Dream Theater: Mike Mangini and Thoughts for the New Album

So Mangini is the new drummer of DT, and honestly I think is easily the best choice, Mangini writes and develops his music in a very similar way than DT does,  so is going to be interesting hearing them with this new member. Of course Portnoy will be miss, and I'm pretty sure that is going to be a little weird at the beginning to listen to Dream Theater without Portnoy, but, hey, he made his choice, so what can you do about it, huh?.

[caption id="attachment_79" align="alignnone" width="300" caption=""The Mikes""][/caption]

And a part of myself feels that they really needed this change, I mean, let's face it, DT was completely stuck in this last few albums, Systematic Chaos, I personally didn't like it, I mean it was OK, but just OK, and c'mon this is Dream Theater you expect more than just another OK album. The follow-up was Black Clouds & Silver Linings, the first time that I listen to it, I thought it was really Great, but then, I listen to it a few more times, and I realize that ... it was just another OK album xD.

I mean, "A Nightmare To Remember", was OK, especially the slow harmonic part, but my GOD, why does Portnoy have to sing?, his singing really didn't bother me before, but in this song, is completely horrible "Day after day and Night after night..." WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT SHIT?,

so yea, in conclusion, it is just another OK DT song.

"A Rite Of Passage" didn't like it, the lyrics are horrible, and Petrucci's guitar is surprisingly forgettable. "Wither" Great Song. "The Best Of Times" cool song, a little repetitive, but cool after all. "The Shattered Fortress"... I really don't know what to think about this song, is just all the other AA Suite Songs putted together and that's it. "The Count Of Tuscany" really cool epic,  especially the beginning and the end, but I really didn't like the middle part or the lyrics, but the instrumental section is really cool.

So yea... an OK album.

At that moment, I was really convinced that, DT was never going to release another huge masterpiece like I&W or Scenes, and then I finally realize: "They don't need to make a new masterpiece, they are already at the top of the world, they no longer need to prove anything to anyone so, I guess, they are going to continue making some cool solid music (OK albums), until they retire... I mean that's OK... why not?"

But then Portnoy left, DT was completely upside down, so many people died, and they had to start from the beginning all over again. Dream Theater "The Gods Of Progressive Metal" were in a real crisis.

But they have found a new cool drummer, and already finishing the new album (I hope, I mean is already May and they have not made any kind of anouncement). And I don't know, I have a really good feeling about this album, I think is really possible, that they're going to realize that "huge masterpiece" that I thought it was never gonna happen. You maybe think that I'm exaggerating, but if I have learned something from DT, is that they work at its maximum potential when they are going trough a crisis.

Just look at what they did after they let Dominici go, and after their first album wasn't so succesful



And just look at what they did after they let Derek go, and after having so much trouble with their old producers and record labels, and after releasing their worst album and after having suffer so many shitty years performing in clubs.



So yeah two of the greatest progressive rock/metal albums of all time, EAT THAT SCKEPTICS.

So let's hope history repeats itself.

It's funny because I never thought that Portnoy was ever going to leave DT EVER, if I had to number which members I thought were going to leave DT in the future, would have been:

1) First Labrie,

2) Then Myung,

3) Then Rudess,

4) Then Petrucci,

5) And at last Portnoy

But just look at that, the future is a complete mystery.

So that's all, thanks for reading, and post your list of " Chronologically: Who members would you have thought were going to leave DT in the future"

Be Seeing You

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6 Questions That Any Christian Should Be Able To Answer

1.-Which parts of the Bible do you believe in, exactly?

2.- If we ignored Leviticus, why don't we ignore all the books altogether?

3.- Did Jesus Christ cleaned up all of these other books?, if he did, tell me specifically which parts of the Bible are Ok.

4.- (Watch the video in the bottom) Do you realize that with that kind of conformist philosophy none of the independence movements that had happened trough out history would have happened?

5.- (Watch the video in the bottom)  Where exactly it is said that you should report them to the authorities?

6.- Haven't you thought that maybe the entire Bible wasn't meant for us but for the ancient people of Israel?

[caption id="attachment_290" align="alignnone" width="300"] Ok, you'll hear them but... will you answer them?[/caption]

Today I want to talk about religion.

I'm not a religious person in any way , but religion has been something that I have been really interested, specially the tremendous psychological power that it has. I have been expose to some much atheistic media recently  but  despite of that I have never consider myself an atheist, there was a time that I considered myself an agnostic, but if you start to think about it, WE ALL ARE AGNOSTICS!!!

I don't consider myself an atheist either, because: "An atheist is someone who doesn't believe in a God or rejects the idea of a God or Gods".

