Progressive Metal Resurrected Part #3 Charlie Dominci and The End Of Majesty Era

       Dominici's attempts to get an audition with Majesty were eventually successful, much to the chagrin of Myung, who found his constant attempts to be irritating. His audition was for the most part unsuccessful, as he fell into the same trap most vocalists did and tried to do an impression of the band's previous singer, Chris Collins, which was well out of his range. He managed to finally impress the band with his improvisation skills, singing The Killing Hand without having heard it before, and was offered the position.
      Charlie's role in Dream Theater is under debate, as he gives a different account than his former bandmates. Dominici was said to have been arrogant, with an attitude that he knew all about the music industry already. Dominici's account claims he did try to steer the band, but in an attempt to help them cross over into the mainstream, much like Rush did. Dominici wrote music and lyrics for the band, and even played guitar live in some cases, such as the intro to The Killing Hand.  Majesty Years Concluded Here >>>>>>

Dream Theater Majesty Demos Installment #2 Progressive Metal Resurrected Part #2

Dream Theater Majesty Demos Installment #2 

Progressive Metal Resurrected   Part #2

 1987 seemed to be a pivotal year for both heavy metal and progressive music in general. On the heavy metal front you had two of the landmark albums of that year. Guns N Roses would release probably the biggest single debut in the history of metal. Meanwhile Whitesnake were making their own way with their now legendary self titled release of that year. Def Leppard were about to make history with Hysteria which would go on to sale over 13 million.  To Be Continued Here >>>>>

Dream Theater Majesty Demo Years Installment #1

Dream Theater Majesty Demos Installment #1 

Progressive Metal Resurrected   Part #1   

    In the race of life and career there is a saying. "It does not matter where you start but how and where you finish. "  This seems to have been the case with Majesty - later (Dream Theater).  Before their clean, refined majestic and polished sound, there were some immense sound , line up and other changes.

In this section I will revisted and explore the growing pains through which the band endured from the first Majesty demo to their major label ACTO release of (When Dream And Day Unite).   There will be a review of the four original demo's from 1986-1988 .  I will also give a brief history of the formation of Majesty and its manifestation into what we now know as Dream Theater and how they were Progressive Rock/Metal's saviours' of their time. Continue Reading Here >>>>> 

Mike Portnoy A Fifth Change Of Season

Mike Portnoy A Fifth Change Of Season
Michael Stephen Portnoy (born April 20, 1967) is an American drummer primarily known as the former drummer and backing vocalist for the progressive metal band Dream Theater. He has worked with other prominent acts such as Transatlantic, Liquid Tension Experiment and OSI. Known for his drumming prowess and technical skills, Portnoy has won 23 awards from the Modern Drummer magazine. He has also, along with John Petrucci, co-produced all Dream Theater albums starting with Scenes From A Memory to Black Clouds & Silver Linings. From A Change of Seasons onwards, Portnoy has been writing a substantial amount of Dream Theater's lyrics, filling the void left by Kevin Moore, who left the band after the release of Awake. He is the second youngest person (after Neil Peart) to be inducted into the Modern Drummer's Hall of Fame at 37 years of age.

To Be Continued Here >>>>>>

Derek Sherinian A Fourth Change Of Seasons

Derek Sherinian A Fourth Change Of Season's
Born: August 25, 1966 (age 48), Laguna Beach.
Derek Sherinian is a prominent American keyboardist, known for his work with a vast variety of bands and projects. Sherinian worked mainly as a hired hand for rock tours and session man before eventually joining Dream Theater which launched his extensive solo career. Sherinian is highly respected in the music industry, being called "King Of The Keys" and "The Caligula of Keyboards", and has worked with many high profile artists such as Alice Cooper, Kiss and Billy Idol.


Early life and career Edit
Not a lot is known about Sherinian's early life. He received a scholarship to Berklee after his junior year of high school, which he attended for a short period before leaving, much like his future bandmates Mike Portnoy, John Petrucci and John Myung. Sherinian returned to California and entered the local scene, gaining notoriety for his skill. Sherinian enjoyed a brief stint with Kiss, playing background keyboards on tour with them and appearing on the album Kiss Alive III.

Sherinian eventually won a spot with The Alice Cooper Band, appearing both on the album The Last Temptation and in concert, being on stage with a prominent group for the first time, as his stint with Kiss he remained backstage. Sherinian even appeared in the film Wayne's World, playing himself in a scene with Alice Cooper.

To Be Continued Here >>>>>

Kevin Moore The Third Change Of Season.

                                           

Kevin Moore, born May 26, 1967 is an American keyboarist, avant-garde musician and lyricist known for being a former member of Dream Theater, his solo career, and his work with OSI. Kevin Moore joined Dream Theater shortly after its inception and left the group after the Awake album to controversy. Since then he has launched his own solo career and has avoided contact or even mention of his former bandmates.                                             
Kevin Moore was born in and grew up in Kings Park, New York in Long Island. From a very early age he showed a keen interest in music, learning piano at age six and writing his first song at the age of 12. Moore grew up with other future Dream Theater band members John Petrucci, JohnMyung and Chris Collins. While Petrucci and Myung went to college at Berklee to study music, Moore went to a local college, SUNY Fredonia where he studied classical music. Moore was eventually contacted by Petrucci and Myung, stating that they had met drummer Mike Portnoy at Berklee who shared their musical tastes and they had formed a band, "Majesty" which later became Dream Theater. Moore was offered the position of keyboardist, which he accepted. The four, along with Chris Collins formed the band's first lineup.

