Along for the Ride Discussion Thread

[LTE3]

dat intro. Love it. The distorted guitar when it comes in detracts though IMO, it's too upfront and aggressive for this kind of song. I think the parts without that are much stronger.

Not a bad little song, I like it, and I immediately like it more than The Enemy Within. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a tad disappointed at the same time.

Agree like it better than Enemy, but the song is too short. I get they want to be more song oriented with but this one just ends to abruptly and the best singing from James is the layer underneath towards the end. I enjoy the Myung section but to have no guitar during it is a little odd. Also this song is screaming for a killer Gilmore type solo from John. I feel we needed more wankery in this song to coin our across the ocean brothers. The melody is nice though. Lastly I am still having issues with Mangini's snare sound it seems like so far on both songs he is using the tom setting which is lacking in character for me. Overall I like it after only 3 listens.

[atmyne]

My thought after one listen:

- Sounding VERY good, production wise.
- Boring song, did not really like.

and the spectrum of opinions on this forum continues to expand greatly 

[Chino]

I really like this song's length. It's a little longer than your standard ballad, but not so long that it becomes repeating/boring. It would have made a great little section in an epic.

[Dacling]

I like it. Especially the vocals in the background during the second chorus. Hopefully they are louder with the album quality.

[The Boomr]

Seriously why are so many people complaining about JR using the Moog? I get it, BTS uses it as well and that was the first time he used it as a prominent solo sound, but complaining about JR reusing the same sound/patch/whatever is like...it's like saying "Oh, silly Chopin, using a grand piano again for that new piece he wrote..." 

But ANYway, I loved this track. Loved JR's solo, loved the overall vibe, LOVED JLB's vocal solo at the end in background (though found myself wondering why it was mixed so quietly, and only in the right channel...felt weird), and OMG JMX +JR section!

[TL]

So many complaints

Can I just point out how annoying it is when people do this?

When the reaction to something is about 95% positive, with maybe a little constructive criticism from people who liked it, and only a couple of people actually dislike it, and then some condescending self righteous person comes in and is all "Man, why are you all being so negative? I can't believe you all hated it!", when no one was saying that.

[LTE3]

I really like this song's length. It's a little longer than your standard ballad, but not so long that it becomes repeating/boring. It would have made a great little section in an epic.

That's what she said

[TL]

Seriously why are so many people complaining about JR using the Moog? I get it, BTS uses it as well and that was the first time he used it as a prominent solo sound, but complaining about JR reusing the same sound/patch/whatever is like...it's like saying "Oh, silly Chopin, using a grand piano again for that new piece he wrote..." 

I think it's mainly because it's a very distinctive sound, he used it on the previous album, and he used it in a similar way. It definitely works well on this song, but it does draw a comparison to BTS.

[LTE3]

Im surprise no one has mentioned the beautiful orchestration in the beginning of the song. I believe that is live string instruments playing along and it sounds awesome.

[Red_Queen]

Great song.. love the moment at 1:20 DAT guitar !!!! After DA DA DA DA  DA DA  DATADATA  ... and Myung. Good song !

[theanalogkid7]

Killer tune - I'm expecting the CD version to sound a bit clearer, but over all I really dig it. 

I think I'm most excited for James on this album.  He's sounded SO GOOD on both the tracks so far.  Can't wait to hear the whole thing.

[yeshaberto]

love it!

[FlyingBIZKIT]

So many complaints

Can I just point out how annoying it is when people do this?

When the reaction to something is about 95% positive, with maybe a little constructive criticism from people who liked it, and only a couple of people actually dislike it, and then some condescending self righteous person comes in and is all "Man, why are you all being so negative? I can't believe you all hated it!", when no one was saying that.

and then there's always the person that comes and and says that. It's a never ending cycle man.  I guess we're just trapped inside of an octavarium

[PixelDream]

The trend of JLB's vocals sounding more cut-up and autotuned continues with this release. Personally, I can't stand it, it sounds way too unnatural.

[MoraWintersoul]

lolwut

ahahahahha brilliant

I like the Moog, and the amount of stuff going on; the lyrics appear to be fine as well. I'm not as sold on the vocal lines and the orchestration, but this is better than any ADTOE ballad easily.

[Nefarius]

First listen reactions...
Even on a mellow song like that they actually managed to fuck up the mastering just like with TEI.
Even taking into account how much (further) SoundCloud lowers audio quality I predict pumping and compression artifacts just like with TEI.
Even with AFTR being much more the kind of DT vibe I love and despite having quite a few nice moments that I liked my first impression was still pretty meh just like with TEI.
Even as a single of one of my favorite bands and a lot of anticipation going on for the album the desire to listen to the song one more time pretty much died within the first minute just like with TEI.

