Official "A Dramatic Turn Of Events" Review Thread

[SystematicThought]

The line about reinvestment in lyricism has me hopeful. I am really pumped for this album

[robwebster]

This review rises a question: can an album be great without great peaks (but with no weak points as well)?

Yep - I'd argue that Deadwing is one of these, and ends up in my top three-or-so albums by that merit. It's never as astonishing as moments of, say, Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, but it's got a lot of soul and absolutely no faults, and so from start-to-finish it's one of my favourite albums. Never brilliant, but always such a pleasure. Don't get me wrong, I think the savants are more frequently amazing than the "Deadwings" of the world - there's nothing like those albums that are good all round, but then surprise you by giving you three times your recommended daily allowance of incredible, truly fantastic albums tend build to a climax with that extra bit of dynamism - but a good-all-round album can be heavenly in the right circumstances.

[Ħ]

Rudess seems to have stopped the experiments with the keytar solo or iphone

This has me excited more than anything.

[BlobVanDam]

Rudess seems to have stopped the experiments with the keytar solo or iphone

This has me excited more than anything.

Considering that OTBOA has iphone/ipad in the intro, I'd say this guy doesn't know what he's hearing.

[wammabe]

Rudess seems to have stopped the experiments with the keytar solo or iphone

This has me excited more than anything.

Definitely! I now know that I'll love this album a whole lot! I can hear the Iphone on the intro of OTBOA, but I know what he means.

This review rises a question: can an album be great without great peaks (but with no weak points as well)?

I'd rather have an album like this than one with weak songs and an "epic". Aside from that, I think lots of people might disagree with him on that aspect when the album comes out.

[Ħ]

Rudess seems to have stopped the experiments with the keytar solo or iphone

This has me excited more than anything.

Considering that OTBOA has iphone/ipad in the intro, I'd say this guy doesn't know what he's hearing.

I think it was more of a reference to the ANTR/AROP type of keyboard work.

[Jamesman42]

^That, or it is used subtlely so that you can't exactly distinguish

[BlobVanDam]

^That, or it is used subtlely so that you can't exactly distinguish

Yeah, this was what I was getting at. He probably only thinks "Bebot noise solo", whereas if it was something melodic like the intro to OTBOA, unless you know the specific sounds he uses, how would he know the difference?

[DejaVu]

Rudess seems to have stopped the experiments with the keytar solo or iphone

This has me excited more than anything.

Considering that OTBOA has iphone/ipad in the intro, I'd say this guy doesn't know what he's hearing.

I'm sure that was the fingerboard used for Octavarium when I saw them live.

This review rises a question: can an album be great without great peaks (but with no weak points as well)?

All of the recent albums had weak points, the only album that manage to flow fluently with no weak/mind-blowing parts is Awake, and that's one of my favourite DT albums.

WDaDU: Many weak spots and no great parts, whether you call it vintage or not, I found the album sometimes unpleasent.
I&W: Absolutely flawless, I'm sure this is the DT album which manages to have great points throughout and no weak points what-so-ever.
Awake: Like I stated before, no weak points, yet no really great points either.
FII: A plethora of weak points on this album, but their are hidden greats such as ToT and LITS.
SFAM: At most times outstanding, with only very few considerable weak points.
SDoIT: Again, this album has a huge shining moment, but still riddled with a few weak points.
ToT: I'd say this sits neutral with Awake, I don't hear anything wrong with this album, but nothings particularly outstanding
8VM: Similar to SDoIT, a huge shining moment with some weak points throughout the album.
SC: Mixed here, I see very few great points on this album, but I certainly see good points. Still has it's weak points though.
BC&SL: It has some greats, but hidden are a few weak points.

If ADToE remained on a neutral level like Awake, I'd be perfectly fine with that.

[tri.ad]

No, he definitely used the MorphWiz application on his iPad for the intro (you hear that the transitions between the notes aren't seemless as they would be on a continuum).

