Ambience & atmosphere in DT12

[Perpetual Change]

There are several places in DT12 where the band pull the rug out and go for a more atmospheric, minimalistic approach:

-Simple piano / vocal verses with quiet noodling guitar in The Bigger Picture
-Minimalistic piano and synth patches after the Queen solo in The Bigger Picture
-Intro to Beyond the Veil
-Simple guitar strumming / vocals on first verse of Surrender to Reason
-Intro to Along for the Ride + first verse
-Ambient section of Illumination Theory, followed by Symphony section
-Easter Egg

These are, hands down, my favorite things about DT12.

I really think DT do a great job doing more atmospheric, minimalistic stuff. Those sections allow Rudess to shine, too.

In fact, I really wouldn't mind hearing a whole album with more of this style of playing, and few/no "metal" or heavy rock elements... Just my personal opiniion 

[mikeyd23]

I agree with you that those sections are great on DT12, and the reasoning is because, IMO, they are a contrast to the rest of the record for the most part.  I don't think you'll hear a whole album from DT without metal/heavy rock moments completely, as it wouldn't really be representative of DT as a whole, it would be pretty one dimensional. And I'm not sure these types of moments would be as enjoyable without the contrast of the heavier moments, thats what makes DT's music great, those contrasts.

But, I certainly agree those more mellow moments on DT12 that you mentioned are great highlights! 

[TAC]

I love the intro to BTV.

[Ħ]

Those sections are very minimalist by DT standards, yes, but more atmospheric? You don't have to be quiet or spooky to be atmospheric. SFAM is very atmospheric even though it's noisy, technical, and rhythmic. So there.

[The Stray Seed]

I agree with you that those sections are great on DT12, and the reasoning is because, IMO, they are a contrast to the rest of the record for the most part.  I don't think you'll hear a whole album from DT without metal/heavy rock moments completely, as it wouldn't really be representative of DT as a whole, it would be pretty one dimensional. And I'm not sure these types of moments would be as enjoyable without the contrast of the heavier moments, thats what makes DT's music great, those contrasts.

But, I certainly agree those more mellow moments on DT12 that you mentioned are great highlights! 

Totally agree with what you've said mikey! You've explained it better than I would.

And, nice topic Perpetual Change! 

[Lucien]

Those sections are very minimalist by DT standards, yes, but more atmospheric? You don't have to be quiet or spooky to be atmospheric. SFAM is very atmospheric even though it's noisy, technical, and rhythmic. So there.

Octavarium and Awake are extremely atmospheric as well.

[Super Dude]

Those sections are very minimalist by DT standards, yes, but more atmospheric? You don't have to be quiet or spooky to be atmospheric. SFAM is very atmospheric even though it's noisy, technical, and rhythmic. So there.

My opinion of SFAM over time has gotten drastically less favorable because it's so involved. Hell, I'd like to see them play a regular, non-atmospheric song that didn't involve so much technicality and noodling, if only because it feels chaotic to me. They've proven they can do it, so why not?

[The Letter M]

I like that all the songs listed in the OP are from the latter end of the album, the last 5 tracks to be exact. It's interesting how the album was structured in that manner, with the amount of ambient qualities gradually increasing as the album goes on. It's like "Hey, let's slowly set you up for the near 3-4 minutes of ambient/atmospheric stuff in the middle of 'Illumination Theory' that you're going to hear!". And hey, it's a good way to gear up for it. The album starts off pretty hard and rocking, between the first 4 tracks, there's a lot of heavy and hard moments, but half way through, it does go slowly into another direction with all the ambient stuff.

It's like slowly waking up from a dream or a nightmare, and having the light of day gradually come into your eyes...

-Marc.

[Tom Bombadil]

You basically just listed all my favorite parts from DT12. Love the atmospheric sections in DT's work. They should do more of them.

[Perpetual Change]

I agree with you that those sections are great on DT12, and the reasoning is because, IMO, they are a contrast to the rest of the record for the most part.  I don't think you'll hear a whole album from DT without metal/heavy rock moments completely, as it wouldn't really be representative of DT as a whole, it would be pretty one dimensional. And I'm not sure these types of moments would be as enjoyable without the contrast of the heavier moments, thats what makes DT's music great, those contrasts.

Great point. Honestly, though, it worked incredibly well for Opeth with "Damnation" and, while I thought they could have gone all-out heavy in a few sections of "Heritage", it mostly worked very well there too.

Those sections are very minimalist by DT standards, yes, but more atmospheric? You don't have to be quiet or spooky to be atmospheric. SFAM is very atmospheric even though it's noisy, technical, and rhythmic. So there.

I'm referring more to the ambient and atmospheric (new age-y) genres, not just what the work means in the dictionary.

[BlobVanDam]

Those sections are very minimalist by DT standards, yes, but more atmospheric? You don't have to be quiet or spooky to be atmospheric. SFAM is very atmospheric even though it's noisy, technical, and rhythmic. So there.

Octavarium and Awake are extremely atmospheric as well.

SDOIT trumps them both. Even on heavier songs like Misunderstood, plenty of atmospheric stuff going on. With a good pair of headphones, it's major eargasm.

