What are your thoughts on DT12?

[fadetoblackdude7]

After one listen, amazing album....has the potential to become my new favorite, replacing SFAM (Which has never been replaced)

[(nothing)]

I'm holding off until I have the album but I am curious. Would you all say The Enemy Inside is one of the weaker tracks? That's the only one I've heard and I couldn't get into it.

It's totally different than anything else on the album yet it totally fits on the album. Hope that helps. 

Maybe not totally different than anything else but it is the heaviest song in there. It definitely serves its purpose as the album opener. And, in case you are interested, so does Along For The Ride imo.

As far as the poll, I voted "very strong". To me it felt very cohesive as an effort even after a couple of listens. There are many layers there though. It definitely needs its time. And some moments like the string section of Illumination Theory need their place too, if that makes any sense. I can hardly picture anyone enjoying that in the morning while commuting to school/work. But that probably applies to nearly every piece of music.


To people calling this the worst DT album, it is beyond me how can anyone like WDADU for instance better than this but anyway...

[Ħ]

Yeah, I honestly don't see how it could be worse than freakin When Dream and Day Unite. I mean, no offense, but that album is a textbook example of a crappy debut album by a bunch of teenagers obsessed with Maiden and Queensryche.

[Sketchy]

I enjoyed the album despite my internet being mega-crap last night, so the album was at least twenty minutes longer than it should have been, and most of that was not between tracks.

It's got a hell of a lot of nice bass on it. I loved the fact that there was only one bit that made me think of a non-DT band (that bit in IT which is a little Cygnus X-1 is cool).

[Zydar]

Definitely too early to tell, for me. After three spins I vote "Very strong". When it clicks, I think it can be bumped up to "Instant classic".

[jammindude]

For those that aren't reading the spoiler thread...I'll just repost my thoughts from that thread:

You know what I just figured out?   I know now why this is really going to split fans.   

This album is "pretty".    And *I* mean that in a very good way.   And not everyone is into that.   But I would go so far as to say that Dream Theater has really achieved something magical here.   Because they've created something that is beautiful and....well....PRETTY....and they didn't have to dumb down the musicmanship in order to do it.   And I would argue that that is not an easy thing to accomplish.   Because everyone who tries to write something this beautiful usually comes up with a sappy poppy radio song.   So to write something so pretty without dumbing it down is really amazing.

I'm really starting to feel that this album is *REALLY* a bigger accomplishment that even I can currently comprehend after only two listens.

[SeRoX]

I have to admit, judging by two earlier singles I thought this album was gonna be a huge dissapointment. I am just happy to be wrong. Yeah, these singles are somewhat "meh" with good moments but they perfectly fit with others. Overall, after 3-4 spins I'd say this album is a grower and strong.

[BlackInk]

Voted "decent". False Awakening Suite and Enigma Machine are pretty good instrumentals. The Enemy Inside, The Looking Glass and Along For the Ride are all pretty meh. The Bigger Picture, Behind the Veil and Surrender to Reason are actually good and are the ones I've been repeating the most.

And Illumination Theory is wonderful, by far the best on the album. Would have been even better had the lyrics not been so cheesy.

Definitely too early to tell, for me. After three spins I vote "Very strong". When it clicks, I think it can be bumped up to "Instant classic".

But.. Then it wouldn't be an instant classic 

[puppyonacid]

Well, after the build up and reviews I was expecting something immense.

So, I listened to the stream when I got home yesterday and about half way through the album I was thinking "meh....I knew it....doesn't really live up to the hype."

I mean.....it's ok.....just not the master piece I was led to believe it was going to be. So far I guess I could be summed up with the following smileys:



And then.....Illumination theory happened!

My god is that track worth buying the album for! I mean for f*** sake......they could have warned me they were to to shove all the awesome to the end of the album. It's like eating a flavourless bag of crisps only to find all the flavour has been absorbed by one solitary crisp at the bottom of the bag and when you eat it the immense flavour blows your face off!

Because of that track I will buy the album and carry on loving DT. Because of that track I'll definitely give the album a good chance to sink in. TEI is growing on me so the rest of the album might still.

DT12 is worth it in my book.

[puppyonacid]

And JLB for the first time ever actually gave me goose bumps on that last track. At his age, after all the problems he had with his voice I can only say I'm in awe of how that man sounds. His voice is truly insanely incredible.

[The Stray Seed]

Dream Theater is reborn.


