The Alien Listening Party ! ALL SPOILERS !

[Bertie_Wooster]

Would be cool if DT  played a short interlude of March of poozers somewhere in the middle of this song

[Puppies_On_Acid]

Some initial impressions of the new single.

-They finally let Mangini cut loose
-Petrucci sounds great on the solos, the riffs are a little on the generic side
-They are doing some cool things as a band in the instrumental sections
-James Labrie sounds bad and there is nothing interesting going on in the vocal melodies (this is just my opinion, and my taste, don't get your panties in a twist if you disagree with this sentiment)
-Myung is mixed in a lot better than he usually is
-Rudess needs some new keyboard patches

[Volante99]

Man...tough crowd.

Not a mind blowing song but when's the last time a lead off single of a DT album ever been amazing?
As I mentioned in the other thread, production wise this is the best the band has sounded since Mangini joined the band- that alone makes me excited for the album.

Musically, it beats 80% of DoT.
JLB sounds a bit rough during the first verse - the vocal effects processing is doing him no favors. He sounds good once the chorus kicks in, though. Unfortunately, the chorus and vocal melodies in general are lacking a bit. That's not JLB's fault though.


But I give it a solid 7-8 out of 10. Despite some aspects I'm not crazy about- I'm very very excited for the new album.

[Enigmachine]

I do personally have the feeling that stuff that's considered flaws (i.e. the pretty dense and jarring structure and James' melodies) actually complement the theme. In my mind, of course a song about terraforming planets and exploring space in the context of Earth being wrecked is going to have an explorative, yet uneasy and uncertain tension about its progression and that also applies to the vocals that seem to rarely sit on a more singable melody other than the "Our holy grail..." and the "I am the alien..." bits, which feel like moments of acceptance (though not necessarily triumph) among the nervous chaos. For instance, the pretty jagged, hurried melody in the first verse concluding with "Options but a few, we are running out of time" feels very much appropriate. Same with how the part that ends in "...All that you've known left behind" has this kind of obscure, ominous vibe.

The tone keeps switching because in my opinion, a topic like this is pretty complicated and bittersweet (which the ending also musically seems to represent with that ecstatic guitar solo followed by that tense symphonic chordal thing). You've got the seemingly endless possibilities unlocked by technological advancement juxtaposed with the grim realisation that we're escaping our deyaying home planet, which I think is the sort of thing that would spark that sort of inner turmoil represented emotionally by this song (I know I'm kinda repeating myself here, but just to emphasise the point). Given the song's subject matter, I definitely can understand why the vocal melodies aren't typically hooky in the vein of The Enemy Inside or Untethered Angel, which feature more grounded, relatable topics and the melodies seem to reflect their own themes in that regard, too. However, I also think the melodies, while not accessible, are filled with intent and purpose all the same, though I appreciate that this is something down to personal interpretation.

[Architeuthis]

That's a great take Enigmachine!  The music seems to represent the jarring and unsettling situation of uncertainty.  The slower melodic sections seem to ignite a spark of hope and adventure into the unknown.
This is quite a fun song all around and right up DT's prog-nerd ally (I mean that in a good way).  It seems that DT is fulfilling the fans wishes that Pale Blue Dot would have been more of an epic, and this is part 2.  Now I want to hear PBD and The Alien back to back, and with the video footage.   
Could The Alien be a prequel or a sequel?

[Dream Team]

Can't help but imagine what a powerful voice would sound like on this track instead of a buried hyper-processed one. Oh well, as the eloquent saying goes, it is what it is.

[KevShmev]

Man...tough crowd.

Not a mind blowing song but when's the last time a lead off single of a DT album ever been amazing?
As I mentioned in the other thread, production wise this is the best the band has sounded since Mangini joined the band- that alone makes me excited for the album.

Musically, it beats 80% of DoT.
JLB sounds a bit rough during the first verse - the vocal effects processing is doing him no favors. He sounds good once the chorus kicks in, though. Unfortunately, the chorus and vocal melodies in general are lacking a bit. That's not JLB's fault though.


But I give it a solid 7-8 out of 10. Despite some aspects I'm not crazy about- I'm very very excited for the new album.

