Album Rating: 2.8

Yeah. Neal Morse has recorded many great albums. Last year's Testimony 2 was cool (from the standpoint of music, not lyrics).

Interviewer: In a recent interview, Russell said he didn’t care what Dream Theater or Symphony X fans thought of Adrenaline Mob and that the criticism doesn’t really bother him. Do you have any thoughts on what Dream Theater fans have thought of the record so far?

Mike Portnoy: Well I guess if anything I’m guilty of caring too much. I really do care what people think, and I revolved my whole career and all the twenty five years with Dream Theater. I ran that band and made decisions based on caring what the fans thought and wanted. I’d love to sit here and say I don’t care what they say, but the truth is that I do. That stuff carries a lot of weight with me. It hurts when people say negative things because I’m at a place in my career where I’m trying to stay very positive and optimistic, and everything is very good in my world right now. When I see people trying to drag it down and do all this negative trolling online, it really hurts. I find myself a much happier person when I turn off my computer and live my life.
So I have to say that stuff matters to me. But I understand that Adrenaline Mob is not going to be every Dream Theater fan’s cup of tea. I totally get that, I understand that, it’s different world. I know there are a lot of Dream Theater fans that do like the heavier side of music, but there are some that don’t. Different strokes for different folks. I get that and I understand it. I just don’t see the need for the negative, mean responses. There’s no need for that. If you don’t like it, move on. If it’s not your cup of tea, then just move on. As far as I’m concerned, variety is the spice of life and that’s where I’m at right now. I want to do different things with different bands and different musicians, and I really want to dive into many different styles and genres. I’m a music fan first and foremost. I can find the beauty in Jellyfish and U2 just as much as Opeth and Lamb of God, just as much as I can with Rush and Yes. So I want to do all those things in my career. I don’t want to do just one.

Album Rating: 4.0

this grew a lot on me, it's very nice.

"But I understand that Adrenaline Mob is not going to be every Dream Theater fan’s cup of tea.... I just don’t see the need for the negative, mean responses. There’s no need for that. If you don’t like it, move on.... I want to do different things with different bands and different musicians, and I really want to dive into many different styles and genres. "

Sounds like Metallica's Lulu all over again

I am excited to hear Flying Colors though.

Haven't listened to this all the way through, but it seems great from what I've heard.

Album Rating: 3.5

The amount of restraint in the music is a bit jarring considering the musicians involved. That said, I think it's pretty enjoyable. Groundbreaking? No. Enjoyable? Yeah.



Kinda cool how it manages to span the entire breadth of prog rock from heavy, almost metaly stuff to really soft, poppy stuff.

Album Rating: 2.8

You're right about "spanning the entire breadth of prog rock." As I stated, it's a diverse album. Just, in my opinion, some aspects of current prog music are not very worthy of exploring. I wanted it to be more dynamic instead it goes into this sappy pop mode way too often.

Nice review man. This pretty much sums up the feelings i have about the album aswell, i had a really hard time getting into this.

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

I definitely agree with the comment about the level of restraint being jarring, I did expect more but I knew from the get-go it wasn't going to be about shredding and stuff, it was more about space, but the songs were enjoyable, I couldn't really get into All Falls Down and Infinite Fire though.

Album Rating: 2.8

Infinite Fire really feels like a throwaway from the latest Neal Morse album. Still, it's not the worst song on here. All Falls Down is jarring, but on "The Storm" they totally sound like Coldplay. So, I'd pick out this one as the worst.

Since I'm such a pirate... I haven't heard this yet because I cannot find a download anywhere.

Album Rating: 3.5

It's streamable on Grooveshark, or was as of a couple days ago.



"Forever in a Daze" is the best track on here, IMO.

Album Rating: 2.8

Forever in a Daze is cool indeed.

Album Rating: 3.5

Album really sounds like D'Virgillio' era Spocks Beard at some point.

Oh man thanks for mentioning that, I'm totally gonna go listen to Spock's solos now

Album Rating: 3.5

Actually, now that I think about it, FiaD reminds me of I Mother Earth. THOUGHT it sounded vaguely similar to someone else.

Album Rating: 2.8

Haha. I totally predicted Jethro's rating on this one. Consider yourself pinned down man. Spock's Beard is a good reference point, I guess.

Album Rating: 3.5

True you did predict that, Columbo =P. Trust me I tried hard to rate anything but a 3.5 but without apparent success lol.

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

I actually enjoy The Storm for what it is, Forever in a Daze is great, love the whole funk vibe. Blue Ocean is probably my favorite song here.

Really liking this so far.