Official "A Dramatic Turn Of Events" Review Thread

[slycordinator]

There's a phrase you can find in any weak Dream Theater review -- something along the lines of "There's enough material here to please Dream Theater fans". This is reviewer code for "I don't understand this music but there are a lot of people that do and I won't try to understand why".

I find statements like these sad. IMO, it's presumptuous and a bit snobbish at least for us to imply that someone who dislikes Dream Theater is too dumb to understand them or is too lazy to try.

[theseoafs]

There's a phrase you can find in any weak Dream Theater review -- something along the lines of "There's enough material here to please Dream Theater fans". This is reviewer code for "I don't understand this music but there are a lot of people that do and I won't try to understand why".

I find statements like these sad. IMO, it's presumptuous and a bit snobbish at least for us to imply that someone who dislikes Dream Theater is too dumb to understand them or is too lazy to try.

When did I ever imply that? I was referring to those reviewers who use a particular phrase which is more or less a cop-out as well as an easy tell if you're looking to find a pop reviewer trying to review prog.

[slycordinator]

When did I ever imply that? I was referring to those reviewers who use a particular phrase which is more or less a cop-out as well as an easy tell if you're looking to find a pop reviewer trying to review prog.

My point is that such a phrase doesn't at all equate to "I don't understand this music and won't even bother trying to understand it."

[theseoafs]

When did I ever imply that? I was referring to those reviewers who use a particular phrase which is more or less a cop-out as well as an easy tell if you're looking to find a pop reviewer trying to review prog.

My point is that such a phrase doesn't at all equate to "I don't understand this music and won't even bother trying to understand it."

It absolutely does. It's the mark of a reviewer who doesn't understand prog but who was assigned the interview and has to do it. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the reviewer's musical taste; I know prog isn't for everyone. They don't have to understand it and there's nothing wrong if they don't. Don't assume I'm slamming the reviewers for their musical preference.

If I were a reviewer for a company such as Allmusic, I obviously wouldn't always be assigned to review and album by a band I appreciated or was familiar with or had heard of. They have only so many reviewers with only so many backgrounds and they have to review every album which comes out. If I were that reviewer, and I were assigned Skrillex's latest album, I may say "The material on this album will surely please Skrillex fans", which basically amounts to "I don't get it, but if you do, you'll like this".

[slycordinator]

It absolutely does. It's the mark of a reviewer who doesn't understand prog

Did I not make it clear that I think this is total nonsense?

That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the reviewer's musical taste; I know prog isn't for everyone. They don't have to understand it and there's nothing wrong if they don't. Don't assume I'm slamming the reviewers for their musical preference.

You're slamming them for a presumed lack of understanding of prog. I get it. I just think that the presumption that they don't understand prog based on one line of a review is unfounded.

If I were a reviewer for a company such as Allmusic, I obviously wouldn't always be assigned to review and album by a band I appreciated or was familiar with or had heard of. They have only so many reviewers with only so many backgrounds and they have to review every album which comes out. If I were that reviewer, and I were assigned Skrillex's latest album, I may say "The material on this album will surely please Skrillex fans", which basically amounts to "I don't get it, but if you do, you'll like this".

It's just as easy for a guy who's familiar with Skrillex to write that statement as someone who isn't. You're presuming that something that can be used as a cop-out can't be used any other way.

But I'm done with this. It's going nowhere.

[visitor]

....ok

About the review, this album is leaps and bounds better then the last 5 albums (though ToT was really good)
On the backs of Angels
Powerful  and heavy yet very melodic.  Unfortunately I heard this song before the album release and totally killed it after hearing it a gazillion times
BMUBMD
Very heavy, the first time I heard it I despised it but the more I heard it the more it grew on me, overall it was tied with Beneath the Surface as my two least favorite songs(still good though)
Lost not Forgotten
Very cool intro, my least favorite part is the chorus but when 8:06 hits its fucking magic for about 20 seconds.
This is The Life
I dont know why this song isnt more popular, its my second favorite.  I think James sings it beautifully and it has some of the best lyrics of the album.  Petrucci's solo is also awesome making this a total 'makin love' song
Bridges in the Sky
That frog guy freaked me out at the beginning, the first thing my wife said was "Oh, Jordan discovered the frog sound on his keyboard." Hehe, not sure if thats true or not, either way we were both surprised when the awesome chorus hit.  The first Shaman take my hand is fucking epic.
Outcry
This one I didnt get into until multiple listens.  The intro is really cool, and when everyone comes in its epic, the beat mangini makes is killer.  Lyrics to the chorus are really cool which is why it would be awesome to hear it live.  There is a part that is totally majestic during the instrumental part that really is special and reminds me of Awake DT.
Far From Heaven
What actually made me like this song was the instrumental version, it allowed me to appreciate jordan's sounds, so when I heard it again with James it was truly nice, my only complaint were a couple of parts that made it sound disneyish, but fuck it it was still cool (love you James  )
Breaking All Illusions
Before this album came out I would tell my friends that I was anticipating this album more then ever because it was the first to contain lyrics by myung since SFAM(the last great DT album imo, until THIS ONE!).  John Myung writing lyrics to a song was just symbolism to me, it just meant that he put a stamp of approval on an album, I never expected him to write lyrics to one of the best DT songs.  This song has everything, from the amazing intro riff, to the breathtaking chorus.  John Petrucci's solo leaves me awed, and Labries voice is beautiful.  I wont say anymore since I'm sure youve heard so much praise already of a very very good DT song.
Beneath the Surface
Not a bad song, it's strength is the lyrics.  The music is good, but the album as a whole is so powerful imo that this song is not up to par.  My favorite part is close to the end when there are violins and pizzicatos.

All in all I went from liking this album 40 to 45% to being astonished to what an amazing album it is.  Seriously, I am so happy with this album and what it could mean for the future of DT.  I miss Mike Portnoys drumming(hopefully the drums will be mixed a little different in the next album mangini ), but I dont miss the heavy DT from SC, now that I think about it it was prolly the best thing to happen, let them take a road and experiment, only to come back stronger then ever with the DT sound that no other band can claim, Dream Theater is truly a band alone in their own genre.

DT is back.

[hefdaddy42]

Wrong thread.  This is a thread for official reviews, not fan reviews or DTF member reviews.  Please post in the appropriate place.

[slycordinator]

Wrong thread.  This is a thread for official reviews, not fan reviews or DTF member reviews.  Please post in the appropriate place.

Perhaps it would be best to change the title to be Official ADTOE Professional Review Thread.

[hefdaddy42]

Yeah, I could do that.  Or people could, you know, read the thread.

[slycordinator]

The reality is that many people make posts based on the title of a thread without having read the first post, especially when it's a thread as long as this one. You can say "I wouldn't need to do that if people would do like I expect hem to" but that doesn't change the fact that they aren't all acting like you expect. Really, it was just a suggestion to help keep the thing you disliked from happening. Nothing more.

[hefdaddy42]

Well, it's only happened once, so I don't really see a need for it.  But thanks.