Dream Theater: The Astonishing (now with moment of betrayal!)

[Setlist Scotty]

No, guys, DT isn't doing a country folk bebop album...

I am now highly disappointed. 

What if it was a death metal polka album with acid jazz accents?

[SuperTaco]

What if it was a death metal polka album with acid jazz accents?

I dunno man I was kinda hoping for a trip funk album with post ska influences.

[paulstfu]

No, guys, DT isn't doing a country folk bebop album...

I am now highly disappointed. 

What if it was a death metal polka album with acid jazz accents?

Then DT would be HAKEN 

[RMGadelha]

I have to say... I'm disappointed. I would have prefered more track names than that Arhys message. Not that DT promised us anything, but hey. xD

[Awake77]

Since we're probably going to have small instrumental interludes between different songs, I would really like to have some of them performed by one instrument only. Something like JP for parts connected with the GNE, JM for RRM, JR for the Chosen One, MM for NOMACS.
I would be eager to know especially what JM would come up with, in case he had to write a bass-solo interlude.
Then these themes could resurface, combined together, in the actual songs.

[jdprsaga]

Since we're probably going to have small instrumental interludes between different songs, I would really like to have some of them performed by one instrument only. Something like JP for parts connected with the GNE, JM for RRM, JR for the Chosen One, MM for NOMACS.
I would be eager to know especially what JM would come up with, in case he had to write a bass-solo interlude.
Then these themes could resurface, combined together, in the actual songs.

This sound cool..

And I would love to see JM playing some chapman stick and his pedal bass with distortion as background..

[noxon]

Or, you know, it's actually possible that the album is just shorter songs. 20 songs on 74 minutes (redbook standard) gives us a little over 3.5 minutes per song. I'll assume that the NOMAC symbol tracks are shorter "intermissions", and that some fuse together like through my words - fatal tragedy. Considering it's a rock opera, this makes sense. I don't think there will be much of any instrumentals, excepting the overture and the entr'acte. I think we'll definitively see a lot of reoccuring themes, as is normal in rock operas. Remember, what we know about this album is that it'll basically be nothing like the other DT albums.

[Octavarious]

Luv da spekyuleshon tred!
 
Nugget: Arhys is the anagram of Syrah... Do they want us to think that this character loves music because he loves to sing along when he has his few glasses of red wine?
Are then Nomacs sober i.e halal machines? Maybe patrolling the Empire by checking everyone is strictly following  the 12 steps? Nugget!
Yeah I know what you think, just wanted to align with the rest of "I don't know a single thing but I will have my own say anyway so I discovered this..." thread posts.

[Kotowboy]

SPECULATION !!! OUT OF GODD DAMN NOWHEREEEE !!!!

DISC 2 WILL HAVE 40 TRACKS... I KNOW THIS TO BE FALSE !


I HAVE NO SOURCE BUT TRUST ME ON THIS !!!!!!!

ALSO JOHN PETRUCCI WILL PLAY GUITAR



TRUST ME YOU'LL SEE I'M RIGHT.....!!!!!!!1

[Enigmachine]

Wait, no update today? Wha? 

Or, you know, it's actually possible that the album is just shorter songs. 20 songs on 74 minutes (redbook standard) gives us a little over 3.5 minutes per song. I'll assume that the NOMAC symbol tracks are shorter "intermissions", and that some fuse together like through my words - fatal tragedy. Considering it's a rock opera, this makes sense. I don't think there will be much of any instrumentals, excepting the overture and the entr'acte. I think we'll definitively see a lot of reoccuring themes, as is normal in rock operas. Remember, what we know about this album is that it'll basically be nothing like the other DT albums.

If DT12 could be considered to start a trend of writing more compact songs, I could see how this happen. I wonder if, for storytelling purposes, they will make more songs like Surrounded, StR and FT that change organically throughout the length rather than a strict verse-chorus approach. Also, while the songs could be shorter in general, I still think there could be some relatively long songs about the length of TBP for climactic points in the plot, as well as some short instrumental mood pieces (I could imagine Heaven's Cove or A Savior in the Square fitting this).

[bosk1]

Wait, no update today? Wha? 

Why do people think there is going to be an update today?  We just got something yesterday.  It is a long time until album release, and trust me when I say that there are a LOT of planned releases of info, in various forms.  But we are not going to get info every day, and there isn't really a strict pattern (for example, every Tuesday and Thursday) for release of info.  But we have gotten a lot for how early it is, and there is definitely more coming.  Keep checking back here and checking your email, Twitter feed, and other sources.

BTW, anyone notice our snazzy new splash page?

[Shadow2222]

BTW, anyone notice our snazzy new splash page?

Looks good! 

[bosk1]

Thanks as always to our very own XJDenton.

[Shadow2222]

How far back do the splash pages with a nod to the previous album go? I know there was one for ADToE, but I can't remember if Black Clouds got one, and I wasn't around before that album.

[lucasembarbosa]

How far back do the splash pages with a nod to the previous album go? I know there was one for ADToE, but I can't remember if Black Clouds got one, and I wasn't around before that album.

Got curious about this too... Can we see the older splash pages? 

[Enigmachine]

Wait, no update today? Wha? 

