Listening Parties for The Astonishing ***SPOILERS***

[Shadow2222]

How would you describe JLB's characterizations? Listening to this interview, JP says it's one of his best performances to date, and that he really ran with the whole in character thing. Is that just pr hype, or was he... astonishing  ?

This made me wonder how many positive reviews are going to end with a statement such as, "this album really was astonishing." 

[Marion Crane]

How difficult is it to listen to an album like this without the lyrics?

[noxon]

I never focus on lyrics first

[rab7]

How difficult is it to listen to an album like this without the lyrics?

To rephrase: How easy is it to understand the story without reading the lyrics while listening?

[GandL]

James Labrie really delivers. Top notch performance. He brought the characters to life, at the same time sounding like James. You can hear that he enjoyed singing on this album, and I am not surprised. It seems that a rock opera really suits James as a vocalist. Felt kind of the same vibe I get from the cover of "tenement funster/flick of the wrist/lily of the valley" they did on the 2nd disc of BC&SL

This got my interest, I love JLB, but the way he sang in "tenement funster/flick of the wrist/lily of the valley" and ''Stargazer'' were highlights for me, I didn't knew he was that good to change that much the way he usually performs.

[lovethedrake]

James Labrie really delivers. Top notch performance. He brought the characters to life, at the same time sounding like James. You can hear that he enjoyed singing on this album, and I am not surprised. It seems that a rock opera really suits James as a vocalist. Felt kind of the same vibe I get from the cover of "tenement funster/flick of the wrist/lily of the valley" they did on the 2nd disc of BC&SL

After I heard the second disk of BC&SL I wondered, "why in the world doesn't James sing like this anymore?"  He sounds amazing on that whole disk.   I figured it was the way DT was producing his vocals or just the change in writing more metal type songs.

So... to hear that he sings like that on this album just excited the crap out of me!

[Prog Snob]

[lovethedrake]

Seinfeld and Dream Theater,  lethal combination.

[mike099]

Chwik and Noxxon, are there any of those cool bass moments like we heard on the self titled cd or is Myung more in the background?

[chwik]

Chwik and Noxxon, are there any of those cool bass moments like we heard on the self titled cd or is Myung more in the background?

Probably several. I distinctly remember this awsome bass groove layed down by JM and MM at the end  of act 1, which JP solos over.

[TheHoveringSojourn]

I'll just say this; there are a couple of NOMACS tracks - and Moment of Betrayal, Dystopian Overture and My Last Farewell, in addition to the obvious ones.

Which ones are obvious?

[Enigmachine]

I'll just say this; there are a couple of NOMACS tracks - and Moment of Betrayal, Dystopian Overture and My Last Farewell, in addition to the obvious ones.

Which ones are obvious?

The Gift of Music and Our New World.

[pcs90]

So one of the interviews (I think the RS one) mentioned unusual instruments... There are bagpipes, and I remember Jordan making a facebook post saying he was using the seaboard. Any others?

[TheHoveringSojourn]

I'll just say this; there are a couple of NOMACS tracks - and Moment of Betrayal, Dystopian Overture and My Last Farewell, in addition to the obvious ones.

Which ones are obvious?

The Gift of Music and Our New World.

Oh. I wouln't have guessed those

[Estiui]

I barely focus on lyrics when I listen to music, I really do not care at all about them. However, I really "learn" what every instrument does after several spins, still having no idea about the lyrics... Let's say I care 90% about music and 10% about lyrics, and I'm still being generous here. Do you guys think I will enjoy this record without paying attention to lyrics/history?

[noxon]

Absolutely. The emotional rollercoaster is apparent in the music itself without the need for vocals - and the vocals are stylized in such a way that they embellish the emotion. If you think of the vocals as just a melodic instrument (as opposed to a information distributor), they still convey the emotion through the phrasings.

[Estiui]

Absolutely. The emotional rollercoaster is apparent in the music itself without the need for vocals - and the vocals are stylized in such a way that they embellish the emotion. If you think of the vocals as just a melodic instrument (as opposed to a information distributor), they still convey the emotion through the phrasings.

Nice, thank you!

[Wubbagubba]

Not entirely sure how to word this, but how is the emotional impact of the album? Does the music really make you feel emotion? Like, for example, the acoustic part in the last 5 minutes of The Count of Tuscany is probably one of my favorite "emotional" parts of any DT song. Does anything on this album stand out like that?

[BlobVanDam]

James Labrie really delivers. Top notch performance. He brought the characters to life, at the same time sounding like James. You can hear that he enjoyed singing on this album, and I am not surprised. It seems that a rock opera really suits James as a vocalist. Felt kind of the same vibe I get from the cover of "tenement funster/flick of the wrist/lily of the valley" they did on the 2nd disc of BC&SL

His style and especially vibrato in parts of Lord Nafaryus reminded me a lot of his Freddy Mercury style vocals in Lily of the Valley.

[chwik]

So one of the interviews (I think the RS one) mentioned unusual instruments... There are bagpipes, and I remember Jordan making a facebook post saying he was using the seaboard. Any others?

Tons of instruments. On the top of my head I remember strings, harp (not sure about this, think I head it at one point), brass, bagpipe, trumpets, marching drums (probably mangini), moog, seabord, piano, guitar clean and distortion; 6,7 and 12 strings, flute, violin or chello, hammond organ, boys choir, choir etc (but don't take my word on all of this, take noxons word if he replies though) 

[chwik]

Not entirely sure how to word this, but how is the emotional impact of the album? Does the music really make you feel emotion? Like, for example, the acoustic part in the last 5 minutes of The Count of Tuscany is probably one of my favorite "emotional" parts of any DT song. Does anything on this album stand out like that?

