*Official* The Astonishing discussion thread

[metropofreak]

I'm loving Mangini's double hi-hat work is some of the mellow sections, e.g., Losing Faythe. This album just kills! Incredible work.

[ResultsMayVary]

I'm a big fan of the album, but need to listen to it more. I probably have 4/5 listens under my belt at this point.

Some standouts for me:

Dystopian Overture
The Gift of Music
The Answer
Three Days
A Life Left Behind
Ravenskill
A New Beginning
Moment of Betrayal
Begin Again (mostly that outro)
The Path That Divides
The Walking Shadow
My Last Farewell
Our New World

JLB killed it on this album. And I must be one of the few people that was able to pick up on the subtleties of each character's parts based on how James' sang them. The only character I couldn't get immediately was Arabelle.

[Ben_Jamin]

I feel Myung isn't getting enough credit. He's in the groove, much like Mangini is in the beat. That's how a Bass and Drum duo should be.

[pcs90]

I'm loving Mangini's double hi-hat work is some of the mellow sections, e.g., Losing Faythe. This album just kills! Incredible work.

The double hi-hat work is one of the things I love most about MM's playing in general.

[mike099]

Even though this is not a 5.1 cd, I put the second disc in my player, found the setting I liked and cranked it.  The dog was not too fond of the nomac tracks.  They were freaking her out.  Also, the bass was so loud a box fell off the amp and scared the shit out her.
The sound was amazing and you could really hear that bass. I was in a rather large bonus room and I kind of got a feel of what this may sound like live.

For those that have only listened to once, give it another go.

[DreamerTV]

I don't want to say that much right now apart an honorable mention to Ravenskill for having one of the most intense climax in a Dt song, ever.

All in all very strong melodies spread throughout the whole album.
Let's hope the Double Album curse won't strike Dt again, like what happened after SDOIT.

[ErHaO]

I feel Myung isn't getting enough credit. He's in the groove, much like Mangini is in the beat. That's how a Bass and Drum duo should be.

I agree. I can often clearly hear him on this album, which I wasn't expecting at all. Mangini's playing fits the music really well, I do not have a problem with the drum sound/"perfect" technical playing personally.

[Pax]

That scream was Gabriel's? I thought it was Daryus' scream because of the pain in the ears... If it's Gabriel's, then it really sucks lol

[jakepriest]

I don't want to say that much right now apart an honorable mention to Ravenskill for having one of the most intense climax in a Dt song, ever.

All in all very strong melodies spread throughout the whole album.
Let's hope the Double Album curse won't strike Dt again, like what happened after SDOIT.

What exactly is this curse? The two albums they released after SDOIT were some of their best.

[Logain Ablar]

I feel Myung isn't getting enough credit. He's in the groove, much like Mangini is in the beat. That's how a Bass and Drum duo should be.

I agree. I can often clearly hear him on this album, which I wasn't expecting at all. Mangini's playing fits the music really well, I do not have a problem with the drum sound/"perfect" technical playing personally.

^^This. The bit that springs to mind is the outro of A New Beginning. JM/MM locking in a straight-ahead beat with JP's almost ad-libbed sounding solo bouncing around over the top. Very cool.
It will be interesting to see how they handle the fade-out live..

[Progmetty]

Could they have told the entire story on one single CD though? Or did the story warrant a double CD?

They could have done 3 CD's if they had jammed a bit more. Any less than 2 CD's and we just wouldn't have gotten the DT soul injected in there, not enough room for detail.

Actually I think 3 CDs would have been perfect, it would have allowed them to balance the narrative:music ratio more fairly and satisfactory for the fans who are taken aback by the lack of DT feel.

[Awaken]

I don't want to say that much right now apart an honorable mention to Ravenskill for having one of the most intense climax in a Dt song, ever.

Strongly agree

[Cedar redaC]

Ok, having completed my first run through of the album, I love it. I like the more prominent role played by acoustic and orchestral instruments. It's a nice change of pace.

Can't wait to see it live!

Another CD would have been cool, but like some people say: "Always leave them wanting more"

[(nothing)]

Oh lawd, coming from another forum it's so refreshing to see people who don't like the album not being total bass soles about it. Props!

As cheesy and "Disney-like" as it is, I personally quite like it. It's great for what it is, don't see why people compare to other stuff the whole time. If people go about it like they would when it comes to The Wall or even a Steven Wilson record (these days), they 're just setting themselves up to not like it.

If they pull it off in a live setting, it will make for such a great show.

Over time a few tracks might be filler material for me but can't complain at all because there are just so many good moments in there. "Chosen" is my personal favorite, I'm surprised it hasn't gotten as many honorable mentions in here. It's like the "Let It Go" of this album. 

They took enough creative risks here (imo the biggest one being making this tour album-exclusive), at least you can't blame them for that.

