Highlight moments of AVFTTOTW for you?

[illusionist]

Just like Dot,where there was a simiar topic,let's do the same for the new album.
I listened to it just once,but i will need way more listens to get it.

So, let us know your favorite moments off of it.
In the official album topic some members mentioned their best moments,
but wouldn't it better to have them all in one place?

Feel free to share guys

[erwinrafael]

OK, posting what i posted in the main thread.

1) The end part of The Alien from "I am the Alien" onwards
2) The ending of Answering the Call with Myung's tasty bass and Mangini doing his thing in the snare
3) The music in this part of Invisible Monster
"The serpent inside
Wrapping its tail around my neck
I'm buried alive
Dying to take another breath"
4) The end part of Sleeping Giant starting from the 'Haken, the Mountain' ending of the instrumental onwards. The song takes a 'The Astonishing' turn in "Standing under the eclipse..." then my favorite vocal melody in the whole album "Our desires and ambitions And our need to believe..."
5) When James sings "...like dreaming wide awake!" then the Xanadu guitar comes in
6) Transcending Time starting from "Euphoric obsession, without conscious intention..." onwards. Man, do they know how to end songs in this album.
7) The melodic piano and guitar at the start of Awaken the Master. Too bad they were not able to reprise it.
8) The tense intro to A View From The Top Of The World. Damn those rests and breaks I hope they nail it live.
9) The crazy instrumental in A View where they are "passing around" patterns from one instrument to another making it sound polyrhythmic then culminating in shredding and blast beats.
10) The ending of A View which flies in the face of expectations. Oh you thought we'll go for soaring guitars? You thought Mangini will hit as many toms as possible like the Finally Free ending? We're not!

[JLa]

Instrumental section 3:22 onwards in Sleeping Giant. Man, that's some groovy stuff. 

[TM172003]

Sleeping Giant's chorus and the honky tonk part.

The crazy drum fill into that sick riff in the title track like 14 minutes in.

The whole intro to ATM and the melodic part with the piano straight after, that part gave me goosebumps.

Mangini in general. He's just ridiculous on this album, he's really made it very hard for the Portnoy fanboys on Facebook this time.

[Kotowboy]

  WHEN IT IS FINALLY OVER!!!!!!!!

Nah. It's becoming a bit more familiar now. I've not had a proper proper listen except for on the bus to work. But yeah the title track is WAY better than Illumination Theory.

I agree with whoever said ( Bosk ? ) that it doesn't sound like ONE particular previous album but also sounds like several. I get Octavarium vibes in a few songs.

As someone else said - structurally it's maybe closest to Black Clouds or Train Of Thought. Although Black Clouds has one less track and is actually five minutes longer.

A View... is less of a slog to get through. Yes - they have another mellow section the the epic - but again - it's not like Count or Illumination... It's more akin to

the Beautiful Agony section of ...Nightmare. It sounds like it should be there.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

Lot's of great moments but here are a few:

1. Intro to the Epic
2. Transcending Time in general if I listen to the entire album at once. It's a great break from all the heavy metal.
3. Awaken The Master riffs   

[genome]

6:51 in Sleeping Giant

It's so Dream Theater it hurts, and I love it

[Kotowboy]

I like Invisible Monster a lot more than most people on here. I'm glad Mangini suggested they write it...

Too early to rank.

[Architeuthis]

I like Invisible Monster a lot more than most people on here. I'm glad Mangini suggested they write it...

Too early to rank.

Agreed,  I love that song!  Just as strong as the others imo.   

[UndercoverMyung]

Invisible Monster is an amazing song. Hard to pick a "least favorite" on such a great album, but if I had to pick one, it would not be Invisible Monster.

[rab7]

1) The beautiful Petrucci solo that comes out of nowhere in the beginning of The Alien, and again at the end with the double time drum beat.

2) The first soaring Answering the Call chorus with vocal harmonies

3) Invisible Monster, how the guitar starts on a major second (He explained it as a 9-chord) providing immediate tension, and going down to the tritone. Also the harpsichord that comes out of nowhere.

4) The left-right-both guitar riff to open sleeping giant. Also the second chorus being major and 4/4.

5) The entire Transcending Time

6) The pretty melodies that suddenly interrupt the onslaught of heaviness in ATM.

7) View: The 66 trombones that introduce the theme. And that fucking riff in 14:11 that everyone's talking about. Also the Mozart section

[Kotowboy]

I need to skip to 14:00 in the title track to hear which riff everyone is on about... BRB LOL


...Ah yeah I assumed it was that one and I really love the spooky descending piano just before.

[illusionist]

So many great moments for me.
What are your favorite ones,for the rest of us to pay attention to,in case we missed something?

[Kotowboy]

Answering The Call.

The name doesn't sound particularly 'rocking'. I thought they'd do an Octavarium and have Track 2 be a really gentle song.

But it ended up being my favourite song on the album.

[Architeuthis]

Mangini in general. He's just ridiculous on this album, he's really made it very hard for the Portnoy fanboys on Facebook this time.

   

[nick_z]

Answering The Call.

The name doesn't sound particularly 'rocking'. I thought they'd do an Octavarium and have Track 2 be a really gentle song.

