Transatlantic Official Thread

[MinistroRaven]

MP posted:

We’re in FULL-ON TA5 mode at the moment, overseeing the finishing touches on the upcoming music videos, webisodes, 5.1 mix and Visualizer, promo ideas etc and let me tell you: the best has yet to come!! 😉 TA has always been about “More Never Is Enough” and I think we’ve pretty much taken it all as far as it can possibly go with The Absolute uniVerse albums! Prepare for a journey of ABSOLUTE EPIC proportions on Feb 5th! (and your first real taste VERY soon!) 😉
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@transatlanticofficial @mikeportnoy @neal_morse_official @roinestolt8112 @thepetetrewavas @insideoutmusic
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#Repost @portnoypageofficial
・・・

[gzarruk]

MP posted:

We’re in FULL-ON TA5 mode at the moment, overseeing the finishing touches on the upcoming music videos, webisodes, 5.1 mix and Visualizer, promo ideas etc and let me tell you: the best has yet to come!! 😉 TA has always been about “More Never Is Enough” and I think we’ve pretty much taken it all as far as it can possibly go with The Absolute uniVerse albums! Prepare for a journey of ABSOLUTE EPIC proportions on Feb 5th! (and your first real taste VERY soon!) 😉

I'm hoping the first single drops this friday along iwh the pre-orders and, hopefully, the tracklist too. I'm excited about this album

[darkshade]

I'm definitely anticipating The Absolute Universe a lot more than I was anticipating Kaleidoscope.

[Orbert]

I anticipated Kaleidoscope muchly, coming off The Whirlwind and IMO a steady upward trajectory.  Kaleidscope is good, though I wasn't as completely blown away as I was with each of the first three albums.

Because I've come to accept that these guys are mere mortals after all, plus the way they seem to be "overhyping" The Absolute Universe, I'm cautious.  I'll buy it in some form, of course, but I'm trying to keep expectations in check.

[The Letter M]

From Roine about half an hour ago on FB:

Yes - tomorrow my shop www.roinestolt.com  will be open with yet another NEW item:   - You've guessed it ; seen it.  We - TRANSATLANTIC announce the fifth studio album TA5 -  ‘The Absolute Universe’, Set for release on February 5th, 2021.
Pre_order start in my shop tomorrow:  The first 300  will be signed by me (Roine) and comes with a 'Forevermore' art card. 

Comes as two versions of the CD record: ‘The Absolute Universe: The Breath Of Life (Abridged Version)’ 1 CD  - PLUS  ‘The Absolute Universe: Forevermore (Extended Version)’ 2CD.
(And a big pac  'Ultimate edition' with Vinyls & CD's and 5.1 etc. However from my shop - NO vinyls - no box set !!)  'The Absolute Universe Album Trailer' here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4Ln98PtgZI

Initial tracking began in September 2019 - the band met up in Sweden to write and arrange the new material and was finished this summer 2020 - Universal travel takes time.
Pre-order tomorrow - get it  first days of February  next year.)

This is probably the best bet for fans in Europe. You won't get Neal's signature, but you could get Roine's instead, PLUS an art card!

-Marc.

[MinistroRaven]

First single to be released tomorrow:

https://open.spotify.com/album/7MB6phnSBj1c7Bh1CIay2K?highlight=spotify:track:3qtdGRlnee4fQPXsiFz0Nk

[425]

Bold of them to cover a section from the Spock's Beard song The Water for the lead single.

[MinistroRaven]

My new wallpapers

[emtee]

Truly excited to hear the new music. Any distraction from life in 2020 is needed.

Also, I clicked that link for the single...that purple album cover might be my favorite album art ever.

[Fritzinger]

Bold of them to cover a section from the Spock's Beard song The Water for the lead single.

Can you elaborate?

[SleeperAwake]

That was not the section of The Water that I was hoping for.    Song is solid.

Excited for the album, and while I definitely appreciate them making the Blu-ray available separately, I still wish there was a 3CD+BD package. Seems like picking up 3 different releases would be more expensive, not to mention oddly cumbersome.

I purchased the Earbook of Transitus for the DVD and the comic (but have also really enjoyed the instrumental CD). I'd do the same here if possible, but the way things look now I'll just pick up the albums and wait for someone to upload the Making-Of online.

[MinistroRaven]

Bold of them to cover a section from the Spock's Beard song The Water for the lead single.

Can you elaborate?

