The Latest Album Is Starting To Grow On Me!

[MiracleSleeper]

I was very disappointed when "Dream Theater" was first released. I felt none of the songs had that special "kick" that I was looking for. But now... by the grace of Gawd... I'm starting to really dig the songs! 

[JiM-Xtreme]

I still don't think it's anything special as an album, but for me there are definitely moments of sheer brilliance sprinkled throughout. I'm sure I'd put Looking Glass up in my top 15-20, maybe higher. I also get a kick out of Enigma Machine whenever I hear it... still don't really care for The Enemy Inside. A year down the line, the album's still a mixed bag for me.

[YtseJamittaja]

by the grace of Gawd...

EVERYONE SURVIVED

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Illumination Theory and The Bigger Picture are worth the price of the album. Both are fantastic pieces of music that belong up there with all-time DT classics.

[MiracleSleeper]

by the grace of Gawd...

EVERYONE SURVIVED

HRAAAAAAHHHH!!!!

I hate that section so much, yet strangely enough, I love it due to its comical genius lol.

[mikemangioy]

by the grace of Gawd...

EVERYONE SURVIVED

HRAAAAAAHHHH!!!!

I hate that section so much, yet strangely enough, I love it due to its comical genius lol.

It's ROAAAAAAAAAR acutally 

[RoeDent]

It's ROAAAAAAAAAR acutally 

I always thought it was Kevin MOOOOAAAR!!!, but there ya go!

I must admit, I don't listen to DT12 very often, but when I am listening to it, I keep thinking how great the songs are.

[OsMosis2259]

Good songs but still wish that they used a different snare drum though

[Randaran]

I found it strange that this album has the most entries in my top 50, but it is ranked eighth in terms of DT albums.

[MiracleSleeper]

I found it strange that this album has the most entries in my top 50, but it is ranked eighth in terms of DT albums.

[Nearmyth]

by the grace of Gawd...

EVERYONE SURVIVED

*inhales deeply*

roar c:

The album continues to grow on me as well but it still lands in the middle of the pack in terms of DT albums.

[Zyzzyva17]

The album continues to grow on me as well but it still lands in the middle of the pack in terms of DT albums.

Exactly my sentiments.

[wasteland]

by the grace of Gawd...

EVERYONE SURVIVED

HRAAAAAAHHHH!!!!

I hate that section so much, yet strangely enough, I love it due to its comical genius lol.

This sums up exactly how I feel about that section! I fucking love/hate it!

[JediKnight1969]

https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=38986.0

[Rodni Demental]

I found it strange that this album has the most entries in my top 50, but it is ranked eighth in terms of DT albums.

I suppose that just shows it's consistently average. Which isn't a bad thing, average get's taken out of context these days.

[Sycsa]

Yeah, it's the only DT album - besides SFAM - that I always listen to in its entirety and don't habitually skip songs.

[GasparXR]

Yeah, it's the only DT album - besides SFAM - that I always listen to in its entirety and don't habitually skip songs.

I find DT12 the easiest album to sit through. Although, it's tied for first in my case.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

The album continues to grow on me as well but it still lands in the middle of the pack in terms of DT albums.

DT12 lies near the middle of my rankings for DT, but I think that speaks less about the album itself and more about the rest of DT's amazing output.

[Kotowboy]

HD version wins but the snare stops it from being a top tier album for me.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

HD version wins but the snare stops it from being a top tier album for me.

Agree. The snare still bothers me.

I mean, the intro to The Bigger Picture's snare hits sound so dry, upfront and artificial that it takes away from the whole thing. It's a real shame, because that's one of the best songs they've done ever.

[Kotowboy]

It doesn't work *at all* on Along For The Ride. It's a really gentle song and then this big booming muddy boingy sounding snare thumps all over it.

[Nearmyth]

The album continues to grow on me as well but it still lands in the middle of the pack in terms of DT albums.

DT12 lies near the middle of my rankings for DT, but I think that speaks less about the album itself and more about the rest of DT's amazing output.

Well, yes of course. Any DT album is pretty great in terms of general music, DT12 was in my top 3 albums of 2013. Heck even WDADU is pretty good prog rock/metal in my book. DT12 isn't bad or mediocre by all means, just "not as good."

Which brings up another point, that it's kind of a shame that whatever DT does now will always be compared to their previous output. I guess that's what an amazing discography does for a band lasting as long as Dream Theater, though.

[TheGreatPretender]

Well, yes of course. Any DT album is pretty great in terms of general music, DT12 was in my top 3 albums of 2013. Heck even WDADU is pretty good prog rock/metal in my book. DT12 isn't bad or mediocre by all means, just "not as good."

Which brings up another point, that it's kind of a shame that whatever DT does now will always be compared to their previous output. I guess that's what an amazing discography does for a band lasting as long as Dream Theater, though.

Yeah, but let's face it, wherever there is greatness, this will always happen. "It's a good Iron Maiden album, but not as good as their stuff in the 80s," "It's a good Pixar movie, but not as good as Toy Story," etc. Honestly, I don't always agree with these things. Frankly, I think Iron Maiden has a few albums recently that are as good as the best stuff they did in the 80s.
But yeah, it would be nice if things could just be judged based on their own merits a little more often.
That being said, DT12's merits are phenomenal. I loved it from the moment I heard it, but the more I hear, the more little nuances I pick up and the more I grow to like it and appreciate it.

