6 IMPOSSIBLE Dream Theater vocal lines - James LaBrie

[@lopolik]

I am glad you did James LaBrie, he is very underrated singer, his early 90s vocal performances are genius, worth to check out also his first band before he joined Dream Theater called ''Winter Rose''. I'm glad you included his Winter Rose stuff, not all people know about that band.

[@kippsguitar6539]

Underrated by whom? What on earth are you talking about

[@lopolik]

@@kippsguitar6539 You probably don't know anything about Dream Theater. How people always do complain about LaBrie's voice and all that.

[@sabero5668]

@@lopolik Studio LaBrie, if you like his voice, can hardly be beaten, live LaBrie though, yeah its pretty sad. All his vocals are recorded to the very ragged edge of his abilities and sound great but live where you've got one shot to get it right, he just can't do it, been that way since the 90s but at least back then he could sorta keep up

[@lopolik]

@@sabero5668 yeah. He had that food poisoning thing back in 1995, so the years following following wasn't that great, but early 90's live shows he had insane vocals live, more extreme screams than the studio versions, he was able to do some great vocals on later live shows, but yeah it's not that consistent. Also the new DT album I thought the vocals were pretty weak.

[@sabero5668]

@@lopolik The last 2 albums I've been kinda on the fence about, at least the vocals. There are some bangers there like barstool warrior and the alien but overall it hasn't been the best. That being said every musician has a peak in their careers and it looks like Labrie hit his fairly early, twas one hell of a peak though

[@chrisgomes6690]

I hope people don't wait for him to die to start appreciating , instead hating him... Happens a lot. Long Live LaBrie. Long Live Dream Theater. Long Live Prog.

[@Lithuania8634]

My favorite Labrie vocal line is the live performance of the Killing Hand in 1992 in New York, where he sings a continuous G5 on the lines "This one controlls..." and "...frightening still."""

[@donygustri5413]

yes need a huge power to do this, its mind blowing

[@lonewolf6693]

Where is "Big Chungus" ?

[@evantomski3171]

Real

[@armandblake]

Underrated performance

[@Vegan_Kebab_In_My_Hand]

He's still a legend to this day, not just because of how great he used to sing, but also how he never gave up and worked on his voice recovery. Even if it isn't 100% anymore and he has to be careful to this day + natural voice changes due to aging, still a lot of respect for him!

[@theprogsorcerer8979]

Good examples! Another example of "crazy" vocal lines is James backing vocals on In the Name of God, in the part "Justifying violence..." onwards. It's difficult to listen to it without headphones, but if you pay attention you'll notice James hitting CRAZY high notes in a scream style. It's like his scream on Octavarium on steroids.

[@percyrobles8897]

I think the backing vocals of In the Name of God are fully screamed and no hitting notes at all. In Octavarium, Labrie DOES hit many high notes during the climax, since "Innocent victims from merciless crimes...." Anyway it would be interesting to get an isolated track from that part that you've mentioned, sadly there's none from Train of Thought.

[@scorpiusbalthazar4327]

@@percyrobles8897 I heard an isolated vocal track for Octavarium but I think it was for the climax at the end and I have no clue how to find that.

[@wanderershideout]

Possibly the most hated vocalist in the Metal community. But in all honesty he's the cherry at the top. Glad to see him get the love he deserves. Now I will safely proceed to request Kyo from Dir En Grey again. Also, you gotta do Geoff Tate next!!

[@whoshotjj]

Most hated? Can I please get some context behind this?

[@wanderershideout]

@@whoshotjj Many people find his tone to too nasally or too breathy. Also, he had vocal damage in the mid 90s. So, he started singing differently.

[@wanderershideout]

@@whoshotjj Not to mention you can find hundreds of memes about him on the internet. How he sucks or the weakest link in DT etc.

[@マシュードーラン]

Kyo from Dir En Grey…I see you’re also a person of great taste and wisdom 🤔🤓

[@wanderershideout]

@@マシュードーラン Haha, can't miss the hidden gems.

[@rockonileva]

What impresses me the most is not his range... Is the resonance and projection of he vocals... It's very evident when they do Metropolis pt1 with Charlie Dominici , the sonic difference between the two is HUGE... James' voice fill the space and resonate while Charlie's is thin and leave the song with kind of a hole in the soundscape.. James gives new life to every When Dream And Day Unite song...

