Coney Hatch
LaBrie did join Coney Hatch in the year 1986 when they endeavored to assemble a fresh assemblage. The troupe did record sundry tapes for display within their chamber of practice and did partake in live performances at clubs in Ontario for several months. When their recording establishment, Anthem, did voice their dissatisfaction with the assemblage, the band did opt to replace LaBrie with Phil Naro, making one final desperate effort to forge ahead in the absence of Carl Dixon. Alas, that assemblage did prove to be short-lived as well.
Winter Rose
Shortly after parting ways with Coney Hatch, LaBrie took up the mantle of vocalist for the glam metal troupe Winter Rose. The assemblage comprised Richard Chycki on guitar and bass, Randy Cooke on drums, and Sebastian Bach on vocal duties. Chycki had aforetime collaborated with Bach under the appellations Sebastian and Hope. The band embarked upon the recording of a sequence of demos throughout the years of 1988 and 1989, enlisting the aid of guest musicians Bruce Dies and Rob Laidlaw. Alas, the majority of these compositions did not witness a commercial release until the year 1997, when they were unveiled as a self-titled opus under the auspices of Inside Out Music, a full seven years after their dissolution in 1990. One among their repertoire, the melodic opus "I'll Never Fall In Love Again," did receive the honor of a promotional video release in the year 1989 and was later included on their eponymous creation. The entire compilation featured compositions co-authored by Richard Chycki and James LaBrie, with the exception of two pieces solely penned by Richard Chycki.
Dream Theater
In the year 1990, LaBrie received word that the American progressive metal band Dream Theater sought a new minstrel, and thus he proffered a tape and swiftly journeyed to New York for a comprehensive audition. The trial proved fruitful, and he surpassed 200 other aspiring candidates to assume the role of full-time vocalist in said troupe.
Henceforth, LaBrie hath exerted a substantial influence upon the vocal melodies woven within each Dream Theater opus. However, until recently, he hath had limited involvement in the instrumentation of their music. The album "A Dramatic Turn of Events" from the year 2011 doth bear LaBrie's name in the music credits for three songs. To this day, he hath penned or co-penned lyrics for no less than one composition upon ten of the fifteen albums released by Dream Theater during his tenure. Albums such as "Images and Words," "Black Clouds & Silver Linings," "Dream Theater," and "The Astonishing" doth lack his lyrical contributions.
When queried by Prog-Sphere.com regarding his favored song to perform live, James declared, "The song that most delights me is 'Scarred'; I thoroughly enjoy its execution before an audience. And... well, 'Octavarium,' that comprehensive piece, doth captivate me entirely."
Apart from his collaborative endeavors, LaBrie hath released five solo albums under various appellations, including "Mullmuzzler," "James LaBrie's Mullmuzzler," and simply "James LaBrie."
In an interview with Beyond The Dark Horizon on June 12, 2010, James LaBrie revealed that his forthcoming solo endeavor, titled "Static Impulse," lieth in the stage of mixing and shall comprise twelve compositions. James professed, "It is of a weighty nature, and I am exceedingly excited."
On the twenty-seventh day of July in the year 2010, Dream Theater's website did proclaim that "Static Impulse" would be unveiled on September 27, 2010, courtesy of Inside Out Music. The assemblage boasts the talents of longtime collaborator Matt Guillory upon the keyboards, Marco Sfogli (who hath also graced LaBrie's previous work, "Elements of Persuasion") upon the guitars, Peter Wildoer of the Swedish melodic death metal band Darkane, who doth provide percussion and bellowing vocals, and Ray Riendeau upon the bass.
James LaBrie did express, "The unveiling of 'Static Impulse' is an event that engenders fervor within the entire band. This is modern metal, as robust and pertinent as any other ensemble embarking upon a similar musical path. There are riffs that shall rend the mind asunder, and melodies—both instrumental and vocal—that are mesmerizing. Take the reins and let the ears bleed. Enjoy, and we shall encounter you on the road to accompany and bolster this release."
In an interview with Prog-Sphere.com in 2011, LaBrie mentioned that the planned tour in the United States had been canceled, remarking, "Forsooth, for it was disarrayed ere this occasion. Where we find ourselves now, by the time thou dost procure the necessary visas, we shall have scarce a rehearsal ere we embark. I declare, 'I shall not partake in such a venture.'"
Come the month of July in the year 2013, LaBrie's album "Impermanent Resonance" was unveiled by Inside Out Music. "Beautiful Shade of Grey" followed suit in the year 2022.