Emotion is all over this album. It is beautiful and melodic. Are there parts like the last 5 minutes of The Count of Tuscany? Not in the same way, because the average song on TA is about 5 min. But, the emotional range is vast and there are beautiful segments with that type of vibe. But, it is important to remember that this album is different, it really is. It's a rock opera, with the flavor of DT, but with many new and fresh elements.   

[Systolic]

Would you say that The Gift of Music is a fair indicator of the sound of the rest of the album?  Were there any 'holy shit' moments?

[chwik]

Would you say that The Gift of Music is a fair indicator of the sound of the rest of the album?  Were there any 'holy shit' moments?

Many "holy shit" moments. There is a swingjazz balstbeat section for crying out loud! The Gift of Music is an indication of the sound, although it is not really representative of the style of the album - it fits perfectly for setting the tone of the story. I have only heard the album once in a bar, and adjutsed for that, I still thought the album sounded amazing in its entirety, and much better than the The Gift of Music as a standalone track.

I am not an audiophile, but I do enjoy a great soundscape.   

[Systolic]

So on a scale of complexity ranging from The Silent Man to Outcrys instrumental section, how complex does the album get?  Do they go on any 2-3 minute long instrumental breaks (other than the overtures)?

[chwik]

So on a scale of complexity ranging from The Silent Man to Outcrys instrumental section, how complex does the album get?  Do they go on any 2-3 minute long instrumental breaks (other than the overtures)?

The whole range; from simple arrangements to really complex instrumental parts. But, my initial reaction is that they definitely wrote the music to fit the story. There are no complex instrumental breaks for the sake of delivering expected complex instrumental sections to the fans. The balance between pure simplicity and complex arrangements is so well thought out that nothing feels redundant - as I have said before; the album flows really well, 130 minutes feels like an hour.

[Systolic]

Do you think the album has staying power?  I still listen to Awake and SFAM somewhat regularly and ATDOE occasionally, but the rest of the catalog has kind of been forgotten.  Aside from the sheer grandiosity of the work requiring obvious multiple listens to ingest, do you think it will be an album that will stand the test of time with the rest of their discography?  I know thats a big question after only 1 listen but I just want your initial impression.

[chwik]

Do you think the album has staying power?  I still listen to Awake and SFAM somewhat regularly and ATDOE occasionally, but the rest of the catalog has kind of been forgotten.  Aside from the sheer grandiosity of the work requiring obvious multiple listens to ingest, do you think it will be an album that will stand the test of time with the rest of their discography?  I know thats a big question after only 1 listen but I just want your initial impression.

It it a big question and it's just too difficult to answer. For me, yes it will probably have staying power - the album suits my taste in music. For the average DT fan, if you are not in the either or camp with regards to metal, prog, pop etc, it will have staying power. The album is long, which might negatively impact the staying power, but it was a clever move to divide the story into individual songs thus increasing the enjoyment of the album without allocating 2h10 minutes of your precious time.

[erwinrafael]

I am one of the most vocal Mangini fans in this forum, and I would just like to know if this would not shut a lot of people up from saying that MM's playing is robotic, uninspired, and lacks creativity?

[BlackInk]

Well, he does already sound like a drum machine on TGoM, but the parts themselves are well written I suppose.

[Systolic]

Thats more on rich chycki than MM I think though.

Listen to MM play the enemy inside for his zildjan demo.  He sounds fantastic and very fluid without all of the studio doctoring.  I really wish DT would knock that off because it detracts from the mix quality imo.

[Vandalism]

I am one of the most vocal Mangini fans in this forum, and I would just like to know if this would not shut a lot of people up from saying that MM's playing is robotic, uninspired, and lacks creativity?

Two words





















SwingJazz BlastBeat !

[chwik]

I am one of the most vocal Mangini fans in this forum, and I would just like to know if this would not shut a lot of people up from saying that MM's playing is robotic, uninspired, and lacks creativity?

If peoples preconceived notion is that MM is robotic, uninspired, and lacks creativity they will probably continue to say that despite factual evidence to the contrary. I enjoy Manginis drumming - think he is fantastic - never understood how people can complain about sombody beeing too precise. But, it probably comes down to personal preference.

Hearing the album only once, I think the drumming is the hardest to comment on. MM's drumplaying is way above my paygrade Maybe noxon can comment since he has heard the album 20 - 30 times. But I remember parts where his drumming was fantastic - and there are some WTF moments. He and JM really set the groove on this album. My initial reaction was that the whole band delivered on this album. 

[erwinrafael]

Well, he does already sound like a drum machine on TGoM, but the parts themselves are well written I suppose.

I always say that people should try to program MM's drums in a drum machine and see if they can ever make it sound like MM.

[MirrorMask]

It it a big question and it's just too difficult to answer. For me, yes it will probably have staying power - the album suits my taste in music. For the average DT fan, if you are not in the either or camp with regards to metal, prog, pop etc, it will have staying power. The album is long, which might negatively impact the staying power, but it was a clever move to divide the story into individual songs thus increasing the enjoyment of the album without allocating 2h10 minutes of your precious time.

So basically it's not like Ayreon's The Theory of Everything, which has 42 tracks but it's really 4 long 20 minutes songs glued together... I agree, without having heard the album however, that it should be easier to digest the single tracks than whole "epics"...

[BlackInk]

Well, he does already sound like a drum machine on TGoM, but the parts themselves are well written I suppose.

I always say that people should try to program MM's drums in a drum machine and see if they can ever make it sound like MM.

That's... so not the point.

Thats more on rich chycki than MM I think though.

I am also willing to believe this. Because I've seen MM live twice now, and I never had a problem with him then.