Reach for the sky
After we've gone
After the moon rises
And the red flags fly
Gonna reach for the sky
Gonna hold my head up high
Gonna reach for the sky
Storm ragin'
That'll be alright
If we reach for the sky
Yeah we reach for the sky
Guess there never was
A winner
Just a race against time
I was mean, I was kind
Even though I was blind
I still reach for the sky
Storm ragin'
That'll be alright
If we reach for the sky
Yeah we reach for the sky
Come on people
Reach for the sky

That's an extract from SB song

[425]

And that movement is called "Reach for the Sky." So it's pretty close.

[The Letter M]

https://youtu.be/fQVkHuEkOHQ

Whenever it's past midnight in your time zone/country.

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

I didn't think to save the link, but Roine did an interview last week, and while the new TFK was the bulk of the discussion, he did touch on the new TA a little.  He said he couldn't say much, but did say that the lyrics won't be of the Christian nature (a hint of spirituality, but the way he worded made me think it will be pretty subtle), and also that the sound and mix is more to his liking, making me think it will be more European than American in that regard, if you catch my drift.  Not that I don't love the sound of the Neal-related albums since 2000, but a mix more like the Flower Kings material would be killer.

[devieira73]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Absolute-Universe-Forevermore-Extended-Version/dp/B08MVCWBD5/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=transatlantic+universe&qid=1605837833&sr=8-1
Song titles.. yes, there's another Overture

[gzarruk]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Absolute-Universe-Forevermore-Extended-Version/dp/B08MVCWBD5/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=transatlantic+universe&qid=1605837833&sr=8-1
Song titles.. yes, there's another Overture

Official tracklists for both versions:

Forevermore:
1   Overture
2   Heart Like a Whirlwind
3   Higher Than the Morning
4   The Darkness in the Light
5   Swing High, Swing Low
6   Bully
7   Rainbow Sky
8   Looking for the Light
9   The World We Used to Know
10   The Sun Comes Up Today
11   Love Made a Way (Prelude)
12   Owl Howl
13   Solitude
14   Belong
15   Lonesome Rebel   
16   Looking for the Light (Reprise)
17   The Greatest Story Never Ends
18   Love Made a Way

The Breath of Life:
1   Overture
2   Reaching for the Sky
3   Higher Than the Morning
4   The Darkness in the Light
5   Take Now My Soul
6   Looking for the Light
7   Love Made a Way (Prelude)
8   Owl Howl
9   Solitude
10   Belong
11   Can You Feel It
12   Looking for the Light (Reprise)
13   The Greatest Story Never Ends
14   Love Made a Way

Interesting that the first single is only in the abridged version (unless it's there with a different name). Also, "Heart Like a Whirlwind" hmmm...

[425]

So it looks like 11 of the track titles are the same between the two versions, with three exclusive to The Breath of Life and seven to Forevermore.

The titles in common:
Overture
Higher Than the Morning
The Darkness in the Light
Looking for the Light
Love Made a Way (Prelude)
Owl Howl
Solitude
Belong
Looking for the Light (Reprise)
The Greatest Story Never Ends
Love Made a Way

Exclusive to The Breath of Life:
Reaching for the Sky
Take Now My Soul
Can You Feel It

Exclusive to Forevermore:
Heart Like a Whirlwind
Swing High, Swing Low
Bully
Rainbow Sky
The World We Used to Know
The Sun Comes Up Today
Lonesome Rebel

[HOF]

Swing it high, swing it low, swing it everywhere you go!

[Revenge319]

With a couple titles being similar to stuff in The Whirlwind (The Breath of Life and Heart Like a Whirlwind), I'm starting to wonder if they're gonna do something similar to what Haken did with Virus (well, more specifically Messiah Complex/Only Stars) and reference their older material throughout this album.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

Song titles seem like your typical Morse-brand spiritual prog schlock, but I'll try to reserve judgement until I actually hear the album. Looking forward to the single drop tonight either way.

[The Letter M]

First impressions of the new single: I like it, it's very upbeat, it definitely fills the post-Overture song slot very well. Interesting that the title for the 2nd track on Forevermore is part of the chorus lyrics, so I wonder how different RFTS is from HLAW.

One of the things that stand out to me are the vocals. I'm excited.to hear just how varied the vocal duties will be on this one and if they got any guests again, i.e. Gildenlow.

-Marc.

[Fritzinger]

I believe Heart Like A Whirlwind and Reach For The Sky are alternate versions of the same song. I don't see them releasing a tune as first single that won't even be available on one of the two versions of the album. The guys are always stressing that they are doing something new, but I think that would be too uncommon 

[emtee]

New song is okay. I'm sure it will be better in the flow of the whole album. As a standalone intro to the album it doesn't move the needle too much. Nothing extraordinary or magnificent about it. Just a solid TA song.

