*Official* The Astonishing discussion thread

[Enigmachine]

I can't be the only person who doesn't think DT12 was especially heavy. I don't know if maybe the overly loud production makes it sound heavier to a lot of people.

Oh, definitely. Until a few weeks ago I was still using it as an example of "modern heavy DT". It was only once I heard the non-brickwalled HDtracks master that I realized most of the album isn't particularly heavy and it's just the strangely one-dimensional sound with the guitar being so prominent that makes it seem that way. The HDtracks version is a big improvement in that respect. Suddenly The Looking Glass does sound like a Rush tune and not like a Roadrunner metal band playing a Rush tune.

I guess this shows how much mastering can change the character of the album, though I still believe that musically, FAS, TEI and EM are some of DT's heaviest stuff.

TEI, sure, and I'd add parts of IT. And maybe at a stretch FAS is kinda heavy, but in a slightly cheesy power-metal sort of way.

EM I just don't think is heavy at all really; or rather, no more so than DT is normally. It's fun and quirky.

EM isn't heavy? I dunno, the full entrance after the synth intro is pretty damn monstrous and the ending with the fast double-kick and the guitar tremolo is even more so. The main riff is also really headbang-worthy. FAS's low chugging is also pretty heavy.

[chego_voice]

Hey people! this is me singing MOB! Would you check it out?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xzWQPUOOeU

I'm so happy!

[Kotowboy]

  Nice work...



But I always find it funny when people do a cover of their favourite band and they use their signature guitars, use their signature amp, put their logo on the instruments, wear their t shirts - play in

front of a poster of the band... 

[chego_voice]

Nice work...



But I always find it funny when people do a cover of their favourite band and they use their signature guitars, use their signature amp, put their logo on the instruments, wear their t shirts - play in

front of a poster of the band... 

it's called LOVE! hahahaha thanks bro!

[Tomislav95]

Hey people! this is me singing MOB! Would you check it out?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xzWQPUOOeU

I'm so happy!

Great work, man
You've got an awesome vibrato.

[chego_voice]

Hey people! this is me singing MOB! Would you check it out?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xzWQPUOOeU

I'm so happy!

Great work, man
You've got an awesome vibrato.

it's all about LaBrie!!! he is the beacon in the night!

[James Sucellus]

Anybody else find it absolutely hilarious that a bunch of casuals are gonna be buying tickets to see Petrucci shred a night of hard metal, only to be greeted by 2 hours of a ballad heavy sci-fi version of an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical?

It's awesome.

[BlobVanDam]

That's not funny at all.

[chego_voice]

Anybody else find it absolutely hilarious that a bunch of casuals are gonna be buying tickets to see Petrucci shred a night of hard metal, only to be greeted by 2 hours of a ballad heavy sci-fi version of an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical?

It's awesome.

[Tomislav95]

Anybody else find it absolutely hilarious that a bunch of casuals are gonna be buying tickets to see Petrucci shred a night of hard metal, only to be greeted by 2 hours of a ballad heavy sci-fi version of an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical?

It's awesome.

I'd like to have that instead of shredding.

[Kotowboy]

Getting a bit tired of reading

" Astonishing is shit because there's no metal on it ".

If you want every album to be the fuking same heavy shit - go listen to Slayer.


My God. I'm so glad Dream Theater exists. They don't make the exact same album every two years and they stick their necks on the line every once in a while.

Kerry King hasn't got the guts to make anything other than a generic thrash album with lyrics about satan and auschwitz.

He wouldn't dare.  He'd be terrified of not looking like tr00 methulz

[mike099]

DT will not do this on the full Astonishing tour, but if they do play A new beginning in a future set, I would love to hear a MM drum solo during this song.

[jsbru]

Hey people! this is me singing MOB! Would you check it out?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xzWQPUOOeU

I'm so happy!

Great job!  When doing DT covers, I think the vocalist almost always has the greatest challenge.  Very few people can sing with authority in the range James sings in.

Is there music/tabs available for this already, or did you guys all do it by ear?  I'm trying to learn the Our New World solo on guitar, but can't figure out those sweep-picking arpeggios, etc.  No tab so far in the usual spots online.

[Gromit1710]

Hey people! this is me singing MOB! Would you check it out?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xzWQPUOOeU

I'm so happy!