Not trying to pick on James, but if the old DT rule in still in place, that whoever writes the lyrics also write the vocal melodies, because James wrote the lyrics to The Alien, then, yes, it would be his fault if the vocal melodies are lacking.

And I say "if" because I am still unsure of what I think.  Feels like it is a song that could grow on me, so I do not want to dismiss it too quickly, even though so far the vocal melodies do seem lacking.   

[EraVulgaris]

First impressions: It's alright. Production is on point, I love the drumming, could do without the singing. Lyrics are eh, but I generally don't care much about lyrics anyway, especially with DT. Bass has a strong presence in the mix, which I like a lot. The song reminded me a lot of SC, but that might just be because the way it straight up opens with the over-the-top instrumental section very much like ITPOE.

I think the worst I can say about it is that it sounds like a run-of-the-mill DT song. I just wish they would push a bit more into new areas. That said, still looking forward to the rest of the album, since I ended up really enjoying DoT.

[chwik]

First impressions: It's alright. Production is on point, I love the drumming, could do without the singing. Lyrics are eh, but I generally don't care much about lyrics anyway, especially with DT. Bass has a strong presence in the mix, which I like a lot. The song reminded me a lot of SC, but that might just be because the way it straight up opens with the over-the-top instrumental section very much like ITPOE.

I think the worst I can say about it is that it sounds like a run-of-the-mill DT song. I just wish they would push a bit more into new areas. That said, still looking forward to the rest of the album, since I ended up really enjoying DoT.

Not directed at you in anyway, just a general thought/question as I see many stating the lack of breaking new ground/run-on-the-mill DT - those wanting new ground so to speak, out of curiosity, which ground do you want DT to break into? They did, amongst other, include a swingjazz blastbeat section in The Astonishing and we all know how the reception of that album ended up (probably leading to a safer approach to DOT).

[rab7]

I realized why I love the ending so much.

It reminds me of the ending of Exist by Avenged Sevenfold.

A very uplifting melody with close to the same subject matter, especially coupled with James's lyrics "for the whole human race...and beyond". It feels like we're flying through but only space, but time, looking to the next branch of the evolutionary tree.

I wonder whether JP was inspired by A7X, or if there's a common motif that inspired both of them.  (I know that both Pale Blue Dot and Exist have a very similar section, but that's because they were both referencing Mars by Holst)

[EraVulgaris]

First impressions: It's alright. Production is on point, I love the drumming, could do without the singing. Lyrics are eh, but I generally don't care much about lyrics anyway, especially with DT. Bass has a strong presence in the mix, which I like a lot. The song reminded me a lot of SC, but that might just be because the way it straight up opens with the over-the-top instrumental section very much like ITPOE.

I think the worst I can say about it is that it sounds like a run-of-the-mill DT song. I just wish they would push a bit more into new areas. That said, still looking forward to the rest of the album, since I ended up really enjoying DoT.

Not directed at you in anyway, just a general thought/question as I see many stating the lack of breaking new ground/run-on-the-mill DT - those wanting new ground so to speak, out of curiosity, which ground do you want DT to break into? They did, amongst other, include a swingjazz blastbeat section in The Astonishing and we all know how the reception of that album ended up (probably leading to a safer approach to DOT).

I didn't like The Astonishing all that much, but that wasn't because of "Lord Nafaryus" (which is one of the stronger tracks for me), but because it felt really bloated without many highlights to warrant the runtime. That said, I actually really appreciated that they went for something new, even if it didn't work out for me.

The thing is, AVFTTOTW will be their 15th release. They have obviously found their audience. And as I said, I actually ended up really enjoying DoT, even though it already was "more of the same" in a sense. But even on that album, my favorite track ended up being Viper King, which is the odd one out and just sounds super fresh.

I just wish they would be a bit more daring in their approach and release something that is a bit more disruptive. Odd example, but King Gizzard released plenty of psychedelic weird jazzy albums for music nerds before suddenly coming up with Infest The Rats Nest, which has become one of my all-time favourites. Hell, fricking Poppy released a metal record last year.

[hunnus2000]

That's a great take Enigmachine!  The music seems to represent the jarring and unsettling situation of uncertainty.  The slower melodic sections seem to ignite a spark of hope and adventure into the unknown.
This is quite a fun song all around and right up DT's prog-nerd ally (I mean that in a good way).  It seems that DT is fulfilling the fans wishes that Pale Blue Dot would have been more of an epic, and this is part 2.  Now I want to hear PBD and The Alien back to back, and with the video footage.   
Could The Alien be a prequel or a sequel?