Why do people think there is going to be an update today?  We just got something yesterday.  It is a long time until album release, and trust me when I say that there are a LOT of planned releases of info, in various forms.  But we are not going to get info every day, and there isn't really a strict pattern (for example, every Tuesday and Thursday) for release of info.  But we have gotten a lot for how early it is, and there is definitely more coming.  Keep checking back here and checking your email, Twitter feed, and other sources.

BTW, anyone notice our snazzy new splash page?

It's just that we've been getting info each Monday and Thursday in a nice predictable pattern that hasn't changed since the 2nd and now it's kind of thrown off, yeah it's only three weeks but idk I guess I just like knowing when we're going to get something. I think the hype is making me impatient. 

I saw the splash page and well, I think it could look better. The NOMAC doesn't fit the picture to my eyes. I like the link to DT12 though, the planet fits in nicely.

How far back do the splash pages with a nod to the previous album go? I know there was one for ADToE, but I can't remember if Black Clouds got one, and I wasn't around before that album.

Got curious about this too... Can we see the older splash pages? 

Wayback Machine: https://archive.org/web/

[Crow]

i can confirm that, for this album, the band members all changed up their instruments
mangini is on guitars, ruddess is on drums, labrie is doing keys, petrucci is doing bass, and ofc myung is the vocalist this time

also there are actually 58 tracks total (nuggetz) and each disc is double-sided so you can play both the top and the bottom of the disc, that's how they were able to fit it onto two discs

and hugh syme is doing the production work

[Kotowboy]

and hugh syme is doing the production work

the clincher. 

[lucasembarbosa]

@Enigmachine: Thanks! 

[CDrice]

and hugh syme is doing the production work

So the new album will be entirely made of song sections cut and pasted from previous Dream Theater albums?

[Kotowboy]

and hugh syme is doing the production work

So the new album will be entirely made of song sections cut and pasted from previous Dream Theater albums?

Not just Dream Theater albums Circus Maximus too !

[Dave_Manchester]

Never mind

[Lucien]

 

[jsbru]

I keep imagining JP and JR checking this thread and seeing all the anxious people and going like: LOL 

If they have any heart, they would just release everything right now.  Case and point--the collective mental illness that is this thread. 

[devieira73]

thor=MirrorMask link=topic=44903.msg2040293#msg2040293 date=1447961356]
He showed me a screenshot of a comment that was forwarded to him. What comment? well, a comment about what we all long for, I'll say no more 
[/quote]
I'm curious... is there anything about this album we all want it the same in  this forum?  Even  metropolis  part  3 is not  a consensus.   By the  way,  personally I hope it's not the case.

[SuperTaco]

There is a good chance we'll get another update to the Astonishing page soon. They've all been happening early or late in the week, and considering the trend so far, it looks like we'll probably get more track names.

I have a really random guess at what one of the last tracks will be. It's a total shot in the dark, but I just thought of it and I think it's actually really creative.





The Astonishing

[jsbru]

So now we know, NOMAC = Noise Machine

Nice catch.

The "s" should still be lowercase, though!

I don't think so. Look, NOMACS is not an acronym, it's an abbreviation ;  with the other letters as capital letters, I don't see why the "s" shouldn't be a capital letter as well.

B.Lee

Even if it's an abbreviation (and not an acronym), the "s" should be lower case.

[TAC]

Thanks as always to our very own XJDenton.

Oh good. I thought Emperor Nafaryus was spying on us.

[BlobVanDam]

I'm curious... is there anything about this album we all want it the same in  this forum?  Even  metropolis  part  3 is not  a consensus.   By the  way,  personally I hope it's not the case.

I'm strongly against the idea of a Metropolis pt III. And I think revisiting the past would not be a great move for them.

[dparrott]

How many records would the vinyl version be?  5? 6?

I guess 3. TFK's Stardust We Are is crammed full of music, and the vinyl version of that is 3 discs. ί

Yea, my math was off.  Two full CDs equal 4 vinyls tops.

This is the kind of album that requires picture discs!  Like the NOMACS logo!

[Train of Naught]

and hugh syme is doing the production work

So the new album will be entirely made of song sections cut and pasted from previous Dream Theater albums?

Not just Dream Theater albums Circus Maximus too !

The Astonishing Chapter?

[sfam2112]

I'm curious... is there anything about this album we all want it the same in  this forum?  Even  metropolis  part  3 is not  a consensus.   By the  way,  personally I hope it's not the case.

I was going to say an outside producer but I don't believe there's a consensus there either.

[serrano]

Probably the only thing we all want is a new album.

[Bertielee]

So now we know, NOMAC = Noise Machine

Nice catch.

The "s" should still be lowercase, though!

I don't think so. Look, NOMACS is not an acronym, it's an abbreviation ;  with the other letters as capital letters, I don't see why the "s" shouldn't be a capital letter as well.

B.Lee

Even if it's an abbreviation (and not an acronym), the "s" should be lower case.

OK, my bad then. The capital "s" didn't bother me at all, that's why.

B.Lee

[noxon]

I honestly don't get the fascination with having metropolis part three. Part two was already hamfisted in trying to tie it to part two. And this concept doesn't seem to connect at all. Other than the classical "good vs evil" story.

And whether they've chose to tag the album as metropolis part three makes absolutely no difference to the story. It's not going to add to my enjoyment, nor is it going to detract.