[Super Dude]

That ending of Misunderstood though...

[BlobVanDam]

That ending of Misunderstood though...

THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THE ENDING OF MISUNDERSTOOD!


Every. Single. Time.

[Lucien]

That ending of Misunderstood though...

THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THE ENDING OF MISUNDERSTOOD!


Every. Single. Time.

As a synesthetic, the ending of Misunderstood is very pleasing, albeit probably the wankiest part in any DT song. There are many images in my head associated with that ending

[BlobVanDam]

That ending of Misunderstood though...

THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THE ENDING OF MISUNDERSTOOD!


Every. Single. Time.

As a synesthetic, the ending of Misunderstood is very pleasing, albeit probably the wankiest part in any DT song. There are many images in my head associated with that ending

I wouldn't call it wanky at all. It's just noisy. Extremely noisy.
And I don't know about you, but when I wank, it's not noisy.

[Ben_Jamin]

The ending of Misunderstood is a great uneasy atmosphere. It doesn't bother me at all, I think it might be my favorite from 6DOIT, passing Disappear by a sliver.

[Tom Bombadil]

That ending of Misunderstood though...

THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THE ENDING OF MISUNDERSTOOD!


Every. Single. Time.

As a synesthetic, the ending of Misunderstood is very pleasing, albeit probably the wankiest part in any DT song. There are many images in my head associated with that ending

I wouldn't call it wanky at all. It's just noisy. Extremely noisy.
And I don't know about you, but when I wank, it's not noisy.

Agree with Blob. I don't think it is anywhere near wankery. There's no show off factor like in This Dying Soul or ITNOG. It's just meant to represent the chaos of the whole situation, and it does so perfectly.

[KevShmev]

That ending of Misunderstood though...

The ending of Misunderstood is one of the best moments of the entire 6DOIT record.

[The Stray Seed]

Agree with Blob. I don't think it is anywhere near wankery. There's no show off factor like in This Dying Soul or ITNOG. It's just meant to represent the chaos of the whole situation, and it does so perfectly.

This.

[Perpetual Change]

Misunderstood is definitely a great example of DT using a more minimalistic approach for (most of) a song. However, the ENDING of Misunderstood has nothing to do with what I'm talking about, so please, let's not have this debate again. Off topic anyway lol

[mikeyd23]

I agree with you that those sections are great on DT12, and the reasoning is because, IMO, they are a contrast to the rest of the record for the most part.  I don't think you'll hear a whole album from DT without metal/heavy rock moments completely, as it wouldn't really be representative of DT as a whole, it would be pretty one dimensional. And I'm not sure these types of moments would be as enjoyable without the contrast of the heavier moments, thats what makes DT's music great, those contrasts.

Great point. Honestly, though, it worked incredibly well for Opeth with "Damnation" and, while I thought they could have gone all-out heavy in a few sections of "Heritage", it mostly worked very well there too.

I honestly am not very familiar with Opeth's music, they are one of those bands I have been meaning to try to get into for a while and just haven't yet, but I'm assuming from the context of the conversation those albums are mostly mellow with very few heavier moments?

Regardless I just don't see DT doing it, I'm not saying its a bad idea, it might be cool if they tried it, I just don't think they will.  Actually, now that I'm thinking of it more, I remember a recent interview with both JLB and JP and they were asked if they would ever do an all - acoustic album.  JLB basically said no, he doesn't think they ever will do that because it wouldn't be representative of the band as a whole.  While we aren't talking about DT doing an acoustic album in particular here, I think the same principle applies, it wouldn't represent all the dimensions of the group.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Yeah, I think at this point, DT's pretty set in the kind of music they're going to play.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

That ending of Misunderstood though...

The ending of Misunderstood is one of the best moments of the entire 6DOIT record.

This. One of the things I value (and miss) the most from the 6DOIT days is the experimentation. They really had an awesome "hey, let's try new soundscapes and let's go out of our comfort zone for a bit" state of mind.

[jakepriest]

The Misunderstood breakdowns and ending are the only reason I can't listen to that song that is otherwise quite good. A shame honestly.

To add to the thread,

I think the guitar breakdown in The Bigger Picture is of the best moments of the album (5:25 - 6:05). This part and the entire ending to that song is incredibly atmospheric and epic.

[Ben_Jamin]

The Misunderstood breakdowns and ending are the only reason I can't listen to that song that is otherwise quite good. A shame honestly.

To add to the thread,

I think the guitar breakdown in The Bigger Picture is of the best moments of the album (5:25 - 6:05). This part and the entire ending to that song is incredibly atmospheric and epic.

The intro reprise is awesome and a way better ending than any epic outro they've done...besides TCOT, that is their best outro ever. Yes, even better than LTL

[Super Dude]

That ending of Misunderstood though...

The ending of Misunderstood is one of the best moments of the entire 6DOIT record.

This. One of the things I value (and miss) the most from the 6DOIT days is the experimentation. They really had an awesome "hey, let's try new soundscapes and let's go out of our comfort zone for a bit" state of mind.

I'll give you that, but I still think it was just a wrong turn.