The Official Flying Colors Thread

[KevShmev]

Yeah, I still like it a lot, regardless.  I still think Infinite Fire would have gotten way more love had it not been looked at as another Morse/Portnoy long song.  And it should have, as I think it is better than either long epic from the last TA album or the long epic on Neal's last solo album.

[Mindflux]

I'll give it another whirl and see if I am imagining things.

But even just looking at the mp3 for The Storm in Audacity, the levels are all hitting the max a lot during the rocking parts.

Did you encode it yourself or buy from iTunes/Amazon?

[KevShmev]

I bought them from Amazon; the Amazon.com Song ID thing is still under the comments part when I check the file's info.

[Mindflux]

I bought them from Amazon; the Amazon.com Song ID thing is still under the comments part when I check the file's info.

Lets see what my version of The Storm looks like in Audacity (encoded in iTunes at 320kbps):




It does appear quite maxed out. I still don't have problems with the actual sound though.

[goo-goo]

While the album is great and enjoyed it a lot, there are two things that stood out that makes the album less enjoyable for me:
a) Casey's voice. The Muse style in which he sings most of the times. That got on my nerves...and his vibrato as well..
b) The album's sound. The sound quality of the album is really bad. My ears get fatigued really fast with this one. While it's not brickwalled to the max, for some reason, my ears get tired very very fast when listening to this record. Don't know if it's a combination of Casey's voice and the way the high frequencies are mixed up or maybe a combination of both. The live album on the other hand is warmer and better and this is what I listen when I want to hear some Flying Colors.

[Orbert]

Maybe not totally brickwalled, but pretty close.  It sounds very dense.  Somehow it doesn't sound compressed in the way that albums/songs which are compressed are obviously compressed, but there's a density to everything that I'm sure some people like because it sounds "rich and full" but I, like you, find it somehow fatiguing to listen to.

[Nick]

In the case of what's being talked about here it won't matter much, but talking about production and mastering while dealing with lossy files is downright silly. You don't take a picture of a painting and then judge the painting by the picture. I'm not saying the album doesn't have any issues, but at least listen to the CD or a lossless file before you make any final determinations.

[goo-goo]

In the case of what's being talked about here it won't matter much, but talking about production and mastering while dealing with lossy files is downright silly. You don't take a picture of a painting and then judge the painting by the picture. I'm not saying the album doesn't have any issues, but at least listen to the CD or a lossless file before you make any final determinations.

Yeah, that waveform is kind of misleading since it's a lossy format. My comments were directed with the full CD in mind.

[goo-goo]

Maybe not totally brickwalled, but pretty close.  It sounds very dense.  Somehow it doesn't sound compressed in the way that albums/songs which are compressed are obviously compressed, but there's a density to everything that I'm sure some people like because it sounds "rich and full" but I, like you, find it somehow fatiguing to listen to.

And that's the weird part...I've heard so much worse album but I don't get ear fatigue. DT12 (normal cd edition), Redemption's "This Mortal Coil" are two other albums that are very compressed but don't cause my ear to fatigue so fast.

[Mindflux]

In the case of what's being talked about here it won't matter much, but talking about production and mastering while dealing with lossy files is downright silly. You don't take a picture of a painting and then judge the painting by the picture. I'm not saying the album doesn't have any issues, but at least listen to the CD or a lossless file before you make any final determinations.

I realize that. I was trying to see if his Amazon had some weird encoding happening compared to mine (from my CD). It probably appears near identical, but I don't find the sound on the disc (or mp3s) to be tiring or blown out like say DT12.

[Tick]

Yeah, I still like it a lot, regardless.  I still think Infinite Fire would have gotten way more love had it not been looked at as another Morse/Portnoy long song.  And it should have, as I think it is better than either long epic from the last TA album or the long epic on Neal's last solo album.

Wow!
umm....NO!

[hefdaddy42]

Yeah, I still like it a lot, regardless.  I still think Infinite Fire would have gotten way more love had it not been looked at as another Morse/Portnoy long song.  And it should have, as I think it is better than either long epic from the last TA album or the long epic on Neal's last solo album.

Wow!
umm....NO!

I agree with Kev.

[wolfking]

I always thought the album sounded fine, I never had any issues.

[Sacul]

I always thought it sounded too compressed, specially Blue Ocean and the keyboards in general.

[rumborak]

I know they had other stuff to do, but I still think they lost momentum with FC by delaying the next album so much.

[wolfking]

I know they had other stuff to do, but I still think they lost momentum with FC by delaying the next album so much.

Possibly, but because of who they were, I don't think anyone really expected a follow up so quick, if at all.  Once the next album comes, the hype will come back.

[Mosh]

I know they had other stuff to do, but I still think they lost momentum with FC by delaying the next album so much.

Agreed. I loved the first album when it came out but with all the new music I've heard since then, I've sorta forgotten about it. I'm not nearly excited about this as I would've been even a year ago.

[KevShmev]

Eh, I don't see the issue at all.  Even if your enthusiasm has waned, if the new album is good, it'll all come back quickly, so it's a non-issue as far as I'm concerned.

[RoeDent]

I know they had other stuff to do, but I still think they lost momentum with FC by delaying the next album so much.

Three years isn't too much. I'd say that's about average. Maybe we're so used to DT's "fast-track" album recording process that we forget other bands can sometimes spend up to a year or longer recording a new album.

I'm sure FCII will be worth it when it comes.

[Mindflux]

I know they had other stuff to do, but I still think they lost momentum with FC by delaying the next album so much.

