relays. If they want to win some more, yeah, they probably should let the guy on crutches go. They should have done it twenty years ago. But if they want to say "we don't care about winning relays, we are a family and we're in this together, performance be damned", that's their right and I respect that, even if I'm not interested in seeing them race live any more.
Dream Theater are at a point where they simply exist to give fans what they know and love. Any innovation within that spectrum is of course welcome, but especially now that the band is reunited with Portnoy the idea of replacing James LaBrie is just ridiculous. Unless he comes to the point of completely collapsing in terms of his singing, it's simply not an option. I was at the Oslo show last month and he was pretty damn good. He couldn't sing the high notes from Images and Words, but other than that he sounded much better than he did in 2022. Replacing him now would be like replacing Ian Anderson as the vocalist of Jethro Tull. Anderson sings even worse now than LaBrie currently does, and the band does compensate by having backing vocalists sing the higher tones, because they know that there is no Jethro Tull without Ian Anderson. Dream Theater without James LaBrie is basically something like Liquid Tension Experiment, and if they simply have to replace him, they should call themselves something else and become a new band. That might be the right decision eventually, but for now I wanna relish in the fact that the true and complete Dream Theater is back!
I think it’s a hearing issue from years of loud music, try plugging your ears and sing something you know…it’ll suck guaranteed…look at Gedde Lee on r40 tour….same….
I have never seen a video admonishing people to "stop complaining about" the vocals of Devin Townsend, Russell Allen, Dino Jelusick, or Jeff Scott Soto. Why? Because those guys are universally respected. The fact that people are having to make entire videos "defending" James is some of the very best proof that James sucks.
Come on...James only sang well the first few years of his career, and from a certain point on he was not up to the mark; the vast majority of his live performances are just mediocre. Let's stop making 1000 different excuses, it is not acceptable from a world-class professional to the fans who pay heavily for concert tickets.
The band has stuck with him when maybe they shouldn't have. I love the band, but he doesn't really do it for me. I like Lucinda Williams, but she sings like my Grandma now, her voice is wavery. It doesn't mean she's not a great artist, she's just not a great singer anymore.
Don't presume to speak for me. I've spent plenty money on DT concerts since the Marquee gig in '92, most recently 2 weeks ago in London, and have been more than happy to do so. James was absolutely fine in London. Yeah, not perfect by any means, but perfectly acceptable. How do you think it would play out with a new singer ? So many d*cks never accepted Mike Mangini as a replacement for Portnoy, even though Mangini was technically a far better drummer. Same would happen with a new singer, no matter who it might potentially be.
@@kevinmcguinness1113 Same was said for Queensryche, and they finally clicked after 20+ years..., after mediocre promise land and all other craps... Same will be with revamp DT...
@MrEnsiferum77 whatever they might decide to do, there will always be haters. Look at Van Halen, AC/DC, Journey, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, KISS, Iron Maiden, Nightwish, Deep Purple, Metallica, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Mötley Crüe, Pantera, Queen as examples - they all caught flak from their fan base for replacing key band members, whatever the reason. Queensrÿche are a good example - they were barely hanging on for years after DeGarmo left, until Tate's behaviour made it virtually impossible to work with him, they split and Todd La Torre came in. Good band still, but a mere shadow of their former selves. BTW, I think Promised Land is a great album🤘🤘
James Labrie is getting old what would you expect? I've noticed that Ariana Grande's voice can't go as high as it used to but fans of her know that she's 31 now and she can still sing, her fans are still happy that she can still sing. so why can't dream theatre fans be the same?
First off, I wanna start this off by stating that I'm not tryna deny the fact that James has been sounding... pretty rough for the past few years, to put it mildy, however, I still don't think that replacing him should even be taken into conscideration. James has been the voice of the band for many, many decades. For people saying that he's "the weakest link" of the band, you're just wrong. Like objectively wrong. A vocalist is pretty much the hardest member to replace in a situation similar to DT's. They've had the same iconic singer for over 30 years. A band without James' voice isn't Dream Theater. It's still hard for me to think of "When Dream and Day Unite" as a Dream Theater album, because it doesn't have James on it. In a band, there isn't a weakest link. Even if there's a member who's not on top of their game, you don't just kick them out. A band is like a family, and you don't just cut ties with a family member after 30 years, just because they're not the same as they were 30 years ago. Plus, They're way past their popularity's peak, and they all probably know it. They know that there won't be another Images And Words, another Awake, another Scenes From A Memory, another Six Degrees, or another Train of Thought, but that doesn't stop them from doing the things they love. If they were only doing for the money, like some people say, they definitely wouldn't be doing it year-round. They wouldn't be releasing an album every 2-3 years. They wouldn't be constantly making new things all the time just to keep the bank account topped up. They'd get their pockets filled when the money starts getting a little dry, then move on. What they've been doing for a couple of years now, is a clear sign that they're doing it because they enjoy it, and because they can. So the reason that all the hate is a bit off-putting to me, is that if you paraphrase all this a little, you get "thousands of people are cyberbulling a 61 year old man, who's a little past his prime for having fun while playing music with his friends, and not sounding like an opera singer or someone in their 20's". I really wanna drill this idea into your head, carve it into your cranium if you will, because very few people seem to get it (most of them being musicians too). They're doing still touring and making music, because THEY ENJOY IT. THEY'RE HAVING FUN WHILE DOING IT. They don't have anything they have to prove to anyone at this point, so I'm just grateful that they're still releasing quality music, and that they're enjoying what they're doing. Very few bands manage to make music that's so complex and astounding, yet so digestible and enjoyable for this large of an audience, while touring the world basically 24/7 I love James, I look up to him very much, and have been a Dream Theater fan all my life, and it hurts to see him in a state like this, yet I'll still be going to their shows each and every time they come to Hungary, whether or not he sounds like a dying cat being tortured by a nefarious monkey (I'm literally quoting someone from r/MetalForTheMasse btw). He can't perform in a way which will make me like him less. If you're so pissy about him sounding awful live, just don't listen to him live. Listen to the albums, on which he still sounds great, regardless of his limitations and impurities. He's got some of the best albums both prog and metal have to offer under his belt, so for all the haters, I just want you to chill the fuck out and just enjoy the music, or move on.
James is the best for the band and one of the hest singers of all time. Images and Words with Awake showcases some of the greatest vocal prowess of any vocalists. Im surprised he made it through the late 94 vocal chord rupture as well as had in 98-99 live shows
James' voice never really clicked for me in DT. He suits the band, yes, but not my cup of tea. I always thought that Russel Allen would be a better fit, but what the f*CK do I know. I prefer James's vocals in his solo albums. Elements of persuasion was an awesome album. Stil one of my favourites albums.
