Dream Theater: The Astonishing (now with moment of betrayal!)

[r3d86]

I dunno if anyone posted it:

Commander Arhys ‏@CommanderArhys
I shall never forget my promise.
https://flyt.it/TheAstonishing

[Nomaniac]

I dunno if anyone posted it:

Commander Arhys ‏@CommanderArhys
I shall never forget my promise.
https://flyt.it/TheAstonishing

Man what a cliffhanger!!!

[Nomaniac]

I wonder what it means . . .

[r3d86]

I dunno if anyone posted it:

Commander Arhys ‏@CommanderArhys
I shall never forget my promise.
https://flyt.it/TheAstonishing

Man what a cliffhanger!!!

Arhys "wrote" that in the same day that Evangeline picture appeared on the website. Maybe Evangeline is Arhys's wife, and he promised to her to save his people.

[Nomaniac]

That makes as much sense as anything I can think of . . . good theory!

[The Presence of Frenemies]

Can barely make it out, but that's Heaven's Cove on the west side of Endless Isleland, isn't it?

[RoeDent]

I must admit, my first thought when I read that tweet was of Charlton Heston's cameo in Wayne's World 2. "That one perfect day on Gordon Street." Nothing to do with The Astonishing I know. Just saying. 

[Nomaniac]

Can barely make it out, but that's Heaven's Cove on the west side of Endless Isleland, isn't it?

Wow really? Sorry I'm even worse at reading it than you are probably

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Noob question: What does it actually say between Characters and Map? Places?

[r3d86]

That makes as much sense as anything I can think of . . . good theory!

It's great speculate about it! Cause idk nothing about her or what promised could do Arhys! It's just great!

I keep thinking that Faythe is relative of Nafaryus (maybe daughter or little sis), but she falls in love with Gabriel and then runs away from GNEA and pursues Gabriel wherever he goes. Finally she dies on the battle, trying to save Gabriel from being murdered by Nafaryus.

How about that?

[r3d86]

Noob question: What does it actually say between Characters and Map? Places?

Places and it's locked.

[Nomaniac]

Noob question: What does it actually say between Characters and Map? Places?

Yes I believe so . . .

[Nomaniac]

That makes as much sense as anything I can think of . . . good theory!

It's great speculate about it! Cause idk nothing about her or what promised could do Arhys! It's just great!

I keep thinking that Faythe is relative of Nafaryus (maybe daughter or little sis), but she falls in love with Gabriel and then runs away from GNEA and pursues Gabriel wherever he goes. Finally she dies on the battle, trying to save Gabriel from being murdered by Nafaryus.

How about that?

I have no idea whether that will be the story or not but it sounds like a pretty cool plot! I'd be happy with that

I guess we just have to wait and see . . . maybe our theories will be confirmed with the flow of new info

[r3d86]

I erased the lock photo with the developer mode of Google Chrome

[r3d86]

I would expect the Emperor and the Commander to speak to us soon.

Nothing happened yet. Only Arhys tweet. We want so newssss! 

[jsbru]

Obviously people interpret lyrics differently. That said, i'm (in my own personal opinion) unable to interpret lyrics such as "Shine your light on me", and "Restless angels, help me find my way" in any way other than a religious.

Yeah I never saw those as religious. Just stuff people say in lyrics because it sounds poetic.

"Let love show the way
Let grace be the way
Surrender to reason"

"To really feel the joy in life
You must suffer through the pain
When you surrender to the light
You can face the darkest days
If you open up your eyes
And you put your trust in love
On those cold and endless nights
You will never be alone"

Those are two examples of passages I'd define as pretty preachy.

If anything, those sound, at most like they are inspired by Ethical Humanism.  "Surrender to Reason" is like an admission that they're NOT faith-based.  Pretty much by definition, it takes the suspension of reason to maintain faith.

If I had to bet, I'd put my money on the fact that those lyrics pretty explicitly describe a pagan/agnostic set of ethics.

