Now there's going to be a novel for "The Astonishing"???

[cfmoran13]

The snobbery and bashing towards this album in all corners of the web astounds me... sheesh... Bloody great album and I'm excited for the novel...

I think the novel will help flesh out the story a bit more. Peter Orullian is a fantastic author, and a hell of a singer himself. (LaBrie is a big influence.) I am not thrilled with The Astonishing as a record, but I am very much looking forward to the book, and then revisiting the record after I've read it.

I'm very much interested in the book.  However, there will be no revisiting the album for me.  Going to the concert earlier this year was all the revisiting I need for this lifetime.  I don't think anything could ever change my opinion of their last album.  It's pretty much unlistenable.

[Ben_Jamin]

I'm interested in the book for one reason. To dwell deeper into the world JP created.

I feel people still don't quite understand that this album isn't meant to be listened to as your usual album.

Its like a story book but told through the music. I imagine the characters, the settings, and the atmosphere.

[PetFish]

The snobbery and bashing towards this album in all corners of the web astounds me... sheesh... Bloody great album and I'm excited for the novel...

Well said.

Am I 100% happy with it?  No.  Is anyone?  Of course not.  But rather than be happy for Dream Theater, and more specifically, Petrucci and Rudess, doing something that hasn't been done in a LONG time people would rather tear it down.

They've done more ambitious things with this project than anything in the past, and making 5.1 or instrumental bonus materials doesn't count, this thing was a HUGE undertaking and I don't think anyone else could have even come close to putting this together.

[IDontNotDoThings]

The snobbery and bashing towards this album in all corners of the web astounds me... sheesh... Bloody great album and I'm excited for the novel...

Missed opportunity

[The Walrus]

The snobbery and bashing towards this album in all corners of the web astounds me... sheesh... Bloody great album and I'm excited for the novel...

Missed opportunity

I tried to avoid the low hanging fruit 

[bosk1]

I'm interested in the book for one reason. To dwell deeper into the world JP created.

...

Its like a story book but told through the music. I imagine the characters, the settings, and the atmosphere.

Yeah, same here.  It'll be cool to have some things fleshed out a bit more.  I love Act I of the story because I think it sets up the world, the characters, and the conflict beautifully.  Act II just has some flaws that bother me, and I'm not 100% happy with the execution of the resolution to the story, so I don't listen to Act II nearly as much.  But one of the things I have long maintained would make the story better is this: 

I get that the focus of the story is in the personal interactions between the characters, and how their own personal relationships are more important than the actual war part of the plot.  It's kind of like how in the John Adams series a few years ago, despite that the Revolutionary War and, to a much lesser degree, the War of 1812 are HUGELY important to the context of what is going on, you don't actually see hardly any of the battles themselves in the series.  But in John Adams, I didn't overly miss the battle scenes because there was plenty more that was done in the story that made me feel the plight of the soldier and citizen.  For The Astonishing, I felt that was lacking.  I felt the high stakes for the characters.  And rightly so, since that is the focus.  But the stake in the story are supposed to be so much higher given the condition of the common man throughout the realm and how many are actually dying, according to the lyrics in A Better Life.  But beyond the two verses of lyrics in that song, I don't feel the plight of the average person in the realm, so the stakes don't feel as high.  Despite the length of the album, I think we needed a song that digs into that a bit more.  To me, it would fit better in Act I.  But due to the imbalance in the comparative lengths of the two acts (admittedly done on purpose, because that's how two act plays are often done as well, with the resolution in act 2 being generally shorter), I think it could fit well in Act II and make Act II stronger.  I REALLY wish they had done a song that gets into the fighting going on, and how people are dying, and the NOMACS are wreaking havoc.  Just one song on that subject could have really raised the stakes in the story and made it have more of an emotional impact, IMO.  Getting some of that in the book is the next best thing.