While it's been nice to bash/criticize all the instrumentalists(check Lars Ulrich of Metallica as an example) out there when they started to decline or .... up quite often with their parts, it is not understandable why there is a nice trend going on to defend JLB. I mean IF the man can't pull off his parts(which obviously is the case) properly especially at the musicianship level of a band such as Dream Theater, why anyone should not complain? As long as people be respectful and kind, it is everyone's/fans' right to expect a full delivery of a nice performance. It's not only about high notes, he sings out of tune frequently. I don't suggest they should fire him or anything else like this but they definitely need to come up with a solution to improve his performance.
If they want to put fanaticism before music... well, then pay the entrance fee and be happy lying to themselves. The problem was never Mangini, nor Portnoy... it's Petrucci for being a conservative guy and continuing to play the same stuff from the 2000s over and over again... apart from keeping Labrie.
Agreed! JP never gets any criticism, but he has turned DT into a business first, music second kind of thing. I respected his attempt to be innovative and to express himself musically with The Astonishing. It didn't work, that's fine, try again with something different. But nope, tet's just make the same things over and over again to be safe. What is progressive about that? What is progressive about the Night Terror single? Nothing! It is the same thing again. It is a ripoff of As I Am without the energy or the attitude.
He's able to hit everything in the studio, but live he's been struggling. And no, it's nothing new but it's certainly more difficult with age. Now, 99% of the people who watched this video and are reading these comments have never been a touring musician and have never sang on stage. Singing in that register is hard enough, but it's way harder on the road when you don't get the rest and recovery you need, you're trying to be social and interact with your own band, the other bands, and fans who all love coming to concerts while sick for some reason, and they all want to shake your hand. They start their tour in Europe and I doubt they took a private jet, so they're in a cattle car with a couple hundred people coughing and sneezing, and not to mention their dirty ass little infectious dirt-sponge kids. AND on top of all of that, the seasons are changing, a time when everyone gets sick anyway and it's even rougher on your overall health. I've never been a lead vocalist, but I've been singing backgrounds for my entire musical career. My voice does -not- last long, and if I do three shows in a row I sound like Miles Davis for at least a week. And you're in venues where they always want to blast music as you're loading in, setting up, in between bands, every possible moment you're having to raise your voice over shit. I spend the time leading up to tours in a bubble, just trying to avoid getting sick. I'm chowing vitamins and trying to take care of my voice in between shows, I'm trying not to engage in conversations with people where I have to yell over the noise, and it's really difficult. And make no mistakes about it, I am -not- a James LaBrie. I don't even come close to what that guy has to do. This guy is trying to sing the way he did in 1992, something he really hasn't been able to do SINCE 1992. The band isn't tuning that stuff down for him and none of the them are capable of singing well enough to help out with any of the parts. It's a fuckin' hard gig man, that's all there is to it. Just to be clear, I'm not some LaBrie apologist or anything like that. He's been struggling for most of his career and I don't know if age is really catching up with him or if he's having a rough patch right now, but I saw them last year on the Dreamsonic tour and he wasn't very good there either. It was like he's going for notes that he just can't reach, but instead of his voice breaking or going out on him, he's just sings a whole step or more too flat and the result is even worse. I think he's doing his best and really giving it a shot but he just can't do it night after night. I just think it's a real shame that the "fans" on the internet are just fucking destroying him when the overwhelming majority of them aren't buying the albums and aren't going to see them live anyway. They're just watching UA-cam videos while contributing nothing but shit. Normally I would say, "Your voice is your participation; if you don't like it, don't spend the money to go see it." But they're not spending the money to begin with. They aren't supporting the band anyway, so their opinion is worthless. But they think their opinion must be heard, even though we all know nobody needs it. Nobody needs mine either for that matter but hey, at least I paid the toll. I don't see Dream Theater replacing him at this stage unless he really does some actual damage to his voice and blows it out, like a Steve Augeri thing. I also don't see them bringing someone in to help out and do certain parts, but I could easily see this whole Dream Theater thing wrapping up with this album and tour. I really feel like that's why they brought Portnoy back and decided let's do one more and call it a day. All of them could go on to do other projects and be fine. LaBrie could continue doing his solo stuff and not have to worry about touring it, or he could just sing new stuff lower and not have to worry about singing in the stratosphere anymore.
You make some fair points, but none of what you wrote justifies the complete disaster of a performance that he has been putting on in this tour. He has always struggled to a certain point in certain songs. Sometimes he has even had rough nights. But for the most part he was at least decent live up until 5-6 yars ago. Now he is a complete disaster. Not only he struggles with high notes, he struggles with basically anything. The guy is butchering easy songs like Hollow Years every night now. And why? Is it simply because of his age? Why are other singers older than him able to at least not suck live? I believe we should also start questionning whether the guy is putting the effort he should be putting to take care of his voice, rearrange sections in a way that he feels comfortable with and that don't absolutely suck (have you heard some of the new vocal lines they came up with for some songs in this tour? They suck for the most part!). But more than anything, he should be TRYING to sound decent. I don't know who told him his vibrato is good live, because it absolutely isn't, and this is something he CAN change. It is part of his technique, and his technique is massively flawed. Like honestly any non-trained fan could sing in a way that is less annoying than this. FFS. And BTW; I have paid for two tickets (me and my wife, she is gonna see them live for the first time and I am SCARED that she will be completely put off by James). I have also purchased every single album and have seen them live multiple times during the last 20 years. So I think I have the right to complain.
