The official Redemption thread v. I Am the Storm - March 17th 2023

[Scorpion]

Would anybody be interested in a Redemption survivor? By the time we got to their latest, everyone would probably be familiar enough with it, and I'd be interested to coronate DTF's favourite Redemption song.

[kaos2900]

I'd be game!

[Scorpion]

I know that I was the one to suggest it, but it just occurred to me that for that to happen, I'd have to listen to their debut again.

Ugh.

[Mebert78]

That would be fun!  It's gonna be hard to pick one Redemption song over another though.  There are so many killer tunes.

FYI, I'm a big user of ProgArchives's album rankings in helping me choose what to buy when exploring new bands.  I know it's early, but The Art of Loss currently has a higher ranking than any of Redemption's previous albums -- albeit, only a dozen votes or so, compared to 100 votes for their other albums.  Time will tell if that holds up.  Link: https://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=1937#discography

[Zook]

The album is starting to sound a little better.

[Destiny Of Chaos]

Would anybody be interested in a Redemption survivor? By the time we got to their latest, everyone would probably be familiar enough with it, and I'd be interested to coronate DTF's favourite Redemption song.

I'd be down. Can't wait to see Sapphire's coronation.

I know that I was the one to suggest it, but it just occurred to me that for that to happen, I'd have to listen to their debut again.

Ugh.

Debut album is awesome...... currently my 3rd favorite Redemption album.

[Randaran]

Debut album is awesome...... currently my 3rd favorite Redemption album.

W-what?

I can safely say that I've never heard that one before. I have to ask: what are the three albums you rank below the debut?

[Destiny Of Chaos]

Debut album is awesome...... currently my 3rd favorite Redemption album.

W-what?

I can safely say that I've never heard that one before. I have to ask: what are the three albums you rank below the debut?

Snowfall and Mortal Coil.  Not ready to rank the new one yet.

[Dr. DTVT]

Those are words I never thought I'd hear.  I'm in the boat that the self titled is better than most people make it out to be, but to say it is better than Snowfall is crazy talk.

[mike099]

The Art of Loss is a grower for me.  The epic still has not clicked for me as a whole, but has some nice sections.

Thirty Silver   -  Cast your silver in the field and measure out your noose.

I would like to hear the first cd, but need to find it on youtube to listen to before purchasing.

[Scorpion]

Okay, so the first round of the survivor will be up tomorrow.

[Destiny Of Chaos]

Those are words I never thought I'd hear.  I'm in the boat that the self titled is better than most people make it out to be, but to say it is better than Snowfall is crazy talk.

Too me, every track on the s/t is memorable, laced with a few masterpieces.

Snowfall has one great song, a handful of good songs and some pretty forgettable songs. And I like Snowfall even more than Coil.  Hopefully, Art of Loss bucks the trend (for me).

[Scorpion]

So I relistened to the debut.

Desperation and Window to Space were better than I remembered, the rest was utterly forgettable. I don't think I could sing a single passage from any of the other three songs.

By the way: do you guys want to have Desperation and The Fullness of Time as one song or as four songs each? I'd prefer the first option, but I'm down with either option.

[Enigmachine]

So I relistened to the debut.

Desperation and Window to Space were better than I remembered, the rest was utterly forgettable. I don't think I could sing a single passage from any of the other three songs.

By the way: do you guys want to have Desperation and The Fullness of Time as one song or as four songs each? I'd prefer the first option, but I'm down with either option.

I'd consider TFoT one song, but not Desperation, it has a few movements with complete silences in between.

[nvandyk1]

Okay...setting a few things straight.

The debut is my least favorite by far and sits in our discography the way the first Symphony X record does in that band's discography. Except it's not as good -- with all due respect and sincere thanks to those who like it, of course!

TFOT is four songs.

Desperation is one song in four parts but could be separated if anybody cares.

One may of course have issues with any of the performances on the Art of Loss, but Ray is not out of key. Definitively.

Always interesting to see how records are received. This one is generating more controversy than I thought it would, to be honest with you...

Carry on, friends. And as always, thanks for your interest!

