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

[emtee]

https://www.billboard.com/charts/hard-rock-albums/

They used an old photo. Oops.

[Logain Ablar]

Fantastic! I'm so pleased for the band.

 

[TAC]

https://www.billboard.com/charts/hard-rock-albums/

They used an old photo. Oops.

Poor MP. 

[wolfking]

Yea, this is kinda where I'm at as well. The songs are good, and I enjoy enough when I listen, but I feel like in pretty short time, I've wrapped my head around it for the most part. My only issue is, I'm now just kinda - "yea it's fine'. And I think that might come down to what you mention in its "depth"...

I felt other albums over the years I was constantly discovering new things for some time and there seemed a larger scope... So I'm a little worried about Parasomnia's  longevity for me personally, but hope it can prove me wrong over time...

Yes, exactly this.

[wolfking]

https://www.billboard.com/charts/hard-rock-albums/

They used an old photo. Oops.

MM looking very pleased with his work on Parasomnia here.

[Herrick]

Sleep Walking! I meant sleep walking! LMAO

Good. You were scaring poor Herrick.

[KevShmev]

Yea, this is kinda where I'm at as well. The songs are good, and I enjoy enough when I listen, but I feel like in pretty short time, I've wrapped my head around it for the most part. My only issue is, I'm now just kinda - "yea it's fine'. And I think that might come down to what you mention in its "depth"...

I felt other albums over the years I was constantly discovering new things for some time and there seemed a larger scope... So I'm a little worried about Parasomnia's  longevity for me personally, but hope it can prove me wrong over time...

I hear ya on this.  I like the album a lot, but new DT albums almost always dominate my music listening time for at least a few weeks after being released (even ones I would call my least favorites did that).  Parasomnia, however, had a very short shelf life for me in that regard, which probably says more about how my music interests have changed a bit than it does about the album itself, because I do think it is a very good album.  I just think the days where Dream Theater got a big chunk of my musical world pie are over.

[dparrott]

I was listening to tracks from the last few albums today, Parasomnia has the best mix/mastering of the last few years.  The hi hats/cymbals in the Broken Man keyboard solo are so clear.  Astonishing is a close second.  D/T sounds terrible and overcompressed compared to this, and View is not much better. 

And I do think this is the freshest they have sounded in years.  The songs have more life in them than most of the MM albums.

[Wim Kruithof]

And Im not sure if anyone is having this happen, but I seem to be loving a different song every couple of days!

This.

Those who I thought where the hardest to digest in the first place, Dead Asleep and The Shadow Man Incident are now songs I re-visit the most. But right from In the Arms of Morpheus I'm hooked for the ride, which will usually not be ended until the 'wake up-call' at 19.28 of The Shadow Man Incident.

What I love the most of Parasomnia is the whole conceptual idea and foundation, with themes coming back and I definitely believe it's better conceived as an entire experience. Each song is better when listened to as an album.

[Northern Lion]

Just listened to TSMI again and that piano part just gets better and better every time I hear it.  Masterful work by JR!

A Broken Man is still one of my favorites off the album, and having the chorus reprised at the end of TSMI is just pure icing!

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

I just think the days where Dream Theater got a big chunk of my musical world pie are over.

I'm sorry to hear this happened to you I hope I never have to suffer such a fatal tragedy (nugget), I wouldn't wish it even in the presence of my enemies (nugget)

[skydivingninja]

Ultimately I think my assessment of Parasomnia comes down to this:

* Pretty consistent album. When I start it I want to finish it the whole way through.
* Not a ton of incredible songs/moments that make me go "whoa!"
* Not a ton that makes me cringe either.

It is pretty much a middle of the road album but it's more consistently good than ADTOE, View, BCSL, SC, FII, WDADU, s/t, and the Astonishing. But without high points close to songs like Lines in the Sand, TCoT, Breaking All Illusions, etc. I'm putting it near the top of my C-tier. Just behind FII and BCSL but ahead of View and SC.

[Mark Levinson Jr.]

I've listened from beginning to end quite a few times, and the singles seemed to have really blended into the rest of the album for me. Untethered Angel and Invisible Monster always stood out so much as singles to me. I guess because I heard them so many more times, or because they were just written as singles... they always sounded different than the rest of the album. A lot of times I'd just start DOT on Barstool Warrior.

But the 3 singles from Parasomnia seem to really blend into the rest of the album as one continuous experience for me. Maybe it's the reprises of the "main theme", or their position on the album. But the nearly 20 minutes of NT and BM just don't give me an impatient feeling, just because I knew them so well before release date. Also, NT hits a lot differently when you don't have the video.

[Kocak]

They used an old photo. Oops.

It's from a Billboard interview for that album cycle. They have the rights for it. Makes a bit of sense why they used it. Penske Media has their own database for visual material.