To those who say that IT is the only interesting track: I could not disagree more with your opinion. IT is a work of art, just like the rest of the album, which works perfectly as a whole. This is no 8VM, SC or BC&SL, and doesn't show its real strength in a song alone. This album - to me - stands on a different planet. DT12 is the best thing they've done since the 90s, I even enjoy it more than SDOIT.

It was love at first spin: instant classic.

[ariich]

After one listen I felt "very strong". After 3 listens, I'm leaning more towards "instant classic".

All I can do is vote based on these early impressions though. I think it would be interesting to do this vote in a few months time once the album has settled in.

[nikatapi]

Very strong album. It's very encouraging to see that they tried to keep the songs concise and very progressive at the same time. It's been a while since they did that, it almost feels like every song is a small epic, there is so much stuff going on in each song.

It is also one of the most complex DT albums i think, i wonder why people said it's a more commercial approach, it took me a while to get most of the songs, despite their relatively short length.

Not very fond on the sound of the album, mostly drums and vocals (which are very processed) and the overall loudness, but having JM so prominent again makes me very happy.

I was a bit underwhelmed with IT, despite it having great sections, it just feels a little disjointed to me compared to other epics (not including TCOT which is the worst epic in terms of structure in my opinion) but it's nice to see DT trying something different like the string section.

It is definitely an album that needs multiple listens to reveal itself, and we have a long way to go.

[McNugg]

Brilliant album.  Finally a change of direction from the style of music they have been doing for the last 3/4 albums.  Not that I disliked those albums, it's just nice to have a change.

[pierrick]

james' voice is amazing. it really is. I've been a die hard fan since 1995 and listening to this album makes me travel from a change of seasons (enigma machine) all the way to BC&SL. great album.

[Ravenfoul]

I'd say very strong so far, really enjoyed it on the first listen not sure how it'll fit for me in their entire discography but time will tell. As far as I'm concerned the snare and patches (along for the ride JR) are subjective matters, I've heard better sounding of both but they sound good to me. 'Course I'm just an average joe listener. JMX's bass is amazing and I can totally here deliciousness of it all over the place. I feel like the order of musical freedom/use kind of went JP > MM > JMX > JLB > JR.

James' voice sounded great and velvety like in his solo works - but it felt like JP must have switched JLB out for '93 JLB (exaggerating I know)  for Illumination Theory. Did not expect all that power and kind of breathy gruff (sounded a bit like 'Lie' for one or two words 'fighting for your life'). Staccato parts were cool as well. Oh and the piano / drums alongside one another really tickled me.

Not sure what's up with people saying Mangini sounds robotic, must be the way he is mixed or mastered cause he's in my opinion the JP of drums. He's technical but has plenty of rhythm and feel behind his strokes (oh my) and I'm a huge fan of MP, but DT12 definitely solidifies in my mind MM was an excellent and worthy successor.

I feel like overall the album was definitely - if not a masterpiece to the fans - at least a musical success. I feel like they really branched out (they didn't grow a whole new tree or anything shit) to a different sound and overall production in their lineup of songs to add to their collection. I'm sure at least a few will stand the test of time for the majority of fans. Hope it sells and gets the guys lots of much deserved attention.

[Zydar]

Definitely too early to tell, for me. After three spins I vote "Very strong". When it clicks, I think it can be bumped up to "Instant classic".

But.. Then it wouldn't be an instant classic 

True

[eviljust]

Very strong here. I think it will grow even more, I just need to listen to it and see. I need to say, I like "Dream Theater" more than the others of RR era. I'm kinda sure I'll like it more than Octavarium as well, but that's it. Don't think it will be THAT strong to be considered better than SDOIT, in my humble opinion. Great piece of music though, I'm happy with it.

[aprilethereal]

Only listened to it once (and I'll wait for the CD now), but it seems very strong to me. Every song impressed me, and it felt very cohesive.

[Liampie]

There's no 'bad' option in the poll.

[emtee]

The highest praise I can give any album is that it moves me. The connection takes me someplace, on a journey and elicits
emotions. This album does this in a big way. I don't remember feeling like this about a DT album since SDoiT and I might
actually feel stronger about this one. Obviously the big test will be time. I've felt strongly about the last few albums initially
but after months of spins those albums sunk into DT's lower tier. This one feels different. As of this VERY early stage it
feels like an upper tier album. Up there with my all time favorites. I'm just kinda bummed it took Portnoy quitting to get here.
I would have liked him to be part of it.