@@AMGU2B As I said, I'm no LaBrie apologist or anything, and I'm not justifying anything. I just know how hard it is to sing live on a tour at a smaller scale, doing what he does on tours as big as he does is a seriously hard thing to do. He doesn't sound compromised in the studio tracks, he doesn't sound overly autotuned or doctored, and it's been a long time since I've heard him sing well live. I've always given it a grain of salt for any singer live, but especially guys that really sing up there. I won't be too judgmental on 'em, but I absolutely agree that he's been a trainwreck for a while. I don't think it's simply because of his age, I think there's something else going on. I think the biggest parallel is what Journey has gone through with singers trying to do Steve Perry stuff, which Steve Perry himself hasn't been able to do since the 80s. How many singers blew out their voices trying to do that a couple hundred nights a year? Tommy Shaw of Styx doesn't have the range he used to have, even though it's still impressive, but they do TONS of shows. Can you imagine Ray Alder trying to do some of the Fates Warning stuff into his mid 60s? And I don't believe it's a matter of effort, there's tons of evidence around of how he manages himself on tour, how he takes care of himself, how he has his little vocal tent just offstage. He's always been serious about it, so I don't think it's a matter of effort. It's like, the mind is willing but the flesh is weak, ya know? And yeah, I've heard some of the new vocal lines and those types of things will always be a disappointment no matter who does them, but it's understandable. But no, they're not good. And he's not doing them very well either. And that's why I think this is nearing the end for Dream Theater. I feel like he's just doing his best for one last lap, ya know? Would they even try and replace him with someone new, or just call it a day, maybe make it just a studio project thing and then everyone else do their own side projects? DT is definitely the biggest bread winner for all of them, but none of them will struggle without it. I don't want that to be the case, but I have a feeling it is. Congrats and thank you for supporting the band, ANY band. There's almost no way to make ends meet as a musician these days, we're basically the free entertainment you get when you buy our merchandise. We're not much more than' t-shirt salesmen these days.
As far as I understand, he can't quit the band due to technicalities and legalities. In other words, if he retired, DT would have to rebuild the band's legal/marketing structure. If you ask me, all the members should retire. DT hit rock bottom many years ago. They are only in it for the money.
I like how almost the entirety of Dream Theaters fan base makes excuses like “it’s not ground breaking but it’s ok” and says they are all happy that Portnoy is back but Mangini could literally play and write like a god and he was/still is constantly hated by the fans, I just don’t get it SMH 🤦 this song is paint by numbers Dream Theater edition. I’ve been listening to them for years and Petrucci is my guitar idol but this song is the first song I’ve heard from them I was like… wtf…. have I heard this why is it so predictable where is the energy and most importantly who did that god awful mix I know Jimmy T. Can do better then that I mean just listen to the last album’s mix it was 🔥 af
A lot of people find Portnoys playing to be more listenable while Manginis is more technical. I think theyre both great in their own way. I also think the way Mangini was just quietly discarded from the band is kinda shitty lol.
@@spacelgneo That is all good and fine. Some people may like Portnoy's style better, some may prefer Mangini. I myself prefer Portnoy's style but I like Mangini's personality more. Whatever the case, I am with the OP here: their latest single is a bland, unimaginative rehash of ideas from older DT songs. It is as uninspired as it can get. Andjust because it is their first song with MP back on the drums it doesn't mean I will be another sheep pretending that it is the best song they have produced in years.
He is just older but makes the mistake of trying to sing like his young self. Just auto tune him good and move on. It is actually that simple nowadays.
No. I won't stop. Been supporting them since the late 90s they've gotten a lot of money out of me im invested and I think he should go Now that he's 60? He hasn't been "smooth" since SFAM
Is easy to make views grab video. And if you want me to respect you, you just can’t make a video where you implicit said to everyone STOP, i mean you can but you won’t get my respect! We could talk in real life about all of this but I think you are kind of a guy that likes doing from the comfort of your 4 walls in a basement
@@MusicMadtv Look at DT LIVE in JAPAN. That is what excellence sounds like. Ive been to every tour, and James, Live, is not that great, after the food poisoning. You can defend him, but there is no excuse for singing out of tune, at this point in their careers. That is how James sings, live. This is coming from a long time follower and musician. I dont say this with disrespect or being uneducated about music. I know the difficulty that he has being the main lead singer for DT. Not many could pull that off.
He's always been the reason i can't get into this band. The vocals are just so bad, it's really that simple. Doesn't matter how good the rest of the music is, they ruin it
"Thats like bailing on a relationship because things aren't as smooth as they used to be...." .... exactly! Removable dentures aren't gonna do it for me!
I love James and all but... everyone in the band is as good as they've always been or better at their instruments now than 30 years ago, with the exception of James. His voice is his instrument, and it's just not there anymore. Reality is unfair sometimes, and the reality is that Dream Theater would be better off replacing him with someone who matches the caliber of their performances.
Ok I am the first one to critizise Labrie, but it is not true that th eother guys are as good (let alone better) than they used to be in the past. Their pirme was somewhere in between 6 Degrees and Octavarium. From now on they have been less and less clean on stage (particularly JP) and less and less innovative. Portnoy himself has admitted that he doesn't practice lke he used to anymore.
Labrie and Ruddess should leave. We need new version of DT, tired of them both. Probably this reunion shoud never happen, and MP and Neal should give us few more Transatlantic concerts, while there is still fuel in Neal, which proves his last record with just bunch of kids.
It is not age or the circumstances of growing older that characterize the values of a singer, an artist, but the intensity, the feelings. LaBrie is just as engaging as he was almost 30 years ago. Proof of this is provided by Ian Gillan, for example: ua-cam.com/video/bEbGe41fxAg/v-deo.html
Look at Geoff Tate, Steve Perry, Ann Wilson, Robert Plant.... the list goes on.... Has anyone heard them lately?!! Still good but nothing like it was, especially for the high ranges... EVERYONE pretty much loses that as they age. They are ALL, up in age too!!! It is what it is, and it's to be expected. If you don't like it, don't go see them. Or you get up there and show them how it's done!!! After decades of giving it all, and screaming your heart out... What do people expect?!! The vocalists themselves all know that it ain't what it used to be, but they still love what they've done and who they are, so I understand why they wanna hold on to it.... it's ok. It happens to everyone. I myself am a guitar teacher and i've been playing for 42 yrs... years of construction too and i love working with my hands but I'm nowhere near as fast as I used to be. My hand's hurt and they cramp up. I'm getting older... 😏 I still don't wanna stop though my writing is better and uniquely different but I still love it... When everyone starts to get a little age on them, they'll quit expecting so much out of people because they'll understand... it's human nature to expect more out of other people than we do ourselves.... let it be what it is, and have a little compassion for the ones that have brought us years of beautiful music that helped us through life... 🤘🤘
It's called reasonable accommodations to just lower the keys on the older songs that are too high for him anymore. Is that too much too ask? The guy is 60, it's normal for guys to get a lower voice as they age but he is still healthy and can get out there and sing her just needs lower keys. The band should be helping him out and lowering the keys to the songs he just can"t hit the high notes anymore.