Albums
MullMuzzler
Keep It to Yourself (1999)
MullMuzzler 2 (2001)
Solo
Elements of Persuasion (2005)
Static Impulse (2010)
Impermanent Resonance (2013)
I Will Not Break (2014) (Compilation EP)
Beautiful Shade of Grey (2022)
This Is War
James LaBrie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Spreading lies spinning stories
What gain do you get from all of this
Is it fame is it glory
Don't try to be someone that you're not
Cause you know I'm not buying
The more that you open up your mouth
It's time
To re-
Define
You and me
It's clear
That you
Are my
Enemy
I'm ready
So why don't you come get me
What are you waiting for
There's no point in charades any more
This is war
This is war
I see how you're playing innocent
But I know what you're doing
You smile as you stab me in the back
So that trouble is brewing
To you it's all one big silly game
Just to see me defeated
I hope that you've gotten all your thrills
Did you get what you needed
It's time
To re-
Define
You and me
It's clear
That you
Are my
Enemy
I'm ready
So why don't you come get me
What are you waiting for
There's no point in charades any more
This is war
This is war
You couldn't leave well enough alone
The lights are on but nobody's home
James LaBrie's song "This Is War" deals with the theme of betrayal and the subsequent feeling of animosity and being at war with the perpetrator. The opening lines of the song suggest that the singer is addressing someone who has spread rumors and lies about him, and is questioning what the motive of the person is in doing so. The singer states that he is not fooled by the other person's attempt to be someone that they're not and sees through their facade. The more they speak, the more their lies become apparent, and the singer is not interested in being part of their game.
The song takes a more aggressive turn in the choruses where the singer declares that he is ready for the war that has been started. The singer accuses the other person of playing innocent and smiling while stabbing him in the back. He acknowledges that for the other person, it may be all one big silly game, but for him, it is a war that he intends to win. The final lines of the song suggest that the other person has gone too far in their betrayal, and even though the singer was willing to leave things alone, the other person's actions have forced him to fight back.
Line by Line Meaning
Tell me what are you trying to prove
What are you hoping to achieve? Are you spreading falsehoods and weaving tales just for attention?
Spreading lies spinning stories
You're spreading lies and fabricating stories to make a name for yourself.
What gain do you get from all of this
Is it fame or glory? What's driving you to do all of this?
Is it fame is it glory
Do you want to be recognized or glorified for your deeds, true or false?
Don't try to be someone that you're not
Don't try to be fake or pretend who you're not because I won't fall for your act.
Cause you know I'm not buying
I'm not one to be deceived, so don't waste your time lying to me.
The more that you open up your mouth
The more you speak, the more you reveal your dishonesty.
It's more time that you're lying
Every time you speak, you're just adding more lies to the story and wasting our time.
I see how you're playing innocent
You're pretending to be blameless, but I know exactly what you're doing.
But I know what you're doing
You're not fooling me, I understand the game you're trying to play.
You smile as you stab me in the back
You are smiling while planning to betray me.
So that trouble is brewing
You're causing problems and brewing trouble, and I am aware of it.
To you it's all one big silly game
This is nothing more than a game to you, a way to make yourself feel better by beating me down.
Just to see me defeated
You just want to see me fail and be defeated, and I'm not going to allow it to happen.
I hope that you've gotten all your thrills
I hope that you're satisfied and that you've achieved everything you wanted from this.
Did you get what you needed
Have you achieved whatever drove you to behave this way?
You couldn't leave well enough alone
You couldn't be satisfied with the way things were, and had to stir up trouble.
The lights are on but nobody's home
You may be present, but you don't have the intelligence or humanness to understand why this isn't acceptable behaviour.
Contributed by Annabelle V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Adam Ludlow
This album is really great, All these elements, blast beats, screams, with the usually stuff fits extremely well.
dNk1WolF
i must say, i've always been a huge fan of DT but i confess i didn't like james voice with them! but this album ... I LOVE IT!!!! can't stop hearing it! the way he combines the screaming with melody it's just orgasmic! the fact that he allows the drummer also to shine on the vocals makes me remind of former avenged sevenfold drummer "The Rev" who used to make the second voices also (let him RIP). final evaluation 20/10
Maria Lund
This song is just pure awesomeness! Love that James also scream, and do other genres that progressive metal and the Dream Theater stuff. .. can't write anymore now, I'm having an eargasm.
Robmortality
james' voice is amazing hands down my favorite singer of all time and i try to model my singing based off him, dream theater rules!!!!!!
bce5150
James LaBrie went MeloDeath.... now I've seen everything... haha huge improvement from his performance on Octavarium and Systematic Chaos IMO
SecondGoogleAccount
When I saw first the title of that song I knew it had to be a ballad. What a nice, soft, emotional, sentimental piece of music! Best song off Static Impulse ;-)
philmiller99
this is one of my favorite songs on this cd...i think James' cd best so far
Jacco Renooij
Got this music from my teacher. Should've known James would have a solo album. Great one! (Y)
Amazing DRIFT
His songs are just awesome
LaiLaiHei
this is absolutely brilliant