[@HemiSlant6828]

That’s because Charlie Dominici is basically Geddy Lee. James LaBrie is James LaBrie

[@gregseverance1481]

He sounds nothing like Geddy Lee

[@rychevideos]

"Pull Me Under" was the song that introduced me to LaBrie and Dream Theater. Long live progressive rock/metal. P.S: Maybe Geoff Tate next? 👀

[@esorelyk9817]

Definitely Geoff!

[@massimopescatori6514]

In the early 90s his voice was from another planet ... his live performance in To live forever, Another hand the killing hand, Learning to live, take the time, ecc was incredible .

[@DefectivePieceofChalk]

James' vocal lines are so impressive, even James can't sing them.

[@aaronm.1622]

2:00 TRAPPED INSIDE THIS OC-TA-VA-RI-UM

[@atranfanatic]

That vocal part on Learning To Live I use sometimes to warm up and stretch my vocal cords. One of my favorite vocal lines from James in general!

[@alecolon4601]

You missed the real master high part of James LaBrie: the last chorus of "To Live Forever" in the way he performed it in 92/93. That was the most powerful thing I've ever heard from that voice.

[@shanelyon15]

I TOTALLY AGREE….how he goes from clean to distorted vocals is amazing

[@Lithuania8634]

Yeah but the lyrics are almost indecipherable. Unless you know the lyrics in that song.

[@alecolon4601]

@@Lithuania8634 It was said by Charlie Dominici (vocalist of their first album) that it is the only Dream Theater song ever about politic, though it's not clear what it means specific

[@DavaHerian]

I can say 2010 was his terrible state because he barely touched the high notes, and it sounds like he forced himself. Even in 2017, they performed half step down for 7 of 8 songs in Images and Words and touched F5 in the song Learning to Live. In 2019, he performed 1 of the Images and Words songs in the original key again.

[@manifestgtr]

I’ve always felt so bad for James. Dream Theater fans fancy themselves musically literate but many of them don’t understand how unbelievably difficult James’ job is. I guess these things don’t occur to amateur musicians and music fans. He’s been singing these songs, mostly in the original keys, for over 30 years, night after night, in a rock concert environment…his first vocal meltdown happened in 1994, it took him YEARS to recover and he was middle aged by the time he finally regained some semblance of vocal comfort. You’re gonna replace a good dude who’s, by all accounts, super easy to work with…a guy you’ve spent your decades-long career next to…because he can’t whack E and F# like he did when he was 30? Because he needs to place his voice differently in order to sing *hours* of high octane material per night? I dunno, man…that shit has just always rubbed me the wrong way. It comes from a place of almost willful ignorance and unbelievable shortsightedness.

[@Heatwave9000]

I respect Labrie for what he's done but he's even starting to struggle in the studio where they're clearly having to rely on using autotune/filters to mask his tone. You can still give him his credit due as he is a big reason why DT had any hits but its time for a change. You can't expect fans to pay a lot of money to see him wailing and singing off key for three hour shows. Its disrespectful to the fans.

[@manifestgtr]

@@Heatwave9000 Disrespectful to the fans? The fans don’t need to support something they find disrespectful (that’s a *really* weird way to put it). We’re talking about ending a man’s career. These are colleagues and friends with whom he’s worked for decades. This isn’t just “poof”…he’s not Mangini who was a well established sideman and can make six figures as a hired gun and a professor. This is their career and legacy, not yours…they can blow it to pieces if they want and you can always just listen to Awake. Alice In Chains is out there, to this day, with William out front and he constantly gets shit for “not being Layne”. Listen to Dirt then! Nobody is forcing you to follow any of these groups. Let them create however they see fit…if you don’t like it, don’t follow it…

[@urielejonahhaydn8689]

it is not just a matter of hitting high notes... he's often off-key and/or not very pleasing to hear too...