[Ben_Jamin]

I'm pretty sure JP had lots of ideas in mind he had to cut from the album. Could be why he felt the need to do a book, to let those ideas also be told in some way if its something he feels helps tell the story.

[lucky7]

It sounds interesting, I pre-ordered a copy, especially when I read it was limited to 2500 copies.
Decided to buy this rather than spend $250 AUS on a meet and greet ticket. This came in at $128 AUS.
I might still decide to buy the meet and greet for Melbourne.  It was hard to decide! 

[Dream Team]

The snobbery and bashing towards this album in all corners of the web astounds me... sheesh... Bloody great album and I'm excited for the novel...

I think the novel will help flesh out the story a bit more. Peter Orullian is a fantastic author, and a hell of a singer himself. (LaBrie is a big influence.) I am not thrilled with The Astonishing as a record, but I am very much looking forward to the book, and then revisiting the record after I've read it.

I'm very much interested in the book.  However, there will be no revisiting the album for me.  Going to the concert earlier this year was all the revisiting I need for this lifetime.  I don't think anything could ever change my opinion of their last album.  It's pretty much unlistenable.

How can an album with so many great melodies and vocals be "unlistenable"? I'm not sure you understand the meaning of the word. That word is much more aptly applied to some of the stuff on FII, SC, and BCSL.

[Dream Team]

The snobbery and bashing towards this album in all corners of the web astounds me... sheesh... Bloody great album and I'm excited for the novel...

Yup, but we live in a world where the latest crap dropped by Taylor Swift gets a billion hits on YouTube. Refined musical taste was tossed out with the bath water I think.

[Adami]

The snobbery and bashing towards this album in all corners of the web astounds me... sheesh... Bloody great album and I'm excited for the novel...

Yup, but we live in a world where the latest crap dropped by Taylor Swift gets a billion hits on YouTube. Refined musical taste was tossed out with the bath water I think.

This seems like an ironic reply to how annoying prog snobbery is.

[DougMasters]

It is my firm belief that the prog community hates The Astonishing because they're a bunch of snobs, and sadly they're the only people who would actually take the time to listen to it...

I'm not sure what constitutes being a prog snob.

When I hear snob I think of, super well informed, rather uppity and picky, to the point that goes beyond picky, but crosses over into a sense of self authority on a topic.

I'd consider myself a bit of a knucklehead, not happily but I tend to be a little bit more blunt and simple, I'd rather be that than a snob anyway. I truly hope I don't fall into the snob category with this.

But I can't stand this album, I've tried, I tried so hard, I listened, and listened, I hate it. Yeah, I can say the performances are good but beyond that, as far as my tastes go, this album blows so bad. I'd rather listen to Music From the Elder..... And the book? I read a lot, I just don't read books a lot. So, I may be the wrong person to chime in on this, but I'd rather have my head closed in my car door, not my *neck, but my melon, right above the ears, than attempt to read a book about an album that I think sucks as much as I think this one sucks.

[Anguyen92]

It is my firm belief that the prog community hates The Astonishing because they're a bunch of snobs, and sadly they're the only people who would actually take the time to listen to it...

I'm not sure what constitutes being a prog snob.

When I hear snob I think of, super well informed, rather uppity and picky, to the point that goes beyond picky, but crosses over into a sense of self authority on a topic.

I'd consider myself a bit of a knucklehead, not happily but I tend to be a little bit more blunt and simple, I'd rather be that than a snob anyway. I truly hope I don't fall into the snob category with this.

But I can't stand this album, I've tried, I tried so hard, I listened, and listened, I hate it. Yeah, I can say the performances are good but beyond that, as far as my tastes go, this album blows so bad. I'd rather listen to Music From the Elder..... And the book? I read a lot, I just don't read books a lot. So, I may be the wrong person to chime in on this, but I'd rather have my head closed in my car door, not my kneck, but my melon, right above the ears, than attempt to read a book about an album that I think sucks as much as I think this one sucks.