[Dekost]

Between very good and instant classic. I loved it.

[Lukeage]

I voted 'very strong'

My current order (1 = favourite, 12 = least favourite) is below, after hearing DT once through:

1) Black Clouds
2) Train of Thought
3) Six Degrees
4) Images & Words
5) Systematic Chaos
6) Dream Theater
7) Octavarium
8) Scenes...
9) Awake
10) Falling Into Infinity
11) A Dramatic Turn of Events
12) When Dream and Day Unite

[Viking of the Sagas]

I voted "Meh".

Of all the songs, only TBP stood out for its content, and IT only with its length and the 15:30 section. It really doesn't click with me at all. It's like it had a direction, but it didn't finish the journey. There were so many cool ideas that could've been explored, but something seemed to distract the direction out of them. Maybe JP was just overloaded with work.

[zepp-head]

Another vote for "meh".

It's incredibly rare that even weak Dream Theater tracks don't click with me, but I've never felt so indifferent to their music as I have with this album so far.

I hope it gets better after a few more spins, but I like A Dramatic Turn of Events a lot better so far.  If I had to rank it right now it would be second or third from the bottom.

[YtseBitsySpider]

After one listen I felt "very strong". After 3 listens, I'm leaning more towards "instant classic".

All I can do is vote based on these early impressions though. I think it would be interesting to do this vote in a few months time once the album has settled in.

was waiting for a senior judgement, zaydar's opinion is just too contreversial to be trusted. (grin)

I suppose I'll get around to listening to it eventually.

[mikeyd23]

After about three full listens its hard to determine, but I voted "Very Strong".  I think its a really good album and I am in the group of people that liked it upon first listen. I feel like this album will only grow stronger as time goes on, because, as several have already mentioned, it sounds mature.

[Nekov]

Going with very strong. Their best album since SDOIT no doubt, but still needs time to see if it grows into a classic.

[theseoafs]

Voted instant classic. Super excited about this one, in a way I haven't been some becoming a DT fan back in the SC days. We'll see how it stands the test of time, but I'm very optimistic.

[Tomislav95]

Very strong for me but it may become classic (then it's not instant lol) for me after few more spins.

[JPX]

Yeah, I honestly don't see how it could be worse than freakin When Dream and Day Unite. I mean, no offense, but that album is a textbook example of a crappy debut album by a bunch of teenagers obsessed with Maiden and Queensryche.

That is actually pretty offensive. WDADU is just dated (sonically) but it is most certainly not what you said. If you don't like it then fine, but it's got some awesome songs on it and some awesome playing.

Also not really a "bunch of teenagers" with 4 members in their 20's and a 37 year old singer.

[DreamerTV]

As a whole, very, very strong. As for some of the songs, like The Looking Glass, The Bigger Picture and Illumination Theory i can definetely say they've become instant classics, with TBP and IT being some of the most beautiful things i've ever heard.

[Nekov]

Yeah, I honestly don't see how it could be worse than freakin When Dream and Day Unite. I mean, no offense, but that album is a textbook example of a crappy debut album by a bunch of teenagers obsessed with Maiden and Queensryche.

That is actually pretty offensive. WDADU is just dated (sonically) but it is most certainly not what you said. If you don't like i then fine, but it's got some awesome songs on it and some awesome playing.

Agreed. Sound wise it's bad but when it comes to creativity and delivery it's a very strong debut album.

[Setebos]

Voted decent. There are definitely some very cool moments on the album, but overall there are only few melodies and themes that really grab me. Especially the vocal melodies (with the exception of IT) don't feel very exciting to me, they are just kinda there. However, I do have the impression, that there is more to most songs than I could really process on my first few listens, so some of these melodies might grow on me after all.

[TheDodo]

Meh after the first listen and still Meh after a few more. Maybe some of it will grow on me more over time but I never heard an entire DT Album for the first time before and didn't remember a thing after it... But songwriting got more concise! That's a good thing...

In my opinion all the praise for Illumination Theory goes a bit too far. The first 7 minutes or so are horrible. The orchestral section sounds great but after that the cut back to full band sounds off to me (or the orchestral section is totally out of place). It's maybe an average epic but will never beat ACOS or Octavarium.

Only song that I really like so far is Engima Machine.

PS: I miss Mike Portnoy!