They lowered the I&W songs on the I&W and Beyond tour (admitedly only half a step) and it sounded awful. In my opinion, James could try and sing one whole octave lower. I would not care if he did. Just keep the hig parts one octave lower so that he can be comfortable with it. I would rather have that than listening to him being strained and out of tune while trying to keep the original octave.
Be so honest everyone, he has had 2 vocal ruptures and destroyed his voice after his 2nd album with Dream Theater. He has had worse performances than this year. He has improved vastly, of course he struggles like crazy but seriously you can notice he has improved from like 2019 era.
Social media has become a bitch fest outlet for keyboard warriors across the world and we all know this. James just needs to learn how to work through the songs and figure out what works NOW for him. Just like Rob Halford and MANY others have done because he and they no longer have the range they once had. Labrie still has that silky smooth voice he always had for sure, but hes gotta stop trying to reach the high notes and come to the reality that, he cant do that anymore at his age. Its a hard pill to swallow, and I still want him around in DT as he is CORE to their sound.
I get that some people want to hold him up a little longer, but if he can't sing the songs, he has to go. I'm not going to pay good money to watch a old man wheeze his way through his youth because of some misguided and patronizing nostalgia. It's that sort of thinking that lets the family dog piss on the carpet for another two years. It's over.
Not in DT, though, That's why Mike is back. That's what the OG fans wanted. Two different bands depending on if Mike is Playing, or the other Mike is playing.
I think Mangini = Portnoy. They are both very different drummers and have their own excellence. I do also think that the way the band discarded of Mangini was kinda shitty tho
![JAMES LABRIE VOCAL CHANGE (1989 - 2017) [ENG/ESP]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/B0W8wHA1WxM/mqdefault.jpg)
![JAMES LABRIE VOCAL CHANGE (1989 - 2017) [ENG/ESP]](/img/tr.png)
James LaBrie, the man, the legend.
I've spent most of my life being a keyboard & guitar player and over the past few years destiny has put me on a spot where I'm now the lead vocalist for a band, doing more than hundred gigs an year. I can tell you first hand - just in four years my voice has started to show considerable changes. I can't imagine how this guy has been doing it for more than thirty years with DT. Yes there are singers out there who have managed to keep their form with age, but more often that's not the case.
Truly, Forever a DT (With James) fan
Man i was so worried about James vocal. I had tickets for 26/october in Rome and when i saw the London videos and he sang reeeeeaally bad i tought i wasted 80 euros but miracolously that night James kicked asses and sang reeeeeeally good, almost perfect. So glad he can still doit
Total denial
I've been in the last 3 times that they came to Rio de Janeiro. He was amazing in the 3 concerts.
Quello e' perche' sei sul momento. Vatti a rivedere i video. Poi ne riparliamo. Ovviamente quando si e' nell'arena con un'acustica mediocre e l'adrenalina e' un'altra cosa.
@@j.s.173 I am tired of hearing people say "oh but when I saw them live he was almost perfect". This is either them being in denial because they paid for it and really want to believe it was marvelous, or because somehow in the theaters with so much loudness and effects you can barely distinguish Labrie's horrible voice.
Let's face it. It is not even that he can't reach high notes anymore. That has been a long-time problem but it wasn't a dealbreaker. The problem is that he can't even sound good or decent at middle and low registers. His voice always sounds restrained and painful. Truly he does sound like a cat nowadays. I thought that was an exaggeration all these years, but the current tour is a disaster.
I will be seeing them live soon and I am almost regretting having purchased my tickets.
Hope he can do the same December 7th 😅
His vocals sometimes are pulling the band under.
Not sometimes. Always. Every show since 2015 has been a disaster because of James.
James has sung some of the most important songs in my life. I have huge respect for the guy and was blown away watching him and DT perform on their 40th anniversary tour in London.
All us Dream Theater fans must face facts about James. Age plays a huge factor in this. The fact is we are all getting to fuc King old. Our hearing sucks! I'll admit it. Man up and admit it too. We just don't hear like we use to. ROCK ON Dream Theater!!
James needs to retire with dignity if the band isn't willing to tune down. And let's be honest, he's been known for shaky vocal performances for at least the past 15 years. I'd rather he go out with some pride rather than become another Vince Neil or Axl Rose.
He has been known for shaky vocals for almost his entire career, but he was at least decent more often than note, with the occassional rough sections or even some rough nights here and there. But what we are seeing right now isa total butchering of every single song, regardless of whether it comes from the early years or the most recent albums, and whether they are ballads or not.
@@AMGU2B What are some examples of recent bad performances? Are some on youtube I can check out?
@@hammondOT Practically anything from their last tour, although he did improve by the end of it. His most infamous performances was the tour opening in London. I did see them live in Spain and he wasn't that terrible.
@@AMGU2B Oh yeah wow. Just listened to it. It's bad.
I think this is spot on. Listen to when he sings the ballads, he shines!
We cannot expect him to be in his prime anymore, and asking him to leave his life's work is just cruel.
Also, who could replace him? Would it even sound like DT anymore?
I think this is a matter of DT having to adapt to one of their memebers not being in his prime anymore, which they are refusing to do.
Still enormous concerts, still singed song after singed song, James still jumps around on stage as if he was 20, they still make songs where vocal notes are too high...
I think they need to accept that age has caught up to them through James, which is nobody's fault.
He does NOT shine when he sings ballads. Have you listened to how he has been butchering songs like Hollow Years or Barstool Warrior? He sounds strained even in such relaitvely easy songs. We must stop the denial.
1. I pay for a ticket, I get to complain as much as I want
2. Age is not an excuse for mediocrity, if you can't reach those high notes (sometimes ANY note) find other solutions BEFORE selling the show, not after or during the tour
3. As for the relationship analogy, it's not only "bailing on because things aren't as smooth as they used to be..." when the other part is doing the bare minimum
4. It's not just him not having the same register or energy as 30 years ago, there's a general lack of preparation (which is sad knowing how much the other guys in the band practice to keep their skills at their age)
I'm sorry but I'm not paying again to hear him scream out of tune for 2 hours, hope they can fix it tho, happy to see Portnoy in the band again.
They are really being very emotional... I wonder what they would do if they went to listen to opera and the singer was out of tune or sang very badly... Would they pay for that? People forget that they are listening to music... or it seems that they give more priority to fanaticism than to music... (prog doesn't teach us that) Prog fans have been behaving like pop fans for a long time now it seems...