All right, I await to see the video of that then once the Astonishing book comes out and you opt to not read it, but do the bolded instead.  Every time, I see a comment like that I want to go, "all right, do it then and show us video evidence."

[bosk1]

  What's a kneck? 

[DougMasters]

  What's a kneck?

THAT my friend would be a typo



See, what did I say?

Knucklehead.

Or should I say nucklehead?

[DougMasters]

It is my firm belief that the prog community hates The Astonishing because they're a bunch of snobs, and sadly they're the only people who would actually take the time to listen to it...

I'm not sure what constitutes being a prog snob.

When I hear snob I think of, super well informed, rather uppity and picky, to the point that goes beyond picky, but crosses over into a sense of self authority on a topic.

I'd consider myself a bit of a knucklehead, not happily but I tend to be a little bit more blunt and simple, I'd rather be that than a snob anyway. I truly hope I don't fall into the snob category with this.

But I can't stand this album, I've tried, I tried so hard, I listened, and listened, I hate it. Yeah, I can say the performances are good but beyond that, as far as my tastes go, this album blows so bad. I'd rather listen to Music From the Elder..... And the book? I read a lot, I just don't read books a lot. So, I may be the wrong person to chime in on this, but I'd rather have my head closed in my car door, not my kneck, but my melon, right above the ears, than attempt to read a book about an album that I think sucks as much as I think this one sucks.

All right, I await to see the video of that then once the Astonishing book comes out and you opt to not read it, but do the bolded instead.  Every time, I see a comment like that I want to go, "all right, do it then and show us video evidence."

Hey, I said I'd rather INSTEAD of attempt to read the book..

Since I don't have to attempt to do so I don't have the make the choice, but rest assured if I ever had to you'd get your video.

[Herrick]

It is my firm belief that the prog community hates The Astonishing because they're a bunch of snobs, and sadly they're the only people who would actually take the time to listen to it...

Aww come on, mang. That's no better than saying everyone who loves The Astonishing is a mindless fanboy.

But anyway, shouldn't Prog Snobs praise this album for the sole reason that the band took a chance to do something risky and different? The Astonishing is unlike anything Dream Theater has done before. Like it or not The Astonishing is progressive!

I haven't been able to get into The Astonishing (only listened to it a few times) BUTT I'm a sci-fi, fantasy, dystopia fan so I'm actually interested in reading the book...one day.

Non-relevant reply: I don't think this book is a cash grab. Petrucci must feel strongly about the story to the point where he wants to expand upon it. That's fine with me. People who hate the album don't have to read the book. Freedom!

[jammindude]

Guys....please believe me.   I'm not a a big time reader, because I'm difficult to impress when it comes to reading. 

Peter Orullian is DA MAN!!!   

I was a fan of his Vault of Heaven series before he ever got tied to this project.  And it is by far my favorite fantasy series.   People try to talk up classics like The Wheel of Time, which is OK, but overall I find it pretty generic and derivative....but still somewhat enjoyable.    But Vault of Heaven is an AMAZING series.   Only two books so far, but very multi-layered with far more interesting characters and movtivations than anything I've seen from fantasy in a very long time.   Not only that, but I know for a fact that he's been given license to embellish the story where ever he feels it needs a bit more fleshing out.

Trust me guys.   This story is in the hands of a modern day master craftsman, and he will deliver the goods.   He is a Dream Theater fan, a fantastic human being, and an immensely talented fantasy writer.   This is going to be fun.

[Samsara]

Guys....please believe me.   I'm not a a big time reader, because I'm difficult to impress when it comes to reading. 

Peter Orullian is DA MAN!!!   

I was a fan of his Vault of Heaven series before he ever got tied to this project.  And it is by far my favorite fantasy series.   People try to talk up classics like The Wheel of Time, which is OK, but overall I find it pretty generic and derivative....but still somewhat enjoyable.    But Vault of Heaven is an AMAZING series.   Only two books so far, but very multi-layered with far more interesting characters and movtivations than anything I've seen from fantasy in a very long time.   Not only that, but I know for a fact that he's been given license to embellish the story where ever he feels it needs a bit more fleshing out.

