*Official* The Astonishing discussion thread

[TAC]

They've already confirmed that no additional musicians or singers will be with them, so James is gonna go Faythe on us!

OK but they could still pull a rabbit out of the hat for the NY DVD show!  Teresa as Faythe, MP as Nafaryus, Kevin Moore as Xander!

Good calls!

[CodyWanKenobi]

Spun this again this morning while on a long road trip visiting customers. Don't get me wrong I really like the first part of Disc 1...
really like it, but from the point of A Life Left Behind all the way through Disc 2 this is masterpiece level music.

Nailed my feelings exactly. Upon the first listen, I actually wasn't feeling disk 1 at all until A Lie Left Behind - then it was smooth sailing. Now, listening back, I've grown rather fond of the first half of disk 1, but the album doesn't reach its peak for me until A Lie Left Behind, and after it peaks, it stays at its peak.

[hefdaddy42]

They've already confirmed that no additional musicians or singers will be with them, so James is gonna go Faythe on us!

I heard he's going to don his makeup from the Winter Rose days.

[Architeuthis]

They've already confirmed that no additional musicians or singers will be with them, so James is gonna go Faythe on us!

OK but they could still pull a rabbit out of the hat for the NY DVD show!  Teresa as Faythe, MP as Nafaryus, Kevin Moore as Xander!

Whoa!  So they are filming the New York show, is this official???

[hefdaddy42]

They've already confirmed that no additional musicians or singers will be with them, so James is gonna go Faythe on us!

OK but they could still pull a rabbit out of the hat for the NY DVD show!  Teresa as Faythe, MP as Nafaryus, Kevin Moore as Xander!

Whoa!  So they are filming the New York show, is this official???

No.  There has been no such announcement.  Not sure where that is coming from.

[smegolas]

They've already confirmed that no additional musicians or singers will be with them, so James is gonna go Faythe on us!

OK but they could still pull a rabbit out of the hat for the NY DVD show!  Teresa as Faythe, MP as Nafaryus, Kevin Moore as Xander!

Whoa!  So they are filming the New York show, is this official???

No.  There has been no such announcement.  Not sure where that is coming from.

Is there any truth to the rumor I am starting 

With the amount of effort that has gone onto this album and (I'm sure) the live show, its very likely we will get a DVD (not everyone can see the concert!).  NY was just a wild guess based on where they filmed the SMAF show.  Sorry New Yorkers if I got you a little wound up!

[Kotowboy]

They can't afford a tour with orchestra and choir but I'm sure they could afford them for a DVD shoot.

[RoeDent]

I know it's been said before, but I'm just posting a moment of appreciation for the guitar solo at the end of A New Beginning. It's right up there with his best imo. If I were ranking JP solos, I'd currently put it at no. 3, not far behind Breaking All Illusions and Voices.

[rab7]

NY was just a wild guess based on where they filmed the SMAF show.  Sorry New Yorkers if I got you a little wound up!

Scenes Mrom a Femory is my favorite album

[chrisbDTM]

i hated the album at first, then i warmed up a bit. It's an alright album for me, not as bad as I first thought but still not my thing.

[Kotowboy]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BBtD_8wN93-gtt-Cbk6w3K4l-lQbCvwOJbpFkE0/

[Enigmachine]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BBtD_8wN93-gtt-Cbk6w3K4l-lQbCvwOJbpFkE0/

The ASitS into is probably one of JP's best acoustic riffs.

[Kotowboy]

And it took me ages to get it under my fingers

I'm not the most elegant of guitarists.

However I do have a good ear and worked it out by ear alone.

The Our New World intro is too fast for me to play clean.

[Enigmachine]

And it took me ages to get it under my fingers

I'm not the most elegant of guitarists.

However I do have a good ear and worked it out by ear alone.

The Our New World intro is too fast for me to play clean.

To be fair, it does look a bit fiddly in terms of chord shapes. I can kind of play the ONW riff, though some of the variation in the riff throws me off big time. I don't have great ears for working stuff out, I think the only riff I remember working out by ear is Iron Maiden - Ghost of the Navigator's lead riff.

[Peter Mc]

Don't know where or when but will be amazed if there is not a live DVD and if that DVD does not feature an orchestra, choir etc. I would maybe think that the London Palladium would be a cool venue for that if it had been later in the tour but no way they do they do all that on the opening night.

[erwinrafael]

For those who have a difficult time appreciating Act 2, try to listen to it standalone. Sometimes it is hard to listen to it because of fatigue from listening through so many songs in Act 1, but when you listen to Act 2 alone, you would be surprised at how fast the pace of the story is in that Act.

