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

[MarkFitDT]

Unsure about it. Some great moments (A Better Life is fantastic) some not. It will require many listens and I ended up getting frustrated at the length of the tracks because they ended just as I was getting into them, and I felt some of them were erratic and lacked focus. It's probably par for the course with this kind of effort though, so I'm hoping it will click in a few listens. Otherwise, I'm concerned the album isn't for me. 

Isnt that par for the course for DT in general that most of their albums take a number of listens to sink in? Was really disappointed with MOB the first couple of times and now I love it. SFAM was also a real let down for me the first few listens and it ended up being one of my favs.

I meant the nature of the tracks being par for the course for the kind of album it is (just listen to any musical), I fully expected it to take a few listens whatever the style. This one may take longer though. It was absolutely not a bad album, I am just not sure it will be my kind of thing. Just my first impression.

Thanks, wasn't a criticism btw and interested to hear from all people who have listened to it.

[Hanz Gruber]

"Begin Again" reminds me of a song by Def Leppard called "Kings of the Universe" which reminds me of Queen (and that is where all of the reminding ends)

The Def Leppard song is below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iox7gBKhMag

The vocals starting around the 40 second mark (in the Def Leppard song) in particular sounds similar to Begin Again (around the 1:10 mark in the Dream Theater song)

[pcs90]

Some comments on the music...if you don't want any more info on certain tracks do not read!

I will agree on a lot of what has been said. It's a very emotional and melodic album, lots of slower sections and lots of piano, but I never felt like it was too long. And, even though some posts here give the impression that there are a lack of instrumental sections, there really aren't. It's just that most of them are on the calmer melodic side rather than super technical runs everywhere.

I really like the nomac tracks. They're very atmospheric, with lots of cool digital sound effects going on, but there's something oddly musical about them, especially the later ones. And as mentioned there's one in particular that almost has this weird fragmented dubstep vibe...very different for DT!

Dystopian Overture is the most diverse overture they have written, and definitely my favorite. I won't go into specifics except to say that at the very end, there's a section where Rudess plays an epic slow synth lead with the full choir in the background and it is glorious. Definitely sounds best when played loud!

JP's solos are all outstanding. There's a great balance of melody, emotion, and technique. "A Better Life" has one that is especially noteworthy for me, and following that is an amazing build-up with James.

Speaking of James, this is some of his best work in my opinion. Naturally with playing so many characters it can be hard to figure out who is speaking at times, but based on listening to the lyrics and paying attention to the subtle changes in his voice, it will make sense. He really does a great job of letting you understand how each character feels.

There are several songs that, in my opinion, can stand alone. There may be some lyrical references to the story, but they should be easy to apreciate on their own. These songs are mostly in a more pop-based format, but being DT there are much more details, solos, etc so don't get turned off by that description.

A New Beginning has one of the most catchy choruses ever, and the music changes with the different characters. Very cool. About half of this track is instrumental as well!

To clear up some things on Three Days and the swing / jazz / blastbeat stuff. There is a swing section in the middle where the emperor is speaking. This is piano with the rest of the band playing lightly underneath. The "blastbeat swingjazz" section is much faster, and kind of gives me a New Orleans vibe, with plenty of brass. The blastbeat section isn't as sudden as it may seem due to the already fast tempo though the style obviously switches. If anything the quick horn solos are more of a surprise. Super cool section either way though.

The bagpipe section is a reprise of an earlier theme, with a choir in the background.

It seems like I'm the first person to say this but the title track feels like a perfect ending. It has a section for each character (or at least most of them) with their theme and shows how each changed, sort of. I view it like an epilogue. I think Bosk had this idea a few pages back and that is exactly what I believe it's meant to be.

[Ben_Jamin]

I decided to just listen to Descent. Hope my CD comes tomorrow

[Thematt202]

I've resisted the urge and can't wait to buy my CD on Friday!

[RoadTrain_of Thought]

2:58 in When Your Time Has Come is exactly the same as 4:04 in The Spirit Carries On

[Rodni Demental]

James cums at the end of My Last Farewell.

Sorry that was the closest way I could describe it  , I guess it's just a groan or scream from one of the characters I dunno, but it's a thing, that I suspect will come up again in the future.

[Pragmaticcircus]

Couldn't resist, quite a few moments in this album sounded like The bigger picture and illumination theory. Also other thoughts that I had when listening to it was Rush, A solo which sounded so similar to Trial of Tears (again), that "You raised me up" song (it felt like James was going to sing that at one point, Somewhere over the rainbow.
On the other side, I heard quite a lot I haven't heard in DT before but I feel the ballads weigh it down too much.
Also the swing section is fucking brilliant!
Time to have a break now... 

[genome]

Haha, yes, Begin Again is basically You Raise Me Up 

[theinuu]

3.17 in Heaven's Cove is a tribute to James Bond Or that is something that came to my mind at the first listen.

[JediKnight1969]

Unsure about it. (...). It will require many listens and I ended up getting frustrated at the length of the tracks because they ended just as I was getting into them, and I felt some of them were erratic and lacked focus. It's probably par for the course with this kind of effort though, so I'm hoping it will click in a few listens. Otherwise, I'm concerned the album isn't for me. 

I feel exactly the same. I listened it once yesterday and didn't want to listen it again so far. It´s gonna take time. Hopefuly it just that: a matter of time.

[serrano]

I agree partially but after 2 spins i still feel the need to listen again.

[Montsegur97]

It's pretty much what I expected, some really solid moments and some other things I just think, meh.  Not sure what else to expect from an album of this length.  Have to say, Our New World definitely is one of my favorites right now, but I'll have to give the whole thing a few more listens. 

Interesting review on youtube from a non DT fan. (some swearing, in case you're at work).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCzjcQ3HvB4

[genome]

I will also say I felt Act II was much stronger than the first.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Its funny how this thread isn't about the listening parties anymore lol

[IdoSC]

Its funny how this thread isn't about the listening parties anymore lol

It is funny, but I think it's because
1. There aren't many of them by now, when everyone would have the album in a day and this was a promotional pre-release thing for the most part (correct me if I'm wrong)
2. This is the thread where people first shared their thoughts on the album. Now slowly more people are exposed to it and they play off of these original thoughts with their own.

[YtseJamittaja]

"Begin Again" reminds me of a song by Def Leppard called "Kings of the Universe" which reminds me of Queen (and that is where all of the reminding ends)

The Def Leppard song is below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iox7gBKhMag

The vocals starting around the 40 second mark (in the Def Leppard song) in particular sounds similar to Begin Again (around the 1:10 mark in the Dream Theater song)

I really hear the similarities!

[chego_voice]

2:58 in When Your Time Has Come is exactly the same as 4:04 in The Spirit Carries On

Distropyan Overture 2:56 /  Overture 1928 0:45

i hear A LOT of sfam references into "The Astonishing"

[Pragmaticcircus]

Actually after a third listen, the album really feels (apart from a few instances) like a combination of Six degrees (the song), The bigger picture and Illumination theory. Then there's the ballads, which I can't pin down yet (besides that You raise me up song)

[pcs90]

Well, as far as TBP goes, there's a melody in Chosen that is very similar.

[jakepriest]

After several listens Ravenskill is probably my current favourite song. Even though I am usually not a fan of DT ballads, I really enjoy the ones on this album. Act Of Faythe, A Life Left Behind and all the ballads on the second disc are especially killer. 

A lot of people seem to like A New Beginning, and while it has an incredibly good instrumental, it's the only song on the album where the vocal melodies actually annoy me (especially the chorus, can't stand it).