- " The Astonishing " - One Year -- er, EIGHT YEARS On.

[Elite]

yes

[Adami]

After re-listening to songs like Illlumination Theory, I noticed a big improvement in approach on TA that I appreciate.

On Illumination Theory, it often feels like they wrote the whole song with Jordan recording the strings/choirs on keys as his main parts, then just got a real orchestra/choir to do the same thing on top of it. On TA, however, almost any time you hear the orchestra/choir, Jordan's main part is something else like piano. That's how I always approached writing with an orchestra in mind, and most other bands too, so I'm glad Jordan isn't literally just having them play his parts on top of him. Especially since his piano parts accent the rest of the song so well and add such lovely atmosphere to it.

[Stewie]

Loved it on day one, and still do. I think it'll go down in history as one of their masterpieces. I haven't listened to it in about a month now, but that's just because of so much other new music that I'm trying to keep up with.

My only complaints are the nomac tracks (which I don't include in my playlist), and some of the sound effects sound cheesy and non-realistic. The main one being Nafaryus crying at the beginning of Losing Faythe. It doesn't sound at all like a fellow his age crying. It doesn't even sound like crying. It sounds like some fat fuck clown having a chuckle...

Compositionally speaking, I love it.

[TAC]

Loved it on day one, and still do. I think it'll go down in history as one of their masterpieces. I haven't listened to it in about a month now, but that's just because of so much other new music that I'm trying to keep up with.

My only complaints are the nomac tracks (which I don't include in my playlist), and some of the sound effects sound cheesy and non-realistic. The main one being Nafaryus crying at the beginning of Losing Faythe. It doesn't sound at all like a fellow his age crying. It doesn't even sound like crying. It sounds like some fat fuck clown having a chuckle...

Compositionally speaking, I love it.

All. Of. This.

[DoctorAction]

I was open to it to begin with as I loved the single but soon disliked it. That hasn't changed.

I very much admire that they created something different for them but think very badly of many aspects of the form. The premise, plot, style and length of the thing leave me wondering, now more than ever, how the band I love could have made such decisions. I never listen to it now and am deeply suspicious of the judgements of JP as band leader now. So much so that I doubt I'll buy their next album on release. And believe me, that is a HUGE statement for me.

[Kotowboy]

The premise, plot, style and length of the thing leave me wondering, now more than ever, how the band I love could have made such decisions.

Because they wanted to.

[Anguyen92]

The premise, plot, style and length of the thing leave me wondering, now more than ever, how the band I love could have made such decisions.

Because they wanted to.

And isn't that the whole point of creating ambitious music?  To challenge fans, to not go into a typical bubble/formula of creating songs, to do something that no one would think they would do at this stage in their careers?  To be bold and daring and risk their reputations of musicians on the line?  That alone is good enough for me put The Astonishing in my fave five albums in 2016.  Sure, certain parts of the album was not the greatest, but they had a fair amount of great enjoyable standalone songs that I still blast on my regular playlist to this day. 

[Grappler]

It's the only Dream Theater album that I have never purchased.  Listened to the singles, wasn't impressed.  When I learned that the majority of the album was like the singles, I had no desire to buy it or listen to the whole thing.

Unbelievable. Maybe skip most of the album but take some time to enjoy at least part of the second half of Act I:  LLB - ANB.....
Never listened a second from that?

  Why should he listen to the album when he has heard representative tracks from it and has concluded that they don't jibe with his interests/tastes?

Exactly, and I might add that I have watched some live footage on occasion to see what their tour production looked like, and maybe sampled a bit of the album here or there (whatever song was released with Lzzy Hale).  But it's not my thing.  I absolutely love Dream Theater, and this forum has me going back and listening to a lot of their albums.  But I don't have to love The Astonishing to remain a fan. 

[hefdaddy42]

I loved it on day one, and still do.

I think it's a staggering achievement, to compose all of the music and lyrics like that for a (more or less) focused and cohesive story, and yet not like a typical prog metal concept album, but something different, more like a musical.

Is it perfect?  No, but the daring to achieve something so different from the band is also inspiring, regardless of your opinion on the outcome. 

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?" - Robert Browning

[DoctorAction]

The premise, plot, style and length of the thing leave me wondering, now more than ever, how the band I love could have made such decisions.

Because they wanted to.

And isn't that the whole point of creating ambitious music?  To challenge fans, to not go into a typical bubble/formula of creating songs, to do something that no one would think they would do at this stage in their careers?  To be bold and daring and risk their reputations of musicians on the line?  That alone is good enough for me put The Astonishing in my fave five albums in 2016.  Sure, certain parts of the album was not the greatest, but they had a fair amount of great enjoyable standalone songs that I still blast on my regular playlist to this day.

I think it's great they did something atypical for them. Really do. But doing what they wanted to do doesn't improve it for me.

2112 wasn't a mind blowing concept to begin with. 

[gzarruk]

The premise, plot, style and length of the thing leave me wondering, now more than ever, how the band I love could have made such decisions.

Because they wanted to.

And isn't that the whole point of creating ambitious music?  To challenge fans, to not go into a typical bubble/formula of creating songs, to do something that no one would think they would do at this stage in their careers?  To be bold and daring and risk their reputations of musicians on the line?  That alone is good enough for me put The Astonishing in my fave five albums in 2016.  Sure, certain parts of the album was not the greatest, but they had a fair amount of great enjoyable standalone songs that I still blast on my regular playlist to this day.