Spot on comment. We must stop the denial. James Labrie sounds worse than ever, like way worse. A few years back he was consisntently decent and sometimes even pretty good live. In the Dramatic Turn of Events tour, for example, he was often in a very good level. But nowadays? He has given up any preparation or effort. He is not only showing his age, he is showing his desdain and demotivation. He should retire.
People get older and times change. I just recently returned to DT, having been a fan of their earlier stuff. I do notice he doesn't sing as high as he used to in the newer songs but that doesn't matter to me at all. I simply enjoy his voice.
I absolutely love his voice on recent albums.
But he ruined the show for me, made me cringe every moment he sang.
I was even too embarrased to film the show.
SO I GOT TO COMPLAIN
When did you see him? I am going to see them soon with my wife (her first time seeing them live) and I am SCARED that what she will think when James starts butchering every song. I have noticed he sucks live to a point of not even wanting to show clips to anybody since at least 2015.
@@AMGU2B Saw them last year 2023 with Animal as Leaders and Devin Townsend
@@SIVA6619 Yeah, I've read that he was awful during that tour. Just like in this one. I am hoping he will perform at least somewhat decently by the time I get to see them, but expectations are very low.
I've seen DT 5 times at least. Love them but I just don't go see them anymore. Can't enjoy the shows with his voice as it is now. Don't blame him at his age
There's no "i like it or not", "it is good or not", or "acceptable or not".
They are just killing the poor man tour after tours, gigs after gigs...until there will be nothing left of him.
It's just so sad, and I feel really bad for him 😢
Lol Eric Adams of Manowar who is older than James can still hit high notes despite his running out of breath but he can still hit it.
Fans have the right to complain he has been good for years. One of the main reasons i haven't seen dream theater live as i know the vocals will ruin the experience for me.
LeAVe BrITNey AloNE!1!!1!!11
Imagine wanting better for your favorite band. I know, crazy. Especially when you drop 80 bucks/euro to go to their show. How dare we!!1!11!!
Believe it or not; DT will never replace him and this the right decision. They're not in the begining of the road and don't need new fans or money either. I mean they have a huge legacy, fame and discography so they can retire the whole band whenever they want. Also after decades they are not only bandmates but family!
If you've seen "Coffee with Ola" MP says "DT fans are the best and the worst!! So critical complaining..."
They don't care what people say IMO, yet they are workin on him get better at show day after day, you can see the progress from first day of the tour untill now.
Rock on DT we love you all together.
It's not only his voice, but it's whole appearance looks like he's exhausted and that he's rather somewehere else.
Sorry ,but he's been awful for a long time now ,he should show the rest of the band dome respect because he is ruining the live performances sorry but it's true however respectful we all are of his earlier performances ,It doesn't matter how you dress it up and make excuses ,he's done 😢
Agreed
If you want an analogy, DT is like a relay race team of four Olympics-level sprinters and one guy that used to be Olympics-level, too, but now is on crutches because of a car accident he was in 30 years ago. LaBrie was amazing on I&W and Awake but ever since the food poisoning incident damaged his vocal cords, he's been just fine in studio and way too inconsistent live. You can hear him struggling all the way back on ACoS. So I don't believe he has issues solely due to being in his sixties. Perhaps the age compounded to the problem so that it's impossible to ignore now but I've been hearing complains about his vocal performance for decades now.
Dream Theater is my favourite band despite the vocals, not because of them, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. But I don't think I have a right to demand anything from them. They've won enough relays. If they want to win some more, yeah, they probably should let the guy on crutches go. They should have done it twenty years ago. But if they want to say "we don't care about winning relays, we are a family and we're in this together, performance be damned", that's their right and I respect that, even if I'm not interested in seeing them race live any more.
Yes i support him.love his vocals
Beautifully said. Thank you.
Dream Theater are at a point where they simply exist to give fans what they know and love. Any innovation within that spectrum is of course welcome, but especially now that the band is reunited with Portnoy the idea of replacing James LaBrie is just ridiculous. Unless he comes to the point of completely collapsing in terms of his singing, it's simply not an option. I was at the Oslo show last month and he was pretty damn good. He couldn't sing the high notes from Images and Words, but other than that he sounded much better than he did in 2022. Replacing him now would be like replacing Ian Anderson as the vocalist of Jethro Tull. Anderson sings even worse now than LaBrie currently does, and the band does compensate by having backing vocalists sing the higher tones, because they know that there is no Jethro Tull without Ian Anderson. Dream Theater without James LaBrie is basically something like Liquid Tension Experiment, and if they simply have to replace him, they should call themselves something else and become a new band. That might be the right decision eventually, but for now I wanna relish in the fact that the true and complete Dream Theater is back!
I think it’s a hearing issue from years of loud music, try plugging your ears and sing something you know…it’ll suck guaranteed…look at Gedde Lee on r40 tour….same….
I have never seen a video admonishing people to "stop complaining about" the vocals of Devin Townsend, Russell Allen, Dino Jelusick, or Jeff Scott Soto. Why? Because those guys are universally respected. The fact that people are having to make entire videos "defending" James is some of the very best proof that James sucks.
Come on...James only sang well the first few years of his career, and from a certain point on he was not up to the mark; the vast majority of his live performances are just mediocre. Let's stop making 1000 different excuses, it is not acceptable from a world-class professional to the fans who pay heavily for concert tickets.
Same as Tate.
The band has stuck with him when maybe they shouldn't have. I love the band, but he doesn't really do it for me. I like Lucinda Williams, but she sings like my Grandma now, her voice is wavery. It doesn't mean she's not a great artist, she's just not a great singer anymore.
Don't presume to speak for me. I've spent plenty money on DT concerts since the Marquee gig in '92, most recently 2 weeks ago in London, and have been more than happy to do so. James was absolutely fine in London. Yeah, not perfect by any means, but perfectly acceptable.
How do you think it would play out with a new singer ? So many d*cks never accepted Mike Mangini as a replacement for Portnoy, even though Mangini was technically a far better drummer. Same would happen with a new singer, no matter who it might potentially be.
@@kevinmcguinness1113 Same was said for Queensryche, and they finally clicked after 20+ years..., after mediocre promise land and all other craps... Same will be with revamp DT...
@MrEnsiferum77 whatever they might decide to do, there will always be haters. Look at Van Halen, AC/DC, Journey, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, KISS, Iron Maiden, Nightwish, Deep Purple, Metallica, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Mötley Crüe, Pantera, Queen as examples - they all caught flak from their fan base for replacing key band members, whatever the reason.