Indeed this is a good take on the song. I think that if PBT is musing about our place in the universe and V-ger is out there exploring for new worlds then The Alien is definitely the sequel.

[hunnus2000]

Some initial impressions of the new single.

-They finally let Mangini cut loose
-Petrucci sounds great on the solos, the riffs are a little on the generic side
-They are doing some cool things as a band in the instrumental sections
-James Labrie sounds bad and there is nothing interesting going on in the vocal melodies (this is just my opinion, and my taste, don't get your panties in a twist if you disagree with this sentiment)
-Myung is mixed in a lot better than he usually is
-Rudess needs some new keyboard patches

I dunno about new patches but he seemed to use a lot of patches in this song. I heard the nasty pig, piano, synthy stuff, organ (the Deep Purple sound where the name escapes me). Cool stuff!

[Pax]

As someone who didn't like the last three albums (especially disappointed by D/T, which I find to be one of their weakest releases, trying to appeal to general audiences too much), I found this single pretty promising. Not at all generic DT; the song is like a roller-coaster ride. Non-straightforward structure, unusual melodies, pretty tense and adventurous. In a D/T comparison, if the lead single to this album is similar to Pale Blue Dot, then I am really hyped to see what the rest of the album is like. I am gonna risk being disappointed, but I am looking forward to some unprecedented craziness

[Ben_Jamin]

That's a great take Enigmachine!  The music seems to represent the jarring and unsettling situation of uncertainty.  The slower melodic sections seem to ignite a spark of hope and adventure into the unknown.
This is quite a fun song all around and right up DT's prog-nerd ally (I mean that in a good way).  It seems that DT is fulfilling the fans wishes that Pale Blue Dot would have been more of an epic, and this is part 2.  Now I want to hear PBD and The Alien back to back, and with the video footage.   
Could The Alien be a prequel or a sequel?

Indeed this is a good take on the song. I think that if PBT is musing about our place in the universe and V-ger is out there exploring for new worlds then The Alien is definitely the sequel.

That's like the entire premise of Pain of Salvations "BE" concept. Where humans send out a satellite to discover God and then that satellite ends up becoming "God".

Except here, by humans setting out to discover what's out there, humans discover they themselves have now become The Alien.

Very Sci-Fi and a nice theme to explore.

[Hanz Gruber]

Some initial impressions of the new single.

-They finally let Mangini cut loose
-Petrucci sounds great on the solos, the riffs are a little on the generic side
-They are doing some cool things as a band in the instrumental sections
-James Labrie sounds bad and there is nothing interesting going on in the vocal melodies (this is just my opinion, and my taste, don't get your panties in a twist if you disagree with this sentiment)
-Myung is mixed in a lot better than he usually is
-Rudess needs some new keyboard patches

I mostly agree with you.  I don't think James sounds bad though. I just don't like the vocal melodies for the song. I like when bands like Dream Theater and Megadeth make songs that I have a chance to sing along with in my car because the vocal melodies are memorable and catchy.  I could never imagine singing along to this.  The guitar parts, bass, and drums have great moments though. I wish the vocal parts were written better though.

There are only 7 songs on the album...I hope that I like the other 6. 

[hunnus2000]

Some initial impressions of the new single.

-They finally let Mangini cut loose
-Petrucci sounds great on the solos, the riffs are a little on the generic side
-They are doing some cool things as a band in the instrumental sections
-James Labrie sounds bad and there is nothing interesting going on in the vocal melodies (this is just my opinion, and my taste, don't get your panties in a twist if you disagree with this sentiment)
-Myung is mixed in a lot better than he usually is
-Rudess needs some new keyboard patches

I mostly agree with you.  I don't think James sounds bad though. I just don't like the vocal melodies for the song. I like when bands like Dream Theater and Megadeth make songs that I have a chance to sing along with in my car because the vocal melodies are memorable and catchy.  I could never imagine singing along to this.  The guitar parts, bass, and drums have great moments though. I wish the vocal parts were written better though.

There are only 7 songs on the album...I hope that I like the other 6.