Trust me guys.   This story is in the hands of a modern day master craftsman, and he will deliver the goods.   He is a Dream Theater fan, a fantastic human being, and an immensely talented fantasy writer.   This is going to be fun.

A big YES and amen to all of that. 

[geeeemo]

I just looked up Peter Orullian online - wanted to check out some of his books.  My first impression..he kinda looks like JLB

[Dublagent66]

The snobbery and bashing towards this album in all corners of the web astounds me... sheesh... Bloody great album and I'm excited for the novel...

I think the novel will help flesh out the story a bit more. Peter Orullian is a fantastic author, and a hell of a singer himself. (LaBrie is a big influence.) I am not thrilled with The Astonishing as a record, but I am very much looking forward to the book, and then revisiting the record after I've read it.

I'm very much interested in the book.  However, there will be no revisiting the album for me.  Going to the concert earlier this year was all the revisiting I need for this lifetime.  I don't think anything could ever change my opinion of their last album.  It's pretty much unlistenable.

How can an album with so many great melodies and vocals be "unlistenable"? I'm not sure you understand the meaning of the word. That word is much more aptly applied to some of the stuff on FII, SC, and BCSL.

Opinions vary.  I'll take FII, SC and BCSL over TA any day.  The word "unlistenable" is highly subjective just like most everything else related to music.

[The Walrus]

"Three Days" alone puts it over BC&SL, SC, and the self-titled, imo. That's DT at their creative best, just letting it all hang out there and trying weird stuff instead of just cramming more solos and minutes into the song. Short, sweet, but with a whole lot of 'whoa.'

[nattmorker]

"Three Days" alone puts it over BC&SL, SC, and the self-titled, imo. That's DT at their creative best, just letting it all hang out there and trying weird stuff instead of just cramming more solos and minutes into the song. Short, sweet, but with a whole lot of 'whoa.'

Totally agree with this!

[bosk1]

Three Days is a fun little song, but I'm not sure how you could put ANY single song ahead of any of those albums.   

[Mosh]

Right, and it doesn't even speak to the quality of The Astonishing itself. It's one short song on a 2 hour epic of an album.

[WheyWaffles]

When will the Majesty Casket be available for pre-order? Asking for my grandma.

[The Walrus]

Three Days is a fun little song, but I'm not sure how you could put ANY single song ahead of any of those albums. 

'cause they ain't that good, fam.

[cfmoran13]

The snobbery and bashing towards this album in all corners of the web astounds me... sheesh... Bloody great album and I'm excited for the novel...

I think the novel will help flesh out the story a bit more. Peter Orullian is a fantastic author, and a hell of a singer himself. (LaBrie is a big influence.) I am not thrilled with The Astonishing as a record, but I am very much looking forward to the book, and then revisiting the record after I've read it.

I'm very much interested in the book.  However, there will be no revisiting the album for me.  Going to the concert earlier this year was all the revisiting I need for this lifetime.  I don't think anything could ever change my opinion of their last album.  It's pretty much unlistenable.

How can an album with so many great melodies and vocals be "unlistenable"? I'm not sure you understand the meaning of the word. That word is much more aptly applied to some of the stuff on FII, SC, and BCSL.

"Great melodies and vocals" is totally subjective.  As much as I tried to like the album, it's nothing more than a bloated snooze-fest for me.  I don't care about the story or the characters either.  Fifteen years ago, I probably would've gotten all chubbed up if you told me DT was putting out a 2-CD concept album.  Nowadays, give me 9-10 quality songs and I'm more than thrilled.  I simply don't have the time to put in the effort to digest all that music and force myself to like it just because it's DT. 

Personally, I'd rather listen to Metallica's St. Anger.  Production aside, at least there is a song or two I find okay.