[Fritzinger]

Pre-orders are ALREADY up on:

https://justforkicks.de/detail/index/sArticle/9440
https://www.insideoutshop.de/Artist/Transatlantic/20894?Page=1&PageSize=25&Sort=13
https://www.jpc.de/s/transatlantic
https://www.hhv.de/shop/en/search-transatlantic/p:vcqgKR

I think prices are reasonable! I just pre-ordered TWO Ultimate Versions for 83€ each on Just For Kicks and orders over 90€ they ship for free (at least in Germany). One is for me, the other one is for a buddy of mine.

[Fritzinger]

By the way, Burning Shed can once again be counted on when it comes to track lengths:

A
1 Overture 00:08:11
2 Heart Like A Whirlwind 00:05:11
3 Higher Than The Morning 00:05:29
 
B
1 The Darkness In The Light 00:05:43
2 Swing High, Swing Low 00:03:48
3 Bully 00:02:11
 
C
1 Rainbow Sky 00:03:19
2 Looking For The Light 00:03:59
3 The World We Used To Know 00:09:21
 
D
1 The Sun Comes Up Today 00:05:38
2 Love Made A Way (Prelude) 00:01:25
3 Owl Howl 00:07:05
 
E
1 Solitude 00:05:41
2 Belong 00:02:49
3 Lonesome Rebel 00:02:53
 
F
1 Looking For The Light (Reprise) 00:05:12
2 The Greatest Story Never Ends 00:04:17
3 Love Made A Way 00:08:02
 
G
1 Overture 00:05:53
2 Reaching For The Sky 00:05:40
3 Higher Than The Morning 00:04:32
 
H
1 The Darkness In The Light 00:05:43
2 Take Now My Soul 00:03:31
3 Looking For The Light 00:04:04
 
I
1 Love Made A Way (Prelude) 00:02:13
2 Owl Howl 00:05:26
3 Solitude 00:04:24
 
J
1 Belong 00:02:22
2 Can You Feel It 00:03:17
3 Looking For The Light (Reprise) 00:04:57
4 The Greatest Story Never Ends 00:02:57
5 Love Made A Way 00:09:02
 
 
CD1
1 Overture 00:08:11
2 Heart Like A Whirlwind 00:05:11
3 Higher Than The Morning 00:05:29
4 The Darkness In The Light 00:05:43
5 Swing High, Swing Low 00:03:48
6 Bully 00:02:11
7 Rainbow Sky 00:03:19
8 Looking For The Light 00:03:59
9 The World We Used To Know 00:09:21
 
CD2
1 The Sun Comes Up Today 00:05:38
2 Love Made A Way (Prelude) 00:01:25
3 Owl Howl 00:07:05
4 Solitude 00:05:41
5 Belong 00:02:49
6 Lonesome Rebel 00:02:53
7 Looking For The Light (Reprise) 00:05:12
8 The Greatest Story Never Ends 00:04:17
9 Love Made A Way 00:08:02
 
CD3
1 Overture 00:05:53
2 Reaching For The Sky 00:05:40
3 Higher Than The Morning 00:04:32
4 The Darkness In The Light 00:05:43
5 Take Now My Soul 00:03:31
6 Looking For The Light 00:04:04
7 Love Made A Way (Prelude) 00:02:13
8 Owl Howl 00:05:26
9 Solitude 00:04:24
10 Belong 00:02:22
11 Can You Feel It 00:03:17
12 Looking For The Light (Reprise) 00:04:57
13 The Greatest Story Never Ends 00:02:57
14 Love Made A Way 00:09:02
Blu-ray

1 Overture 5.1 Surround Mix 00:08:11
2 Reaching For The Sky 5.1 Surround Mix 00:05:40
3 Higher Than The Morning 5.1 Surround Mix 00:05:29
4 The Darkness In The Light 5.1 Surround Mix 00:05:43
5 Take Now My Soul 5.1 Surround Mix 00:03:31
6 Bully 5.1 Surround Mix 00:02:11
7 Rainbow Sky 5.1 Surround Mix 00:03:19
8 Looking For The Light 5.1 Surround Mix 00:03:59
9 The World We Used To Know 5.1 Surround Mix 00:09:21
10 The Sun Comes Up Today 5.1 Surround Mix 00:05:38
11 Love Made A Way (Prelude) 5.1 Surround Mix 00:01:25
12 Owl Howl 5.1 Surround Mix 00:07:05
13 Solitude 5.1 Surround Mix 00:05:41
14 Belong 5.1 Surround Mix 00:02:49
15 Lonesome Rebel 5.1 Surround Mix 00:02:53
16 Can You Feel It 5.1 Surround Mix 00:03:17
17 Looking For The Light (Reprise) 5.1 Surround Mix 00:05:12
18 The Greatest Story Never Ends 5.1 Surround Mix 00:04:17
19 Love Made A Way 5.1 Surround Mix 00:08:02
20 The Making of the The Absolute Universe Documentary 01:02:27