[ResultsMayVary]

I honestly think we'll get some "Places" that show what specific locations look like. I know some images from the same artist that did the work on this album were around on the internet and seemed to show very detailed and "wide shots" of cities and what not.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

I erased the lock photo with the developer mode of Google Chrome

[Train of Naught]

We want to see the clock guy!

Just a few posts and the guy is already a legend. 

At this point I think he should be awarded the title of the most influential DTF member of 2015.

For real though, I'd pay some legit money for him to be related to this album in a way.

[TAC]

I erased the lock photo with the developer mode of Google Chrome

That's great. Now erase the shading over the rest of the characters!

[thosava]

If anything, those sound, at most like they are inspired by Ethical Humanism.  "Surrender to Reason" is like an admission that they're NOT faith-based.  Pretty much by definition, it takes the suspension of reason to maintain faith.

If I had to bet, I'd put my money on the fact that those lyrics pretty explicitly describe a pagan/agnostic set of ethics.

I always saw that as a contradiction. Reason is often associated with the Age of Enlightenment, and is emphasizing the rational world and is to some degree "anti religion". But letting angels and grace lead the way, is the exact opposite of surrendering to reason.

[RoeDent]

Rhetorical questions: I wonder what city is portrayed on the cover? It looks likely to be the capital city of the Empire, but what is that city's name?

[Nomaniac]

I was wondering the city's location on the map as well . . .

[The Presence of Frenemies]

Can barely make it out, but that's Heaven's Cove on the west side of Endless Isleland, isn't it?

Wow really? Sorry I'm even worse at reading it than you are probably

My vision's pretty good, so I figured I'd bring it up. At the very least, there's some body of water that is marked by two words, the first of which has an apostrophe in it. So pretty decent odds, I think.

Rhetorical questions: I wonder what city is portrayed on the cover? It looks likely to be the capital city of the Empire, but what is that city's name?

New Maineland, right? And it's basically NYC, right? And IAW was recorded at Bear Tracks, right?

[Nomaniac]

If anything, those sound, at most like they are inspired by Ethical Humanism.  "Surrender to Reason" is like an admission that they're NOT faith-based.  Pretty much by definition, it takes the suspension of reason to maintain faith.

If I had to bet, I'd put my money on the fact that those lyrics pretty explicitly describe a pagan/agnostic set of ethics.

I always saw that as a contradiction. Reason is often associated with the Age of Enlightenment, and is emphasizing the rational world and is to some degree "anti religion". But letting angels and grace lead the way, is the exact opposite of surrendering to reason.

Well the debate over whether reason and believing in a greater power are mutually exclusive is definitely a heated one, and many have different opinions on it. And to a point it becomes semantics - some have different definition of "reason" and "faith" from others it seems. Maybe Myung meant something different by those words? Anyways not meaning to open up this debate, as this isn't the right sub-forum for it

[MirrorMask]

It's a great picture! Faythe and Arabelle will be from Ravenskill or from GNEA?

Pretty sure Faythe is from Ravenskill. No way a "bad girl" gets two song titles. Dunno about Arabelle, who is supposed to be an older woman from JP's interview.

[Nomaniac]

Yeah, I'm with you. Faythe is probably from Ravenskill. Do we know whether there will be an equal amount of characters for each side or could it be any amount?

[TAC]

My prediction is that Faythe is of the Empire (maybe Nafaryus' own daughter), but is sympathetic to the rebels, possibly being a lover to one of the rebel characters.

[rumborak]

My prediction is that Faythe is of the Empire (maybe Nafaryus' own daughter), but is sympathetic to the rebels, possibly being a lover to one of the rebel characters.

Ah yes, the Romeo and Juliet plot.

[King Postwhore]

My prediction is that Faythe is of the Empire (maybe Nafaryus' own daughter), but is sympathetic to the rebels, possibly being a lover to one of the rebel characters.

She wanted a 5 year break from the Empire but they told her no wayeth my dear.

