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

[nikatapi]

@nikatapi: no ballad, a few soft moments but it's really intense.

I don't know why this makes me excited. Even Train Of Thought had a ballad, so i wonder how the flow of the album will be.

[Glasser]

@nikatapi: no ballad, a few soft moments but it's really intense.

I don't know why this makes me excited. Even Train Of Thought had a ballad, so i wonder how the flow of the album will be.

There are still plenty of dynamics stylistically from song to song. As a whole it's very cohesive and flows nicely.

[evilasiojr]

I remember in some making of video, JP said that D/T almost didn't have a balad a either, like they didn't intend to have one or something. But one day he arrived in the room and played the baritone guitar in a way that inspired Out of Reach. But we would still get "quieter" moments like in Fall Into the Light, At Wits End, Paralyzed and Barstool Warrior.

Maybe with this one, it had already all the dynamics they were feeling the need of and that was it, no need to have an "official balad" song per say. Let's see...

[nikatapi]

Fair points about the ballads.
I'm also really curious about the self-titled song, as i guess most of us. Usually it's these huge epics that go through different movements and vibes, as well as technically challenging sections. I hope there's a strong musical theme that ties everything together.

[illusionist]

As i read the first impressions of the new album,i can't really see anything that i have not read before.
Even i can point out the ingredients of each new DT album,without even listening to it.
That means that whichever 'review' at this point can't really tell us much.
Unless it is from Noxon,or someone that has had the time to listen to it multiple times,and digest the new material.
When the first official reviews start to come out,there will be more than what we will be able to keep up.
But then again,since we are so close to October 22,why read reviews,and not waiting for the release date, to form our own opinion?
I personally have NOT listened to The Alien,because i want to listen to the whole album from start to finish.
It will be something fresh from the few last albums,where i would listen to the single prior to the album release,
and then i would get tired of hearing it so many times.
I suggest you do the same,and if the actual album is as good as we have listened from various sources to be,
then it will definitely be a memorable experience.

[Kotowboy]

Fair points about the ballads.
I'm also really curious about the self-titled song, as i guess most of us. Usually it's these huge epics that go through different movements and vibes, as well as technically challenging sections. I hope there's a strong musical theme that ties everything together.

I feel like all their mega songs since Octavarium have been long for the sake of it and a bit of a hodge-podge. Illumination Theory definitely was.

My favourite 'Epic' after Octavarium ( their best song ) is The Count Of Tuscany.

Least fave is A Change Of Seasons.


So i'm hoping A View From the Top Of The World is their best Mega-Song since Octavarium and not just " we need a 20 min song ".

[nikatapi]

Fair points about the ballads.
I'm also really curious about the self-titled song, as i guess most of us. Usually it's these huge epics that go through different movements and vibes, as well as technically challenging sections. I hope there's a strong musical theme that ties everything together.

I feel like all their mega songs since Octavarium have been long for the sake of it and a bit of a hodge-podge. Illumination Theory definitely was.

My favourite 'Epic' after Octavarium ( their best song ) is The Count Of Tuscany.

Least fave is A Change Of Seasons.


So i'm hoping A View From the Top Of The World is their best Mega-Song since Octavarium and not just " we need a 20 min song ".

I kind of agree, Octavarium is my favorite as well. I like Illumination Theory but the damn production of the entire album makes distracts me.

[Lax]

Fair points about the ballads.
I'm also really curious about the self-titled song, as i guess most of us. Usually it's these huge epics that go through different movements and vibes, as well as technically challenging sections. I hope there's a strong musical theme that ties everything together.

I feel like all their mega songs since Octavarium have been long for the sake of it and a bit of a hodge-podge. Illumination Theory definitely was.

My favourite 'Epic' after Octavarium ( their best song ) is The Count Of Tuscany.

Least fave is A Change Of Seasons.


So i'm hoping A View From the Top Of The World is their best Mega-Song since Octavarium and not just " we need a 20 min song ".