Nope, that's not hating, it's just the way it makes me feel.

Greetings...
Nef

[atmyne]

3rd listen: 2:08 (up until the keyboard solo) wow.... love this part so much... Its like something from fatal tragedy and I&W combined.
I have a lot of hope for this album now...

[AngelBack]

Love it.  A beautiful song that will probably give us a chance to catch our breath before launching into IT.

[duncan3dc]

Chorus reminds me of Iris

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdYWuo9OFAw&t=48s

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

lolwut

ahahahahha brilliant

I like the Moog, and the amount of stuff going on; the lyrics appear to be fine as well. I'm not as sold on the vocal lines and the orchestration, but this is better than any ADTOE ballad easily.

Better than Beneath The Surface? Highly unlikely.

[atmyne]

lolwut

ahahahahha brilliant

I like the Moog, and the amount of stuff going on; the lyrics appear to be fine as well. I'm not as sold on the vocal lines and the orchestration, but this is better than any ADTOE ballad easily.

Better than Beneath The Surface? Highly unlikely.

I already like this more than beneath the surface #comeatmebrah

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

ok

[Elite]

Everybody knows Far From Heaven was the best ballad on ADTOE.

[FlyingBIZKIT]

Everybody knows Far From Heaven was the worst ballad on ADTOE (while still good).

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Beneath The Surface>Far From Heaven>This Is The Life, though I like them all.

[jmasterx]

I really like it. I love JLB's vocal on it. That snare still irritates me, but, that aside, I really like the song!

Better mixing than TEI IMHO.

[ElliottTamer]

After several listens (almost reaching 10, I think) I'm still somewhat torn between opinions on this one... I really like its beginning, but after some time the song just kind of loses it for me. I'm not saying the second half of the song is bad, just that I prefer the first half. Which means that the climax of the song comes way too early for me...
Better than TEI, but I would say it's not as good as TITL or BTS (or even Far From Heaven, though they are really quite different so it's harder to compare...).
All in all, I'm actually disappointed in the singles released so far... I mean, DT usually (IMO) releases their weakest songs as singles, so that probably doesn't say anything about the overall quality of the album. I guess in the end of the day I'll just be happy if Illumination Theory is as awesome as it is long.

[Dark Castle]

I think 10 listens on the first day is a bit overbearing, and that could have some bearing on your opinion. I'd say give it some time to digest before listening to it so many times

[Orthogonal]

Ok song, I'm not a fan of this style for JLB vocals, it doesn't fit. Too saccharine and over-produced. Musically the song is enjoyable, but feels like DT ballad auto-pilot.

[nicbor87]

Ok, it seems pretty obvious to me that this is some kind of... sequel to BTS? Jordans solo is not just the same Moog patch, note-wise it actually sounds like a slight variation on the BTS solo. And there's the FX/Accoustic intro, to boot.

And although the lyrics are, dare i say, rather generic, they would fit quite nicely as a continuation of BTS..

One way or the other, i can see the synth solo of this song being one of the most controversial parts of the entire album 

[atmyne]

the scope of opinions on this forum > 9000  it's certainly not a bad thing at all (in fact arguably the opposite), I am just genuinely amused :3

I'm going to stop giving this listens now. I very confident that I'm really going to like this album. Something about this song that sticks with me so well, like that part before the keyboard solo (absolute bliss). I am enjoying this far more than I did listening to anything of ADTOE for the first (second or third) time (with BAI being one notable exception), which is saying ALOT considering this clocks in at under 5 minutes. Production doesn't bother me at all either (even though it's merely on soundcloud I still am not bothered by it at all :S) so I feel lucky to not be educated on sound production: ignorance is bliss! 

[Ħ]

Everybody knows Far From Heaven was the best ballad on ADTOE.

I didn't know that. I think it's far superior to BTS and definitely TITL.

[Blackfield]

This is so much better than enemy inside. Hell, it's better than anything I've heard from Dream Theater in years. The song dips a bit when the keyboard solo breaks in, but otherwise it's a great song.

I just love details and the guitar thing @ 1:35 is fucking tasty.

[maximumrocker]

Love it!!! Cant for the album to drop!

[gmillerdrake]

I'm completely ticked that MM's drumming didn't transcribe as a mathmatical cure to cancer and that JLB's angelic voice didn't trumpet the beginning of the end of the world. WTF DT? C'mon!!






It's a solid ballad IMO. Nothing fantastical or groundbreaking but certainly not a horrible song. It'll serve as a nice 'recovery' song on tour.....let em' catch their breath so to speak.