[serrano]

I feel Myung isn't getting enough credit. He's in the groove, much like Mangini is in the beat. That's how a Bass and Drum duo should be.

I agree. I can often clearly hear him on this album, which I wasn't expecting at all. Mangini's playing fits the music really well, I do not have a problem with the drum sound/"perfect" technical playing personally.

^^This. The bit that springs to mind is the outro of A New Beginning. JM/MM locking in a straight-ahead beat with JP's almost ad-libbed sounding solo bouncing around over the top. Very cool.
It will be interesting to see how they handle the fade-out live..

Ihope for a JP extended solo section there with no fade out.

[goo-goo]

Just bought the album. I haven't listened yet, but it's already a 0/10 for being a digipak.

and -10 for the booklet glued onto the digipack

[onethousanddays]

Count me among those who view The Astonishing as DT's best work of the RR era, maybe even since Six Degrees.

BUT there seems to be some baffling editing mistakes in Act 1.

Does anyone else notice that glitch in Petrucci's legato run at 2:38 in A Better Life?

Is this just me?

[Ben_Jamin]

It all depends on the Live show for me.

[RuRoRul]

Since we like lists and rankings, and it is quite difficult to say a lot about 30 songs after just a few listens, here's a preliminary top 10 to show my initial favourites (roughly in order):

Three Days
A New Beginning
The Gift Of Music
Moment Of Betrayal
The Path That Divides
A Better Life
Dystopian Overture
Lord Nafaryus
A Tempting Offer
The Walking Shadow

I'm not really feeling Our New World much... I see it is one of the favourites and I suppose I had quite high expectations for it from the few reviews / comments I read before the album came out.

[Logain Ablar]

Ihope for a JP extended solo section there with no fade out.

Yes, that would be cool. 
As mentioned previously in this thread, they may have had to fade that song out for reasons of making Act I fit on an 80 min CD. Obviously there wouldn't be the same restriction in a live show, so I can't wait to hear how they finish that one.

[Crow]

Could they have told the entire story on one single CD though? Or did the story warrant a double CD?

They could have done 3 CD's if they had jammed a bit more. Any less than 2 CD's and we just wouldn't have gotten the DT soul injected in there, not enough room for detail.

Actually I think 3 CDs would have been perfect, it would have allowed them to balance the narrative:music ratio more fairly and satisfactory for the fans who are taken aback by the lack of DT feel.

i would've actually preferred 3 CD's to two tbh because
1. the CD split is really lopsided as is
2. they probably had to cut down act 1 a bit to make it fit onto 1 CD
3. 80 minutes at once is still a loooong album even without the other 50 minutes of act 2

[darkshade]

To me, I could see splitting the album into 3. Halfway through disc 1, not sure where yet, and then disc 2 is short enough for a solid single listening session.

Would have been awesome if they stuck a big epic at the end, there's totally room for one. I wouldn't even care if it wasn't related to the concept/story.

[dparrott]

Wife is off with her friends for the afternoon!  You mean I get over two hours home alone to listen to this on my big stereo?  It's a freakin miracle!!!  Let the one-man listening party begin! 

[Mebert78]

I'm listening to the YouTube stream on my big screen TV and I noticed some additional details in the artwork, such as the Majesty symbol on Nafaryus' shirt button! You can't see that on the website cause it's too small there.

[Architeuthis]

Even though this is not a 5.1 cd, I put the second disc in my player, found the setting I liked and cranked it.  The dog was not too fond of the nomac tracks.  They were freaking her out.  Also, the bass was so loud a box fell off the amp and scared the shit out her.
The sound was amazing and you could really hear that bass. I was in a rather large bonus room and I kind of got a feel of what this may sound like live.

For those that have only listened to once, give it another go.

Ha!  My Dog reacts to the Nomac tracks too. She raises and turns her head sideways with wide open eyes and perked up ears..

[Logain Ablar]

Count me among those who view The Astonishing as DT's best work of the RR era, maybe even since Six Degrees.

BUT there seems to be some baffling editing mistakes in Act 1.

Does anyone else notice that glitch in Petrucci's legato run at 2:38 in A Better Life?

Is this just me?

Played it a couple of times there, but couldn't hear anything strange??? 

[gm5k]

Does anyone else notice that glitch in Petrucci's legato run at 2:38 in A Better Life?

Is this just me?

Listened for it several times right now.  All I hear is an amazing legato run   

ninja'd by Logain 

[RuRoRul]

Could they have told the entire story on one single CD though? Or did the story warrant a double CD?

They could have done 3 CD's if they had jammed a bit more. Any less than 2 CD's and we just wouldn't have gotten the DT soul injected in there, not enough room for detail.