Loving tuscany and hating a change of seasons is surprising, but I guess there isn't only one authorized taste
I prefer ACOS because of the quantity of parts it contains, real revolving prog stuff going everywhere.
I listen to several rudess solo albums too, so I guess I'm used to unconventional stuff.

Tuscany is nice, and I don't feel the cheesyness since english isn't my native language, but to me it feels like a stretched song, a little long.

[Peter Mc]

I don't find Octavarium to be any more or less of a hodge podge than the others.  They are all long for the sake of being long to a degree.  I think ACOS probably justifies it's length better than most as it has a narrative running through it and needs to cover the different seasons our life, the drum sound is pretty horrible in it though, much more bothersome to me than how they sounded  on Illumination Theory.

[erwinrafael]

I posted my thoughts about Illumination Theory a lot of times and I found the structure of that song so meticulously constructed and logical with the mirror structure of the song. Definitely not a hodgepodge.

I hope AVFTTOTW would be similarly meticulously constructed, if not moreso.

[Kotowboy]

For my money - Octavarium flows nicely and each section follows logically. It doesn't feel like 24 minutes have passed by the end.

On songs like A Change Of Seasons ( which i've listened to like 4 times and still don't like ) and Illumination theory -

new sections just...start... And they've been doing that a lot recently. It just has the air of " if we pad this section out with 5 different riffs we can get the whole piece to 20 mins ".

[hefdaddy42]

On songs like A Change Of Seasons ( which i've listened to like 4 times and still don't like ) and Illumination theory -

new sections just...start... And they've been doing that a lot recently. It just has the air of " if we pad this section out with 5 different riffs we can get the whole piece to 20 mins ".

Opinions vary.

[Kotowboy]

Do you go into restaurants and walk up to the maitre D and say " this is a restaurant " ?

[hefdaddy42]

Do you go into restaurants and walk up to the maitre D and say " this is a restaurant " ?

No, but frequently, when I encounter an asshole, I'm OK with saying "You're an asshole."

Good thing that rarely happens here at DTF.

[Kotowboy]

Also - it's a good thing you can't ban yourself. Because we all know 100% that If I called another DTF member an "asshole" I would be banned so fast.

But 'mods" can do whatever the fuck they want apparently. Just don't diss Mike Portnoy! Even though he's not in Dream Theater anymore and hasn't been for over a decade.


The short arse blue bearded middle aged crisis 5 drum fills wanker.

No, but frequently, when I encounter an asshole, I'm OK with saying "You're an asshole."

Good thing that rarely happens here at DTF.

[Buddyhunter1]

But 'mods" can do whatever the fuck they want apparently. Just don't diss Mike Portnoy! Even though he's not in Dream Theater anymore and hasn't been for over a decade.

Mike Portnoy sucks.





*waits to be banned*

[Kotowboy]

 

[Buddyhunter1]

Re: epics, I would absolutely love another one in the vain of Octavarium where it's a very clear build over the movements, with gradually increasing intensity throughout. Though I don't think Illumination Theory flows badly by any means... my issue with that song is mostly just that the finale falls really flat. It feels like they were trying really hard to do another Razor's Edge, but there just isn't any strong melody to back the grand instrumentation up, and the solo's fine but not enough to elevate the section much.

[Kotowboy]

Re: epics, I would absolutely love another one in the vain of Octavarium where it's a very clear build over the movements, with gradually increasing intensity throughout. Though I don't think Illumination Theory flows badly by any means... my issue with that song is mostly just that the finale falls really flat. It feels like they were trying really hard to do another Razor's Edge, but there just isn't any strong melody to back the grand instrumentation up, and the solo's fine but not enough to elevate the section much.

And they re-used the ambient mid section idea from The Count. The string section is very nice though.

[hefdaddy42]

Also - it's a good thing you can't ban yourself. Because we all know 100% that If I called another DTF member an "asshole" I would be banned so fast.