[MiracleSleeper]

Well, yes of course. Any DT album is pretty great in terms of general music, DT12 was in my top 3 albums of 2013. Heck even WDADU is pretty good prog rock/metal in my book. DT12 isn't bad or mediocre by all means, just "not as good."

Which brings up another point, that it's kind of a shame that whatever DT does now will always be compared to their previous output. I guess that's what an amazing discography does for a band lasting as long as Dream Theater, though.

Yeah, but let's face it, wherever there is greatness, this will always happen. "It's a good Iron Maiden album, but not as good as their stuff in the 80s," "It's a good Pixar movie, but not as good as Toy Story," etc. Honestly, I don't always agree with these things. Frankly, I think Iron Maiden has a few albums recently that are as good as the best stuff they did in the 80s.
But yeah, it would be nice if things could just be judged based on their own merits a little more often.
That being said, DT12's merits are phenomenal. I loved it from the moment I heard it, but the more I hear, the more little nuances I pick up and the more I grow to like it and appreciate it.

Off-topic... but did you make your avi? It's phenomenal.

[TheGreatPretender]

Thanks! Yeah, I made it. I used this old program called Jasc Animation Shop, which has some cool morphing effects on it.

[NickySpanjaards]

It's a great album, but maybe in the next DVD you get that superb great drum sound as in BTFW so I'd enjoy more the live versions of The Bigger Picture, behind The Veil and Surrender To Reason (that is, if they play it on the next tour and a DVD will be shot, but I hope highly so as the whole band is on fire at the moment especially LaBrie and Mangini). 

[Nearmyth]

Yeah, but let's face it, wherever there is greatness, this will always happen. "It's a good Iron Maiden album, but not as good as their stuff in the 80s," "It's a good Pixar movie, but not as good as Toy Story," etc. Honestly, I don't always agree with these things. Frankly, I think Iron Maiden has a few albums recently that are as good as the best stuff they did in the 80s.
But yeah, it would be nice if things could just be judged based on their own merits a little more often.
That being said, DT12's merits are phenomenal. I loved it from the moment I heard it, but the more I hear, the more little nuances I pick up and the more I grow to like it and appreciate it.

That's true it can really be applied to anything. I agree, it's basic nature to compare to past greatness in an effort to recreate the feeling that past greatness gave us. But the more I listen to DT12 the more I see it for itself, which definitely makes it a better album when you drop the comparisons.

It actually gave me a funny thought, imagine DT12 as their debut and WDADU was their 12th album 

[GasparXR]

Yeah, but let's face it, wherever there is greatness, this will always happen. "It's a good Iron Maiden album, but not as good as their stuff in the 80s," "It's a good Pixar movie, but not as good as Toy Story," etc. Honestly, I don't always agree with these things. Frankly, I think Iron Maiden has a few albums recently that are as good as the best stuff they did in the 80s.
But yeah, it would be nice if things could just be judged based on their own merits a little more often.
That being said, DT12's merits are phenomenal. I loved it from the moment I heard it, but the more I hear, the more little nuances I pick up and the more I grow to like it and appreciate it.

That's true it can really be applied to anything. I agree, it's basic nature to compare to past greatness in an effort to recreate the feeling that past greatness gave us. But the more I listen to DT12 the more I see it for itself, which definitely makes it a better album when you drop the comparisons.

It actually gave me a funny thought, imagine DT12 as their debut and WDADU was their 12th album 

For me, that would mean their debut is better than every album they release until SDOIT.

[TheGreatPretender]

It actually gave me a funny thought, imagine DT12 as their debut and WDADU was their 12th album 

Wasn't that the subject of a thread somewhere on here?

[Zook]

HD version wins but the snare stops it from being a top tier album for me.

Agree. The snare still bothers me.

I mean, the intro to The Bigger Picture's snare hits sound so dry, upfront and artificial that it takes away from the whole thing. It's a real shame, because that's one of the best songs they've done ever.

Yeah, the very first snare hit sounding completely different is bothersome, but as a whole, the snare sound doesn't bother me. It's a little too "thick", but it could be worse.

The snare on A Change of Seasons is really weak to me, and I think it sounds worse than on DT12.

[IdoSC]

by the grace of Gawd...

EVERYONE SURVIVED

RELIGIOUS BELIEFS, FANATIC OBSESSIONS

Seriously tho, I dig this album to death. Among my favorites

[sylvinception]

"The Latest Album Is Starting To Grow On Me!"

 == >> IT'S ABOUT FUCK TIME!!

[425]

Illumination Theory and The Bigger Picture are worth the price of the album. Both are fantastic pieces of music that belong up there with all-time DT classics.

This is pretty much how I feel. I still don't have all that much affinity for the rest of the album, and rarely listen to it, but those two songs are excellent.

[Virtualman64]

I love the album,it's one of the few DT albums I can listen to all the way through without skipping any tracks,But,that's just me.