But it ended up being my favourite song on the album.

I was thinking the exact same thing. I haven't quite decided if it's my absolute #1 on the album, but it's certainly up there. Some of the best vocal melodies on the album for me, and a thoroughly well-composed song with many cool DT touches scattered all around.

[LKap13]

Too many to name but I'll name one - the two identical guitar solos in the second half of the epic, first one starting at 11:50 after "journey into darkness beckons me.."

Then the second one at 13:10 after "always keeps me coming back for more"

Brilliant stuff

[geeeemo]

Too many to name but I'll name one - the two identical guitar solos in the second half of the epic, first one starting at 11:50 after "journey into darkness beckons me.."

Then the second one at 13:10 after "always keeps me coming back for more"

Brilliant stuff

Agree 100%. I have not been moved like that in quite a while by some music. JP is magic with a guitar.
And then..! That crashing down piano into the super rocking guitar riff.

[Dream Team]

The middle section of the title track starting with "All my natural instincts . . . " until the last instrumental section.

[LKap13]

Transcending time:
4:20 "Signals in the mist..." JR part
"Stars in the abyss.." JR part

These guys were on

[LKap13]

Too many to name but I'll name one - the two identical guitar solos in the second half of the epic, first one starting at 11:50 after "journey into darkness beckons me.."

Then the second one at 13:10 after "always keeps me coming back for more"

Brilliant stuff

Agree 100%. I have not been moved like that in quite a while by some music. JP is magic with a guitar.
And then..! That crashing down piano into the super rocking guitar riff.

Good call!

[LKap13]

Highlights --
Alien 0:00 - AVFTTOTW 20:23

[The Letter M]

Highlights --
Alien 0:00 - AVFTTOTW 20:23

Even "Invisible Monster"? 

-Marc.

[Dream Team]

Highlights --
Alien 0:00 - AVFTTOTW 20:23

Only correct answer after posting a poll asking if The View is one of the greatest albums of all time.

[LKap13]

Highlights --
Alien 0:00 - AVFTTOTW 20:23

Even "Invisible Monster"? 

-Marc.

IM is in a liminal space like a musical black hole. It doesn't exist for me and so doesn't negate my highlight time stamp. Ha!

[The Letter M]

Highlights --
Alien 0:00 - AVFTTOTW 20:23

Even "Invisible Monster"? 

-Marc.

IM is in a liminal space like a musical black hole. It doesn't exist for me and so doesn't negate my highlight time stamp. Ha!

I hope you don't say the same thing about your partner - You love them from head to toe, except their tummy, which exists in a black hole and doesn't exist for you.

-Marc.

[LKap13]

Highlights --
Alien 0:00 - AVFTTOTW 20:23

Even "Invisible Monster"? 

-Marc.

IM is in a liminal space like a musical black hole. It doesn't exist for me and so doesn't negate my highlight time stamp. Ha!

I hope you don't say the same thing about your partner - You love them from head to toe, except their tummy, which exists in a black hole and doesn't exist for you.

-Marc.

Lol

[goo-goo]

I don't have a moment per se, but gawdam Myung's bass tone on this one is godly!

[LKap13]

Highlights --
Alien 0:00 - AVFTTOTW 20:23

Even "Invisible Monster"? 

-Marc.

IM is in a liminal space like a musical black hole. It doesn't exist for me and so doesn't negate my highlight time stamp. Ha!

I hope you don't say the same thing about your partner - You love them from head to toe, except their tummy, which exists in a black hole and doesn't exist for you.

-Marc.

Alright I'm not skipping IM ever again. Happy now? Ha

[Architeuthis]

That's right,  you can't ignore the beast that dwells inside your mind..   🐲

[LKap13]

Ha

[Laughingplace56]

Answering The Call.

The name doesn't sound particularly 'rocking'. I thought they'd do an Octavarium and have Track 2 be a really gentle song.

But it ended up being my favourite song on the album.

Same! I don't know why but reading that song title made me think the same thing. So I was very surprised by it on the first listen, and I think it's probably my favorite on the album as well.

A few highlights that come to mind immediately:

-The intro to Awaken the Master is one of their best heavy intros OAT
-The intro and outro instrumentals to The Alien
-The second chorus of Sleeping Giant
-The ending vocal melody of Sleeping Giant ("Our desires and ambitions...")
-A View, from the instrumental section starting after the trading solos through the end
-Transcending Time intro
-Answering the Call chorus, unison, and intro

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

The first section of the title track is so f$#*&% epic (in multiple ways) I think this is my highlight moment of the album. Aside from that I love the ATC chorus, pretty much all of ATM except some of the extensive instrumental section which I feel is a bit bloated. drum track from the Alien, which I realize is not a moment per se. TT ending would be here too if they resolved to tonic on the final note lol; it still bothers me.

[wolfking]

WHEN IT IS FINALLY OVER!!!!!!!!

You stole mine.

[vtgrad]

Lots of moments for me on this album.  Feels a bit different from their other work with MM and I like it's direction!

Second verse of the title track... hands down my favorite moment.
JP's Solos in Alien and View
Riffs.... Title Track main riff and ATM
IM... start to finish.  Awesome track

Sleeping Giant is growing on me quite a bit as well.