[Stadler]

I'm sorry to hear this happened to you I hope I never have to suffer such a fatal tragedy (nugget), I wouldn't wish it even in the presence of my enemies (nugget)

When you get to a certain age, that happens actually fairly frequently. And doesn't always last forever. 

The number of bands that have sort of lost their place in the listening order for me is as long as my arm.  Sometimes they come back (Deep Purple), sometimes they don't (Scorpions)

[Wim Kruithof]

When you get to a certain age, that happens actually fairly frequently. And doesn't always last forever. 

The number of bands that have sort of lost their place in the listening order for me is as long as my arm.  Sometimes they come back (Deep Purple), sometimes they don't (Scorpions)

For me, besides Pink Floyd, never came any band back...

[Progmaniac1988]

I've listened from beginning to end quite a few times, and the singles seemed to have really blended into the rest of the album for me. Untethered Angel and Invisible Monster always stood out so much as singles to me. I guess because I heard them so many more times, or because they were just written as singles... they always sounded different than the rest of the album. A lot of times I'd just start DOT on Barstool Warrior.

But the 3 singles from Parasomnia seem to really blend into the rest of the album as one continuous experience for me. Maybe it's the reprises of the "main theme", or their position on the album. But the nearly 20 minutes of NT and BM just don't give me an impatient feeling, just because I knew them so well before release date. Also, NT hits a lot differently when you don't have the video.

I'm 100% with you here. The Parasomnia singles all just blend right in. I never get that "I've heard these singles too much" feeling. In fact this is probably the first album from DT that's almost always a start to finish experience for me since Train of Thought. Woah lol thinking on it every Album from Octavarium on had at least one song that I skip sometimes. Not that I dislike it, it's just that I like the rest of the songs on the albums more. I'd even say those albums (Octavarium-view) some I like overall more than Parasomnia just because how classic tier some of the songs on the albums are! Parasomnia just don't have any skip tracks for me. Is a great start to finish experience almost every listen so far!
Haven't had that since my personal golden 3 albums! (Scenes, six degrees, train of thought) lol

[Glasser]

Parasomnia is really getting stronger for me. The fact that I have been sitting with mid career albums like SDOIT and ToT a lot has changed my perspective on DT letting go that I&W defines them and I always compared everything they release to it, well not anymore. As a matter of fact SDOIT climbed VERY high in my ranking. I will be re-ranking all albums soon minus WDADU which I always consider a stand alone release.

[durga2112]

WDADU which I always consider a stand alone release.

Interesting perspective - so basically Majesty's one and only release?

[Glasser]

Interesting perspective - so basically Majesty's one and only release?

That's EXACTLY how I see it!!! 

[Qrusher14242]

i've listened to it about 3 times and don't really have a desire to listen to it which isn't a good sign lol. Its...decent. But a few of the songs just blend together for me like Night Terror/A Broken Man/Dead Asleep. Midnight Messiah, i really like the riffs in it. I do like The Shadow Man Incident. Bend the Clock is pretty good.

I just didn't feel like other than Bend the clock that was hardly any good vocal melodies in this, nothing really memorable that is. It's not bad but probably going to be in the middle of the pack of DT albums for me imo.

[Mark Levinson Jr.]

OMG! I just realized something and it is blowing my mind!

At the end of The Shadow Man Incident, there is a voice that says "Wake up!" right before the alarm clock rings. That voice is the same voice as the speaker in the beginning of Midnight Messiah! The same guy! I was thinking that it was a friend or roommate from the real world telling me (the "main character" experiencing parasomnia) to wake up.... but no. It is someone from the dream world! That same someone in Midnight Messiah says "That was a visitation to this real place: the Land of the Dead." A frightening thought, since you are now supposed to be contemplating if the Shadow Man is real.

Also, the guy who says "wake up" to you at the end of the album states " I keep thinking that I'm waking up but I'm still in a dream, it seems like it's going on forever, I can't get out of it, I want to wake up for real." After hearing the haunting, echoing chorus of "Endless night" by James, it all fits together.

It is huge that a character lends legitimacy to the symptoms of parasomnia buy putting you the listener in the "first person", like you are experiencing the problems, then hits you with a wake up call from dream land instead of reality. It makes a statement like dreams might be more real than we think, and makes you really think about the lyric about night being "forever changed"!

[The Letter M]

OMG! I just realized something and it is blowing my mind!

At the end of The Shadow Man Incident, there is a voice that says "Wake up!" right before the alarm clock rings. That voice is the same voice as the speaker in the beginning of Midnight Messiah! The same guy! I was thinking that it was a friend or roommate from the real world telling me (the "main character" experiencing parasomnia) to wake up.... but no. It is someone from the dream world! That same someone in Midnight Messiah says "That was a visitation to this real place: the Land of the Dead." A frightening thought, since you are now supposed to be contemplating if the Shadow Man is real.