And my perennial question is: What the hell is a God?, I mean, God is one of the most relative, allegorical and formless terms that I have encounter. At the end of the day, God is just a flying term that can be use to describe a lot of things like: nature, peace, harmony, perfection, happiness, etc. For me God is just a vague, formless and relative concept that can acquire the meaning that anyone wants to give it.  So by that definition, I cannot say that I don't believe in a concept that can acquire multiple meanings.

It's a relative concept, it has a religious connotation of course, but it's a relative concept.

But that's just for the idea of a God, I not getting inside any religious stuff yet, I was just talking about my views on basic theology.

But if you ask me: Do you believe in Yahweh?

I'm going to say: Of course not! I reject that God and everything that he stands for!!!

I like atheist... to some degree. I sympathize with them, and there's a statement that they always made that I find it extremely interesting: "Religion and religious people are dangerous" ... and... as far as Catholics and Christians go, I think that's a complete YES!!!

The religion, the philosophy and the values that those religions stands for are extremely regressive, oppressive and dangerous.

But chill out!, if you claim to be a religious person and if you're about to close this blog,  HANG ON A LITTLE BIT!  and just read the next sentence: Most people who claim to be religious, are not religious at all!!!

What makes you a religious person?

... believing in God!

Not exactly, believing in a God makes you a Theist but it doesn't precisely makes you a religious person.

To be a religious person you must accept a pre-formulated religion and follow it, that's what makes you a religious person. What is a religious person? Someone who follows a religion, that's the true answer.

And just be honest with yourself, do you really follow the religion that you  supposedly practice?, to be a religious person, you must accept everything that your religion says and follow it, do you do that? Do you even know what your religion says and which are the values that your religion stands for?

For the majority of suppose "religious people" who I know, that's a complete NO!!!

I remember the other night I was about to get into a religious debate with my girlfriend's mom(who is really really "religious") about Catholicism, and she didn't even knew that her God was name Yahweh!!! , when I realized that she didn't even knew the basics about her own religion, I just changed the subject.

But yeah, that's the case of a lot of people, that's the case of the majority of supposedly religious people. They don't know their own religion! They have never truly read the bible! They have never do research of what their religion is about!, and that just kills me!

Going to church all Sundays does not make you a religious person. Knowing your religion, accepting your religion and following your religion is what makes you a religious person. If you just go to Church all Sundays for trying to be religious, you're not religious, you're a tourist, you're a wannabe.

So after all that I've just said: Do you still consider yourself a religious person?

If you answer is yes, if you claim to truly know your religion, accept your religion and follow your religion, then I'm in luck because I need your help:

This is a video that I made a few months ago, it was a video that I made for Mr.MinistryMan (if you don't know him, he's like a christian missionary YouTube personality), in this video I challenge his religion by just asking seven simple questions about Christianity and the Bible, this are questions that I'm really interested about and I guess they're simple and basics questions that any Christian or Catholic should be able to answer, sadly Mr.MinistryMan never answered my questions, maybe you should be able to answer them, as matter fact you must be able to answer them since you're a true Christian or a true Catholics, you should be able to answer these 7 ridiculous simple questions:



Now if you cannot answer these amazingly simple questions regarding your religion, I guess you are not truly a religious person.

But you know something, that's completely fine because what most religious people don't seem to realize is that: There's 2 types of ways in believing in God.

The religious way and the philosophical way. And people don't seem to know the difference and they end up mixing them all together.

I already explained what does it means to be religious and what does it means believing in God in a religious way.

But what does it means to believe in God in a philosophical way: It's just believing in the concept of God, saying: yeah sure, there's got to be a God out somewhere, I don't know what my religious says or which are the values that it stands for, but yeah there's got to be a God.

If you think that this second description suits you better, you're not a religious person, you just believe in a concept of God that is truly independent of your religion, you are a Theist. You believe in a God but you really don't follow your religion, that's what it means to believe in God in a philosophical way.

You believe in the notion of a God, not in a religion.

Now, if you want to try to pull out the next card: "I'm religious, I don't know much about my religion or the values that it preaches but I believe in that religious God and at the end of the day that's all that matters"

Okay, you don't really follow your religion, you don't really follow their values, you don't really know your religion, you just believe in the notion of a God... can you explain the difference between you and my concept of philosophical believe that I just explain?

You're just believe in God the way you want, and my final point is: If you're already believing in God the way you want, do society a favor and at least believe in a God that is not racist, anti-tolerant, oppressive, jealous, arrogant, superficial and homicidal.

And that's it, if you think that you're a true Christian or a true Catholic then answer me the questions that are presented in the video.

Anyway a really cool YouTube user name KurtzGMSD messaged me and he told about two particular books name

"Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament" By Peter Enns

and "Slaves, Women, and Homosexuality: Exploring the Hermeneutics of Cultural Analysis" By William Webb

He says that these books address some of my concerns without taking a fundamentalist approach, I will check them out and I'll tell you all about it.

In the meantime, is there a Christian or Catholic that can answer the questions that I present in my video?

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