Queensrÿche are a good example - they were barely hanging on for years after DeGarmo left, until Tate's behaviour made it virtually impossible to work with him, they split and Todd La Torre came in. Good band still, but a mere shadow of their former selves.
BTW, I think Promised Land is a great album🤘🤘
James Labrie is getting old what would you expect? I've noticed that Ariana Grande's voice can't go as high as it used to but fans of her know that she's 31 now and she can still sing, her fans are still happy that she can still sing. so why can't dream theatre fans be the same?
First off, I wanna start this off by stating that I'm not tryna deny the fact that James has been sounding... pretty rough for the past few years, to put it mildy, however, I still don't think that replacing him should even be taken into conscideration.
James has been the voice of the band for many, many decades. For people saying that he's "the weakest link" of the band, you're just wrong. Like objectively wrong. A vocalist is pretty much the hardest member to replace in a situation similar to DT's. They've had the same iconic singer for over 30 years. A band without James' voice isn't Dream Theater. It's still hard for me to think of "When Dream and Day Unite" as a Dream Theater album, because it doesn't have James on it. In a band, there isn't a weakest link. Even if there's a member who's not on top of their game, you don't just kick them out. A band is like a family, and you don't just cut ties with a family member after 30 years, just because they're not the same as they were 30 years ago.
Plus, They're way past their popularity's peak, and they all probably know it. They know that there won't be another Images And Words, another Awake, another Scenes From A Memory, another Six Degrees, or another Train of Thought, but that doesn't stop them from doing the things they love. If they were only doing for the money, like some people say, they definitely wouldn't be doing it year-round. They wouldn't be releasing an album every 2-3 years. They wouldn't be constantly making new things all the time just to keep the bank account topped up. They'd get their pockets filled when the money starts getting a little dry, then move on. What they've been doing for a couple of years now, is a clear sign that they're doing it because they enjoy it, and because they can. So the reason that all the hate is a bit off-putting to me, is that if you paraphrase all this a little, you get "thousands of people are cyberbulling a 61 year old man, who's a little past his prime for having fun while playing music with his friends, and not sounding like an opera singer or someone in their 20's". I really wanna drill this idea into your head, carve it into your cranium if you will, because very few people seem to get it (most of them being musicians too). They're doing still touring and making music, because THEY ENJOY IT. THEY'RE HAVING FUN WHILE DOING IT. They don't have anything they have to prove to anyone at this point, so I'm just grateful that they're still releasing quality music, and that they're enjoying what they're doing. Very few bands manage to make music that's so complex and astounding, yet so digestible and enjoyable for this large of an audience, while touring the world basically 24/7
I love James, I look up to him very much, and have been a Dream Theater fan all my life, and it hurts to see him in a state like this, yet I'll still be going to their shows each and every time they come to Hungary, whether or not he sounds like a dying cat being tortured by a nefarious monkey (I'm literally quoting someone from r/MetalForTheMasse btw). He can't perform in a way which will make me like him less. If you're so pissy about him sounding awful live, just don't listen to him live. Listen to the albums, on which he still sounds great, regardless of his limitations and impurities. He's got some of the best albums both prog and metal have to offer under his belt, so for all the haters, I just want you to chill the fuck out and just enjoy the music, or move on.
Yeah! Agree with you he should sing in lower range.
Unless you're Glenn Hughes, everyone's voice changes with age!
🤘🏻
James is the best for the band and one of the hest singers of all time. Images and Words with Awake showcases some of the greatest vocal prowess of any vocalists. Im surprised he made it through the late 94 vocal chord rupture as well as had in 98-99 live shows
female backing vocalist would be 100% great
100% agree
James' voice never really clicked for me in DT. He suits the band, yes, but not my cup of tea. I always thought that Russel Allen would be a better fit, but what the f*CK do I know.
I prefer James's vocals in his solo albums. Elements of persuasion was an awesome album. Stil one of my favourites albums.
Retirement with much thanks.
I like the idea of Floor Jansen as back-up singer....
He's always been the weak link in the band, & now he's gotten even worse.
While it's been nice to bash/criticize all the instrumentalists(check Lars Ulrich of Metallica as an example) out there when they started to decline or .... up quite often with their parts, it is not understandable why there is a nice trend going on to defend JLB.
I mean IF the man can't pull off his parts(which obviously is the case) properly especially at the musicianship level of a band such as Dream Theater, why anyone should not complain?
As long as people be respectful and kind, it is everyone's/fans' right to expect a full delivery of a nice performance. It's not only about high notes, he sings out of tune frequently.
I don't suggest they should fire him or anything else like this but they definitely need to come up with a solution to improve his performance.
Can’t spend money on them live. Labrie sucks too much since he donned the goatee
If they want to put fanaticism before music... well, then pay the entrance fee and be happy lying to themselves. The problem was never Mangini, nor Portnoy... it's Petrucci for being a conservative guy and continuing to play the same stuff from the 2000s over and over again... apart from keeping Labrie.
Agreed! JP never gets any criticism, but he has turned DT into a business first, music second kind of thing. I respected his attempt to be innovative and to express himself musically with The Astonishing. It didn't work, that's fine, try again with something different. But nope, tet's just make the same things over and over again to be safe. What is progressive about that? What is progressive about the Night Terror single? Nothing! It is the same thing again. It is a ripoff of As I Am without the energy or the attitude.
He's able to hit everything in the studio, but live he's been struggling. And no, it's nothing new but it's certainly more difficult with age.
Now, 99% of the people who watched this video and are reading these comments have never been a touring musician and have never sang on stage. Singing in that register is hard enough, but it's way harder on the road when you don't get the rest and recovery you need, you're trying to be social and interact with your own band, the other bands, and fans who all love coming to concerts while sick for some reason, and they all want to shake your hand. They start their tour in Europe and I doubt they took a private jet, so they're in a cattle car with a couple hundred people coughing and sneezing, and not to mention their dirty ass little infectious dirt-sponge kids. AND on top of all of that, the seasons are changing, a time when everyone gets sick anyway and it's even rougher on your overall health.
I've never been a lead vocalist, but I've been singing backgrounds for my entire musical career. My voice does -not- last long, and if I do three shows in a row I sound like Miles Davis for at least a week. And you're in venues where they always want to blast music as you're loading in, setting up, in between bands, every possible moment you're having to raise your voice over shit. I spend the time leading up to tours in a bubble, just trying to avoid getting sick. I'm chowing vitamins and trying to take care of my voice in between shows, I'm trying not to engage in conversations with people where I have to yell over the noise, and it's really difficult. And make no mistakes about it, I am -not- a James LaBrie. I don't even come close to what that guy has to do.
