ADTOE: Not just an album title

[CrimsonE]

Of course, the title refers to the band shift, but there are also a couple of notable shifts from previous albums.

-  No truly mega-epics, with the longest being twelve and a half minutes.  We haven't seen that since SFAM, which oddly enough was the last time we saw a shift in band members. 

-  The epics seem a bit thicker, if that makes any sense.  We don't get as many bracing shifts that we did with songs like Count of Tuscany or Trail of Tears.  Rather, they glide together in a more seamless whole than in the recent past.  In many ways, the feel of the epics comes a bit closer to the I&W epics than much of the stuff in the 2000's. 

-  Three ballads, which is rare for a band that usually does one or two per album.

-  The album closes with a ballad rather than an epic.  The only other album that has done so was Awake, with Space Dye Vest (a quiet epic, if there can be said to be such a thing).

-  The album isn't quite as "metal" as it has been in recent years, although it still rocks pretty hard in spots--just with even more progressive influences.   

Clearly, this album marks yet another a shift in the band's direction, although it is still uniquely DT--and that is something we can all be happy about. 

[Priest of Syrinx]

I figured ADTOE was a subtle message in support of polydactylism.

[Madman Shepherd]

CrimsonE, good post man.  Those are very interesting things to point out that I hadn't really thought of. 

I remember thinking Systematic Chaos was a bit of a dramatic turn of events because they had abandoned the lighter prog stuff....but in so many ways this album is the most extreme thing they have done because they really have gone back to the roots and experimented with the things you mentioned. 

[darkshade]

The same could be said about the previous album............

[MetalJens]

-  The album isn't quite as "metal" as it has been in recent years, although it still rocks pretty hard in spots--just with even more progressive influences.   

I think this is the main reason why I like ADTOE so much, and think it is their best album since SFAM. Maybe time to change my nick

[theseoafs]

What astute observations.

[reneranucci]

I figured ADTOE was a subtle message in support of polydactylism.

[TheGoodDoctor]

Everything you mentioned is a reason why I like this record.