[tgstk2]

he indeed uses morphwiz, you can also see this on the manuy youtube movies of OTBOA.
the review is Ok...but 3 out of 9 are ballads?? my goodness... i dont know i am not into ballads....i like 1 , 1.5 per album.
but with only 9 tracks and 33,3333333333333333333333333333333333333333333*(and so on)% is a ballad....
ofcourse i can tell upfront, but i am more like a ballad skipper... you know vacant..great anda ll, but skip, silent man, skip,.....
i really hope that he reviewer understanding of a ballad is different than mine.

and i totally love this forum, because it's great to see all the different feelings/vibes of fans of the different albums..
for instance, i coudln't disagree more with this

WDaDU: Many weak spots and no great parts, whether you call it vintage or not, I found the album sometimes unpleasent.
I&W: Absolutely flawless, I'm sure this is the DT album which manages to have great points throughout and no weak points what-so-ever.
Awake: Like I stated before, no weak points, yet no really great points either.
FII: A plethora of weak points on this album, but their are hidden greats such as ToT and LITS.
SFAM: At most times outstanding, with only very few considerable weak points.
SDoIT: Again, this album has a huge shining moment, but still riddled with a few weak points.
ToT: I'd say this sits neutral with Awake, I don't hear anything wrong with this album, but nothings particularly outstanding
8VM: Similar to SDoIT, a huge shining moment with some weak points throughout the album.
SC: Mixed here, I see very few great points on this album, but I certainly see good points. Still has it's weak points though.
BC&SL: It has some greats, but hidden are a few weak points.


every album has got low pints ....there's just not a perfect album. if that was made t han people could stop making music.

[Jamesman42]

People wouldn't stop making music if "the perfect album" was made because no moderately large group of people would ever agree that any one album is perfect....opinions vary too much for that to happen. Plus even if that DID happen, why not continue to make music? It's not some popularity contest. People make music for fun, enjoyment, and for others to hear it. Would you not listen to other albums if "the perfect album" was made? No way.

[tgstk2]

because there is no perfect album people make new music, trying to make the perfect song.
but your right in the end it's all for fun...but than again... just pulling 6 strings with volume on 11 for 50 minutes can be fun...however that's not making music or trying to make the perfect song...
so when i create music, it's all for fun, but i do try to do the best job possible at that time.

[Hayden]

Well, after reading through the last page-or-so of this thread, I have to say that I'm seriously hoping for a few more non-English reviews before the album release. That translation led to some of the best laughs I've had on the internet in a while.  

That would be the best-case scenario. The worst-case scenario, clearly, would result in something similar to the last minute of This Dying Soul.

Yeah, I know what you mean; that section of the song did feature a slight case of fretwankery. I mean, it was impressive and well-played fretwankery, for sure, but still unimaginative, un-inventive fretwankery.

Review ain't great and should be taken with a massive pinch of salt given who wrote it. It's pretty cryptic and underwhelmingly written, tbh. Will wait and see when review start emerging from the mass heavy metal/rock media in a couple of weeks or so.

Looking forward to your review with baited breath . . .

It'll be in here when I hear it. Opinions my own.

EDIT: just to clarify, I think it's perfectly fine to take a review with a pinch of salt when the band's official biographer wrote it. That's not to say it's biased, but it's not the most neutral source if you get what I mean. And by underwhelmingly written, the review didn't make me want to run out and pre-order it, nor did it make me write it off.

I think that Rich did a fine job of what he intended to do. As he's pointed out in another thread, he didn't want to make the mistake of giving away too much about the album in this review. So, when you're trying to minimalize the details you give away, it's a little hard to write in an overly interesting manner because there's very little to work with and embellish upon. I think Rich was able to do a good job of being reasonably interesting, making me even more excited for the album, but without telling me exactly what I'm in for, and those are just the types of reviews I want to read prior to listening to the album.

Well, those and foreign ones which have been put through the hilarity machine Google Translate.

[ZirconBlue]

This review rises a question: can an album be great without great peaks (but with no weak points as well)?

In short, no. That's the space reserved for good albums. Great albums are critically and publicly acclaimed and stand the test of time.

So, you need other people to tell you when an album is great?

[Jamesman42]

I know I do

[FsF]

I think we all need to club together and buy DejaVu a copy of Awake that doesn't have the last 18 or so minutes chopped off the end 

[BlobVanDam]

I think we all need to club together and buy DejaVu a copy of Awake that doesn't have the last 18 or so minutes chopped off the end  

So he can hear all of the really weak points that he's missing?

