Speaking of a run, I'd say that the initial one is the strongest one - From the Overture until Three Days, it's pure uninterrupted perfection. I concede that out of this bunch, Act of Faythe is not as awesome as the rest, but all in all, it's an unparalled and uninterrupted run of awesome songs.
This is one of those things where I think presentation, like track order, can make a huge difference.
It sounds completely arbitrary - but if The Astonishing had been a run of three LPs, maybe with releases every three weeks, I'd probably have a lot more time for it, and that first disc would have been
killer!The Saviour(Descent of the NOMACs)
1. Dystopian Overture
2. The Gift of Music
3. The Answer
4. A Better Life
5. Lord Nafaryus
6. A Saviour in the Square / When Your Time Has Come
7. Act of Faythe
8. Three Days
ca. 37 minutes
The Plan(The Hovering Sojourn)
1. Brother Can You Hear Me
2. A Life Left Behind
3. Ravenskill
4. Chosen
5. A Tempting Offer
(Digital Discord)
6. The X Aspect
7. A New Beginning
8. The Road to Revolution
ca.
53 minutes 43 minutes, thank you IDontNotDoThings!
The Astonishing1. 2285 Entr'acte
2. Moment of Betrayal
3. Heaven's Cove
4. Begin Again
5. The Path that Divides
(Machine Chatter)
6. The Walking Shadow
7. My Last Farewell
8. Losing Faythe
9. Whispers on the Wind
10. Hymn of a Thousand Voices
11. Our New World
(Power Down)
12. Astonishing
ca. 51 minutes
Without making any changes to the music (in fact, you could even extend A New Beginning and Descent of the NOMACs now you're not limited by the length of the disc!) that feels a lot more digestible.
It's the same way I'll rarely put a three hour film on, but I'll happily watch three hours' worth of something on Netflix. I'd probably still get fatigued if I played it all start to finish, but the option to "jump off" at points makes it feel less daunting. I also think it'd help certain songs stand out, particularly on the second half of the first disc. BCYHM is the point where I lose energy at the moment - I don't think I'd have the same issue with it if it were the second disc's opener. And honestly, all three of those discs are still longer than some of my favourite full albums this year.
Honestly, there's still stuff I'd cut, and it still wouldn't be my favourite album. But it feels like the DT album I most want to fiddle around with.