Self Titled Album Discussion thread [Expect Spoilers]

[Thematt202]

It's definitely a top three album for me, perhaps top two.

[sylvinception]

First verdict - but I guess it may evolve with time...

No doubt for me : ADTOE was better.

Track by track:
- FAS === >>> good and powerful intro...but was it really necessary ??
- TEI  === >>> very good... but still not great.
- TLG === >>> Hello Rush!!  === >>> One of my favorite.
- EM  === >>> don't like intrumentals.
- TBP === >>> first great track (so you have to wait for the fifth track... ) of the album.
- BTV === >>> uninspired pop-prog pt. 1.
- STR === >>> uninspired pop-prog pt. 2.
- AFTR == >>> nice ballad, but unfortunately ruined by a ridiculous keyboard solo from JR.
- IT ==== >>> finally an ALMOST awesome track!!Better late than never... Why "almost" awesome ?? Because the last part of the track is just sloppy!! And the final piano solo, what's the point ?? Too bad, the first half of the song is terrific.

Otherwise, the mix is awfull, Mangini do the job, but nothing much more impressive than his parts on ADTOE.
JP is really "quieter" than usual, no "awesome" solos at the horizon. A good thing maybe ?? 
LaBrie doing the job.
The bass of JM is a little bit more present and that's a good thing.
JR still in the continuation of the previous album, more "discrete" and that's a good thing.

None of the 4 musicians "pulled the blanket to him", which gives a really good balance to the sound of the album.

But this album, for the moment, still a disapointment to me.
Hope other listenings will change my mind.

But it could have been worst : at my first listening I though I had the same AWFUL feeling that I had felt with BC&SL.
I really think I could learn to love this one in its entirety, but it will certainly take some time.

Anyway, if I don't listen BC&SL anymore, "DT" should not suffer the same fate...I hope so!! 

[OsMosis2259]

The Bigger Picture is great but I kinda wish the "shed light" chorus came back for a third time. It doesn't really matter though because the rest of the song is great  and it's a little less predictable this way 

[JoeG]

Completely random: has anyone noticed a "bloop" sound at 1:37 of The Bigger Picture which sounds almost identical to a Skype notification? Every time I hear that bit I do a double-take.

[BlobVanDam]

Completely random: has anyone noticed a "bloop" sound at 1:37 of The Bigger Picture which sounds almost identical to a Skype notification? Every time I hear that bit I do a double-take.

I don't hear it here, but I swear I hear the Skype sound in a ton of songs mistakenly. I hear it on one song from Impermanent Resonance (can't remember where).
Having someone else suffer the same problem makes me feel slightly less crazy about hearing it everywhere.

[OsMosis2259]

I don't hear it lol. Oh well. I'm sure I will later on though

[wasteland]

Completely random: has anyone noticed a "bloop" sound at 1:37 of The Bigger Picture which sounds almost identical to a Skype notification? Every time I hear that bit I do a double-take.

I don't hear it here, but I swear I hear the Skype sound in a ton of songs mistakenly. I hear it on one song from Impermanent Resonance (can't remember where).
Having someone else suffer the same problem makes me feel slightly less crazy about hearing it everywhere.

Some kind of auditive after image?

[Nefarius]

I think it's mainly due to the loudness. I tend to lose concentration a lot while listening to it, a lot more than with other albums. I'm very certain that the constant wall of sound I'm exposed to makes my mind drift away.

It's unreal how much this affects me too. I know exactly how this stuff works and it shouldn't, but it does. I know it will get clearer with better quality, SoundCloud to YouTube to MP3 to CD to 5.1 DVD. I really disliked TEI and AFTR at first but with increased quality it got better. I'm pretty sure right now that sound quality is a major culprit (I would guess about a third) why the album doesn't click with me at all.

Didn't have the time or desire to listen to it a third time yet, so no update of more unpopular opinions and comments by me, at least for now.

Greetings...
Nef

[wasteland]

I played the record to two friends of mine who are very mildly into DT and they seemed to rather enjoy it. Conversely, the person who got me into Dream Theater at the time of Systematic Chaos thinks it's horrible! 

[Whatsername]

I played the orchestra section for a friend who isn't into DT at all and he was blown away. He asked me if he could get that as a song by itself.

[JPX]

I played the orchestra section for a friend who isn't into DT at all and he was blown away. He asked me if he could get that as a song by itself.