This guy is trying to sing the way he did in 1992, something he really hasn't been able to do SINCE 1992. The band isn't tuning that stuff down for him and none of the them are capable of singing well enough to help out with any of the parts. It's a fuckin' hard gig man, that's all there is to it. Just to be clear, I'm not some LaBrie apologist or anything like that. He's been struggling for most of his career and I don't know if age is really catching up with him or if he's having a rough patch right now, but I saw them last year on the Dreamsonic tour and he wasn't very good there either. It was like he's going for notes that he just can't reach, but instead of his voice breaking or going out on him, he's just sings a whole step or more too flat and the result is even worse. I think he's doing his best and really giving it a shot but he just can't do it night after night. I just think it's a real shame that the "fans" on the internet are just fucking destroying him when the overwhelming majority of them aren't buying the albums and aren't going to see them live anyway. They're just watching UA-cam videos while contributing nothing but shit. Normally I would say, "Your voice is your participation; if you don't like it, don't spend the money to go see it." But they're not spending the money to begin with. They aren't supporting the band anyway, so their opinion is worthless. But they think their opinion must be heard, even though we all know nobody needs it. Nobody needs mine either for that matter but hey, at least I paid the toll.
I don't see Dream Theater replacing him at this stage unless he really does some actual damage to his voice and blows it out, like a Steve Augeri thing. I also don't see them bringing someone in to help out and do certain parts, but I could easily see this whole Dream Theater thing wrapping up with this album and tour. I really feel like that's why they brought Portnoy back and decided let's do one more and call it a day. All of them could go on to do other projects and be fine. LaBrie could continue doing his solo stuff and not have to worry about touring it, or he could just sing new stuff lower and not have to worry about singing in the stratosphere anymore.
You make some fair points, but none of what you wrote justifies the complete disaster of a performance that he has been putting on in this tour. He has always struggled to a certain point in certain songs. Sometimes he has even had rough nights. But for the most part he was at least decent live up until 5-6 yars ago. Now he is a complete disaster. Not only he struggles with high notes, he struggles with basically anything. The guy is butchering easy songs like Hollow Years every night now. And why? Is it simply because of his age? Why are other singers older than him able to at least not suck live?
I believe we should also start questionning whether the guy is putting the effort he should be putting to take care of his voice, rearrange sections in a way that he feels comfortable with and that don't absolutely suck (have you heard some of the new vocal lines they came up with for some songs in this tour? They suck for the most part!). But more than anything, he should be TRYING to sound decent. I don't know who told him his vibrato is good live, because it absolutely isn't, and this is something he CAN change. It is part of his technique, and his technique is massively flawed. Like honestly any non-trained fan could sing in a way that is less annoying than this. FFS.
And BTW; I have paid for two tickets (me and my wife, she is gonna see them live for the first time and I am SCARED that she will be completely put off by James). I have also purchased every single album and have seen them live multiple times during the last 20 years. So I think I have the right to complain.
@@AMGU2B As I said, I'm no LaBrie apologist or anything, and I'm not justifying anything. I just know how hard it is to sing live on a tour at a smaller scale, doing what he does on tours as big as he does is a seriously hard thing to do. He doesn't sound compromised in the studio tracks, he doesn't sound overly autotuned or doctored, and it's been a long time since I've heard him sing well live. I've always given it a grain of salt for any singer live, but especially guys that really sing up there. I won't be too judgmental on 'em, but I absolutely agree that he's been a trainwreck for a while.
I don't think it's simply because of his age, I think there's something else going on. I think the biggest parallel is what Journey has gone through with singers trying to do Steve Perry stuff, which Steve Perry himself hasn't been able to do since the 80s. How many singers blew out their voices trying to do that a couple hundred nights a year? Tommy Shaw of Styx doesn't have the range he used to have, even though it's still impressive, but they do TONS of shows. Can you imagine Ray Alder trying to do some of the Fates Warning stuff into his mid 60s? And I don't believe it's a matter of effort, there's tons of evidence around of how he manages himself on tour, how he takes care of himself, how he has his little vocal tent just offstage. He's always been serious about it, so I don't think it's a matter of effort. It's like, the mind is willing but the flesh is weak, ya know? And yeah, I've heard some of the new vocal lines and those types of things will always be a disappointment no matter who does them, but it's understandable. But no, they're not good. And he's not doing them very well either.
And that's why I think this is nearing the end for Dream Theater. I feel like he's just doing his best for one last lap, ya know? Would they even try and replace him with someone new, or just call it a day, maybe make it just a studio project thing and then everyone else do their own side projects? DT is definitely the biggest bread winner for all of them, but none of them will struggle without it. I don't want that to be the case, but I have a feeling it is.
Congrats and thank you for supporting the band, ANY band. There's almost no way to make ends meet as a musician these days, we're basically the free entertainment you get when you buy our merchandise. We're not much more than' t-shirt salesmen these days.
@@JalenRawley Hey, I really liked your comment. And I agree and understand your points. Thank you!
As far as I understand, he can't quit the band due to technicalities and legalities.
In other words, if he retired, DT would have to rebuild the band's legal/marketing structure.
If you ask me, all the members should retire. DT hit rock bottom many years ago.
They are only in it for the money.
I like how almost the entirety of Dream Theaters fan base makes excuses like “it’s not ground breaking but it’s ok” and says they are all happy that Portnoy is back but Mangini could literally play and write like a god and he was/still is constantly hated by the fans, I just don’t get it SMH 🤦 this song is paint by numbers Dream Theater edition. I’ve been listening to them for years and Petrucci is my guitar idol but this song is the first song I’ve heard from them I was like… wtf…. have I heard this why is it so predictable where is the energy and most importantly who did that god awful mix I know Jimmy T. Can do better then that I mean just listen to the last album’s mix it was 🔥 af
A lot of people find Portnoys playing to be more listenable while Manginis is more technical. I think theyre both great in their own way. I also think the way Mangini was just quietly discarded from the band is kinda shitty lol.
@@spacelgneo That is all good and fine. Some people may like Portnoy's style better, some may prefer Mangini. I myself prefer Portnoy's style but I like Mangini's personality more. Whatever the case, I am with the OP here: their latest single is a bland, unimaginative rehash of ideas from older DT songs. It is as uninspired as it can get. Andjust because it is their first song with MP back on the drums it doesn't mean I will be another sheep pretending that it is the best song they have produced in years.
