After 2 years... What are your thoughts on DT12?

[JediKnight1969]

Let´s try this experiment (inspired by a post by BlobVanDam).

[hefdaddy42]

Very strong, for me.

[TheCountOfNYC]

Decent. If it wasn't for IT and StR I would rank it much lower but those two songs are enough to elevate it to decent.

[pcs90]

Decent. If it wasn't for IT and StR I would rank it much lower but those two songs are enough to elevate it to decent.

While I think it's "Instant Classic" and one of my favorite albums, I do agree that those 2 songs are the best ones. TBP is very close to them in my opinion, then TLG, TEI, BTV, FAS, AFTR and EM in that order.

[Anguyen92]

Same thoughts I had since the album has been released.  It's a very strong album with some pretty great songs.  Favorites are still Illumination Theory, The Bigger Picture, Behind the Veil, Surrender to Reason, and The Looking Glass.

[425]

Very strong. The Bigger Picture is a top ten DT song and Illumination Theory is top 20.

I'm just not quite there for "classic." I don't know why. But it's between those two for me.

[jammindude]

Very strong....almost went with classic, but it's just not *quite* on the same tier as the biggies.   But it's really close. 

[Crow]

i haven't listened to this since 2013

[ThatOneGuy2112]

Didn't vote cause none of the options really correlate closely enough with how I feel about the album.

I'd go somewhere in between "decent" and "very strong". I'll admit, the album has worn off a bit of its initial luster but that doesn't mean I don't get a lot of enjoyment out of it still. TBP and BTV are modern DT classics as far as I'm concerned, with IT another great epic to their catalog. It's flawed, but what DT album isn't? (ok, scratch that cause I can hear the retorts being typed out as I speak, but you get the idea).

It's not amazing or a game-changing record in their discography, but it doesn't have to be. To me it's just another great album that they put out that just so happened to be their strongest for quite some time.

[jakepriest]

i haven't listened to this since 2013

[McNugg]

It's been 2 years since it's release??   :O  What am I doing with my life!!

Don't think i've listened to the album at all in over a year, just no particular urge to.  Songs like Enemy Inside and Illumination Theory i've heard plenty from bootlegs and Breaking the Fourth Wall but can't say i'm particularly fussed about hearing the rest of the album...it's just meh..

[Siddhartha]

Worst DT album.

[Madman Shepherd]

I chose Very Strong. 

The Bigger Picture is simply one of the best DT songs ever written.  It's heavy, it has amazing melodies, it's light, it's emotional.  I think JP said it is about the process of writing songs.  Well, thats a pretty bland subject but the lyrics are so beautifully worded that it can be about so much more than that. 

IT is a great epic that once again, is a very diverse song in terms of moods. 

Along for the Ride is just amazing.  I think this song is LIGHT YEARS ahead of The Spirit Carries On.  (Please don't shoot me).

I'm not a big fan of instrumentals but as far as they go, Enigma Machine is very strong. 

Surrender to Reason and Behind the Veil are pretty good.  They're not "go to" songs but I enjoy listening to them as I let them album play. 

False Awakening Suite doesn't do much for me.  It's definitely not any worse than than Overture from 6DOIT, I just don't dig it. 

The Looking Glass is so-so.  Theres nothing wrong with it but I have never had the desire to listen to it. 

The Enemy Inside is their weakest song on the album and sure enough was their lead single.  Blah.  Hate how that happens. 

Overall, three amazing songs, two very good songs, one good one, one so-so song, one that I don't dig, and one that I really don't like. 

[commanderbob]

Probably my favorite DT album.

[pcs90]

I think JP said it is about the process of writing songs.

I remember reading this on here before and I just can't see how the lyrics could be about that at all. It just seems to be much deeper. Maybe he should write more songs about the writing process if this is the result.

[Madman Shepherd]

I think JP said it is about the process of writing songs.

I remember reading this on here before and I just can't see how the lyrics could be about that at all. It just seems to be much deeper. Maybe he should write more songs about the writing process if this is the result.

On one hand I agree but on the other, Wither was the result of his other song about the writing process and I know I'm in the minority, but I don't want more songs like that.  More songs like The Bigger Picture?  Yes, please. 

But this just shows what a great lyricist JP is.  Endless Sacrifice's message is basically, "I miss my wife" yet the lyrics are so beautifully worded that it could be about a bunch of different things. 

