DT15: A View From The Top Of The World (Timeline for DT15)

[gzarruk]

I want to see some penguins...

I need a concept album about these guys:

[geeeemo]

I want to see some penguins...

I need a concept album about these guys:

Ya, I am not computer literate enough to add a pic..

So...Julian must be included.."I like to move it move it!"

[Phoenix87x]

So there's no new single yet, right? Or am I missing it

[RMGadelha]

So there's no new single yet, right? Or am I missing it

No single. I'm thinking August 6th or late August.

[TAC]

So there's no new single yet, right? Or am I missing it

No single. I'm thinking August 6th or late August.

That narrows it down. 

[RMGadelha]

So there's no new single yet, right? Or am I missing it

No single. I'm thinking August 6th or late August.

That narrows it down. 

Hey, it could be early Septmeber 

No really, I think the 6th because it's a Friday which is already in August, or late August because it would be like a month after the announcement, which I believe is what happened with D/T.

[Nel_Annette]

The spider is foretelling that every single song on the album will musically and/or lyrically reference "Caught in a Web" at least once.

[devieira73]

From MM's Facebook: "... Petrucci played the 8-String Song for some people here at his Camp. I've never had so many people come up to me and say, "holy s*!" or, "you have to be kidding me" or "Oh my ____ ____"  I'm smiling typing this. But that one will not be the first release coming pretty soon. That one is a "doooooozie!" ..."

[Architeuthis]

From MM's Facebook: "... Petrucci played the 8-String Song for some people here at his Camp. I've never had so many people come up to me and say, "holy s*!" or, "you have to be kidding me" or "Oh my ____ ____"  I'm smiling typing this. But that one will not be the first release coming pretty soon. That one is a "doooooozie!" ..."

     

[SystematicThought]

I figured the single was gonna be today. Be kinda weird to announce a tour and new album and delay a single release

[gzarruk]

I figured the single was gonna be today. Be kinda weird to announce a tour and new album and delay a single release

Usually, IO releases the single about two weeks after the album announcement. I expect it to be released on Aug. 13th, along with the preorders. Hope to be wrong, though, and that it comes next week

[The Letter M]

I figured the single was gonna be today. Be kinda weird to announce a tour and new album and delay a single release

Usually, IO releases the single about two weeks after the album announcement. I expect it to be released on Aug. 13th, along with the preorders. Hope to be wrong, though, and that it comes next week

As for July 30th, we are 12 weeks away from the album release, so if they're going to pump out three singles like they've typically been doing at Inside Out, I would suspect a single every four weeks if they released one later today.

If they wait until the 6th of August, then the second one would probably come out September 3rd, and the third one on October 1st, three weeks before the album releases.

If they wait til August 13th, which does feel like a long time from the album announcement, then maybe we will only get 2 pre-release singles, and a third one not long after the album releases? I haven't kept track of most of IO's pre-release album promotion schedules, so I'm not sure if that's a thing they would do, but releasing the first single of three just 10 weeks before release feels like such a small window for 3 singles.

-Marc.

[Polarbear]

Late to the party, as I've been super busy at work and super exhausted.

I'm honestly not that keen on the album title! I would have preferred something shorter and more to the point.

But that honestly doesn't matter, all that matters is the music. Longer songs on this album compared to "Distance over Time". One of the reasons why I liked DoT so much , was the fact that it had nothing over 10 minutes long. Songs were shorter, but at the same time still had all the DT elements, without excessive 5 minute instrumental/orchestral sections.

But we'll see what happens! Honestly if the songs are good, then the lengths don't bother me. I reserve all my judgment until I've heard the record. Release some music already!

[wolfking]

From MM's Facebook: "... Petrucci played the 8-String Song for some people here at his Camp. I've never had so many people come up to me and say, "holy s*!" or, "you have to be kidding me" or "Oh my ____ ____"  I'm smiling typing this. But that one will not be the first release coming pretty soon. That one is a "doooooozie!" ..."

I'm intrigued.