I don't understand the concept of "They finally let Mangini loose". Does anyone really think they were trying to hold him back all these years? From what Mangini has written about the song, I get the feeling he came up with a drum riff and the rest of the band fell in line. That sounds organic to me.

I feel like there have only been 3 albums where Mangini has been a big part of the writing.

[bosk1]

Man...tough crowd.

Not a mind blowing song but when's the last time a lead off single of a DT album ever been amazing?
As I mentioned in the other thread, production wise this is the best the band has sounded since Mangini joined the band- that alone makes me excited for the album.

Musically, it beats 80% of DoT.
JLB sounds a bit rough during the first verse - the vocal effects processing is doing him no favors. He sounds good once the chorus kicks in, though. Unfortunately, the chorus and vocal melodies in general are lacking a bit. That's not JLB's fault though.


But I give it a solid 7-8 out of 10. Despite some aspects I'm not crazy about- I'm very very excited for the new album.

Not trying to pick on James, but if the old DT rule in still in place, that whoever writes the lyrics also write the vocal melodies, because James wrote the lyrics to The Alien, then, yes, it would be his fault if the vocal melodies are lacking.

And I say "if" because I am still unsure of what I think.  Feels like it is a song that could grow on me, so I do not want to dismiss it too quickly, even though so far the vocal melodies do seem lacking.   

I'm not 100% sure, but I think that "rule" is still JP's overall preference, but that it has been relaxed quite a bit, and he de facto writes a lot of the vocal melodies because, since he composes a lot of the music itself and sings a bit, he often has a vision of what the vocals should be doing.  But I think that, in practice, the practice of writing the vocal melodies often ends up being a bit more collaborate between JP and a given lyricist than in the later MP era.  But again, I'm not 100% sure on that.

As far as the song "lacking" vocal melodies, I don't like that description.  I think Enigma's post above is pretty good.  Parts of the song have strong melodies.  Other parts are...amelodic (if that is a word), but seem to be intentionally so.  So I think "lacking," while technically correct for some parts, doesn't feel right as a description to me.

[Dedalus]

Jordan Rudess - The Alien Listening Party

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsz8957rPb4

[Dedalus]

About the vocal melodies, what I can say is that after listening to the song about 5-6 times I found myself humming the pre-chorus ("Our holy grail") and the chorus ("Alien, change forever..").

So I don't think I can complain so much about the vocal melodies, although at first they didn't catch my attention.

Obs. But the verses are a bit difficult to hum. Too syncopated maybe?

[zappafrank2112]

-Rudess needs some new keyboard patches

I dunno about new patches but he seemed to use a lot of patches in this song. I heard the nasty pig, piano, synthy stuff, organ (the Deep Purple sound where the name escapes me). Cool stuff!

The Hammond layer was definitely a nice touch, but his solos desperately need a new sound attached them outside of the phased harsh wzzzzzzzzzzzzzz sound that cut through.

For example, currently listening to Viper King, and just got the Hammond solo, which is nice.

[SuperTaco]

Perhaps I'm not in the right frame of mind, but my first impression is... Meh.

The production is solid, probably the best sounding Mangini era album so far, but musically this didn't do much for me aside from MM's super fast fills and kick bursts. It didn't have a spark that caught my attention.

Hoping for more on the second and third listen...

[Architeuthis]

Perhaps I'm not in the right frame of mind, but my first impression is... Meh.

The production is solid, probably the best sounding Mangini era album so far, but musically this didn't do much for me aside from MM's super fast fills and kick bursts. It didn't have a spark that caught my attention.

Hoping for more on the second and third listen...

That's why it's better to give it at least two.or three listens before posting.  Music has a way of growing on people, especially with DT.  A lot to take in, a lot to absorb..

[TAC]

Perhaps I'm not in the right frame of mind, but my first impression is... Meh.

The production is solid, probably the best sounding Mangini era album so far, but musically this didn't do much for me aside from MM's super fast fills and kick bursts. It didn't have a spark that caught my attention.

Hoping for more on the second and third listen...

That's why it's better to give it at least two.or three listens before posting.  Music has a way of growing on people, especially with DT. A lot to take in, a lot to absorb..

Totally. I listened to it twice on the way to work (at 4:30am), once at lunch, and once last night.