Here's some things I observed:
- The Blu-ray Version contains a song that is on the Abridged version but not on the Expanded, Can You Feel It.
- The Love Made A Way finale is longer on the Abridged version, by around one minute.
- The Overture is more than two minutes longer on the Expanded version.
- The Expanded version has Heart Like A Whirlwind, the Abridged and 5.1 versions have Reaching For The Sky. The latter is 30 seconds longer. But I still believe that these are two versions of the same song.
- The Expanded version has Swing High, Swing Low, while the Abridged and 5.1 versions have Take Now My Soul. The latter is 17 seconds shorter.
- Belong is 27 seconds shorter on the Abridged version.

[DTA]

Song titles seem like your typical Morse-brand spiritual prog schlock, but I'll try to reserve judgement until I actually hear the album. Looking forward to the single drop tonight either way.

Seriously, I actually laughed when I saw the song titles. Could they be any more generic sounding for this group of musicians? Owl Howl, Bully, Rainbow Sky, and Lonesome Rebel are the only ones that have some sort of individuality and character about them. I realize this is a minor gripe if the music is good, but it just leads to the homogeneous nature of all projects involving Neal. Fuck it, throw another song called The Glory Of The Lord on there just for old times sake.

[shawn_michaels1989]

Does anyone know how many copies of the ultimate edition exist?

[MinistroRaven]

Does anyone know how many copies of the ultimate edition exist?

It says is LIMITED no exact numbers have been given

[goo-goo]

I got the Bluray from Radiant and the both CD versions from Laser's Edge. CDs are a lot cheaper at Laser's ($10 and $15) than Radiant ($18 and $23).

https://www.lasercd.com/search_results?fulltext=Transatlantic%20the%20absolute%20universe

[Hypnotherapist]

Sales Open in Radiant Records : https://www.nealmorse.com/product/the-absolute-universe-transatlantic/

[Fritzinger]

MP shares the following:

TRANSATLANTIC LAUNCH FIRST NEW MUSIC / VIDEO IN 6 YEARS! 🚀🚀🚀

Watch the new video for “Overture / Reaching For The Sky” taken from ‘The Absolute Universe: The Breath Of Life (Abridged Version)’. here: https://youtu.be/SP5HwWbCQvg 

The 5th Transatlantic studio album ‘The Absolute Universe’ is set for release on February 5th, 2021 and comes in two versions of the record: ‘The Absolute Universe: The Breath Of Life (Abridged Version)’ & ‘The Absolute Universe: Forevermore (Extended Version)’. 

You can 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: https://transatlantic.lnk.to/TheAbsoluteUniverse

Mike Portnoy comments: “’Reaching For The Sky’ is the first single off Transatlantic’s latest Magnum opus ‘The Absolute Universe’. It’s a great introduction to this epic album as it sets the tone in traditional TA style: proceeded on the album by an extended Instrumental Overture and then launching into this upbeat first song.

"I love that it features one of my favorite qualities of the band in the sharing of the lead vocals...in this case: Neal singing lead on Verse 1, myself singing lead on Verse 2, Pete & Neal sharing the Chorus with myself and Roine on backups and Neal taking the glorious Bridge...all leading to Roine’s distinctive guitar solo.
 
Also interesting is that this version exclusively appears on the Abridged 1CD Version of TA5 (“The Breath Of Life”) while the Extended 2CD Version of TA5 (“Forevermore”) opens with the alternate version ‘Heart Like A Whirlwind’ which has different lead vocals and lyrics .”

Each album will be available on CD, LP & Digitally. But there will also be what has been called ‘The Absolute Universe: The Ultimate Edition’, which collects both versions together in one lavish package that includes 5LP’s, 3CD’s & a Blu-ray that includes a special mix that combines both versions into a third unique version in 5.1 surround sound with visuals and a behind the scenes documentary. All editions have artwork created by Thomas Ewerhard featuring the airship by Pavel Zhovba.