Fabulous job! To everyone involved!

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Getting a bit tired of reading

" Astonishing is shit because there's no metal on it ".

If you want every album to be the fuking same heavy shit - go listen to Slayer.


My God. I'm so glad Dream Theater exists. They don't make the exact same album every two years and they stick their necks on the line every once in a while.

Kerry King hasn't got the guts to make anything other than a generic thrash album with lyrics about satan and auschwitz.

He wouldn't dare.  He'd be terrified of not looking like tr00 methulz

[Kotowboy]

I don't know what your point is.


1. surely that should be kerry king in that pic

2. you're a DT fan

3. replying with a pic is the absolute bottom of the barrel of humour.

4. profit ??

[Cyclopssss]

I´m going to see DT perform The Astonishing. That´s what I´m going to see. I knew exactly what to expect when I ordered my ticket, namely that it´s not a regular Dream Theater concert. People that are moaning about TA being disapointing, hey tough. Wait a year and they´ll record a new, probably more regular ´metal´ record. Or not. This is the Astonishing. It is what it is. And I happen to think it´s pretty nifty.

[BFRedrocks]

I've had complete listen-throughs of TA about a dozen times now and I'm really liking it.  I think if you grasp the story concept with the full volume of music as one, then it works much, much better than if you try to dissect each song as separate pieces of work.

With that said, and as much as I enjoy TA, I'm really hoping for another ToT-type album for their next effort. 

[MirrorMask]

Anybody else find it absolutely hilarious that a bunch of casuals are gonna be buying tickets to see Petrucci shred a night of hard metal, only to be greeted by 2 hours of a ballad heavy sci-fi version of an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical?

It's awesome.

Dream Theater are big, but not THAT big to the point that people know about them from the past and go to see them "because it's Dream Theater". I think their fanbase is dedicated enough to know what's going on with the band and be prepared.

I don't think there will be a case like Iron Maiden in 2006, with people deciding to go to see the mighty Maiden they saw back in the '80s, thinking "Surely I will hear Run to the Hills and The Trooper", and getting the whole new album (new by then) front to back.

[Gromit1710]

I´m going to see DT perform The Astonishing. That´s what I´m going to see. I knew exactly what to expect when I ordered my ticket, namely that it´s not a regular Dream Theater concert. People that are moaning about TA being disapointing, hey tough. Wait a year and they´ll record a new, probably more regular ´metal´ record. Or not. This is the Astonishing. It is what it is. And I happen to think it´s pretty nifty.

Pretty much this.

I had no idea what I was going to go see when I bought the ticket other than DT was trying their hand at something more along the lines of a musical in concept. I'd heard "Gift of Music" and that's about it.

But I like this band not for what I want them to do.

I like them because they do what THEY want to do... and they do it in a way that I enjoy. Heavy, fast, slow, technical, melodic... doesn't matter to me. They somehow nail it for me every time. The fact that their albums are different is even better. 'cause there's a DT album for any occasion.

Now I've got one for when I feel like a grandiose musical! 

[jsbru]

Maybe "filler" isn't the right word, but the middle of Act II is a somewhat long span of nothing musically remarkable.  If you look at the "favorite song" poll on this forum, there's a big gap here, too, so it's not just me.

At this point, you've been listening to the same style of rock opera music for an hour and a half.  It would have been the perfect opportunity to throw in a curve ball and make Machine Chatter into a full-length song, maybe throw in some ambient guitar for some texture, etc.  I feel like I am just starting to get into the groove when it ends abruptly.

[Gromit1710]

Maybe "filler" isn't the right word, but the middle of Act II is a somewhat long span of nothing musically remarkable.  If you look at the "favorite song" poll on this forum, there's a big gap here, too, so it's not just me.

At this point, you've been listening to the same style of rock opera music for an hour and a half.  It would have been the perfect opportunity to throw in a curve ball and make Machine Chatter into a full-length song, maybe throw in some ambient guitar for some texture, etc.  I feel like I am just starting to get into the groove when it ends abruptly.

I do kind of agree with you there.

I think that's why "Our New World" stands out so much. At least for me it does. After that whole middle and climax, a (pretty much) straight forward, anthemic rock song with with a good hook and something you can really bob your head with was refreshing.

