What about questions like, what kind of musical direction they decided to take with the album. I mean, yeah, we'll hear it, but I'm talking about concrete direction. Like, with Train of Thought they said, they wanted to create an album that was full of really heavy, really intense songs. And with Octavarium they took inspiration from other softer, more melody related bands, and wanted to go for a traditional "Dream Theater" type album. I never would have guessed that from just listening to the album, that it was a conscious decision.
So I'm wondering what kind of direction, if any, they decided to take in terms of where they got their ideas and inspirations for the music they wrote.
EDIT: And for James specifically, I'm really curious what kind of a role he played in the music writing process of the album? Cause I know in the past, they've done albums where they'd write it all, then bring James in to record the vocals. I'm curious whether he had any creative direction in terms of the music itself.