The Astonishing - Unpopular opinions

[Estiui]

Let's post our unpopular opinions about TA. Let me start with a couple of them:

- The outro in A New Beginning has nothing special
- Our New World is a good song, but not even close to the top songs in the album

 

[RoadTrain_of Thought]

I usually skip Our New World.

[genome]

Probably not an unpopular opinion per se, but I rarely see it mentioned as a great track - Heaven's Cove is one of the best on the album.

[V_R11]

I usually skip Brother,Can You Hear Me?

[BlobVanDam]

I don't know what counts as an unpopular opinion given how new the album is, but I don't like Moment of Betrayal. It sounds like something right off DT12 to me.

[Bolsters]

My favourite tracks so far are The Answer and Begin Again.

[Estiui]

My favourite tracks so far are The Answer and Begin Again.

These are my two favourite ballads in the album 

[craig1928]

My favourite tracks so far are The Answer and Begin Again.

they're right up the top with my favourites on the album too, wouldn't say that's an unpopular opinion

[DreamerTV]

A new beginning as a whole is nothing special.

[Train of Naught]

Much like some others have said here, Our New World is about middle-of-the-pack for me, nothing mind-blowing, and I thought it was considered one of the best songs on the album. I don't know, I find the chorus rather dull even though it's pretty catchy.

Chosen is my favorite ballad, not sure if that's unpopular though..

In the theme of the official TA thread, I think 2285 Entr'acte is perfect for what it is. Very creative, short and consise piece that includes pretty much every important theme from Act 1.

[Zydar]

I don't know what counts as an unpopular opinion given how new the album is, but I don't like Moment of Betrayal. It sounds like something right off DT12 to me.

To me, that's an unpopular opinion. It could be my favourite song on TA, and it's just what the album needs more of IMHO - a rocking and catchy tune.

[Kotowboy]

it's not astonishing enough !!!

[Mladen]

Probably not an unpopular opinion per se, but I rarely see it mentioned as a great track - Heaven's Cove is one of the best on the album.

Definitely, I have to agree with this.

Also, I'm still not too sure about Our new world. It is good, but I don't know if I'd call it great.

[The Curious Orange]

It's too long and the songs just aren't strong enough.

[Kotowboy]

It's too long and not strong enough.

Two things never said about me

[IceMan]

Three Days and Lord Nafaryus are not that great, actually these two songs are in the low-tier on my favorite list. I actually love Act II and don't think it is any worse than Act I. I also don't care for the keyboard solo in My Last Farewell and the song would do great without it

[mikeyd23]

My favourite tracks so far are The Answer and Begin Again.

They might not be my favorite, but they definitely are two of my favorites. The Answer is amazing, in fact as a whole, the ballads on this album are great.

My unpopular (maybe) opinion, I've seen people discussing which songs they would remove from the album or how they would cut the album down to a smaller playlist of songs - I wouldn't cut a single one. That's not saying there aren't songs I don't like, its just that every single song is key to the story and the music, whether heavy, soft, tango, whatever, plays a purpose in the bigger picture.

[Evermind]

I usually skip Brother,Can You Hear Me?

Me too. In fact, the main melody is one recurring theme I actively dislike.

[Dublagent66]

I listened to it once and immediately went back to SDOIT and remembered the good ole days when they were in their prime.  Where is the progressive metal group called Dream Theater that I used to love?

[IdoSC]

I've heard a lot of people say that Act 1 should end with A New Beginning, and that Act 2 ends anticlimactically. I disagree. Love both The Road to Revolution and Astonishing, and they're an amazing fit thematically.

[CDrice]

I'm not sure how controversial it is, but I rarely see it mentionned. The Path That Divides is an incredible song.

[The Astonished]

I'm not sure how controversial it is, but I rarely see it mentionned. The Path That Divides is an incredible song.

I'm with you. For me it's in my top 3 Act II songs, behind Our New World and Losing Faythe. Incredible is indeed the right word! It's heavy, melodic and gets really intense during the exchange between Arhys and Daryus. Very curious in seeing whether James will be able to nail this one in Amsterdam. 

Edit: And I really like how the chorus of "When Your Time Has Come" gets reprised when Arhys thinks about Gabriel.

[pdurbin22]

"Three Days" is very cool and definitely enjoyable, but not the major standout that so many touted it to be.

[Progmetty]

I don't skip anything but I agree with the OP about Our New World not being a top song, I'm curious to understand why the people that said was incredible think so.

[pdurbin22]

I'm not sure how controversial it is, but I rarely see it mentioned. The Path That Divides is an incredible song.

Hell yeah it is! One of my favorites for sure.

[Kotowboy]

I don't skip anything but I agree with the OP about Our New World not being a top song, I'm curious to understand why the people that said was incredible think so.

Welcome to the internet.

[erwinrafael]

I don't skip anything but I agree with the OP about Our New World not being a top song, I'm curious to understand why the people that said was incredible think so.

Because it is a very triumphant anthem. Since the album was released,  I listen to this on my way from my faculty room to my class, and I get so many good vibes that I get real pumped up for my teaching.

[The Astonished]

The final track "Astonishing" should've ended on a bigger note. It builds up to a climax, and then you have James singing "Astonishing again". The "again" should've been belted high, instead of lower after the word "astonishing", and I wished he would held that note for a good 4,5 seconds while Mangini has a final convincing mini solo, ending with a double bass drum. If that was the case, the album would've been perfect for me. The way "Astonishing" and therefore the album ends, was incredible, but it could've been slightly better to leave a even bigger impact. Just a minor gripe.

[Sacul]

This album should have been way shorter, with 10-12 songs (and half of them not being ballads), guest appearances, and with less cheese

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

'Astonishing' is one of the best songs from the entire album.

[Bertielee]

It's as if Act 1 and Act 2 didn't belong to the same album. Act 1 harkens back to their heyday, Act 2 is more akin to DT 12 (hence why Blob doesn't like it maybe). Don't get me wrong, I like both, but to me, they are really different in character.

B.Lee

[ariich]

- Our New World is a good song, but not even close to the top songs in the album

I would agree with this. It's nice enough, and I definitely dig the vibe, but I don't even find the chorus very catchy as others seem to!

[Kotowboy]

This is 100% their best album since Octavarium.

[T-ski]

one of Myung, LaBrie or Mangini should have said no to the project.

[breaktheprisonwall]

Here's one that is probably very controversial:

To those who are already placing this in the same league as SFAM and Six Degrees, it is WAY too new to really form a complete opinion on it. It's been out for less than FIVE days, and people are calling it the best thing since sliced bread. Not that I'm saying it's not a great album, because it is. My opinion is simply that people need to give this a little more time to sink in and really find its intricacies before making such statements. I mean, its 130 minutes long. Almost twice the length of a standard DT album. How can people truly absorb that much music THAT quickly?

Again, just my opinion.