[Progmetty]

People seem to find it difficult to know which character is saying which lines, I don't have that problem cause I've sat with the lyrics all the way through the album on my first listen and haven't had any problems identifying who's talking on subsequent listens, but on the other hand the way the booklet was done with the glue and lack of lyrics on official website made it inconvenient for a lot of people to read the lyrics while listening. Some of us here were lucky cause pringkaarwanda transcribed them from the booklet and posted them here.
I think this album requires some initial time investment and patience to absorb but it's so rewarding, I'm have a metal background as well and I understand what the people who miss that aspect in the album are coming from but I also feel like that heavy aggressive emotion that metal fans get from speed and riffage can also be obtained from immersing yourself in the story and the melodies of this album, I'm very content with that.
Can't say it enough; I absolutely love The Astonishing.

[TAC]

I agree. It's very easy to tell. This album pretty much soaked in on the first couple listens.

[MirrorMask]

Exactly my thoughts! coming from a fellow metalhead as well.

Also, I join in thanking very much the transcribers of the lyrics!!!

[rab7]

Some of us here were lucky cause pringkaarwanda transcribed them from the booklet and posted them here.

Did he do that? I thought he just posted the link he got from reddit

[Lucien]

Getting a bit tired of reading

" Astonishing is shit because there's no metal on it ".

If you want every album to be the fuking same heavy shit - go listen to Slayer.


My God. I'm so glad Dream Theater exists. They don't make the exact same album every two years and they stick their necks on the line every once in a while.

Kerry King hasn't got the guts to make anything other than a generic thrash album with lyrics about satan and auschwitz.

He wouldn't dare.  He'd be terrified of not looking like tr00 methulz

fucking this

[ResultsMayVary]

If anyone says something along of lines of "this album is shit because of the lack of [insert genre name here]," then I can't take any of their opinions seriously.

[ariich]

Maybe "filler" isn't the right word, but the middle of Act II is a somewhat long span of nothing musically remarkable.  If you look at the "favorite song" poll on this forum, there's a big gap here, too, so it's not just me.

At this point, you've been listening to the same style of rock opera music for an hour and a half.  It would have been the perfect opportunity to throw in a curve ball and make Machine Chatter into a full-length song, maybe throw in some ambient guitar for some texture, etc.  I feel like I am just starting to get into the groove when it ends abruptly.

I think I disagree, but I want to check what you mean by "middle of Act II". I think the run from Path That Divides through to My Last Farewell is fantastic, both musically and narratively (though the two are of course related). The few songs after that are a bit more middle-of-the-road, but I would have said that's towards the end of the Act.

[ariich]

Anybody else find it absolutely hilarious that a bunch of casuals are gonna be buying tickets to see Petrucci shred a night of hard metal, only to be greeted by 2 hours of a ballad heavy sci-fi version of an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical?

It's awesome.

Dream Theater are big, but not THAT big to the point that people know about them from the past and go to see them "because it's Dream Theater". I think their fanbase is dedicated enough to know what's going on with the band and be prepared.

I don't think there will be a case like Iron Maiden in 2006, with people deciding to go to see the mighty Maiden they saw back in the '80s, thinking "Surely I will hear Run to the Hills and The Trooper", and getting the whole new album (new by then) front to back.

Yeah, I mean it was very clear in the marketing and when buying tickets that this was DT presents The Astonishing. I can see that some people might have had a friend or relative say "want to come see DT" and they go "yeah!" and therefore don't know, but for most if they're not aware, then they really weren't paying attention.

[ResultsMayVary]

It seems that most people have disliked the middle of Act II, but that's honestly probably my favorite series of songs.

[bosk1]

People seem to find it difficult to know which character is saying which lines, I don't have that problem cause I've sat with the lyrics all the way through the album on my first listen and haven't had any problems identifying who's talking on subsequent listens...

I still have not done that.  But I did read the summaries on DT.net, which give a great overview of the story itself.  And I have found that with that knowledge alone, combined with James' voice inflection changes when he is changing characters, it usually isn't difficult to figure out who is speaking at any given point in the story, with just a few exceptions.

[Prog Snob]

It seems to be pretty intuitive figuring out which character is singing during a given song.

[Kotowboy]

I read the lyrics.

[Dream Team]

There's plenty of heavy guitar on this album. Are people on crack?