Charlie Dominici Era Second Change In Season's

Born: June 16, 1951 (age 63), Brooklyn, New York City, New York
Charlie Dominici is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, mostlyknown for being a former member of Dream Theater. Dominici left the music industry for a long period of time following his departure from Dream Theater, however he currently fronts his own band, Dominici.

Early Life and career
Dominici was born in East New York, where from a very young age he became attracted to rock music and the rock and roll lifestyle. A fast talking, funny troublemaker, Dominici gained local prominence in his youth as a guitarist for several bands and notoriety for his wild ways. One notable incident had him inciting a riot in a hotel that caused several thousand dollars worth of damage, and then dodging out on having to pay for it.

Dominici gained the attention of Frank and the Knockouts and was brought in as a backing vocalist and guitarist for their first album, though Dominici felt that they didn't give him enough credit. The band found touring without his parts difficult, and invited him to tour with them for support of their second album, which he did not appear on. Charlie was eventually kicked off the tour due to his rambunctiousness and returned to New York.
 To Be Continued Here >>>>>

Dream Theater Alumni Chris Collins First Change Of Season.

Dream Theater Alumni Chris Collins First Change Of Season.

Chris Collins is an American singer and musician, mostly known for being the first singer in "Majesty" the band that would later become Dream Theater. Although he never appeared on any of the band's albums, he is well known as their original singer and still continues to pursue a musical career...
   
   The Majesty Days
  Collins grew up in Long Island    with fellow future Dream Theater members John Petrucci, John Myung and Kevin Moore. While those three went off to colleges to study music, Collins weighed his options and decided to join The United States Marine Corps. due to his interest and abilities in target shooting. His enlistment in the USMC never happened however, the very week that he was supposed to go to boot camp he received a phone call from John Petrucci stating that they would like to record an album and that he should audition for the band. Contrary to popular belief he was never in a Queensrÿche tribute band, and the tape of him singing a Queensrÿche song was recorded with Majesty themselves. However it did get alot of attention and there was a buzz going around that created enough notoriety for Collins to obtain the position in the band during the infant stages of Majesty.   Continue Here >>>>>

The Roadrunner Years and the departure of Mike Portnoy (2007- )

After taking the summer off, DREAM THEATER returned to the studio again September 2006. The band had recently signed with legendary metal label Roadrunner Records and was eager to create a new album. By mid-2007, the band's ninth studio album, "Systematic Chaos," was ready for release on June 4, 2007. The album, which mixed a more "standard" metal sound with a heavily progressive metal sound, met generally positive reviews from critics as well as a good commercial outcome. This album also resulted in a massive world tour, this album in particular featuring a "double pronged" tour - the direct supporting "Chaos in Motion" tour in 2007 and the "Progressive Nation 2008" tour, featuring OPETH, BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, and 3 in 2008.
Dream Theater History Here >>>>>

The Middle Period and Band Turbulence (1994-1998)

Electrified by their success, the band quickly delved back into writing after the conclusion of the tour in 1993. The band rushed into the studio to record material for what would become their third album, "Awake," released October 4, 1994. The album, which was much darker and metallic than their previous two albums, received a slew of controversy from fans and critics. On top of this, long time keyboardist Kevin MOORE announced his departure prior to the album's tour due to creative differences. On top of this, vocalist LABRIE suffered from a bad case of food poisoning while vacationing in Cuba after the release of the album. This tragically ruptured his vocal chords, making it near impossible for him to sing in his prior capabilities.

 To Be continued Here >>>>

A New Singer and Success (1990-1993)

The next two years were uneventful for the band. The band auditioned over 200 vocalists, including former FATES WARNING vocalist John ARCH, and near all of them were rejected, save Steve STONE. STONE was debuted in a mid-1990 show, but STONE's embarrassing performance during the show led the band to fire him immediately after the performance. As a last ditch effort, the band summoned Canadian vocalist Kevin LABRIE of the glam metal band WINTER ROSE to audition in January 1991. . Amazed by his ability, he was hired immediately after the audition. LABRIE dropped his first name to avoid the confusion of having two Kevins and became James LABRIE (James being his middle name). Armed with a new singer, the band began touring around the NYC area yet again as well as perfecting the vocal parts for the new music the band had written during their inactive period. A New Singer and Success Continued Here >>>

Dream Theater | Majesty Years | 1985-1990

A. Formation and Early Years (1985-1990)

Based in a love of the sophistication of YES, the virtuosity of RUSH, and the heaviness of IRON MAIDEN, DREAM THEATER had a desire to create complex, heavy, and progressive from the very beginning. Guitarist and bassist PETRUCCI and MYUNG grew up together on Long Island, New York. After high school, both received scholarships to the esteemed Berklee University of Music, where they met drummer PORTNOY, who, incidentally, grew up in a nearby area. The trio soon became friends and began making music together and settled upon the name MAJESTY. This name came about when PORTNOY described RUSH's song "Bastille Day" as "majestic" as they were waiting outside a Rush concert to open. As the band became more "serious," they went out looking for a keyboardist and vocalist. Eventually the band found PORTNOY's high schoolmate Kevin MOORE to play keys as well as schoolmate Chris COLLINS to sing in 1986. The new 5-piece recorded a 6 song demo titled simply "The Majesty Demos" in 1986 on PORTONY's analog 4-track cassette recorder, making an initial run of 1,000 tapes. The tapes, to the band's surprise sold out relatively quickly, which was aided also by the band's distribution of the tapes to friends, family, local rock and metal magazines. Dream Theater History Continued