[Architeuthis]

Don't know where or when but will be amazed if there is not a live DVD and if that DVD does not feature an orchestra, choir etc. I would maybe think that the London Palladium would be a cool venue for that if it had been later in the tour but no way they do they do all that on the opening night.

Being that Dave Campbell is from California and the Orchestra tracks were recorded there, I wouldn't be surprised if they film the concert somewhere in California or up the west coast (just my theory). The Paramount Theater in Seattle is a beautiful venue and would be perfect for this.

[rumborak]

Any else get the feeling that Our New World was a JP solo album song?

[erwinrafael]

Any else get the feeling that Our New World was a JP solo album song?

Given that the riff is something that seems to need vocals over it unless it is done ala Savior in the Square, I don't get that vibe.

[BlobVanDam]

While it could have worked instrumental if it had just the leads, I don't get that impression from it at all. The musical idea is reused in other parts of the album too, so I think it was always part of TA.

[YtseJamittaja]

They've already confirmed that no additional musicians or singers will be with them, so James is gonna go Faythe on us!

Oh dear James with pink wig and hood

I really don't want to see that

[Bertielee]

They've already confirmed that no additional musicians or singers will be with them, so James is gonna go Faythe on us!

Oh dear James with pink wig and hood

I really don't want to see that

I f****** do!!!  (btw, it would be time to create a JLB-Faythe emote).

B.Lee

[MirrorMask]

Two nights ago I had a kinda wacky dream about me seeing DT performing the album live. I dreamt just the beginning, I have vague memories of Dystopian Overture, and then for The Answer they all went acoustic sitting in the middle of the theater to perform the song, so I rushed from the back to where they were so that I could see James singing 50 cm away from my face.

Yeah, I think the anticipation for the show is kinda rising 

[hefdaddy42]

Any else get the feeling that Our New World was a JP solo album song?

No.

[TAC]

Any else get the feeling that Our New World was a JP solo album song?

No.

Yeah, not at all.

[Bertielee]

Any else get the feeling that Our New World was a JP solo album song?

No.

Yeah, not at all.

[Prog Snob]

Any else get the feeling that Our New World was a JP solo album song?

No.

It has a pretty strong 6DOIT vibe.

[Tick]

Am I the only that feels at 3:00 of Dystopian Overture = The Lion King?
I can picture Mufassa and Simba strutting out bobbing there heads to the music! 

[TH1RT3EN]

Am I the only that feels at 3:00 of Dystopian Overture = The Lion King?
I can picture Mufassa and Simba strutting out bobbing there heads to the music! 

That's EXACTLY what I think of whenever I hear that part of the song

[Darkstarshades]

I also had a dream of them playing TA here...

Then I remember'd they don't have dates here... I literally cried.

[Tick]

Am I the only that feels at 3:00 of Dystopian Overture = The Lion King?
I can picture Mufassa and Simba strutting out bobbing there heads to the music! 

That's EXACTLY what I think of whenever I hear that part of the song

[JediKnight1969]

They've already confirmed that no additional musicians or singers will be with them, so James is gonna go Faythe on us!

Oh dear James with pink wig and hood

I really don't want to see that

This came to my mind...

[gm5k]

Am I the only that feels at 3:00 of Dystopian Overture = The Lion King?
I can picture Mufassa and Simba strutting out bobbing there heads to the music! 

That's EXACTLY what I think of whenever I hear that part of the song

Yea same here.  I thought of it immediately and have trouble thinking of anything else when I hear that part...A good thing though, lots of nostalgic feelings there (The Lion King came out when I was a kid) and gets me very hyped for the upcoming music 

[Enigmachine]

I just listened to it in full a second (first was on release day) time... wow!  It has grown beyond exponentially since last listen. May even beat SDoIT / IaW / Awake for favourite DT album. It's THAT good! There's no filler whatsoever for me and now I consider Act II to nearly be as good as Act I. I even like the NOMAC tracks! The only real complaint I have is with some low quality sound effects.

Fav track atm- My Last Farewell (together with The Walking Shadow)

Least fav- Our New World (lol don't kill me, I still like it but the chorus is a bit repetitive and it doesn't really add anything to the story that 'Astonishing' doesn't)

[RoeDent]

What ONW adds to the story isn't immediately obvious just from listening, but it's Gabriel and Faythe promising to raise young Xander and build a better future, in memory of both his parents.

Another point I keep thinking of: The Road to Revolution, in concept, reminds me in some ways of the Tonight Quintet from West Side Story. Sudden scene changes with the different characters looking ahead in anticipation of the pivotal events to come later that night. Then at the end, everyone comes together (albeit still in their separate locations) to sing the closing lines.