It's a nice piece of music for sure, but I still have no idea how they (the band) think it works in the middle of Illumination Theory. To me it's like they took a sledehammer and smashed this section into the middle of the song.

[bosk1]

I played the orchestra section for a friend who isn't into DT at all and he was blown away. He asked me if he could get that as a song by itself.

It's a nice piece of music for sure, but I still have no idea how they (the band) think it works in the middle of Illumination Theory. To me it's like they took a sledehammer and smashed this section into the middle of the song.

I felt the same way about the middle section of The Count Of Tuscany, so I definitely get where you are coming from.  But the orchestral section of Illumination Theory works much better for me.  I actually enjoy it as a really cool interlude and I think it fits well.  But, hey, people hear and react to thigns much differently.  It is a huge risk to write that way and include things that completely change the momentum and feel of a song.  Having such a stark change of feel in a song like that is surely going to create very different reactions from fans, and sometimes may just flat out not work.  I applaud them for going for it and doing something that at least a lot of us seem to think works very well, despite that that is far from the unanimous reaction.

[TAC]

I played the orchestra section for a friend who isn't into DT at all and he was blown away. He asked me if he could get that as a song by itself.

It's a nice piece of music for sure, but I still have no idea how they (the band) think it works in the middle of Illumination Theory. To me it's like they took a sledehammer and smashed this section into the middle of the song.

I felt the same way about the middle section of The Count Of Tuscany, so I definitely get where you are coming from.  But the orchestral section of Illumination Theory works much better for me.  I actually enjoy it as a really cool interlude and I think it fits well.  But, hey, people hear and react to thigns much differently.  It is a huge risk to write that way and include things that completely change the momentum and feel of a song.  Having such a stark change of feel in a song like that is surely going to create very different reactions from fans, and sometimes may just flat out not work.  I applaud them for going for it and doing something that at least a lot of us seem to think works very well, despite that that is far from the unanimous reaction.

I just find that TCOT section works much better and bridges the song much better. At least so far, the orchestra section just seems thrown in there. Plus we already have TCOT section, (and ITPOE), so it has this kind of "they've done this already feeling".

[TL]

I played the orchestra section for a friend who isn't into DT at all and he was blown away. He asked me if he could get that as a song by itself.

It's a nice piece of music for sure, but I still have no idea how they (the band) think it works in the middle of Illumination Theory. To me it's like they took a sledehammer and smashed this section into the middle of the song.

You know the orchestral section is repeating a musical theme from earlier, right?

[BlobVanDam]

I played the orchestra section for a friend who isn't into DT at all and he was blown away. He asked me if he could get that as a song by itself.

It's a nice piece of music for sure, but I still have no idea how they (the band) think it works in the middle of Illumination Theory. To me it's like they took a sledehammer and smashed this section into the middle of the song.

I felt the same way about the middle section of The Count Of Tuscany, so I definitely get where you are coming from.  But the orchestral section of Illumination Theory works much better for me.  I actually enjoy it as a really cool interlude and I think it fits well.  But, hey, people hear and react to thigns much differently.  It is a huge risk to write that way and include things that completely change the momentum and feel of a song.  Having such a stark change of feel in a song like that is surely going to create very different reactions from fans, and sometimes may just flat out not work.  I applaud them for going for it and doing something that at least a lot of us seem to think works very well, despite that that is far from the unanimous reaction.

I just find that TCOT section works much better and bridges the song much better. At least so far, the orchestra section just seems thrown in there. Plus we already have TCOT section, (and ITPOE), so it has this kind of "they've done this already feeling".

I agree.
The dilemma for me is that the middle section of IT is the best part of the song, and even the album. Absolutely gorgeous. But it doesn't work in the context of the song imo, even though it's the main theme of the song. It breaks the flow of the song to the point that it doesn't feel like it's all the same song to me. The fact it's playing the main theme doesn't do anything to tie it together. It's completely stop/start before and after the orchestral section.

[JPX]

I played the orchestra section for a friend who isn't into DT at all and he was blown away. He asked me if he could get that as a song by itself.

It's a nice piece of music for sure, but I still have no idea how they (the band) think it works in the middle of Illumination Theory. To me it's like they took a sledehammer and smashed this section into the middle of the song.