[mikeyd23]

The snobbery and bashing towards this album in all corners of the web astounds me... sheesh... Bloody great album and I'm excited for the novel...

I think the novel will help flesh out the story a bit more. Peter Orullian is a fantastic author, and a hell of a singer himself. (LaBrie is a big influence.) I am not thrilled with The Astonishing as a record, but I am very much looking forward to the book, and then revisiting the record after I've read it.

I'm very much interested in the book.  However, there will be no revisiting the album for me.  Going to the concert earlier this year was all the revisiting I need for this lifetime.  I don't think anything could ever change my opinion of their last album.  It's pretty much unlistenable.

How can an album with so many great melodies and vocals be "unlistenable"? I'm not sure you understand the meaning of the word. That word is much more aptly applied to some of the stuff on FII, SC, and BCSL.

"Great melodies and vocals" is totally subjective.  As much as I tried to like the album, it's nothing more than a bloated snooze-fest for me.  I don't care about the story or the characters either.  Fifteen years ago, I probably would've gotten all chubbed up if you told me DT was putting out a 2-CD concept album.  Nowadays, give me 9-10 quality songs and I'm more than thrilled.  I simply don't have the time to put in the effort to digest all that music and force myself to like it just because it's DT. 

Personally, I'd rather listen to Metallica's St. Anger.  Production aside, at least there is a song or two I find okay.

Don't get me wrong - I totally respect your opinion to not like what you don't like and to like what you do like, but how do you dismiss someone else's opinion on the matter by saying it's "totally subjective" and then proceed to post your case which is also totally subjective? If your subjective opinion is worth stating and being respected, aren't contradictory opinions on the matter worth that as well?

[cfmoran13]

Don't get me wrong - I totally respect your opinion to not like what you don't like and to like what you do like, but how do you dismiss someone else's opinion on the matter by saying it's "totally subjective" and then proceed to post your case which is also totally subjective? If your subjective opinion is worth stating and being respected, aren't contradictory opinions on the matter worth that as well?

It was not my intention to dismiss Dream Team's opinion or anyone else's.  Mine is just as subjective as any other opinion.  Perhaps I didn't have the best delivery.  I was simply elaborating on why I find the album to be unlistenable.  I'm glad other people enjoy the album.  Personally, I don't understand how.  But, that's why there are so many different types of music in the world.  I know there's plenty of music I enjoy that people here would consider cr@p.  And, that's totally fine.

That said, I'm still curious about the book.  I'm glad they're able to have this done.

[Ben_Jamin]

Don't get me wrong - I totally respect your opinion to not like what you don't like and to like what you do like, but how do you dismiss someone else's opinion on the matter by saying it's "totally subjective" and then proceed to post your case which is also totally subjective? If your subjective opinion is worth stating and being respected, aren't contradictory opinions on the matter worth that as well?

It was not my intention to dismiss Dream Team's opinion or anyone else's.  Mine is just as subjective as any other opinion.  Perhaps I didn't have the best delivery.  I was simply elaborating on why I find the album to be unlistenable.  I'm glad other people enjoy the album.  Personally, I don't understand how.  But, that's why there are so many different types of music in the world.  I know there's plenty of music I enjoy that people here would consider cr@p.  And, that's totally fine.

That said, I'm still curious about the book.  I'm glad they're able to have this done.

How?....because we enjoy the melodies and songs. Its music.

[Dublagent66]

Three Days is a fun little song, but I'm not sure how you could put ANY single song ahead of any of those albums. 

'cause they ain't that good, fam.

[The Walrus]

Three Days is a fun little song, but I'm not sure how you could put ANY single song ahead of any of those albums. 

'cause they ain't that good, fam.

I will defend my sentence to the death 

[Dublagent66]

Good luck with that.  You're highly outnumbered. 

[mikeyd23]

Good luck with that.  You're highly outnumbered. 

Not around here:

https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=49866.0