Dream Theater announces 16th Studio Album - Parasomnia

[WilliamMunny]

So now all the songs on the album are going to suffer from the album cover?

I think the last few pages illustrates that, for a small minority of us (myself included), the artwork plays a larger role in our enjoyment of an album than for the rest of listeners.

I don't think anyone here has suggested that a personal preference equates to some mass indictment on the overall quality.

A minority opinion can hopefully (and peacefully) coexist with a counter majority view (in this case, the art does not affect enjoyment of the music), provided said opinion is shared respectfully?

[Lonk]

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/worst-album-covers-1235044141/

Thankfully some of these album survived their awful and irrelevant cover art.

For some of those, I think the Album name is a bigger crime than the cover artwork.

[fadetoblackdude7]

I don't mind the artwork. Yes, the AI thing is dumb but I still think it looks cool

[TAC]

In the age of streaming, I personally don't give two hoots about album covers anymore.  The cover could be a picture of JPs shoe and it wouldn't make a difference to me.

It would signify that the album had soul.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

I think the last few pages illustrates that, for a small minority of us (myself included), the artwork plays a larger role in our enjoyment of an album than for the rest of listeners.

I don't think anyone here has suggested that a personal preference equates to some mass indictment on the overall quality.

A minority opinion can hopefully (and peacefully) coexist with a counter majority view (in this case, the art does not affect enjoyment of the music), provided said opinion is shared respectfully?

Fine by me as someone whose DT opinions are mostly minority.

[WilliamMunny]

It would signify that the album had soul.

Took me a minute, but it's still early around these parts...

[TheOutlawXanadu]

The album art won't impact my enjoyment of the music at all. Really the only impact is that I was planning on buying the deluxe box set, but changed my mind because the artwork does matter in that case. I'm not going to spend $150 on a giant box that I think looks terrible.

[Whitefish]

So now all the songs on the album are going to suffer from the album cover?

I don't know if this is a response to me, but if it is, I actually quite like the cover...

[hunnus2000]

I don't know if this is a response to me, but if it is, I actually quite like the cover...

Me too. I did notice the Shadow Man in the corner which is kind of cool. In case anyone doesn't know, go watch videos of Shadow People on YouTube.

Creepy stuff.

[Zydar]

If I based my music listening on the album cover, I wouldn't be a DT fan   Don't know if there's one that I really like. SFAM maybe. 

[hefdaddy42]

My guess is that the problems with the cover art aren't due to AI, because frankly AI probably wouldn't make those kinds of mistakes.

I see no reason not to blame Hugh Syme's shitty attention to detail in using Photoshop.  Just like always.

BTW, even if this doesn't make a difference to you and your enjoyment of the final product, doesn't mean that anyone needs to denigrate those for whom it DOES make a difference.  If you don't share the opinion, of course that's fine, but that doesn't mean the opinion itself is invalid.  

[TAC]

If I based my music listening on the album cover, I wouldn't be a DT fan  Don't know if there's one that I really like. SFAM maybe.

I saw them 4 times on the I&W tour, but I never bought a t-shirt because I didn't like them. The heart and the thorns...ugh..

[lightningbolt]

I can see where it could impact someone's overall artistic impression, but it doesn't make a difference to me.  I look at the cover art and through the booklet once if I purchase an album and then rarely give it a second thought.  I don't typically tie it to the music within.  In the other direction, spectacular cover art wouldn't make a difference to me with respect to mediocre or poor music.

I've enjoyed the cover art for a few of DT's albums, but have been "meh" on most of them.

Cover art/style does impact whether or not I'll purchase t-shirts/posters/etc... 

[Elite]

So now all the songs on the album are going to suffer from the album cover?

How do you go from me criticising the album art's blatant and obvious flaws to stating 'all the songs' will suffer?

I don't like the album cover, it lacks attention to detail and in my view is therefore a poor product. That has nothing to do with the music on the album, which we can't say anything about anyway apart from that first single.

[Stadler]

It would signify that the album had soul.

I support that. 

[MirrorMask]

BTW, even if this doesn't make a difference to you and your enjoyment of the final product, doesn't mean that anyone needs to denigrate those for whom it DOES make a difference.  If you don't share the opinion, of course that's fine, but that doesn't mean the opinion itself is invalid. 

Indeed. I'm no audiophile, I do have ears and I realize if an album sounds muddy or not but I'm not gonna analyze FLAC files vs MP3 files. But if some people care a lot about audio and do notice the difference, it's their prerogative to criticize what to me seems a decent enough production.

Same with the artwork, people noticing wacky and lazy details will surely not have the music spoiled by that, but they have a right to be annoyed by things even them could spot.

[Progmaniac1988]

I don't know if this is a response to me, but if it is, I actually quite like the cover...