It starts to make a lot more sense after a few listens.

[ErHaO]

I think it is a solid song, seems like the type of song that could grow on me a little. And Mangini has a good presence here.

[emtee]

Day 2 impressions:

Repeat listens pay dividends. This is usually the case with complex music.
Sonically, on a good system, this production kicks ass. When JP launches into the main solo with Myung solidly under him, it's musical bliss. Mangini is marvelous on this song and I love the clarity of his ride.
JR, unfortunately, doesn't offer anything new here. Solid but I've grown weary of his sound.

The song is very solid. 8/10. However, I'm still not liking the buzz kill of JP's intro solo amidst the frenetic build up. It's like a Disney grand finale piece barely into the song.

No clue if it will have lasting appeal.

[Architeuthis]

It also sounds like a heavier side of LTE3 but with vocals, which is fine by me..

[Ben_Jamin]

Day 2 impressions:

Repeat listens pay dividends. This is usually the case with complex music.
Sonically, on a good system, this production kicks ass. When JP launches into the main solo with Myung solidly under him, it's musical bliss. Mangini is marvelous on this song and I love the clarity of his ride.
JR, unfortunately, doesn't offer anything new here. Solid but I've grown weary of his sound.

The song is very solid. 8/10. However, I'm still not liking the buzz kill of JP's intro solo amidst the frenetic build up. It's like a Disney grand finale piece barely into the song.

No clue if it will have lasting appeal.

That's my favorite part, it's not a buzz kill for me. It uplifts the section before and after it, which is reminiscent of ITPOE pt.1 to me.

[Peter Mc]

Jordan Rudess - The Alien Listening Party

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsz8957rPb4

Wait, so I have to pay him to allow him to promote his band's new song and album.

I get that he wants to do things for those who financially support him through patreon and that's fine but seems strange to put stuff promoting the new record behind a paywall.

[Ben_Jamin]

Jordan Rudess - The Alien Listening Party

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsz8957rPb4

Wait, so I have to pay him to allow him to promote his band's new song and album.

I get that he wants to do things for those who financially support him through patreon and that's fine but seems strange to put stuff promoting the new record behind a paywall.

No you are paying for this....

I thought you also would be interested in listening to just the keyboard tracks off the recording so I have that ready to go as well.

I'm also going to post the keyboard transcription here at 11am for those of you in the $10/mo tiers and above.

[Trav]

I did watch the livestream on Patreon. Someone asked if there was a conscious connection between Pale Blue Dot and The Alien. Jordan's answer was basically "No. but maybe I should say yes because that makes it more interesting".

[Kotowboy]

" DT RIP after Portnoy left "

Sucks to be you.

[Peter Mc]

Jordan Rudess - The Alien Listening Party

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsz8957rPb4

Wait, so I have to pay him to allow him to promote his band's new song and album.

I get that he wants to do things for those who financially support him through patreon and that's fine but seems strange to put stuff promoting the new record behind a paywall.

No you are paying for this....

I thought you also would be interested in listening to just the keyboard tracks off the recording so I have that ready to go as well.

I'm also going to post the keyboard transcription here at 11am for those of you in the $10/mo tiers and above.

No, I totally get that bit where he gives his patreon supporters the isolated keyboard tracks and notation, that makes sense.  The Q&A bit though where he's going to talk and give some insight on the song, that's promotional material to me and you'd want people to watch that and really get into the song and ideally the album.  I find it strange to put that behind a paywall.

[Peter Mc]

I've heard a few people describe this as run of the mill Dream Theater or DT by numbers. Now, I have no problem with people not loving the song and yes there are elements of this that sound like stuff they've done before but I don't think it's run of the mill by any means.  I mean, when was the last time they did such a crazy, technical intense song.  You could maybe point to PBD on the last album but even that is not as OTT as this and that, in itself, was unusually technical compared to their recent output. 

I'm not necessarily saying super technical shredding is good or bad but this to me is not run of the mill DT, this is DT turned up to maximum velocity.  The most prog metal thing they've done in a long time.  Whether it's your cup of tea is another matter. 

[Kotowboy]

It's not bad but it sounds like a lot of DT songs you've heard before. Which is to be expected after 36 years and 15 albums.