*Official* The Astonishing discussion thread

[Kotowboy]

Footloose by Kenny Loggins is a great song.

[KevShmev]

Great! Now whenever I hear those opening chords of "Our New World" this is what I'm going to see in my head.

Could be worse.  You could have this pop in your head:

[Ben_Jamin]

Personally I can't argue, I'm going to Dream Theater Presents The Astonishing Live for the final leg. This marks the first time I'd get to see them live, was too young and dumb to have seen them 11 years ago for the Gigantour when they came the first time to my knowledge. So I feel excited to get to see them in concert.

I was too young and dumb to see them with Satch, and with Yes

[Podaar]

At Kev

[hefdaddy42]

Great! Now whenever I hear those opening chords of "Our New World" this is what I'm going to see in my head.

Could be worse.  You could have this pop in your head:

I love both images.

[ytserush]

Saw them opening night on this leg and while there are whole rows of empty seats, the people there seemed to be into it.

I love the music and it was even better live and while the lyrics kill me I was able to ignore them (which I usually can't do)
Definitely a unique Dream Theater show. Very well presented for the most part. It really cooked for me after the intermission too.




And the brother theme continues to grow on me:

I have passed into Olympus
As was told in tales of old
To the City of Immortals
Marble white and purest gold.

I'm considering hitting the NJ PAC show, but I seem to have done enough concert damage in these next few weeks so I really need to think about that. 

[Dr. SeaWolf]

Hey everyone! Just thought I'd emerge from the ether and say I'm actually really intrigued by this album. It's definitely a bold move and one that has rekindled my interest in the band.

[bosk1]

Hey everyone!

[Dr. SeaWolf]

  Yeah, I know, I don't post often, but I occasionally miss the community here, even not being a tremendous fan of DT anymore, (though I am still a pretty big fan). This new album though, it has a creative spark to it I haven't heard from them since the Portnoy days.

[hefdaddy42]

Long time no see!

[Ben_Jamin]

You know what's a good Playlist....

All the songs with the "Brother"/"chosen" theme.

Descent/Over/Music
The Answer
A Saviour
Time Has Come
Brother
Chosen
Digital/X Aspect
The Path That Divides
Whispers/Hymn
Power Down
Astonishing

It actually works good.

[Dr. SeaWolf]

Hef: I apologize for my tendency to post a few times and disappear for two to four years. Honestly, I just forget to check on things, and because I'm not as much of an obsessed fan of DT I once was, I just don't think to post anymore. DT fan or not though, I think this site has alot of interesting people that post so it's really my loss entirely.

As far as the new album is concerned, specific highlights for me at this point include the transition between "Savior in the Square" and "When your time has come", it's just so elegantly done. Other favorites are "A Life Left Behind" with its awesome acoustic/piano intro and insanely catchy chorus, "Chosen" with its emotional guitar solo, and "Moment of Betrayal", James screaming in "The Walking Shadow", and the finale which I think ties the various musical themes together quite well. A HUGE highlight for me is LaBrie. He has never sounded this good to me. He's definitely the star of this album more than any other band member.

You might have guessed I haven't delved into the second act as much as the first, but I only started listening to it a week or so ago (I know, I'm late to the party!)

One criticism I've seen about this album is the complaint that it's too mellow and there are too many ballads. I see the majority of what are misinterpreted as ballads as simply mid-tempo melancholic prog a la Pink Floyd or H era Marillion. I think it works quite well, as I've never been necessarily married to the "heavier" aspects of DTs music.

[Dr. SeaWolf]

Oh man, the violin and hand clapping noises in "Hymn of a thousand voices" is so far out of DTs normal comfort zone, I'm really appreciating that kind of experimentation. I think that's really what I'm finding so intriguing about this album; DT had settled into a very predictable album-writing pattern, and this album completely demolishes that pattern. I hope they continue this spirit on their next album.

[Dream Team]

Oh man, the violin and hand clapping noises in "Hymn of a thousand voices" is so far out of DTs normal comfort zone, I'm really appreciating that kind of experimentation. I think that's really what I'm finding so intriguing about this album; DT had settled into a very predictable album-writing pattern, and this album completely demolishes that pattern. I hope they continue this spirit on their next album.

Totally agree.

[TAC]

Absolutely!

[Mosh]

Not a big fan of that song, but the violin solo is very cool.