[TAC]

No wayeth fayeth. No betrayeth OKeth!

[CoT67]

If anything, those sound, at most like they are inspired by Ethical Humanism.  "Surrender to Reason" is like an admission that they're NOT faith-based.  Pretty much by definition, it takes the suspension of reason to maintain faith.

If I had to bet, I'd put my money on the fact that those lyrics pretty explicitly describe a pagan/agnostic set of ethics.

I always saw that as a contradiction. Reason is often associated with the Age of Enlightenment, and is emphasizing the rational world and is to some degree "anti religion". But letting angels and grace lead the way, is the exact opposite of surrendering to reason.

Well the debate over whether reason and believing in a greater power are mutually exclusive is definitely a heated one, and many have different opinions on it. And to a point it becomes semantics - some have different definition of "reason" and "faith" from others it seems. Maybe Myung meant something different by those words? Anyways not meaning to open up this debate, as this isn't the right sub-forum for it

They're certainly a spiritual band and they've declared it several times, Petrucci said in an interview he was a Catholic and all, but IMHO they mainly use religious imagery more to convey emotions than anything else.
Also, because most of the time those lyrics seem to be inspired partly by their life's experiences they obviously have some connections to their faiths and beliefs, whether these lyrics belong to the religious or the philosophical sphere or anything else.

Someone said it already, but I think the best thing about their lyrics is that they tend to describe general, universal experiences and feelings without imposing any sort of view, with the obvious issue/non-issue that they do it through words taken from their own culture and beliefs (which can/cannot resonate).

That said, I don't expect TA to be any different from the other albums as far as the amount of spiritual imagery is concerned, even though Evangeline seems pretty much set on the religious type of character.

[The Presence of Frenemies]

My prediction is that Faythe is of the Empire (maybe Nafaryus' own daughter), but is sympathetic to the rebels, possibly being a lover to one of the rebel characters.

So a guy named Nafaryus names his daughter Faythe? That would be an ...interesting choice on his part.

[Nomaniac]

If anything, those sound, at most like they are inspired by Ethical Humanism.  "Surrender to Reason" is like an admission that they're NOT faith-based.  Pretty much by definition, it takes the suspension of reason to maintain faith.

If I had to bet, I'd put my money on the fact that those lyrics pretty explicitly describe a pagan/agnostic set of ethics.

I always saw that as a contradiction. Reason is often associated with the Age of Enlightenment, and is emphasizing the rational world and is to some degree "anti religion". But letting angels and grace lead the way, is the exact opposite of surrendering to reason.

Well the debate over whether reason and believing in a greater power are mutually exclusive is definitely a heated one, and many have different opinions on it. And to a point it becomes semantics - some have different definition of "reason" and "faith" from others it seems. Maybe Myung meant something different by those words? Anyways not meaning to open up this debate, as this isn't the right sub-forum for it

They're certainly a spiritual band and they've declared it several times, Petrucci said in an interview he was a Catholic and all, but IMHO they mainly use religious imagery more to convey emotions than anything else.
Also, because most of the time those lyrics seem to be inspired partly by their life's experiences they obviously have some connections to their faiths and beliefs, whether these lyrics belong to the religious or the philosophical speech or anything else.

Someone said it already, but I think the best thing about them is that they tend to describe general, universal experiences and feelings without imposing any sort of view, with the obvious issue/non-issue that they do it through words taken from their own culture and beliefs (which can/cannot resonate).

That said, I don't expect TA to be any different from the other albums as far as the amount of spiritual imagery is concerned, even though Evangeline seems pretty much set on the religious type of character.

Agree with everything you said! My sentiments exactly

[Nomaniac]

My prediction is that Faythe is of the Empire (maybe Nafaryus' own daughter), but is sympathetic to the rebels, possibly being a lover to one of the rebel characters.

So a guy named Nafaryus names his daughter Faythe? That would be an ...interesting choice on his part.

To say the least, yes it is