Yeah I like it, 🤷 I don't see what all the complaining is about lol. I'm getting ptsd of why I started staying the hell away from DT fans during album launches since 2003 😂

[messy]

I was hoping for A Collective Moment of Certainty, but this is pretty cool, too.

[Max Kuehnau]

It would signify that the album had soul.

it will have that anyway, because MP is on it (according to his fans, he has that, as I've read. No such thing as that in music though to me)

[HOF]

Setting aside whether or not the album art is AI (I assume it is some mixture of AI and photoshop or something, but who knows), I really am not sure that it is true that non AI art is flawless all the time in all of the little details. Art is rarely just completely realistic with all the details totally perfect. I'm not sure that light and shadows are always cast at the perfect angles, or that all of the subjects' appendages are drawn with perfect detail and perspective. I don't see anything glaring enough in the art to trigger the feeling that it was poorly done. I imagine you could pick apart most cover art that way.

Generally though, I'm not keen on what the cover art suggest (together with the song titles and the first single) about the content of the music. That's a separate issue of whether the artwork is good or bad or well done or whatever.

[Ben_Jamin]

I don't mind the cover at all. Even with it being made with AI. As long as the cover does a good job at presenting the tone of the album title, or the vibe/mood of the album, that is all I care about.

For myself, I view AI as a tool that can be utilized in many various ways, the key is how it's utilized. Here, it's utilized in a neat way, using it as a background palette which Hugh then did his Photoshop magic.

That said. The cover art does an excellent job at portraying the theme presented in the title of the album. Parasomnias are unsettling and this cover shows this.

[Glasser]

This cover is great! It was done right. Hugh is a pro!

[Wukong]

Of everything Huge Sign has done, this is my favorite of his works, "Picnic Raid" from the Systematic Chaos booklet.
I wish that DT would make it a real artwork at some time.

[Elite]

This cover is great! It was done right. Hugh is a pro!

Then why is he so sloppy?

[Adami]

Then why is he so sloppy?

It's meta-commentary on fans demanding technical perfection from the band.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

Of everything Huge Sign has done, this is my favorite of his works, "Picnic Raid" from the Systematic Chaos booklet.
I wish that DT would make it a real artwork at some time.

Is that the one where the ants are taking over a picnic?

[The Letter M]

Of everything Huge Sign has done, this is my favorite of his works, "Picnic Raid" from the Systematic Chaos booklet.
I wish that DT would make it a real artwork at some time.

-Marc.

[hefdaddy42]

-Marc.

[evz]

MP: Hey guys, I got an idea. You know how Hugh's art work drives some of the fans nuts because some the details are messed up?  What if we make the album about dreams - things are often off in dreams and it would fit right in!

JP: Great idea! Then our fans shouldn't be so put off!

DT fans: Hold my beer...

[Wim Kruithof]

I don't mind the cover at all. Even with it being made with AI. As long as the cover does a good job at presenting the tone of the album title, or the vibe/mood of the album, that is all I care about.

I do mind the cover a lot and in this case (as most Dream Theater-times), I really like it.

That said. The cover art does an excellent job at portraying the theme presented in the title of the album. Parasomnias are unsettling and this cover shows this.

Totally agree.

[evz]

lol.  This was supposed to with my original post, but I Symed it...

[Mebert78]

Regarding the artwork, I think my biggest issue is the Majesty logo.  DT has returned to the Portnoy-era Majesty logo on the re-design of their official website at dreamtheater.net (the logo there is the classic "M" style), but the Majesty logo on the window of the Parasomnia album cover has the Mangini-era Majesty logo (perfectly symmetrical and less of an "M").  They're not being consistent.  They need to pick a logo style and stick with it.

EDIT: I also just noticed that their advertisement for the 40th anniversary tour in Europe is the Portnoy-era logo. So, they used the classic Portnoy-era Majesty logo for the advertisement of the forthcoming tour and on the new website, but the the perfectly symmetrical Mangini-era logo on the album cover.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

Regarding the artwork, I think my biggest issue is the Majesty logo.  DT has returned to the Portnoy-era Majesty logo on the re-design of their official website at dreamtheater.net (the logo there is the classic "M" style), but the Majesty logo on the window of the Parasomnia album cover has the Mangini-era Majesty logo (perfectly symmetrical and less of an "M").  They're not being consistent.  They need to pick a logo style and stick with it.

Maybe it's symbolic of the "Death" of Mike Mangini (not as in like he has literally died, more in like the sense of the Death card in Tarot - a symbolization of new beginnings)

[Schurftkut]

a new beginning you say...??

[HOF]

The Majesty logo on the cover looks more round than the one they were using on the recent album covers. It's a circle.