[FsF]

 

[Zook]

I think we all need to club together and buy DejaVu a copy of Awake that doesn't have the last 18 or so minutes chopped off the end 

So he can hear all of the really weak points that he's missing?

Lifting Shadows and Scarred are awesome you kangaroo humping shrimp eater!

Space-Dye Vest is just kinda there though.

[BlobVanDam]

Lifting Shadows and Scarred are awesome you kangaroo humping shrimp eater!

HEY, I find that offensive.

















Nobody calls them shrimp here.

[Chrissalix]

This review rises a question: can an album be great without great peaks (but with no weak points as well)?

In short, no. That's the space reserved for good albums. Great albums are critically and publicly acclaimed and stand the test of time.

So, you need other people to tell you when an album is great?

It helps. If not, then the music media would be defunct and nothing would get reviewed. If that's how you'd like things to be then great but that's not the world we live in. Besides, stuff spreads on word of mouth so if no one told anyone that anything was "great", no one would pick an album up to judge it.

Obviously someone at some point will review a great album well, but what makes the album great is musical content which is universally accepted as being stellar by both critics and fans by resonating well with both at the time of release and by people judging in hindsight. No one told me Images and Words was amazing when I took a chance on it but in my opinion it is a great album.  Equally, I picked up a Seventh Wonder album after reading a favourable review and now they're one of my favourite bands. Obviously critical views from the media are a decent gauge. That's what they're there to do but ultimately the great albums are the ones that resonate the most with their audience.

[ReaPsTA]

To me, reviews of albums should answer one of three questions I have:

1.  If I haven't heard this album, is it worth my money to buy?

2.  If I've heard this album and generally agree with your opinion, how can you illuminate the opinion we share and help me better understand and appreciate what I'm hearing?

3.  If I've heard the album and generally disagree with you, is there any way you can help me see the material in a different light and perhaps change my opinion?

[robwebster]

To me, reviews of albums should answer one of three questions I have:

1.  If I haven't heard this album, is it worth my money to buy?

2.  If I've heard this album and generally agree with your opinion, how can you illuminate the opinion we share and help me better understand and appreciate what I'm hearing?

3.  If I've heard the album and generally disagree with you, is there any way you can help me see the material in a different light and perhaps change my opinion?

Completely agreed! There's a tendency for people to write very descriptive reviews, and that's ace if you're a fan looking forward to the album, but it's not particularly interesting past that. A good review should be a little more pensive than that. A little colourful, with a thoughtful analysis.

One thing that I really don't like, and this might be a little controversial, is reviews that just express the reviewer's opinion. That's not artful, that's just hectoring. I don't like reviews that go "This is awful, no redeeming features, one star." I'd rather hear "I tried to connect with this," and elements of precisely what faltered, but then to try and enumerate its merits. "I don't like this album, but who would like it? Who is this for?" And it's equally important to identify the failings of a brilliant album, and the people who won't like it. Balance is crucial to a well-written review, I think.

It's like... I don't think reviewing has to be a selfish process. A lot of reviewers go "here is my opinion and it is important because it is me!" A review should be written for the reader, rather than for the reviewer, and no matter who your target audience is, the reader won't be you, and you need to be highlighting things they might like and things that might put them off, rather than soapboxing. A reviewer should be a guide, not an autocrat.

[Harpejji]

The Greek review of A Dramatic Turn of Events made me wonder more about the new album. I think it's painfull for Portnoy to see he is not needed, if the album turns out to be loved by fans and critics and is a commercial highlight in the history of DT. Most looking forward to Breaking all Illusions

[tristl]

i can't open the turntable review because i'm located in germany, can anybody help me there, please.

[Lowdz]

The Greek review of A Dramatic Turn of Events made me wonder more about the new album. I think it's painfull for Portnoy to see he is not needed, if the album turns out to be loved by fans and critics and is a commercial highlight in the history of DT. Most looking forward to Breaking all Illusions

MP'll be ok, he's got the Anthrax album as a must buy on Sept 13th, so he's tweeted.

[ZirconBlue]

This review rises a question: can an album be great without great peaks (but with no weak points as well)?

In short, no. That's the space reserved for good albums. Great albums are critically and publicly acclaimed and stand the test of time.

So, you need other people to tell you when an album is great?