As Mike Portnoy explains: “We've got two versions of this album. There is a two CD presentation, which is 90 minutes long, and a single one - that's 60 minutes. However, the single CD is NOT merely an edited version of the double CD. They each contain alternate versions and even in some cases, new recordings. We wrote fresh lyrics and have different people singing on the single CD version tracks as compared to those on the double CD. Some of the song titles have also been changed, while others might remain the same, but compositionally what you'll hear has been altered. You must appreciate that what we have done is unique. We revamped the songs to make the two versions different.” Pete Trewavas adds: “We did write some new music for the single CD, what's more, there are also differences in the instruments used on some of the tracks across the two records.”

The full list of formats is below:

‘The Absolute Universe: The Breath Of Life (Abridged Version)’
Available as:
Single CD Edition, Gatefold 2LP+CD, or Digital Album

Track-listing:
1. Overture
2. Reaching For The Sky
3. Higher Than The Morning
4. The Darkness In The Light
5. Take Now My Soul
6. Looking For The Light
7. Love Made  A Way (Prelude)
8. Owl Howl
9. Solitude
10. Belong
11. Can You Feel It
12. Looking For The Light (Reprise)
13. The Greatest Story Never Ends
14. Love Made A Way

‘The Absolute Universe: Forevermore (Extended Version)’
Available as:
2CD Edition, 3LP+2CD Boxset, or Digital Album

Track-listing:
Disc 1:
1. Overture
2. Heart Like A Whirlwind
3. Higher Than The Morning
4. The Darkness In The Light
5. Swing High, Swing Low
6. Bully
7. Rainbow Sky
8. Looking For The Light
9. The World We Used To Know

Disc 2:
1. The Sun Comes Up Today
2. Love Made A Way (Prelude)
3. Owl Howl
4. Solitude
5. Belong
6. Lonesome Rebel
7. Looking For The Light (Reprise)
8. The Greatest Story Never Ends
9. Love Made A Way
 
‘The Absolute Universe: The Ultimate Edition’
Limited Deluxe Clear 5LP+3CD+Blu-Ray Box-set – contained within a foil-finished lift-off box with extended 16-page LP booklet & 60x60cm poster. Includes both versions of the album over 5LP’s and 3CD’s, plus a Blu-Ray with 5.1 mix & documentary.

Blu-Ray Track-listing:

1. Overture (5.1 Surround Mix)
2. Reaching For The Sky (5.1 Surround Mix)
3. Higher Than The Morning (5.1 Surround Mix)
4. The Darkness In The Light (5.1 Surround Mix)
5. Take Now My Soul (5.1 Surround Mix)
6. Bully (5.1 Surround Mix)
7. Rainbow Sky (5.1 Surround Mix)
8. Looking For The Light (5.1 Surround Mix)
9. The World We Used To Know (5.1 Surround Mix)
10. The Sun Comes Up Today (5.1 Surround Mix)
11. Love Made A Way (Prelude) (5.1 Surround Mix)
12. Owl Howl (5.1 Surround Mix)
13. Solitude (5.1 Surround Mix)
14. Belong (5.1 Surround Mix)
15. Lonesome Rebel (5.1 Surround Mix)
16. Can You Feel It (5.1 Surround Mix)
17. Looking For The Light (Reprise) (5.1 Surround Mix)
18. The Greatest Story Never Ends (5.1 Surround Mix)
19. Love Made A Way (5.1 Surround Mix)
20. The Making of The Absolute Universe (Documentary)

#TA5 #TheAbsoluteuniVerse

Watch the video for “Overture / Reaching For The Sky” here:
https://youtu.be/SP5HwWbCQvg

[Mindflux]

CD, LP, Blu-ray and The Ultimate Edition box set all available! Check out the Radiant Records exclusives:

- Magenta and Turquoise exclusive vinyls

- First 300 copies of The Ultimate Edition signed by Neal Morse

- Album cover t-shirt only available from Radiant

- Entry into The Ultimate Raffle for a VIP Q&A with Neal with every $50 pre-ordered

- Get the Kaliveoscope Deluxe Box set (3 CD/ 2 DVD/ Blu-ray) for $9.99

- PLUS… Exclusive handwritten lyric sheet and session photos download with every purchase!

[MinistroRaven]

Watch the video for “Overture / Reaching For The Sky” here:
https://youtu.be/SP5HwWbCQvg

[jadiggerdt]

The first 3 minutes of the song, you can clearly hear that Mike and Neal have run over Roine and Pete in the songwriting process. This reminds me more of the standard Neal Morse Band intro, not good old Translantic! hope this is NOT standard of rest of the album