[Zydar]

Since it's only 7 tracks on this album (one being over 20 minutes), my guess is there will only be 2 singles this time. I could be very wrong though

[Chomesuque]

Since it's only 7 tracks on this album (one being over 20 minutes), my guess is there will only be 2 singles this time. I could be very wrong though

I remember IO releasing three singles for Haken's Vector even though the album had 7 tracks and was only 40 minutes long :/

[LordJordan]

In case of 3 releases, the cheapest choice possible in terms of time would be Transcending Time (6:25), Invisible Monster (6:31) and Answering The Call (7:35).
That sums up to 20:31 of total music revealed, pretty much one third of the total music on the album.
Seems too much for me, I guess there is going not going to be more than 2 singles

[jayvee3]

I think this time, I'll be fine to listen to the first single a couple of times and then just leave it at that until the album release. Would've struggled with it in the past, but I've been through that many DT album cycles now, that I know I enjoy the albums most when I'm going in not knowing what's coming. And at least for me, two and especially three singles from a seven song album is just too much.. So I think I can display some restraint in my old age 😊

[Dellers]

After seeing the song titles, I'm wondering which song JP is using his eight string guitar?  My first guess would be Invisible Monster.   I could be completely wrong though.   

Whichever it is I expect it to be my least favorite song on the album. 8 string guitars have become somewhat common now, yet to my ears not a single person has been able to make one sound even remotely good. Guitars just don't sound nice down there. Hopefully the 8 string is not going to stay.

[nikatapi]

John Myung put the self-titled track of the upcoming album as one of the top 5 hard songs to play:

"A View From the Top of the World" - A View From the Top of the World (2021)

What makes this a challenge to play for me would be that it's a 20-minute epic, so the memorization aspect is the first part of the challenge. And then there are certain sections that I have to focus on. For instance, there is a classical Mozart-like section that happens in the second half of the song. It's the type of part that definitely takes a bit of practice, when taken out of context it turns into a cool little exercise all by itself.

https://www.revolvermag.com/music/dream-theater-5-most-difficult-songs-play-live#i-am-train-thought-2003

[YtseJamittaja]

In case of 3 releases, the cheapest choice possible in terms of time would be Transcending Time (6:25), Invisible Monster (6:31) and Answering The Call (7:35).
That sums up to 20:31 of total music revealed, pretty much one third of the total music on the album.
Seems too much for me, I guess there is going not going to be more than 2 singles

Inside Out has been released 3 singles before release date from every album for ages now so I think this will not be a difference.

[ReaperKK]

Listening to some 8-string stuff myself now and it'll be interesting to see what JP does with it.

[Stadler]

I AM excited for this, perhaps more than any of the post-Portnoy albums, but the things that excite others do nothing for me.  I couldn't give a rat's ass about song lengths - I can name AMAZING 2:00 songs and songs that are 20:00 of absolute dirt - and I don't listen to djent, so why would I want John to play that way? 

I just want something inspired, something that makes me thing "wow, that's why I like Dream Theater" (which means, great melodies, singable/hummable vocal lines, intricate ensemble parts, some example of technique that elevates the song as opposed to screaming "I'm going for a world record here!").   I think given the LTE and the solo album, there's a reasonable shot that this might be a refresh for John, and that is really what I'm hoping for.

[MinistroRaven]

[ReaperKK]

, honestly that's only slightly worse than Hugh Syme artwork. They should've used that instead of Hugh and saved some money.

[Kotowboy]

Shrug. it's their money they're wasting. There must be hundreds of fantastic artists who are unknown who would kill to get their work on a Dream theater album.

instead they settle for Hugh " as little effort as I can get away with " Syme.

[Kotowboy]

Since it's only 7 tracks on this album (one being over 20 minutes), my guess is there will only be 2 singles this time. I could be very wrong though

I'm torn since when I first read that Black Clouds was only 6 tracks my heart sank a bit as I find I get bored of albums with fewer tracks quicker.

However Train of thought is one of my fave DT albums so who knows.

I'd have liked an intro a la False Awakening Suite and an outro like "Easter Egg" - that'd bring it to 9 tracks like every other Mangini album bar The Astonishing.

[Wim Kruithof]

John Myung put the self-titled track of the upcoming album as one of the top 5 hard songs to play:

Thanks, that's very interesting. I hope it would be Illumination Theory-like, especially with the Mozart-part Myung is talking about. Can't wait, realy...

[ReaperKK]

instead they settle for Hugh " as little effort as I can get away with " Syme.

agreed, the guy comes off as an incredibly lazy artist.

[noxon]

I hate that ****ing notion.

I know for a fact that the process of album artwork isn't just "Hugh tosses something together and DT is happy with whatever he delivers." It's literally creating countless of alternatives and going back and forth on details and alternatives and edits to get to the final result. We had at least 5 alternatives just in the teaser campaign - one of which is used in the tour poster...

