I will say I like the high-quantity aspect here. To me, DT is a band that will have more misses (to my very subjective taste) than, say, a really good power metal band, because they jump around so much. But when they hit, nobody can top them. To me, the great DT albums are where they hit that mark for more than, say, 30 minutes. The more music there is, the better chance they have of clearing that threshold. It would be one thing in the pre-digital era when listening to the album meant hauling the actual physical product around and having to skip through disliked tracks, but in the modern age, you take what you like and assemble things yourself, so the idea of the "bloated" double album isn't as much of a worry anymore.
That said, because it's a concept album, it's an open question as to how easy it will be to enjoy isolated tracks. Perhaps, as some have suggested, the whole thing will be one continuous piece of music. It could certainly be a gapless album even if it isn't fully continuous. Or maybe the lyrics will be odd out of the concept context. So as nice as the increased quantity might be, this album could potentially prove to be an exception--listening to the few "standout tracks" may not be feasible. But time will tell.
Topic: Dream Theater: The Astonishing (now with moment of betrayal!) (Read 1197972 times)