[@deepenwadhwa4027]

Hey! Thanks a lot for covering 2 of my fav singers ever on your channel, man, James Labrie and Devin Townsend! I'm sure you had fun listening to their stuff yourself and it's great that a lot more people are going to be exposed to this level of awesomeness now, through your channel, cuz not many Rock or Metal fans actually pay attention to even the best from the prog scene. PS : I think the metallic fry vocals on octavarium from James should've also made the list, it's probably the highest note he's ever hit, half a step above even "Learning to live" but great list anyway, I was happy that you included Winter Rose stuff as well! 🤘

[@antoniodevcodes]

Thank you for doing this. I'm so fed up with people sh*tting on him. He's an amazing vocalist. Dream Theater's songs haven't really been utilising his talents appropriately for a while now.

[@RickReasonnz]

I agree whole heartedly with your last sentence. Point of fact, if you listen to his solo albums (which are MASSIVELY underappreciated), his voice is used so much better than on a DT album.

[@antoniodevcodes]

@@RickReasonnz 100%. It reminds me of what Iron Maiden did with Blaze Bailey in the '90s, trying to force him in a Dickinson-like direction, which he clearly wasn't suited for. Let see what happens with the next album, now that Portnoy is back. And yes, James' solo work is not appreciated enough.

[@douglasgermano5770]

Brother, you've nail it in the choose of the first place. I read in the internet that in this Live album James's vocals were re-recorded because he was sick on the night of the show. But man, for me that's not a problem at all, i still consider one of the greatest moments in Labrie's carrer, and he's performance on Metropolis part 1 is insane too!

[@lopolik]

Yes, you included the vocal parts that I would include as well (Take the Time, Winter Rose stuff, Learning to Live (I would also pick the demo version where he did the high note extended a bit) And obviously the live version of Killing Hand. Also there is an early version of the song ''A Change of Seasons'' from 1993 that had different lyrics than the one released on the EP in 1995, and that one has some insane vocals, it's on this live official booklet called ''New York City 3/4/93'' some crazy vocals in that album.

[@painkillerauflauf5770]

Welll Yes. Thats what ive been waiting for. Thank You, your content is great.

[@TeamYouphoric]

The live in Tokyo version of Take the Time where he sings "If his obsession's REAL" is one of my favourite vocal moments.

[@ArpeggioPegasusMusic]

"Take The Time" is such an inspiring song both for its lyrics, and its vocals.

[@coreyyates3385]

I think James' best vocal performances are from Awake. Caught in a web, Innocence faded, Scarred and Voices. The line that really resonates with me is from A Change of Seasons during Another World when he screams "I'm sick of all you hypocrites!" Goosebumps still

[@fernandolarrea]

James Labrie fue un grandísimo cantante en los 90's. Desgraciadamente, la edad y ciertos problemas con sus cuerdas vocales le han pasado factura. En las grabaciones en estudio aún sigue sonando bien, pero en las actuaciones en directo sufre mucho para llegar a las notas altas.

[@pabloc1935]

Estuve en el concierto en Madrid hace 2 días y se le nota mucho mejor. Incluso en la canción 6:00 sonó muy bien… me sorprendió bastante

[@bensroom]

@@pabloc1935 eso es porque en esa canción, en los coros, estan poniendo las voces del disco junto a la voz James

[@pabloc1935]

@@bensroom en la gira anterior también pusieron los coros de scenes from a memory si no me equivoco y lo recuerdo mucho peor entonando.

[@bensroom]

@@pabloc1935 lo sé, pero está vez es la voz literal de James del disco, no los coros. Busca alguna performance de 6:00 en el tour de ahora y en el coro se nota muchísimo

[@SempiternalOG]

lo fui a ver a viña del mar en septiembre del año pasado y en bridges in the sky y endless sacrifice se lució

[@ladystrange4769]

Have always loves his voice n it’s fabulous live

[@JaellesDrums]

my favorite line from him has got the be the first 9 lines from take the time its so versatile and just fun to listen to and i love singing it even though i cant fully reach the last note

[@GMatt193]

U know what? I saw dt only once in my life in 2019. It was live at the Taormina amphitheater, and he fucking SCREAMED during 'lie'. I saw multiple other videos of that tour but I found no videos of him screaming much at all. Even though he Is in his 60s and Is not the same as the 90's he is still giving It all and not much people understand It, which makes me Happy u made this video :)

[@wahidzaman5945]

James is just an amazing singer!