Using stock imagery is a tool for digital artists in much the same way that using a specific instrument or sound patch when you're a musician - yes, you're relying on someone else's creativity to create something new, but I really don't see the problem with that. And others prefer to either paint things fully, or take all their photos themselves. Different tools for different preferences.

I mean, people haven't even found the correct photo for the Kjeragbolten image. It's this one: https://www.shutterstock.com/nb/image-photo/kjeragbolten-norway-stone-between-two-rocks-111144011. But due to the popularity of the imagery, you'll find literally thousands of the same angle image on google image search, due to the fact that it's something people go visit and photograph a lot...

Are you seriously saying Hugh Syme should've travelled to Norway to take that image himself, which would've looked pretty much identical to the literally thousands of other images on the internet... instead of picking that stock image?

[Mladen]

I am starting to understand that the guys in the band do care about the cover art, but that the authenticity and originality are possibly not the priority. As long as the images convey what the lyrics are representing and translate the vibe of the music, it probably doesn't make a difference if an artist does an original painting of his own, makes an authentic photo of his own, or uses stock images.

I think a part of the fanbase views using stock images as a generic process, which influences their perception of the art. Myself included, I do not get much excited about an image that features photos that could have easily been found on google. Tastes do vary, however, and if people dig the artwork, that is cool. 

[lightbug]

John Myung put the self-titled track of the upcoming album as one of the top 5 hard songs to play:

"A View From the Top of the World" - A View From the Top of the World (2021)

What makes this a challenge to play for me would be that it's a 20-minute epic, so the memorization aspect is the first part of the challenge. And then there are certain sections that I have to focus on. For instance, there is a classical Mozart-like section that happens in the second half of the song. It's the type of part that definitely takes a bit of practice, when taken out of context it turns into a cool little exercise all by itself.

https://www.revolvermag.com/music/dream-theater-5-most-difficult-songs-play-live#i-am-train-thought-2003

As I am
"... for me this has always been a challenge to play live since it's dependent on my gear working correctly."

[Enigmachine]

I think people's jokey mockups of fake album art probably go towards proving that doing Hugh's job isn't actually as easy as it might sound when you hear that he works with stock images. Sure, they're memes, but I find it interesting how very few have opted to try and do something like this on their own, considering how many seem to claim that Hugh has an easy job. Add what noxon said about him creating dozens of potential candidates for album art with an open ended premise to work on and the accusations of him being lazy really fall flat. I personally enjoy Hugh's style of abstract collages and find that its quirks fit the character of the band. Whether it'd have the same kind of flavour if it was painted, I'm not entirely sure. Plus, having a look at the original image... yeah, he didn't just throw the images in and call it a day. There's a lot of editing done there.

[nikatapi]

I don't think anyone has a problem with the use of stock images. It's mostly the bad use of Photoshop, wrong perspective, bad (or nonexistent) shadows, difference in the asset resolutions that points to the so called "laziness".

[chwik]

I hate that ****ing notion.

I know for a fact that the process of album artwork isn't just "Hugh tosses something together and DT is happy with whatever he delivers." It's literally creating countless of alternatives and going back and forth on details and alternatives and edits to get to the final result. We had at least 5 alternatives just in the teaser campaign - one of which is used in the tour poster...

Using stock imagery is a tool for digital artists in much the same way that using a specific instrument or sound patch when you're a musician - yes, you're relying on someone else's creativity to create something new, but I really don't see the problem with that. And others prefer to either paint things fully, or take all their photos themselves. Different tools for different preferences.

I mean, people haven't even found the correct photo for the Kjeragbolten image. It's this one: https://www.shutterstock.com/nb/image-photo/kjeragbolten-norway-stone-between-two-rocks-111144011. But due to the popularity of the imagery, you'll find literally thousands of the same angle image on google image search, due to the fact that it's something people go visit and photograph a lot...

Are you seriously saying Hugh Syme should've travelled to Norway to take that image himself, which would've looked pretty much identical to the literally thousands of other images on the internet... instead of picking that stock image?

It doesn't change the fact that the execution of the cover artwork is poor - the image even has two horizons for petes sake. This makes it fair to question the passion/dedication of the artist. Luckily history shows that you should not judge a book by its cover, hence it doesn't reflect the quality of the music, fortunatly.