It helps. If not, then the music media would be defunct and nothing would get reviewed. If that's how you'd like things to be then great but that's not the world we live in. Besides, stuff spreads on word of mouth so if no one told anyone that anything was "great", no one would pick an album up to judge it.

Obviously someone at some point will review a great album well, but what makes the album great is musical content which is universally accepted as being stellar by both critics and fans by resonating well with both at the time of release and by people judging in hindsight. No one told me Images and Words was amazing when I took a chance on it but in my opinion it is a great album.  Equally, I picked up a Seventh Wonder album after reading a favourable review and now they're one of my favourite bands. Obviously critical views from the media are a decent gauge. That's what they're there to do but ultimately the great albums are the ones that resonate the most with their audience.

But, I&W wouldn't be great if the critics and fans didn't agree with you?

[Chrissalix]

This review rises a question: can an album be great without great peaks (but with no weak points as well)?

In short, no. That's the space reserved for good albums. Great albums are critically and publicly acclaimed and stand the test of time.

So, you need other people to tell you when an album is great?

It helps. If not, then the music media would be defunct and nothing would get reviewed. If that's how you'd like things to be then great but that's not the world we live in. Besides, stuff spreads on word of mouth so if no one told anyone that anything was "great", no one would pick an album up to judge it.

Obviously someone at some point will review a great album well, but what makes the album great is musical content which is universally accepted as being stellar by both critics and fans by resonating well with both at the time of release and by people judging in hindsight. No one told me Images and Words was amazing when I took a chance on it but in my opinion it is a great album.  Equally, I picked up a Seventh Wonder album after reading a favourable review and now they're one of my favourite bands. Obviously critical views from the media are a decent gauge. That's what they're there to do but ultimately the great albums are the ones that resonate the most with their audience.

But, I&W wouldn't be great if the critics and fans didn't agree with you?

I'd still think it'd be great to me as I'd love it anyway. It comes down to personal taste at the end of the day and musical taste is a personal choice. No one can make you like anything . If the critics and fans disagreed with me then that's up to them.  But in the bigger picture, if no one else considers it great (just me, not the critics) then how can it be seen as a universally great album? Surely public/media opinion is a pretty good gauge of that?

To use another more extreme example, I could come out and say I love Metallica's St Anger album. That's not a great album but if someone loves it then they surely think it's a great album. It's generally accepted that St Anger is a steaming turd of an album, but that doesn't stop people who like it thinking it's great. Another man's trash is another man's treasure and all that. In the case of great albums, everyone considers them treasure, including most people on a personal level.

tl;dr - Stop being difficult, mate.

[ZirconBlue]

tl;dr - Stop being difficult, mate.

Hey, you're the one bringing "universally great" into the discussion.  That wasn't the original question.

[Chrissalix]

tl;dr - Stop being difficult, mate.

Hey, you're the one bringing "universally great" into the discussion.  That wasn't the original question.

I don't think you specified what you meant by great either. Whatever. Roll on September 13th.

[tristl]

it is always a strange thing with critics you know, not only in music.
i own a restaurant since eleven years and been working in top gastronomy since 20 years, i had a lot to do with critics.
one percent of the journalists try to judge your work, 99 % use the article to onanate about their(very doubtful) knowledge
of the topic, is that different in music business?
i think rich wilsons article trys to be objective, i am sure i will love adtoe but i love every output of dt, so i am sure not objective.

[DejaVu]

I think we all need to club together and buy DejaVu a copy of Awake that doesn't have the last 18 or so minutes chopped off the end 

As much as I love Scarred and SDV, they're not incredible risks. They are outstanding songs, Scarred is my favourite off the entire album, but I mean they're not as complex as Octavarium or ANTR.

This is what it seems to be with ADToE.

[chknptpie]

The Greek review of A Dramatic Turn of Events made me wonder more about the new album. I think it's painfull for Portnoy to see he is not needed, if the album turns out to be loved by fans and critics and is a commercial highlight in the history of DT. Most looking forward to Breaking all Illusions

MP'll be ok, he's got the Anthrax album as a must buy on Sept 13th, so he's tweeted.

Did he actually tweet about other albums being released on the same day?

[tgstk2]

am i the only one thinking that 3 ballads on an album with 9 songs is a little........too much?