Three years isn't too much. I'd say that's about average. Maybe we're so used to DT's "fast-track" album recording process that we forget other bands can sometimes spend up to a year or longer recording a new album.

I'm sure FCII will be worth it when it comes.

3 years? The first album came out in 2012 and the second is slated for this fall. 2 years is a perfectly fine gap!

[The Letter M]

I know they had other stuff to do, but I still think they lost momentum with FC by delaying the next album so much.

Three years isn't too much. I'd say that's about average. Maybe we're so used to DT's "fast-track" album recording process that we forget other bands can sometimes spend up to a year or longer recording a new album.

I'm sure FCII will be worth it when it comes.

3 years? The first album came out in 2012 and the second is slated for this fall. 2 years is a perfectly fine gap!

Indeed. A two-year wait is NOT that bad. The wait between recording and release, however, was pretty long for the first album. It took about a year for the first album to come out after initial recording sessions. This time we were far luckier. Recording commenced earlier this year and we are getting it in September. That's pretty good, IMO, and I'm glad we don't have to wait til next Spring/Summer for it.

-Marc.

[rumborak]

A bit more than 2 1/2 years, assuming the album gets released in September.

Regarding the album, the expectations are actually pretty low for me. I kinda have the impression that the quality level of the first album was a stroke of luck. I think it's quite likely that the next one will be a mix of Transatlantic and Neal Morse solo.

[KevShmev]

INB4 rumbo's self-fulfilling prophecy this winter when he says the new Flying Colors sounds like a mix of TA and solo Neal Morse, regardless of what it really sounds like.

[TheAtliator]

Eh, I don't see the issue at all.  Even if your enthusiasm has waned, if the new album is good, it'll all come back quickly, so it's a non-issue as far as I'm concerned.

I tend to agree with this. I don't like when things take too long, but I don't see why that should make it any less exciting when it comes, and this did not take too long in the first place. Most bands can't even come out with music every 3 years, and this one's just a project!! Plus it's pretty great getting TA and FC in the same year!

[ThatOneGuy2112]

Yeah, the wait between the debut and this one doesn't seem too long at all. It's right around the same amount of time most other bands put out a new record. I haven't given the debut a listen in a long time--I might actually do that soon--but I thought it thoroughly consistent and while not anything amazing, I liked it. If the quality of the new one matches that of the debut, I think I'll be pretty satisfied, and I'm definitely gonna check it out.

[Orbert]

You guys are nuts.  If a band doesn't put out an album per year, they suck.  Period.  Doesn't matter if it's "just a side project", they owe it to their fans to keep them completely immersed in new, high-quality musical product on a regular basis, and if they don't, the excitement dies down and they might as well just hang it up.  That is the unfortunate reality in which we live today.  There's just too many other bands out there vying for my attention, and I can't wait two years for them to get off their butts and finally bother to get together and make a new album.  I'm sick and tired of hearing about "other commitments" like the other bands they're in and bullshit excuses like somebody's wife had a baby or somebody was critically injured in a car accident.  I really don't care.  What counts is the music.  That's what they say, right?  Well is the music the most important thing or not?  If the answer to that question isn't a clear and unequivocable "Yes" then they're just not worth my time and energy.  At this point, I don't even care if the new album comes out, everyone talks about how good it is, the samples sound great, sales go through the roof, every show sells out, and they all quit their respective main bands to focus solely on Flying Colors; obviously that's all crap and there's no way it can be any good and there's no point in getting excited about it.  They made us wait too long.  They have lost me as a fan.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

[bosk1]

I know they had other stuff to do, but I still think they lost momentum with FC by delaying the next album so much.

Such as, coincidentally enough...

(wait for it...)

...Momentum.

[rumborak]

INB4 rumbo's self-fulfilling prophecy this winter when he says the new Flying Colors sounds like a mix of TA and solo Neal Morse, regardless of what it really sounds like.

Hey, I easily could have said the same thing about the first FC!

I will try to go into it with an open mind though. I really loved the first FC, IMHO by far MP's best post-DT output. It's just when I hear things like "the new album is proggier", it sounds less likely that it will have the same pop glory the first album had.

[countoftuscany42]

i agree that the wait between the two albums seems very reasonable, but i think part of why it felt so long is that they barely toured.  the album was out, they toured a little, and then a long period of nothing.  Obviously everyone else was doing other things, but not hearing a peep out of FC for a while made it feel like a longer break than it was.

[Zydar]

[rumborak]

Oh cool!

One thing I pray for though, pleaaaase no uncomfortable videos like TA did.

[Polarbear]

I am not sure if this is confirmed or not, but i came across this in Finnish music store site.

https://www.levykauppax.fi/artist/flying_colors/second_nature/

If this is true, it sounds beyond awesome!

[Onno]

I am not sure if this is confirmed or not, but i came across this in Finnish music store site.

https://www.levykauppax.fi/artist/flying_colors/second_nature/

If this is true, it sounds beyond awesome!

I can confirm that, at last weekend's Night of the Prog festival in Germany there were flyers for the only Flying Colors show in Germany, which had that album art and title etc. on the backside of the flyer.

[Polarbear]

I am not sure if this is confirmed or not, but i came across this in Finnish music store site.

https://www.levykauppax.fi/artist/flying_colors/second_nature/

If this is true, it sounds beyond awesome!

I can confirm that, at last weekend's Night of the Prog festival in Germany there were flyers for the only Flying Colors show in Germany, which had that album art and title etc. on the backside of the flyer.

Nice!! The album sounds fantastic. I loved the first one, and i'm sure i'm gonna love this one!