Official Parasomnia album discussion thread ***SPOILERS***

[lovethedrake]

Now that I am a zillion listens in I have some more commentary:

Bend the clock is probably the most enjoyable DT song to listen to since SDOIT.   Not sure if I would say "best" but the repeat value is just off the charts.  Everyone sounds amazing and the JP solo's are so tasty.

Dead Asleep is insanely fun.

I genuinely enjoy every song aside from Night Terror.

It's starting to really rise up the ranks for me as an album.  I can't say where it will fall yet.

It has the songwriting and vibe of the SC/BC&SL albums but with the soul and warm production of the 90's albums.

Definitely some Astonishing/View vibes as well.

I think if Night Terror was 3 minutes or was something more like Blind Faith where it breathes a little more it would have really helped.  I solved the problem for my self by removing Night Terror but it still docks the album overall.

I'm thinking it certainly will be a top 10 DT album for me, and could even rise up to the 5-7 spots.   Time will tell.   

It won't pass SFAM, I&W, SDOIT and likely not Awake but to expect that would be foolish.   Will it beat out FII/TOT?  Not sure yet but probably fall just below which is still a great effort 16 albums in.

[DoctorAction]

I got a whiff of SFAM when I was playing it today. Might have been in the instrumental of Dead Asleep.

Very enjoyable album.

I think it's rating will end up pretty high.

[Dream Team]

Yes I like it more every time I listen. Killer. Also it could possibly have my favorite DT production ever if Myung and especially Rudess were just a titch higher in the mix.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

My hair is still blown back from this album. It's the greatest thing they've made in a long, long time! HOLY SHEEEEEEEEEET

[TAC]

I got a whiff of SFAM when I was playing it today. Might have been in the instrumental of Dead Asleep.

Definitely some Beyond This Life vibes.

[DoctorAction]

Definitely some Beyond This Life vibes.

Yeah, I think that's it.

Also, the instrumental section in TSMI is just so incredibly "Dream Theater". I think on second listen I clocked it, and every time since I looking forward to it. The way they tease the widdly widdly part is so great, then - there it is! 

[durga2112]

Definitely some Beyond This Life vibes.

I get that too. I don't have a timestamp at the moment, but there's definitely one part of the song that gives me the same vibe. The lyrics are in the same vein as well - basically a  procedural description of a murder. Both songs are... killer. 

[NoseofNicko]

It's at 7:48, I think Beyond This Life has the same chord progression during Jordan's solo.

[Progmaniac1988]

Yeah, I'm actually shocked how quickly this album is growing in my ranks! And Im not sure if anyone is having this happen, but I seem to be loving a different song every couple of days! First I kept going back to arms of Morpheus and bend the clock, then shadow man and dead asleep, then night terror started really clicking. Lastly broken man and midnight messiah really started clicking! Those were initially the 2 songs I did not click with as much as the other tracks, but now the chorus's and melodies all clicked and I love em! Even the little interlude before bend the clock I like the atmosphere. So now this album has officially grown to be a love from start to finish album for me! I can't stop listening to it!

[wolfking]

Definitely some Beyond This Life vibes.

7:48 - Dead Asleep
6:57 - Beyond This Life

[Herrick]

Of all critics on Dream Theater records, 'a lack of originality' or 'Dream Theater by numbers' is probably the hardest for me to swallow. Their spectrum is so huge and wide, every album seems to have his own place, with an own identity. The only two albums which kind of are close to each other, based on mood, songs and structure, are probably Distance Over Time and A View. They somehow feel close and connected. I know there are same song structures on Images & Words and A Dramatic Turn of Events, but the albums differ a lot and doesn't feel the same at all.

And although Parasomnia feels as a very smooth follow-up to A View, as an album it's absolutely new and fresh. And I love every bit of it. Each day a little more.

Herrick is quite pleased with Dream Theater "by the numbers".

I don't see any much of a connection between Distance Over Time and A View From The Top of the World. Every album they've put out feels and sounds different to me.

Parasomnia is very "by the numbers" to me. It sounds "fresh" (to me) only because it's new. But even though it isn't an instant classic (for me), it sounds like Dream Theater and it's new and this is good. I'm fine with Dream Theater not trying to reinvent themselves on each album and sticking to their style, a style that they pretty much created.

I think Parasomnia's starting to grow on me a bit more. Certain parts of songs are starting to get stuck in my head.

[Cool Chris]

Just got the CD today, and haven't been following this thread. Why did they lift the bit about "they all float down here" from It?

[Progmetty]

I don't see any much of a connection between Distance Over Time and A View From The Top of the World. Every album they've put out feels and sounds different to me.

I don't see any much of a connection between Distance Over Time and A View From The Top of the World.

I agree with Herrick on D/O and View. I do feel that way about SC/BC&SL though. Aside from splitting the epic in two, every other song on the album has a counterpart that's very similar in vibe on the other album.

[Maestrovirtuoso]

Has anyone checked the BluRay-surround mixes on ,,Parasomnia"?
After all they seem to be only 4 channels, with the center speaker doing nothing but silence. (And: Yes, I checked my epuiment; it's working!)
It also seems to me that vocals are very low overall. Maybe because they are supposed to come from the missing center speaker?
How does surround sound work in your room? Does Anyone hear a center speaker on ,,Parasomnia"?
Is this intended?

[JRuless]

Has anyone checked the BluRay-surround mixes on ,,Parasomnia"?
After all they seem to be only 4 channels, with the center speaker doing nothing but silence. (And: Yes, I checked my epuiment; it's working!)
It also seems to me that vocals are very low overall. Maybe because they are supposed to come from the missing center speaker?
How does surround sound work in your room? Does Anyone hear a center speaker on ,,Parasomnia"?
Is this intended?