I felt the same way about the middle section of The Count Of Tuscany, so I definitely get where you are coming from.  But the orchestral section of Illumination Theory works much better for me.  I actually enjoy it as a really cool interlude and I think it fits well.  But, hey, people hear and react to thigns much differently.  It is a huge risk to write that way and include things that completely change the momentum and feel of a song.  Having such a stark change of feel in a song like that is surely going to create very different reactions from fans, and sometimes may just flat out not work.  I applaud them for going for it and doing something that at least a lot of us seem to think works very well, despite that that is far from the unanimous reaction.

I love the break in The Count of Tuscany and I feel like it fits perfectly.

I'm assuming Jordan will play this break when they perform IT live - which got me thinking about it more - if it was a true piano break with him playing the same meelody on a grand then I would be into it a lot more. Subconsciously I know that while it sounds nice, it isn't DT playing it. Are there any forumers that could play that piece on piano to test out my theory? 

[TAC]

I played the orchestra section for a friend who isn't into DT at all and he was blown away. He asked me if he could get that as a song by itself.

It's a nice piece of music for sure, but I still have no idea how they (the band) think it works in the middle of Illumination Theory. To me it's like they took a sledehammer and smashed this section into the middle of the song.

I felt the same way about the middle section of The Count Of Tuscany, so I definitely get where you are coming from.  But the orchestral section of Illumination Theory works much better for me.  I actually enjoy it as a really cool interlude and I think it fits well.  But, hey, people hear and react to thigns much differently.  It is a huge risk to write that way and include things that completely change the momentum and feel of a song.  Having such a stark change of feel in a song like that is surely going to create very different reactions from fans, and sometimes may just flat out not work.  I applaud them for going for it and doing something that at least a lot of us seem to think works very well, despite that that is far from the unanimous reaction.

I just find that TCOT section works much better and bridges the song much better. At least so far, the orchestra section just seems thrown in there. Plus we already have TCOT section, (and ITPOE), so it has this kind of "they've done this already feeling".

I agree.
The dilemma for me is that the middle section of IT is the best part of the song, and even the album. Absolutely gorgeous. But it doesn't work in the context of the song imo, even though it's the main theme of the song. It breaks the flow of the song to the point that it doesn't feel like it's all the same song to me. The fact it's playing the main theme doesn't do anything to tie it together. It's completely stop/start before and after the orchestral section.

I would have been fine with JR's spacey thing going right into the bass/drums. Has a Cygnus X-1 vibe which I think is really cool.


And speaking of Cygnus X-1, this is the most Rush inspired album they've done since the beginning, IMO.

The other thing that IT seems to be missing is that true climactic moment.

[JPX]

I played the orchestra section for a friend who isn't into DT at all and he was blown away. He asked me if he could get that as a song by itself.

It's a nice piece of music for sure, but I still have no idea how they (the band) think it works in the middle of Illumination Theory. To me it's like they took a sledehammer and smashed this section into the middle of the song.

You know the orchestral section is repeating a musical theme from earlier, right?

Yeah I know, it's not a thematic issue for me, it's a musical one. Techincally you could stop any song and throw an orchestral section in the middle of it, but you have to ask yourself (as the writer) if it serves as purpose being there.

[Whatsername]

The other thing that IT seems to be missing is that true climactic moment.

Yeah, I think you have a point here. I was expecting a moment like 23:00 in Octavarium where the music just explodes into that final outro and every inch of my body is covered in goose-bumps. I haven't felt that level in IT yet, but I'm finding IT more complicated and layered than Octavarium, so I'm continuing to listen because I know there's something there... I just haven't been able to uncover it yet.

[Thematt202]

IT has an amazing climax!  Are you guys even listening to the same song?

[The Stray Seed]

The other thing that IT seems to be missing is that true climactic moment.

Yeah, I think you have a point here. I was expecting a moment like 23:00 in Octavarium where the music just explodes into that final outro and every inch of my body is covered in goose-bumps. I haven't felt that level in IT yet, but I'm finding IT more complicated and layered than Octavarium, so I'm continuing to listen because I know there's something there... I just haven't been able to uncover it yet.

The end of IT (pun not intended xD), otherwise known as Surrender, Trust & Passion is the greatest climatic moment in a DT epic, IMHO, maybe matched only by the Crimson Sunset.

[The Stray Seed]

IT has an amazing climax!  Are you guys even listening to the same song?

Ninja'd by Matt xD actually you also wrote something I wanted to say: are we even listening to the same track?

Sorry for double posting.

[Whatsername]

The other thing that IT seems to be missing is that true climactic moment.