Actually I think 3 CDs would have been perfect, it would have allowed them to balance the narrative:music ratio more fairly and satisfactory for the fans who are taken aback by the lack of DT feel.

i would've actually preferred 3 CD's to two tbh because
1. the CD split is really lopsided as is
2. they probably had to cut down act 1 a bit to make it fit onto 1 CD
3. 80 minutes at once is still a loooong album even without the other 50 minutes of act 2

It could actually go into 3 parts quite nicely too, as it only really has 3 proper "events" (or "scenes"? ) with the rest being setting up or character reactions to those:

Part 1 - Introduction and the meeting in the square (ends with Three Days)
Part 2 - Reaction to the meeting in the square, then the arrival of Faythe and Daryus in Ravenskill and the deals they attempt to strike there (ends with Road To Revolution, roughly)
Part 3 - The showdown at Heaven's Cove (essentially Act II as it is now)

[Architeuthis]

Wife is off with her friends for the afternoon!  You mean I get over two hours home alone to listen to this on my big stereo?  It's a freakin miracle!!!  Let the one-man listening party begin! 

Awesome!  The best way to listen to an album of this magnitude..

[DreamerTV]

I don't want to say that much right now apart an honorable mention to Ravenskill for having one of the most intense climax in a Dt song, ever.

All in all very strong melodies spread throughout the whole album.
Let's hope the Double Album curse won't strike Dt again, like what happened after SDOIT.

What exactly is this curse? The two albums they released after SDOIT were some of their best.

The Double album curse comes from The Beatles White Album, and could actually have two meanings:

- following up to this giants usually come mediocre albums
- Double albums, as good ad they could be, are way too long to gain larger consensus than a band already has

It's really off topic to discuss here whether this actually happend to Dt after SDOIT, i just wanted to explain you what it did mean.

[Logain Ablar]

Does anyone else notice that glitch in Petrucci's legato run at 2:38 in A Better Life?

Is this just me?

Listened for it several times right now.  All I hear is an amazing legato run   

ninja'd by Logain 

Ha! 

[wolven74]

Here's hoping they do something special for a blu-ray release. A concert with just them playing it would be cool, but what if they went all out and did a full production, with actors playing the roles (as JLB sings their parts? hmmm) Maybe something along the lines of the Wall would be more feasible. At any rate, I do hope they decide to take it further than just an album. Even if it is possibly the best of their career.

[Logain Ablar]

Wife is off with her friends for the afternoon!  You mean I get over two hours home alone to listen to this on my big stereo?  It's a freakin miracle!!!  Let the one-man listening party begin! 

Awesome!  The best way to listen to an album of this magnitude..

I'm looking at Google Maps to see if there is somewhere about an hour away that I really really need to drive to, to get this blasting in the car.. 

[Zoom E]

Man, I'm glad I didn't bank on getting this on Canadian Amazon. They still don't have a listing outside of a $190 vinyl "Import".
It's almost comical how little of a shit Amazon gives about the Canadian market.

Edit: It's not even a question of 'obscurity'. They have a prominent listing for Steven Wilson's new thing in New Releases.

Amazon is good for stuff that they already have lying around in their warehouse. I've had packages delivered to my door the day I ordered them, or on the weekends, but pre-ordering anything, you can flip a coin as to whether it will be delayed or not.

That's my experience with pre-ordering from them as well.

In this case though, I mean they literally don't have a listing for this CD on their Canadian site. It's not just 'to be released' or 'out of stock'. It's not there at all. Fortunately, I decided to give my business to a local music shop instead.

I find this really strange. Amazon Canada really dropped the ball with this release. I had to pick up my copy at Wal-Mart, of all places.

[ariich]

Could they have told the entire story on one single CD though? Or did the story warrant a double CD?

They could have done 3 CD's if they had jammed a bit more. Any less than 2 CD's and we just wouldn't have gotten the DT soul injected in there, not enough room for detail.

Actually I think 3 CDs would have been perfect, it would have allowed them to balance the narrative:music ratio more fairly and satisfactory for the fans who are taken aback by the lack of DT feel.

i would've actually preferred 3 CD's to two tbh because
1. the CD split is really lopsided as is
2. they probably had to cut down act 1 a bit to make it fit onto 1 CD
3. 80 minutes at once is still a loooong album even without the other 50 minutes of act 2

It could actually go into 3 parts quite nicely too, as it only really has 3 proper "events" (or "scenes"? ) with the rest being setting up or character reactions to those:

Part 1 - Introduction and the meeting in the square (ends with Three Days)
Part 2 - Reaction to the meeting in the square, then the arrival of Faythe and Daryus in Ravenskill and the deals they attempt to strike there (ends with Road To Revolution, roughly)
Part 3 - The showdown at Heaven's Cove (essentially Act II as it is now)

Yep, me and a couple of others have said the same thing. Definitely should have been 3 acts.