[@benitokamelo252]

Underrated singer and great choice of songs tbf. For the next video I suggest Miljenko Matijevic or Geoff Tate, both of them are a 'must' imo.

[@tiagodine6802]

James Labrie rules! Unique voice! 🤘🏻

[@daito4815]

Please do a video about Andre Matos, greatest singer of prog/power metal

[@user-vv6qg6tx5x]

Dream Theaters's Another Day was the best piece ever of his high notes

[@santiagocalderon3261]

The high notes in surrounded and one in particular in octavarium are amazing as well

[@Рыззе]

Take the time's line is absolutely masterpiece

[@em_jen304]

Great episode - I appreciate his vocals even more now. I think that Under a Glass Moon deserved a honourable mention, though.

[@iyotk]

He has been on tours and studio sessions consistantly for over 3x years. I gotta say It is graceful for me that he can sing for fans even though his voice has completely worn out.

[@chief8825]

I absolutely love pull me under, it’s just. Perfect

[@stevequarcini4637]

James is the best, his early live versions of Surrounded are amazing, not to mention Perfect Strangers…just raw power

[@UPIL.INDONESIA]

I still appreciate him, despite his quality now different from 90s era. But in terms of how he brought the songs alive, that 90s and now era are both equally good.

[@BLuizHenrique]

You MUST react to some Andre Matos vocal lines. He was a Brazilian metal singer, but he passed away in 2019. His voice was AMAZING, reaching extreme high notes.

[@ooo_Kim_Chi_ooo]

That same concert in Japan that scream he makes during Fortune in Lies is insane.

[@krispynachos9980]

Learning to live has some of my fave James' vocals

[@takan1980]

I think the outstanding point of james is not his high tone, but his whispering voice full of overtones made possible by his overwhelming lung capacity.(I am Japanese, so sorry I am not fluent in English.)

[@WeCube1898]

His vocals on "Dance of Eternity" was SUPER

[@geekydiplomat]

90s LaBrie was phenomenal but I never thought he could sustain that top performance after seeing him on their 20th anniversary concert.

[@Desto13]

Love this! 🙌🏻 One of my favorites

[@danielhambrook3669]

My favourite James LaBrie singing moments are the screams he does in the background on the song Voices.

[@unluckykeys]

waited for you to talk about how the distortion is what screwed his voice up, was disappointed to be clear, i love James LaBrie as a singer, i love the 90's stuff and i love the studio stuff that's come out since then. live is spotty but i don't knock him for it i just think it's fascinating how he could sound so good while also putting his voice through a meat grinder for so long

[@alekskot9240]

seriously... i never understood. He has amazing voice! Always believed that

[@FFCarr]

A really good one has to be voices from awake. That one had me stunned

[@AJPMUSIC_OFFICIAL]

Thanks again, this one deserves two comments.

[@CrazySinging]

Thank you too!

[@Po3oB]

You forgot the marvelous vocal line in "Innocence Faded" - just after the first refrain, it is simply GODLIKE! And speaking of Winter Rose, remember that 8tact note at the very end of "Asylum City"?

[@jjmah7]

Innocence Faded is pretty rough to cover at times as well: “Condescending…not intending to EEEEENNNNNDDDDD”

[@EmreCanKorkmaz]

If you can pull off the last one during a dangerous wildlife encounter you can make anything with ears back away with confusion+insecurity. :))

[@d4ndrums]

The final of Anoter WOn live in the Score is great too!!! and a looooong note

[@muhammadravi5230]

Mad respect for him. ❤

[@joaojr7918]

And the last part of "learning to live"....is the best

[@alkiviadisfelemegkas7075]

Waiting for Miljenco Matijevic and Klaus Meine. Love your content!

[@vincyd5328]

I Just finished to listen a dream theater album and i saw the notification of this video, wow😂

[@riaingalligan8461]

The album must have taken hours

[@vincyd5328]

@@riaingalligan8461 It was Metropolis part 2

[@riaingalligan8461]

@@vincyd5328 oh, nice! I stand by what I said

[@lucas998765]

Awesome video! You could analyze Fabio Lione, from Rhapsody and Angra nowadays too!