Yeah, I think you have a point here. I was expecting a moment like 23:00 in Octavarium where the music just explodes into that final outro and every inch of my body is covered in goose-bumps. I haven't felt that level in IT yet, but I'm finding IT more complicated and layered than Octavarium, so I'm continuing to listen because I know there's something there... I just haven't been able to uncover it yet.

The end of IT (pun not intended xD), otherwise known as Surrender, Trust & Passion is the greatest climatic moment in a DT epic, IMHO, maybe matched only by the Crimson Sunset.

I need to listen to this more clearly.

IT has an amazing climax!  Are you guys even listening to the same song?

Ninja'd by Matt xD actually you also wrote something I wanted to say: are we even listening to the same track?

Sorry for double posting.

Yeah! It's not hitting me at the same level 8vm does. I'm waiting for it to suddenly click for me. It took almost a month before the full power of 8vm hit me, so I'm fully expecting that when IT hits it'll be mind-blowing.

[Viking of the Sagas]

It took almost a month before the full power of 8vm hit me, so I'm fully expecting that when IT hits it'll be mind-blowing.

What, are you kidding?

Octavarium was the first DT song I had ever heard. It put me crying manly tears after 20 minutes on the first listen.

I can't believe you had to listen to it for a month before you started liking it.

[Implode]

I agree with the sound issues people have been mentioning. I feel like it's incredibly difficult to hear any cymbal work that MM is doing. It's almost like there's no clear high end. Because of this, the less poppy sound of the snare is lost a lot as well. Also, there are some effects on JLB's that I don't particularly like, most noticeably on the end of IT.

I can't help but draw comparisons to Clockwork Angles. Not only are there Rush-like riffs and the guitar and bass tone being very Rush-like at times (which is fine), but both albums which have exceptional writing greatly suffer from sonic issues.

About the writing itself, like I said in another thread, it's very strong. The performances by all members are great especially on IT. Btw, I don't have any problems with the ambient and string sections being in the middle as of yet. We'll see what develops.

[Whatsername]

It took almost a month before the full power of 8vm hit me, so I'm fully expecting that when IT hits it'll be mind-blowing.

What, are you kidding?

Octavarium was the first DT song I had ever heard. It put me crying manly tears after 20 minutes on the first listen.

I can't believe you had to listen to it for a month before you started liking it.

I never said like. I loved it on my first listen. It took a month for something in it to click to take it from "wow I love this song" to "OMG I'M GONNA DIE FROM SO MANY FEELS." I'm not proud of that by any stretch

[Viking of the Sagas]

Right. 

[sylvinception]

Just listen "Along for the ride" again.

I can't believe how the JR solo ruin this beautiful song.
I can't understand why there is no JP solo instead.

What a waste...

[The Stray Seed]

Just listen "Along for the ride" again.

I can't believe how the JR solo ruin this beautiful song.
I can't understand why there is no JP solo instead.

What a waste...

Respect for your opinion, but mine is miles away from what you said =) The JR solo is simply amazing to me.

[MoraWintersoul]

I agree with the sound issues people have been mentioning. I feel like it's incredibly difficult to hear any cymbal work that MM is doing. It's almost like there's no clear high end. Because of this, the less poppy sound of the snare is lost a lot as well. Also, there are some effects on JLB's that I don't particularly like, most noticeably on the end of IT.

Yup.

[Kotowboy]

Just listen "Along for the ride" again.

I can't believe how the JR solo ruin this beautiful song.
I can't understand why there is no JP solo instead.

What a waste...

The only thing about that solo that I don't like is it comes in noticeably late.

[The Stray Seed]

Just listen "Along for the ride" again.

I can't believe how the JR solo ruin this beautiful song.
I can't understand why there is no JP solo instead.

What a waste...

The only thing about that solo that I don't like is it comes in noticeably late.

A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.

[Whatsername]

Just listen "Along for the ride" again.

I can't believe how the JR solo ruin this beautiful song.
I can't understand why there is no JP solo instead.

What a waste...

The only thing about that solo that I don't like is it comes in noticeably late.

A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.

Oh my God I'm dead.

[Zydar]

 

[Dark Castle]

Just listen "Along for the ride" again.

I can't believe how the JR solo ruin this beautiful song.
I can't understand why there is no JP solo instead.

What a waste...

The only thing about that solo that I don't like is it comes in noticeably late.

A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.