Also, the guy who says "wake up" to you at the end of the album states " I keep thinking that I'm waking up but I'm still in a dream, it seems like it's going on forever, I can't get out of it, I want to wake up for real." After hearing the haunting, echoing chorus of "Endless night" by James, it all fits together.

It is huge that a character lends legitimacy to the symptoms of parasomnia buy putting you the listener in the "first person", like you are experiencing the problems, then hits you with a wake up call from dream land instead of reality. It makes a statement like dreams might be more real than we think, and makes you really think about the lyric about night being "forever changed"!

https://youtu.be/Vg0ngFDc1UE?si=7qOBGVjm1IFyY3P8

Samples taken from Waking Life (2001) directed by Richard Linklater

Marc Papeghin has once again synced up movie samples in a DT song with their original source video!

-Marc.

This might help a bit.

-Marc.

[nobloodyname]

i've listened to it about 3 times and don't really have a desire to listen to it which isn't a good sign lol. Its...decent. But a few of the songs just blend together for me like Night Terror/A Broken Man/Dead Asleep. Midnight Messiah, i really like the riffs in it. I do like The Shadow Man Incident. Bend the Clock is pretty good.

I just didn't feel like other than Bend the clock that was hardly any good vocal melodies in this, nothing really memorable that is. It's not bad but probably going to be in the middle of the pack of DT albums for me imo.

You don't really have any desire to listen to it again but it'll probably end up in the middle of the pack? How does that work?

[MirrorMask]

I've seen Waking Life and that's definitively something about not being able to wake up........ (brilliant mindfuck of a movie, btw)

[Schurftkut]

You don't really have any desire to listen to it again but it'll probably end up in the middle of the pack? How does that work?

Same here, i've listened 4 times and i'm already done listening. Nothing really grabbed me, it's solid enough but nothing that interested me in revisiting. So, middle of the pack. Not bad, certainly not great.

[erciccio]

Well, I have to admit that this album is really a grower.

I didn't like it at all at the beginning, but I gave it a chance and now there are several sections and melodies that are stuck in my head..and I really love some of the riffs (Dead Asleep and a couple in Midnight Messiah)

Overall, I think it's the best of the "metal" albums (ToT, SC, A View, Parasomnia) - the bad news is that the "metal albums" are among my least favourites..

With a few haircuts here and there (instrumental section of Dead Asleep, Bend the CLock solo, AVFTTOTW section in The Shadow man) and a "melodic break" maybe after A Broken Man, this could have been easily in my top tier.

Today I was very proud to walk in the stilish Milano in my business suit but wuth my Parasomnia shopper bag (a kind gift of the Rome store where I bought the CD) !!   

[Animal]

I didn't like the album first. The last thing I wanted DT to do was a "dark and heavy" release.
Now, after 2 weeks, I am really digging it. Yes, it is kind of dark and monotone, but compositions feel very tight. There is less noodling, more actual motives. Also vocal melodies are a step up from A View. The only song I don't like is Midnight Messiah - this one feels like "we need another song, let's do some As I Am clone quickly".
In terms of individual performances, everyone is great, but Petrucci and Labrie take the top spots. I haven't enjoyed JP's leads this much since Breaking All Illusions. And James - let's say he really surprised me. As pretty much anyone, I thought his studio performances were fine, but here, it is really like he got back some of the cylinders of his vocal engine that seemed to be lost forever. The power with which he delivers Bend the clock is really something else. Kudos.

[jjfumbly]

I'm not sure if this has already been brought up but I think it's likely the next album will begin with the alarm clock sound.

[Zydar]

Maybe the next album will have the opposite theme to this one, like Narcolepsy. 

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

Same here, i've listened 4 times and i'm already done listening. Nothing really grabbed me, it's solid enough but nothing that interested me in revisiting. So, middle of the pack. Not bad, certainly not great.

Same unfortunately. When I'm in the mood for a ballad I'll throw on Bend the Clock. Outside of that this is probably the worst replay value I've ever gotten from a DT album at this point. Hopefully seeing them do it live will change that.

[RoeDent]

I'm not sure if this has already been brought up but I think it's likely the next album will begin with the alarm clock sound.

They should call it Awake. Surely they haven't used that title yet.

[hefdaddy42]

I'm not sure if this has already been brought up but I think it's likely the next album will begin with the alarm clock sound.

That is not in any way "likely" and I have no idea where you got that.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

When you get to a certain age, that happens actually fairly frequently. And doesn't always last forever. 

The number of bands that have sort of lost their place in the listening order for me is as long as my arm.  Sometimes they come back (Deep Purple), sometimes they don't (Scorpions)

For some reason I stopped listening to Opeth for a couple of years and then this past summer I decided to listen to Deliverance and it pretty much made me explode with awesomeness. They're now firmly back in the rotation.

[Dream Team]

They should call it Awake. Surely they haven't used that title yet.