I agree completely. Releasing new albums is about expanding your horizons as a band, and DT have always done that, even if the outcome isn't always the best (BC&SL, I' looking at you). Of course they keep inside some stylistic boundaries that sometimes I wish they expanded more, but, if we see the bigger picture (pun intended  ) they don't have to albums that sound the same, and we can't say the same thing of other bands that have been around for less time than DT. That's why they haven't become a nostlgia act, and I don't see them becoming one.

[As I Am]

All I can say is I "liked" it upon release, "liked" it a bit more after seeing the Radio City performance, but haven't had any urge to listen to it since. That must say something.

[Chino]

All I can say is I "liked" it upon release, "liked" it a bit more after seeing the Radio City performance, but haven't had any urge to listen to it since. That must say something.

I don't think so. I love the shit out of Images and Words. Up until the Astonishing it was my favorite DT album. I haven't listened to it in at least two years.

[pretorios]

Great record, but it took several listens before I came to that conclusion. I appreciate the shorter songs, the efficiency--and I appreciate that the brilliant moments are shorter because those moments truly are brilliant, and I'm left wanting more, which is a sign of good art, IMO.

The weakness: the lyrics. There are some good moments, but there are just as many cringe-worthy moments. I would have liked to see JP take the lyrics through another round or two of edits, especially with a 3rd party. No writer on Earth, whether he writes verse or prose, is a good self editor.

[Lax]

I gave CD2 a spin on a road trip alone...And guess what, I cried between heaven's cove and hymn...This album has a vibe that stabs me, plus the story...
I don't know how many listen it will take to have less effect

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Still one of DT's most ambitious and interesting albums. Haters gonna hate.

[gzarruk]

Still one of DT's most ambitious and interesting albums. Haters gonna hate.

Agree.

[Lethean]

I gave CD2 a spin on a road trip alone...And guess what, I cried between heaven's cove and hymn...This album has a vibe that stabs me, plus the story...
I don't know how many listen it will take to have less effect

I love disc 2. My initial impression was that disc one was better, but I'm not sure if that was just because it was so much longer. Disc 2 seems to just fly by, but now I think it's every bit as good as part 1. After a year my love for this album hasn't died, hasn't faded, so I think it's going to be among my very favorite Dream Theater albums from here on out. As for the story and lyrics, I wasn't initially sold. Today, if I just sat down and read the lyrics without any of the music in mind at all, I still might think some of them were cringe-worthy or whatever. But at some point when I was starting to fall in love with the music of the album, I decided to just embrace it. And it worked for me. Music has been an immensely important part of my life, and so I can relate to it very strongly on that level.

[Podaar]

I was really impressed with it when it came out. I loved about 1/3rd of it, liked 1/3rd and was okay with the rest. It became a chore to find enough time to sit through the entirety of it. It never felt right to take it piecemeal.

I actually love more of it now than I did then. I probably didn't listen to it for six months or so, but during the holidays I was cooking and I knew I'd be in the kitchen for hours so I put on TA. It felt great and I joyfully sang along with way more than I thought I would. The instrumental passages are still 

[Kotowboy]

I enjoy about 5/8ths of it

[Ben_Jamin]

I'm like the only one that enjoys the Music Player part. JLBs harmonies and melodies are beautiful.

[Adami]

I'm like the only one that enjoys the Music Player part. JLBs harmonies and melodies are beautiful.

I like it.

[rumborak]

I never had too much problems with it either. My gripe with TA is in other places.

[Ben_Jamin]

Also, I enjoy Begin Again, especially the ending.

This album is one of JLBs finest albums.

[erwinrafael]

I'm like the only one that enjoys the Music Player part. JLBs harmonies and melodies are beautiful.

I like it very much because it speaks to me. I am plugged in to my music player half the time, and I get the sentiment of how listening to music could change one's life.

"My music player
MY PRIVATE PARADISE"

Truth.

[Evai]

"MY PRIVATE PARADISE"

faythe we all know you crank that shit in your earpods, everybody hears your music

[erwinrafael]

She's using in-ears. 

[RodrigoAltaf]

Sucked then,sucks now.

[Chino]

Sucked then,sucks now.

Does it suck, or is it just not your thing? I wouldn't attend an Iron Maiden show if you gave me a free ticket, but I wouldn't say they suck.

[cramx3]

Sucked then,sucks now.

Does it suck, or is it just not your thing? I wouldn't attend an Iron Maiden show if you gave me a free ticket, but I wouldn't say they suck.

You are missing out on not accepting that ticket 

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Sucked then,sucks now.

Good insight. Thank you for taking your time.

[rumborak]

One interesting aspect to TA is that quite a few people seem to have *made* TA an album they like by creating an abridged version. I guess it's the question of artistic integrity (i.e. "one should listen to TA in its entirety, since it's what the artist intended") vs "I'd rather have something I enjoy".

[MirrorMask]

I enjoy the whole album, but I want to have more chances to listen to it, and the abridged version help to save time. I skipped the songs I enjoy the least, there aren't on the albums songs  that I dislike so much that I would never ever listen to them even if paid for.

[cramx3]

One interesting aspect to TA is that quite a few people seem to have *made* TA an album they like by creating an abridged version. I guess it's the question of artistic integrity (i.e. "one should listen to TA in its entirety, since it's what the artist intended") vs "I'd rather have something I enjoy".

Yea, but there is also the reality of an album being over 2 hours long and there is only so much time in a day to listen to music in our busy lives.  While I don't have an abridged personal version, I do enjoy listening to the album in chunks.

[KevShmev]

I don't really worry about what the artist intended.  Like cramx3, I tend to listen to in chunks as well, and I find that disc 1 still gets most of the play with me, with a few select tracks from disc 2.