[bl5150]

I'll go with Very Strong.  I don't throw around the word "classic" lightly - an album would have to rate 95-100% for that tag and there's really only I&W that's in that realm for me.  But that is a classic of classics - all time top 3 album from anyone.

DT12 is a top 3 or 4 DT album for me 

[pcs90]

On one hand I agree but on the other, Wither was the result of his other song about the writing process and I know I'm in the minority, but I don't want more songs like that.  More songs like The Bigger Picture?  Yes, please. 

I do like Wither, but it's not in the same league as TBP. It's pretty easy to see what Wither is about, but TBP could be about a lot of things, and I would have never guessed that the subject he chose was the writing process.

But this just shows what a great lyricist JP is.  Endless Sacrifice's message is basically, "I miss my wife" yet the lyrics are so beautifully worded that it could be about a bunch of different things. 

I was just listening to that song today. It could definitely be about other things, but I'd say it's a lot more obvious to understand his original intent than TBP.
And I've seen people say he's not a good lyricist. Crazy!

[Outcrier]

I found DT12 decent, better than SC and Black Clouds at least.

I much prefer ADTOE over it though.

[erwinrafael]

Still my second favorite DT album behind Awake. I especially love how the short song format made this a very good listen for long commutes. I commute 1.5 - 2 hours to work everyday. Then another 1.5 - 2 hours going home.

Excited with what they would come up next.

[BlobVanDam]

Let´s try this experiment (inspired by a post by BlobVanDam).

I'm an inspiration!

I voted for disappointing, as it's an album with nothing I want to come back to at this point, and I'd probably rank it 2nd last only ahead of WDADU.

[r0cken]

Meh, for me. Forgettable and uninspired.
But maybe it's too soon. I might come back to it in 3 years and discover I like it. It happens.

[Kwyjibo]

Very strong, can't be a classic because it's not yet old enough  . But I think it will stay in the very strong category. It's not up there with I&W or SFAM for me but I still like it a lot. While ADTOE hasn't aged that well for me (still like it but it's worn of some of its charme) DT12 still delivers. And Illumination Theory could be top ten material for me.

[Bolsters]

I went with Meh.

[krands85]

Somewhere between decent and meh I think. I'm probably judging it a bit harshly due to how much I loved ADTOE and how I'm not too keen on the shorter song format for most of the album. IT is awesome and TEI is great, but there are some missed opportunities with the other songs I think.

[mikeyd23]

I voted very strong, which is what I think I voted when it came out. Not their best, but really good!

[darkshade]

I went with Meh.

[BlackInk]

I voted for disappointing, as it's an album with nothing I want to come back to at this point, and I'd probably rank it 2nd last only ahead of WDADU.

Exactly this.

[OpenYourEyes311]

It's a decent album. I still listen to it every once in a while. I love the opening two tracks, an The Looking Glass is pretty good, too. The album kinda loses me after that. I like the rest of the tracks, but it takes me all the way to the middle of Illumination Theory to get excited about it again. It just kinda keeps going and I zone out for most of it. I think I'd rather listen to one of their other albums.

But I don't think I'd rate any of their albums lower than decent. They don't have a "Meh" or "Disappointing" album in their discography. There's something to love about all their albums IMO.

[CDrice]

For me it's still very strong. It's by far the closest thing they've made to a classic album since Six Degrees. I can't really exlain why I feel that way though. There's just something about it that really clicks with me.

[Calvin6s]

I almost never listen to it any more.  I voted decent because it just seemed to be in that not great / not bad zone.

[Train of Naught]

Very Strong, like mentioned before, something has to be really amazing for it to be called instant classic, and I mean on a 'I&W' level.

Illumination Theory and The Enemy Inside are probably my faves, followed by The Looking Glass, Behind The Veil and False Awakening Suite.

The only meh track on this album is The Bigger Picture imo.

[Nearmyth]

Wow, I'm more surprised that it's been a whole two years. Time flies.

But yeah, decent. I think it just got old fast and there really wasn't much to latch on to. Over time I was able to appreciate it for what it is, but I can never shake the feeling that it could've been much better.

[JediKnight1969]

Well... Let's see:

First thoughts vs current ones:

Instant classic: 27,40 % vs 10,10 %
Very strong: 46,10 % vs 36 %
Decent: 14,30 % vs 23,60 %
Meh: 6,10 % vs 18 %
Disappointing: 6,10 % vs 12,40 %

Definitely not a "grower".

Thanks to all who participate in this experiment.

[CharlesPL]

2 years ago : Very strong
Today : Instant classic