But 'mods" can do whatever the fuck they want apparently. Just don't diss Mike Portnoy! Even though he's not in Dream Theater anymore and hasn't been for over a decade.


The short arse blue bearded middle aged crisis 5 drum fills wanker.

No, but frequently, when I encounter an asshole, I'm OK with saying "You're an asshole."

Good thing that rarely happens here at DTF.

I didn't call anyone an asshole.  I certainly didn't call YOU an asshole.  Sorry you felt that way. 

Also, just as an FYI, I have it on good authority that mods actually CAN ban themselves.

[bosk1]

Also - it's a good thing you can't ban yourself. Because we all know 100% that If I called another DTF member an "asshole" I would be banned so fast.

But 'mods" can do whatever the fuck they want apparently. Just don't diss Mike Portnoy! Even though he's not in Dream Theater anymore and hasn't been for over a decade.


The short arse blue bearded middle aged crisis 5 drum fills wanker.

No, but frequently, when I encounter an asshole, I'm OK with saying "You're an asshole."

Good thing that rarely happens here at DTF.

For the record, this is a very good example of how NOT to post when you've been banned from the forum for good, and then begged to be let back in and given one last chance and promised to be on your best behavior.

[Buddyhunter1]

Re: epics, I would absolutely love another one in the vain of Octavarium where it's a very clear build over the movements, with gradually increasing intensity throughout. Though I don't think Illumination Theory flows badly by any means... my issue with that song is mostly just that the finale falls really flat. It feels like they were trying really hard to do another Razor's Edge, but there just isn't any strong melody to back the grand instrumentation up, and the solo's fine but not enough to elevate the section much.

And they re-used the ambient mid section idea from The Count. The string section is very nice though.

The ambient section's fine and doesn't sound all that similar to the one from TCOT imo. I know someone said this earlier (I forget who) but while that section might seem out-of-nowhere in a vacuum it makes perfect sense given the lyrical concept of the song.

[Adami]

Re: epics, I would absolutely love another one in the vain of Octavarium where it's a very clear build over the movements, with gradually increasing intensity throughout. Though I don't think Illumination Theory flows badly by any means... my issue with that song is mostly just that the finale falls really flat. It feels like they were trying really hard to do another Razor's Edge, but there just isn't any strong melody to back the grand instrumentation up, and the solo's fine but not enough to elevate the section much.

And they re-used the ambient mid section idea from The Count. The string section is very nice though.

The ambient section's fine and doesn't sound all that similar to the one from TCOT imo. I know someone said this earlier (I forget who) but while that section might seem out-of-nowhere in a vacuum it makes perfect sense given the lyrical concept of the song.

I can't agree or disagree with that, but I will say that, as far as I know based on DT's style, it's quite likely the lyrics were not written til well after the music was completely done. So with DT, I believe it's rare (though not impossible) for the music to fit the lyrics given how it's written.

[Buddyhunter1]

I can't agree or disagree with that, but I will say that, as far as I know based on DT's style, it's quite likely the lyrics were not written til well after the music was completely done. So with DT, I believe it's rare (though not impossible) for the music to fit the lyrics given how it's written.

Credit where credit's due, even if it's by accident.

[Adami]

I can't agree or disagree with that, but I will say that, as far as I know based on DT's style, it's quite likely the lyrics were not written til well after the music was completely done. So with DT, I believe it's rare (though not impossible) for the music to fit the lyrics given how it's written.

Credit where credit's due, even if it's by accident.

It also shows how easy it is to interpret almost anything to mean almost anything. I often see people analyzing very weird lyrics to have some incredibly in-depth meaning and so forth. Then I'll write lyrics and find myself just randomly putting words together that sound cool without a ton of thought and wonder if some of those "brillaint" songs were written similarly. 

I've also done this for fun with my own songs. Write music, eventually write vocals, then justify XY or Z musical choices with how it represents blah blah blah in the story when that was never the intent going in, just easy to do.