LOL. The solution was for James to leave Dream Theater 25 years ago.
He is just older but makes the mistake of trying to sing like his young self. Just auto tune him good and move on. It is actually that simple nowadays.
02.11.2024 yesterday in Prague!! James Labrie vocal live is amazing. 3 hours show!!!!
No. I won't stop. Been supporting them since the late 90s they've gotten a lot of money out of me im invested and I think he should go
Now that he's 60?
He hasn't been "smooth" since SFAM
Is easy to make views grab video. And if you want me to respect you, you just can’t make a video where you implicit said to everyone STOP, i mean you can but you won’t get my respect! We could talk in real life about all of this but I think you are kind of a guy that likes doing from the comfort of your 4 walls in a basement
You are blaming me for defending him? while you can find thousands of videos who’s rosting him.
@@MusicMadtv Look at DT LIVE in JAPAN. That is what excellence sounds like. Ive been to every tour, and James, Live, is not that great, after the food poisoning. You can defend him, but there is no excuse for singing out of tune, at this point in their careers. That is how James sings, live. This is coming from a long time follower and musician. I dont say this with disrespect or being uneducated about music. I know the difficulty that he has being the main lead singer for DT. Not many could pull that off.
He's always been the reason i can't get into this band. The vocals are just so bad, it's really that simple. Doesn't matter how good the rest of the music is, they ruin it
"Thats like bailing on a relationship because things aren't as smooth as they used to be...."
.... exactly! Removable dentures aren't gonna do it for me!
I love James and all but... everyone in the band is as good as they've always been or better at their instruments now than 30 years ago, with the exception of James. His voice is his instrument, and it's just not there anymore. Reality is unfair sometimes, and the reality is that Dream Theater would be better off replacing him with someone who matches the caliber of their performances.
Ok I am the first one to critizise Labrie, but it is not true that th eother guys are as good (let alone better) than they used to be in the past. Their pirme was somewhere in between 6 Degrees and Octavarium. From now on they have been less and less clean on stage (particularly JP) and less and less innovative. Portnoy himself has admitted that he doesn't practice lke he used to anymore.
Labrie and Ruddess should leave. We need new version of DT, tired of them both. Probably this reunion shoud never happen, and MP and Neal should give us few more Transatlantic concerts, while there is still fuel in Neal, which proves his last record with just bunch of kids.
Lebrie, yes he should leave. Rudess, NO wtf you talking about?
@@paulhaugen1341 We need hammond!!!! Everyone is tired of those Rainbow post Dio - Rising Era keyboard, I'll go listen to Stratovarius, IF! !!!
It is not age or the circumstances of growing older that characterize the values of a singer, an artist, but the intensity, the feelings. LaBrie is just as engaging as he was almost 30 years ago. Proof of this is provided by Ian Gillan, for example: ua-cam.com/video/bEbGe41fxAg/v-deo.html
Look at Geoff Tate, Steve Perry, Ann Wilson, Robert Plant.... the list goes on.... Has anyone heard them lately?!! Still good but nothing like it was, especially for the high ranges... EVERYONE pretty much loses that as they age. They are ALL, up in age too!!! It is what it is, and it's to be expected. If you don't like it, don't go see them. Or you get up there and show them how it's done!!! After decades of giving it all, and screaming your heart out... What do people expect?!! The vocalists themselves all know that it ain't what it used to be, but they still love what they've done and who they are, so I understand why they wanna hold on to it.... it's ok. It happens to everyone. I myself am a guitar teacher and i've been playing for 42 yrs... years of construction too and i love working with my hands but I'm nowhere near as fast as I used to be. My hand's hurt and they cramp up. I'm getting older... 😏 I still don't wanna stop though my writing is better and uniquely different but I still love it... When everyone starts to get a little age on them, they'll quit expecting so much out of people because they'll understand... it's human nature to expect more out of other people than we do ourselves.... let it be what it is, and have a little compassion for the ones that have brought us years of beautiful music that helped us through life... 🤘🤘
I saw Geoff Tate 2 months ago and he sounded really good and it looked at least that he had fun on stage, in contrary to James.
It's called reasonable accommodations to just lower the keys on the older songs that are too high for him anymore. Is that too much too ask? The guy is 60, it's normal for guys to get a lower voice as they age but he is still healthy and can get out there and sing her just needs lower keys. The band should be helping him out and lowering the keys to the songs he just can"t hit the high notes anymore.
They lowered the I&W songs on the I&W and Beyond tour (admitedly only half a step) and it sounded awful. In my opinion, James could try and sing one whole octave lower. I would not care if he did. Just keep the hig parts one octave lower so that he can be comfortable with it. I would rather have that than listening to him being strained and out of tune while trying to keep the original octave.
Be so honest everyone, he has had 2 vocal ruptures and destroyed his voice after his 2nd album with Dream Theater. He has had worse performances than this year. He has improved vastly, of course he struggles like crazy but seriously you can notice he has improved from like 2019 era.
I know it wont ever get much better, but DT would never kick him unless he decided to retire. He is a brother to them all.
@@spacelgneo This is probably why they haven't kicked him already. Because they respect and love him. It should be James' initiative to call it quits.
Social media has become a bitch fest outlet for keyboard warriors across the world and we all know this. James just needs to learn how to work through the songs and figure out what works NOW for him. Just like Rob Halford and MANY others have done because he and they no longer have the range they once had. Labrie still has that silky smooth voice he always had for sure, but hes gotta stop trying to reach the high notes and come to the reality that, he cant do that anymore at his age. Its a hard pill to swallow, and I still want him around in DT as he is CORE to their sound.
:D
I get that some people want to hold him up a little longer, but if he can't sing the songs, he has to go. I'm not going to pay good money to watch a old man wheeze his way through his youth because of some misguided and patronizing nostalgia. It's that sort of thinking that lets the family dog piss on the carpet for another two years. It's over.
Mangini > Portnoy.
Not in DT, though, That's why Mike is back. That's what the OG fans wanted. Two different bands depending on if Mike is Playing, or the other Mike is playing.
I think Mangini = Portnoy. They are both very different drummers and have their own excellence. I do also think that the way the band discarded of Mangini was kinda shitty tho
@@spacelgneo I agree that they are equal in skills, career, and success. DT Needed Mike to come back. Too many empty seats is why Mangini is gone.
@ True, i just think the non-disclosed kicking of Mangini was kinda rude
@@spacelgneo I missed that