[nikatapi]

All these little elements like the violin, mandolin and bagpipes were really cool and i enjoy seeing the band trying different things. For that reason alone i enjoyed TA so much more than DT12

[JRuless]

Oh man, the violin and hand clapping noises in "Hymn of a thousand voices" is so far out of DTs normal comfort zone, I'm really appreciating that kind of experimentation. I think that's really what I'm finding so intriguing about this album; DT had settled into a very predictable album-writing pattern, and this album completely demolishes that pattern. I hope they continue this spirit on their next album.

Totally agree.

+1

[Ravenfoul]

All these little elements like the violin, mandolin and bagpipes were really cool and i enjoy seeing the band trying different things. For that reason alone i enjoyed TA so much more than DT12

So much better than DT12. It has not aged well for me at all. STR is still a top song for me, though.

[Dr. SeaWolf]

DT12 was an okay album. It just felt kind of generic to me, making the album title somewhat appropriate.

[Ravenfoul]

So, no new news on TA Live? 

[Prog Snob]

Yes, they're touring...

[Ben_Jamin]

You know what would be funny...if they didn't release it live at all, which would justify them doing two legs and saying it pretty much was the only chance to see it live.

[cramx3]

You know what would be funny...if they didn't release it live at all, which would justify them doing two legs and saying it pretty much was the only chance to see it live.

I can see this being the case.

[Bertielee]

You know what would be funny...if they didn't release it live at all, which would justify them doing two legs and saying it pretty much was the only chance to see it live.

I can see this being the case.

Thirded.

B.Lee

[Mosh]

I wouldn't mind if they just waited until they're able to get an orchestra, choir, and maybe different vocalists for each character to record a live performance. Make it something a really special once in a lifetime event.

This tour is probably better to see in person than on a DVD anyway. Especially keeping in mind that a lot of the visuals (as cheap as they may be) aren't going to be visible on a live recording.

[KevShmev]

As much as I love the record, I'd rather they not do a live DVD this time and save it for the next tour, where they can play a handful of TA tracks from it so we still get some of them on a live recording.

[rumborak]

I wish they did a more interesting live album setting for a change. Except the almost unwatchable Chaos in Motion, DT's DVDs have been dark indoor concerts. Rush had their Rush in Rio, Pink Floyd had Pompeii, Queen had Live at Wembley. It would be nice to have a good outdoor DVD.

[Mosh]

I love the official bootleg from the SDOIT tour for that reason.
It's also always fun to see the sun go down as the band is playing if the gig starts earlier, although I know most bands prefer not to have this on video cause it messes with their lighting show.

[chrisbDTM]

I've tried and tried to listen to the astonishing and I just can't get behind it. This is the record that knocked me out of DT-fanboy orbit

[SwedishGoose]

I hope that they will do another European tour of The Astonishing... seeing it twice was not enough
Also... this is the tour they really need to record on BlueRay. They will never do something like this again so it needs to be recorded.

If it was a Kickstart project I would spend a lot of money to get this going....

[red barchetta]

I wish they did a more interesting live album setting for a change. Except the almost unwatchable Chaos in Motion, DT's DVDs have been dark indoor concerts. Rush had their Rush in Rio, Pink Floyd had Pompeii, Queen had Live at Wembley. It would be nice to have a good outdoor DVD.

pretty good idea!

[ytserush]

You know what would be funny...if they didn't release it live at all, which would justify them doing two legs and saying it pretty much was the only chance to see it live.

Pretty impressive to be duplicating the Caress Of Steel touring cycle in this day and age.

Years from now this album and tour will become the stuff of legend.

Or not....

[cramx3]

I wish they did a more interesting live album setting for a change. Except the almost unwatchable Chaos in Motion, DT's DVDs have been dark indoor concerts. Rush had their Rush in Rio, Pink Floyd had Pompeii, Queen had Live at Wembley. It would be nice to have a good outdoor DVD.

pretty good idea!

I like the idea as well, problem is, DT doesn't normally play these types of shows.  At least in the sense of a show that is worthy of making a DVD out of. The Wacken set was too short IMO to make a DVD out of for example.

I remember Blind Guardian wanted something like that and while they were playing the big festivals, they felt like none of those really combined everything they wanted for a DVD (outdoor venue, big crowd, dedicated fans, long set) so they just created their own festival to make the DVD (Imaginations Through the Looking Glass) and I think it came out really well.

The Official Bootleg in Chile is the best example of this for DT though.  That concert is actually really awesome cause the crowd is nuts too and it's a full blown DT set without any props.

[TAC]

The Official Bootleg in Chile is the best example of this for DT though.  That concert is actually really awesome cause the crowd is nuts too and it's a full blown DT set without any props.

Might be my all time favorite DT DVD. Love the small rig. Looks Zeppelin-esque.