[Buddyhunter1]

I mean if they did write the music first and Petrucci wrote the lyrics afterwards, so what? That just means Petrucci's good at fitting lyrics to a song. Pale Blue Dot is another example of this - the music and the lyrical themes are perfect for each other there. That song would still feel like being in space even if it were an instrumental.

[Ben_Jamin]

For my money - Octavarium flows nicely and each section follows logically. It doesn't feel like 24 minutes have passed by the end.

On songs like A Change Of Seasons ( which i've listened to like 4 times and still don't like ) and Illumination theory -

new sections just...start... And they've been doing that a lot recently. It just has the air of " if we pad this section out with 5 different riffs we can get the whole piece to 20 mins ".

I actually started to feel like this during Systematic Chaos. I was like okay here's Constant Motion, okay cool. Then we got more weedly, weedly, stuff. Which made me think, okay now they're just trying to fill up the cd to not waste space. A Nightmare to Remember, even though I like the song, has a section that I think could have been cut in the instrumental section. Although, it isnt that much of a difference but I think it could've been cut and nothing would've changed in the song.

[Stadler]

I can't agree or disagree with that, but I will say that, as far as I know based on DT's style, it's quite likely the lyrics were not written til well after the music was completely done. So with DT, I believe it's rare (though not impossible) for the music to fit the lyrics given how it's written.

Credit where credit's due, even if it's by accident.

It also shows how easy it is to interpret almost anything to mean almost anything. I often see people analyzing very weird lyrics to have some incredibly in-depth meaning and so forth. Then I'll write lyrics and find myself just randomly putting words together that sound cool without a ton of thought and wonder if some of those "brillaint" songs were written similarly. 

I've also done this for fun with my own songs. Write music, eventually write vocals, then justify XY or Z musical choices with how it represents blah blah blah in the story when that was never the intent going in, just easy to do.

Gotta think they were.   

[noxon]

Unless it is from Noxon,or someone that has had the time to listen to it multiple times,and digest the new material.

Just so it's super clear; as long as I have the position I have, I'm not going to be doing a detailed breakdown like I used to. It's very hard for me to stay objective when I've been involved to the level that I have been since 2016...

[bosk1]

Mike Portnoy sucks.





*waits to be banned*

For those who reported the post:  I'm glad you guys are using the report button when you see a potential issue rather than escalating a situation by responding directly.  But there is no need to report when someone is obviously joking/being sarcastic.  Please go to your control panel and make sure your sense of humor settings are switched to "on."

[The Letter M]

Mike Portnoy sucks.





*waits to be banned*

For those who reported the post:  I'm glad you guys are using the report button when you see a potential issue rather than escalating a situation by responding directly.  But there is no need to report when someone is obviously joking/being sarcastic.  Please go to your control panel and make sure your sense of humor settings are switched to "on."

The lack of sarcasm-green had me wondering... 🤔😂

-Marc.

[Buddyhunter1]

Mike Portnoy sucks.





*waits to be banned*

For those who reported the post:  I'm glad you guys are using the report button when you see a potential issue rather than escalating a situation by responding directly.  But there is no need to report when someone is obviously joking/being sarcastic.  Please go to your control panel and make sure your sense of humor settings are switched to "on."

I'm sorry, y'all. Was sassily trying to disprove Kotow's point.

[vtgrad]

Mike Portnoy sucks.





*waits to be banned*

For those who reported the post:  I'm glad you guys are using the report button when you see a potential issue rather than escalating a situation by responding directly.  But there is no need to report when someone is obviously joking/being sarcastic.  Please go to your control panel and make sure your sense of humor settings are switched to "on."

  I'll be stealing the bold above if you don't mind.  Me thinks that the majority of the world needs to follow this advice.

[Kotowboy]

  "begged".

[dparrott]

No ballads, a few softer spots, 90s throwbacks, sounds like my kind of album!!!