[@ekcian6085]

his voice is not an ordinary human being..

[@mayge1234]

Before I got to number one I was preparing myself to comment “Don’t forget Killing Hand Live at the Marquee”. Lol

[@JamesEnsor]

Yanno, I like LaBrie, but really the three second piece of "Flamingo" by Kero Kero Bonito kinda made my day.

[@davelospinoso9022]

Have you heard his recent cover of kickstart my heart with his sons band? Absolutely stellar performance from a guy of his age.

[@ashamgyadi]

Thnks de d video I was exactly searching for this

[@carlbreazeale4006]

IMHO, James is the greatest male progressive metal vocalist of our time...! Thx James

[@OVELLIX]

Please Michael Kiske (Helloween) ! 🔥

[@bluewaves_band]

Live at the marquee, pure gold from JL.

[@6elias_mike9]

I really enjoyed the vid

[@CrazySinging]

I'm so glad friend

[@AJPMUSIC_OFFICIAL]

At last! My harassment worked. Cheers man

[@tomasolisarmusic]

Josh Kiszka next

[@DT2BLZ]

Great video!

[@ZebNyan96]

Great video! Surprised you didn't include Innocence Faded :D

[@metalforce3567]

falta el scream en "metrópolis pt1" y un sostenido en "inocense fadded"

[@TheKane42069]

I'm fully convinced that had he not had multiple bouts of food poisonings early on in his dream theatre career he would have been able to continue to use his voice as a powerful instrument instead of a diminished one.

[@RaatoHamse]

I dont know how much you check out old comments. But I would love you to check out Michael Sweet from Stryper. He's got pipes. That man is SO underrated guitarplayer and vocalist with brutal high notes and vocal range 🫵🏻🤩 Love your content!

[@lindamccartney583]

Incredibly enjoyable...perfect...

[@ronylussari]

Awesome! I would love to see a Russel Allen similar video.

[@rinzler4841]

just a small mention....Angels And Airwaves Heaven...

[@JPetr94]

I expected the ending notes of Cemetery Gates 2004 live cover, that was insane.

[@dunerman2533]

HahHa yes. Phil had a hell of a scream too !! Medicine man

[@lopa-u9f]

gAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAtes

[@markoramljak9579]

one of metal singers with insanely high voice has to be timo kotipelto from the band stratovarius... please do a video about his singing, especially in the song find your own voice...

[@rtrooperw8115]

He’s a MASTER!🙏🏻👍🏻🤟🏻

[@fernandoangelo6803]

Uma cantor sensacional. Uma das minhas grandes inspirações.

[@aimlesslydriftingcloud3457]

But Live at the Marquee wasn't actually live, the vocals were rerecorded afterwards

[@pedrockjesus]

PLEASE!! ANDRE MATOS EXEMPLES OF SONGS: Carry on, Remember Why

[@ЕвгенийКонаков-я1в]

Nailed!!!

[@user-vv6qg6tx5x]

Can you do on Steelheart's Vocalist

[@CrazySinging]

Hey friend I just posted that video!

[@solarpower26]

90s LaBrie > Ariana Grande

[@FoxysFriends]

Should check out Tony Harnell TNT

[@prime_time_youtube]

Great voice

[@KristianJoyZX_V-T-D.]

02:46... "You Know It"... 🤣

[@Kurt-rv9rw]

I have range of James and Tom Connors

[@armandblake]

É GALLINACEO!!!

[@dandaman6952]

hey man i love your videos. i have the best person to do, its daniel johns from the band silverchair. definitely one of the best rock vocalists i mean just listen to what he does live at the rock am ring 2003 outro to emotion sickness

[@bkinblack]

You have to make videos about Mark Boals in Yngwie Malmsteen's Alchemy album and check out Michele Luppi in Vision Divine's La Vita Fuge for example you won't regret it!

[@A_FairSquire]

Funny i got recommended this right after watching him sing Big Chungus

[@wearenotundone]

YES DREAM THEATER!

[@fromsiriusitcame]

i can't but he can't either nowadays xd

[@Hammerworld]

He was a monster of vocals. Today he is a mouse of vocals. So sad... :(