[Cyclopssss]

About the double disc version of Art of loss: The remixes are actually pretty different in sound from the album version. One features a vocal harmony track and another features a definetely different keyboard lead line in favor of the guitar lines. A nice extre, but not a necessity. The ballad is actually a duet with a female vocalist that´s not noted on the cover info, at least that I found yet. 

[Destiny Of Chaos]

Okay...setting a few things straight.

The debut is my least favorite by far and sits in our discography the way the first Symphony X record does in that band's discography. Except it's not as good -- with all due respect and sincere thanks to those who like it, of course!

TFOT is four songs.

Desperation is one song in four parts but could be separated if anybody cares.

One may of course have issues with any of the performances on the Art of Loss, but Ray is not out of key. Definitively.

Always interesting to see how records are received. This one is generating more controversy than I thought it would, to be honest with you...

Carry on, friends. And as always, thanks for your interest!

 

[Train of Naught]

Okay...setting a few things straight.

The debut is my least favorite by far and sits in our discography the way the first Symphony X record does in that band's discography. Except it's not as good -- with all due respect and sincere thanks to those who like it, of course!

TFOT is four songs.

Desperation is one song in four parts but could be separated if anybody cares.

One may of course have issues with any of the performances on the Art of Loss, but Ray is not out of key. Definitively.

Always interesting to see how records are received. This one is generating more controversy than I thought it would, to be honest with you...

Carry on, friends. And as always, thanks for your interest!

 

Thanks for the facts, Nick!

[kaos2900]

Man, I really like the debut album. In fact, it is the sole reason I became a huge King fan and spent 5 years reading all of his books. I owe that album a lot.

[Mebert78]

Now that I've had the new disc for a full week and I've listened well over a dozen times, I can safely say that all of the tracks are clicking with me now.  "At Day's End" took the longest to full click, probably because of the length.  Still, "Center of the Fire" remains my favorite.  That chorus is engrained in my head.  And the lyrics really connect with me.  Kudos to Nick for visiting here too.  I definitely think it would be hard for me to read fan feedback if I were a musician!   

[nvandyk]

@Kaos2900, glad you enjoy the debut. I agree that the book on which Desperation is based is pretty powerful writing -- it did inspire the lyrics, after all.    I just think that lyrically that whole record (with the exception of the songs I didn't write -- Window and Nocturnal) is very linear storytelling and kinda sophomoric. And I'm not crazy about the production other than in a few parts. And I think I got better at songwriting. And, and, and.    But seriously, thanks to you and to any others that enjoy that record. Had it not been received reasonably well, we wouldn't be here.

On the bonus tracks, since the disc itself is over 70 minutes, I don't really feel like we're short-changing anybody. The guitarists put a lot of work into their performances so I thought it would be an appropriate way for their music to be heard. There are reasons that the Japanese pressing is what it is; the additional track on the European disc features my daughter Parker singing a cover song (Say Something by…gosh I'm not sure off the top of my head but do a youtube search with that name and Christina Aguilera) as a duet with Ray.

@Mebert78, yeah, it's not the easiest thing to read feedback but thankfully the favorable opinions outnumber the unfavorable ones.   Dream Theater's audience has a pretty high bar, so I know if we have even a reasonable percentage of positive perspectives among their fan base, we're doing something right!

[Tomislav95]

I didn't spin the newest enough times to rank it among other albums but at the moment Slouching Towards Bethlehem is my favourite song on the album.

[Dr. DTVT]

Nick, thank you for popping in and listening to some people's criticisms so professionally.  I personally enjoy The Art of Loss, but it has been more of a grower than instant hit for me.  Nothing wrong with that.  I just chalked it up to life not taking a sledgehammer to your life in the time between This Mortal Coil and Art of Loss, which is probably for the best in the end.

But really, the fact that people are critical just shows how much people here do care and enjoy what you make.

[Cyclopssss]

Thanks for explaining, Nick, Parker did a great job!

[Scorpion]

Hey Nick, thanks for dropping in clarifying a few things.