Only the spoken sentences/samples are driven through the center

[emtee]

Only 1 point on this album I am feeling the urge to fast forward and it's the last 3'ish minutes of NT. I wish I could insert the radio edit.

All in all this is a very good album.

[nobloodyname]

Only 1 point on this album I am feeling the urge to fast forward and it's the last 3'ish minutes of NT. I wish I could insert the radio edit.

Blasphemy!

[Vlasto]

Time to pick up my only 2 songs from Parasomnia (like I do for every studio album):

- Midnight messiah (well surprisingly )
- The Shadow Man Incident

[hefdaddy42]

Time to pick up my only 2 songs from Parasomnia (like I do for every studio album):

- Midnight messiah (well surprisingly )
- The Shadow Man Incident

Holy shit

[Vlasto]

Holy shit

well yeah 

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

So far I think I am connecting with Dead Asleep most, feels like it describes the experience so perfectly, as someone who struggles with it myself. Has anyone figured out the time signature(s?) for the main riff? It's so good, it has been stuck in my head all week

[TheOutlawXanadu]

Of all critics on Dream Theater records, 'a lack of originality' or 'Dream Theater by numbers' is probably the hardest for me to swallow. Their spectrum is so huge and wide, every album seems to have his own place, with an own identity. The only two albums which kind of are close to each other, based on mood, songs and structure, are probably Distance Over Time and A View. They somehow feel close and connected. I know there are same song structures on Images & Words and A Dramatic Turn of Events, but the albums differ a lot and doesn't feel the same at all.

And although Parasomnia feels as a very smooth follow-up to A View, as an album it's absolutely new and fresh. And I love every bit of it. Each day a little more.

Some people think that anything short of what Opeth did going from Watershed -> Heritage is playing it too safe, which is fine, but I'm also not sure what those people expected for Dream Theater's 16th album. Like... You really think they're going to completely reinvent the wheel at this point?

As you mentioned, if you really listen and take the time to know their albums, there are important distinctions between them. Even DOT and View, which are similar in many ways, also have distinguishing characteristics.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

Do you guys think the person that says wake up at the end of the album is Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull? Maybe he is waking us up so we can go listen to him read the last will and testament of the father.

[ariich]

Holy shit

Happy Vlasto Day everyone! 

[Zydar]

Do you guys think the person that says wake up at the end of the album is Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull? Maybe he is waking us up so we can go listen to him read the last will and testament of the father.

I bet it's the hypnotherapist from SFAM. "Open your eyes, Nicholas!"

[durga2112]

It would be really cool if they decide to start another meta-album cycle now, where the next album opens with an alarm clock. And if they don't, my head canon will be that this album is a prequel to Awake, with the alarm going off at 6:00 on a Christmas morning. 

[KevShmev]

Some people think that anything short of what Opeth did going from Watershed -> Heritage is playing it too safe, which is fine, but I'm also not sure what those people expected for Dream Theater's 16th album. Like... You really think they're going to completely reinvent the wheel at this point?

I do appreciate that they put a different spin on Taylor Swift's Midnights concept.   

[durga2112]

I got my vinyl copy over the weekend (ultra clear, which actually looks a lot cooler than I expected it to), and I noticed that the sides are labelled as "dreams" (Dream 1, Dream 2, Dream 3, and Dream 4). Each "dream" flows quite well musically - e.g. the first 2 tracks are linked, the next 2 share the "A Broken Man" melody, "Midnight Messiah" and "Bend the Clock" are linked by "Are We Dreaming?", and of course the final side is one long song. Is this just another example of really good vinyl sequencing by Dream Theater, or is there some significance to labelling the sides like that? View did something similar, with the sides labelled as "views", so if it's just a cute naming scheme, that's cool too.

[jayvee3]

Hmm - I've been listening to the album now since release, I feel the parts have sunk in and I "get" the feel and vibe of it all. Yet I just feel that while it's "fine", it's just fine, and I'm not that compelled to keep revisiting each track. Nothing is offensive at all, but nothing really stands out as greatness to me. I don't really have anything bad to say about it as a whole, but it just doesn't give enough that excitement I've had by many DT things in the past...

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

I bet it's the hypnotherapist from SFAM. "Open your eyes, Nicholas!"

Ian Anderson was in SFAM too? lol 

[The Letter M]

I agree with Herrick on D/O and View. I do feel that way about SC/BC&SL though. Aside from splitting the epic in two, every other song on the album has a counterpart that's very similar in vibe on the other album.

Distance Over Over?

-Marc.

[Metro]

I listened to the vinyl version last night. Sounds great, but I was expecting the alarm clock to be a locked groove, where it loops until you take the needle off the record. The recent reissue of SFAM did that with the static at the end of Finally Free.

[Northern Lion]

Distance Over Over?

-Marc.

Maybe a multiverse reference?

[Zydar]

Or a reference to the movie Airplane - "We have clearance, Clarence".

[durga2112]

I listened to the vinyl version last night. Sounds great, but I was expecting the alarm clock to be a locked groove, where it loops until you take the needle off the record. The recent reissue of SFAM did that with the static at the end of Finally Free.

I was expecting that too, but I guess it makes sense thematically since the character/listener on this album wakes up and shuts the alarm off, as opposed to Nicholas on SFAM, who unfortunately is not able to get up and take the needle off the record (I was delighted to discover that the SFAM vinyl used a locked groove, by the way - it's such a small thing, but the attention to detail is hugely appreciated).