As for dream theater: I'm currently listening to my freinds Dream theater collection (And it is HUMUNGUS... 38 folders that I've found, some of which double cd's... I dont which are official releases and which arent... except the obviously live ones)... I like dream theater most out of the virtiouso pigoen hole. I think mostly because of Mike Potnoy (sp)... THe vocals I cant stand... The guitar really does strike me as being very bland... yes it's very technical, and there is the odd intresting passage, but it's like panning for gold, you have to sift through so much mud to get to it... I think that's the case with alot of these virtiousos...
I ofcourse want to get faster, and would love to play at speeds like Scott Mishoe... but if i could i dont think i'd write songs like that...
The musicians who's really inspired me recently is Nina Nastasia. Her album is quite simple, although there's alot to make you sit there an think about...
DreamRyche2112: I dont know... I've heard some guitarists here, and i dont think that John Petrucci is somehow elevated to a status beyond reach. There are guitarists who are faster (although I'm certainly not one). I find his soloing incredibly dull and uncalled for most of the time (it's just my oppinion, because there's nothing i can found it on)... To tell you the truth i'm not a fan of disturbed, and even if they cant play the new dreamtheater album, so what? What's your point? I dont think Bob Dylan could play to Jimi Hendrix's standard, but who's was in awe of who? Technical abbility isnt a deciding factor in anything... It's all subjective in teh end, and technical abbility is for those (it seems to me) who want to make less subjective, and more about making music into something metric... What does it matter if Vai plays Xnotes per sec... At the end of the day i've yet to enjoy one of his albums as much as "Horses" by patti smith...
My other complaint about the vitrusos doing the rounds in guitarist's bedrooms is the production... why on god's earth is it so sterile? I like a really gritty sound, and there are some (relatively) technical guitarist who dont sound so sterile... Dave Nervaro is one that i can think off... I like his stuff with Jane's Addiction...
What do you lot think of Grind core/ Death Metal... the harder end of the spectrum.. I've heard some really technical guitar work from those bands, but it's not so much of a center piece... I mentioned melt banana before, but that went down like a lead zepplin..
(by the way, my own aim is to become very technically capable, but also write some intresting songs... the only band i know of that have managed this in my oppinion is primus... I'd love to be able to play as technically as petrucci, and write songs that are as intresting as the pixies.)
ps: what do you lot think of Devin Townsend? He (like myself) is quite a big missy Eliot fan, or so i understand.