For you other fine folks (though Nick, you're welcome to participate, I guess ), the Redemption Survivor has now officially begun.

Click here for the main thread, and here for the first round of voting.

[kaos2900]

@Kaos2900, glad you enjoy the debut. I agree that the book on which Desperation is based is pretty powerful writing -- it did inspire the lyrics, after all.    I just think that lyrically that whole record (with the exception of the songs I didn't write -- Window and Nocturnal) is very linear storytelling and kinda sophomoric. And I'm not crazy about the production other than in a few parts. And I think I got better at songwriting. And, and, and.    But seriously, thanks to you and to any others that enjoy that record. Had it not been received reasonably well, we wouldn't be here.

On the bonus tracks, since the disc itself is over 70 minutes, I don't really feel like we're short-changing anybody. The guitarists put a lot of work into their performances so I thought it would be an appropriate way for their music to be heard. There are reasons that the Japanese pressing is what it is; the additional track on the European disc features my daughter Parker singing a cover song (Say Something by…gosh I'm not sure off the top of my head but do a youtube search with that name and Christina Aguilera) as a duet with Ray.

@Mebert78, yeah, it's not the easiest thing to read feedback but thankfully the favorable opinions outnumber the unfavorable ones.   Dream Theater's audience has a pretty high bar, so I know if we have even a reasonable percentage of positive perspectives among their fan base, we're doing something right!

Thanks for the reply Nick! I appreciate the response! I hope you guys are seeing some success with the new album and I hope I get to see you on tour!

[Mebert78]

Thanks for the reply Nick! I appreciate the response! I hope you guys are seeing some success with the new album and I hope I get to see you on tour!

Some Redemption shows would be awesome!  I got into the band in 2009 after Snowfall on Judgment Day, so the only show that I got to attend was the ProgPower USA show in 2012.  I'm thinking Ray is probably focused on the upcoming Fates Warning album now though.

[Destiny Of Chaos]

I was fortunate enough to see Redemption 3 times on the Chaos in Motion Tour (Baltimore, Jersey & Philly) in 2007. Bought Fullness and Origins from the merch stand at the first show and was hooked.

[ronnibran]

Interesting regarding Nick's breakdown of The Fullness of Time and Desperation.  I've always just viewed both as one song each, so cool to hear that TFOT was meant as a suite of four separate songs.  That said, I will NEVER listen to just one part, always as all four together b/c they work so well together. 

My friend who introduced me to Redemption is really digging the new album too.  He's going through some major sh!t in his life and in an e-mail the other day he said it's helping him get through each day.  That's what I like about music.  Glad I'm one of the lucky ones who has music really touch their soul.

Cool of Nick to drop in and say hi.

[Zook]

Cool of Nick to drop in and say hi.

Yes, but why the two accounts? Who's he trying to fool? And more importantly, can he be trusted??

[nvandyk1]

Can I be trusted?  Probably not!

I used to have an account hear eons ago and couldn't remember the login info for the life of me. It got re-set. To my knowledge, it's just one account...

To be honest with you, I guess Desperation could be considered four songs. The reason I consider it one song, and TFOT four, is because the narrative in Desperation plays out over four songs and the story makes no sense if digested individually. TFOT does have connective tissue and the payoff of the fourth track is greater if heard after the first three, but they stand alone on some basis. When we played our first live show, we played Release (part 3) and it worked very well as a standalone song.

May need to dust that one off...it's fun to play but a bit of a wrist-breaker.

[wolfking]

Finally got around to ordering my copy of this bad boy.  I love the three songs I've heard so far.

[Big Hath]

I was fortunate enough to see Redemption 3 times on the Chaos in Motion Tour (Baltimore, Jersey & Philly) in 2007.

I was there!

[v_clortho]

This cd is growing on me more and more. Solid release from a great band.

[Scorpion]

So I've been heavily relistening to the debut, and I think Window to Space is the one song that would really benefit from getting the Ray treatment - it's so amazing musically, but the vocals diminish my enjoyment a little, and that's a shame.

Nick, if you're reading this, any chance of revisiting this particular song?