Rate and Answer Some Questions on ADTOE - Two Weeks Later

[Mbarak]

1. Better than expected

2. I wanted more piano, more tight song-writing/music and better lyrics. Got all three.

3. BAI and TITL

4. After BC&SL my interest in DT was dwindling. This album made me really excited about DT and DT's future again, like when I first listened to SFAM.

[FretMuppet]

1) Is ADTOE as good as you hoped? Yes

2) If there were certain changes you wanted Dream Theater to make style-wise, did they make them? Yes

3) Does ADTOE have any songs that you would consider a part of the DT elite? Breaking all Illusions, Outcry

4) How does ADTOE affect the band's standing, in your opinion? Have they risen to new heights? Have they sunk to new lows? Are you optimistic about their future? Are you pessimistic about their future? Do you think of them differently than you used to because of ADTOE?
Fresh new DT chapter, the light imagery is a good, optimistic nod to the future of DT, I'm ready for what they come up with next 

[Bongasti]

3.5/5

1)Is ADTOE as good as you hoped?
    -I guess it is

2)If there were certain changes you wanted Dream Theater to make style-wise, did they make them?
    -Yes, this album isn't as heavy as BC&SL and SC

3) Does ADTOE have any songs that you would consider a part of the DT elite?
    -Maybe Outcry and Breaking All Illusions

4) How does ADTOE affect the band's standing, in your opinion? Have they risen to new heights? Have they sunk to new lows? Are you optimistic about their future? Are you pessimistic about their future? Do you think of them differently than you used to because of ADTOE?
    -I am very optimistic about their future, listening to ADTOE definitely made me want to hear more from them.

[DejaVu]

1) It's certainly a good album, but it sounds a bit weaker than I hoped.

2) Better mixing, better drums, more chorus in BAI. (It's one of their best chorus' to date)

3) Breaking All Illusions. BITS and Outcry are sort of up there too.

4) Song-writing, they have really matured from their previous albums. It feels like they've jumped back, like this is the album that should've been after Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence.

It's a great album! However, it doesn't seem as fun as Black Clouds/Systematic Chaos, and thinking about it I actually like that side to the band. This album is too epic for its own good, which kind of loses itself in it's incredible complexity. I still think The Count Of Tuscany is better than any of these songs here, but as an overall album, it flows much better than Black Clouds.

So a straight out 4/5 for me.

[TAC]

1) Is ADTOE as good as you hoped?
Yes is absotuely is. I gave it a 4.5. It's an album that starts off with its two weakest tracks though. I like OTBOA, but BMUBMD sounds like something off of James' solo albums. Shame they're wasting a space in the live set with it. But this album is full of majestic parts and has a cohesive strength that has been missing for a number of albums .

2) If there were certain changes you wanted Dream Theater to make style-wise, did they make them?
I wanted an album that captured the grace and tastefulness of classic Dream Theater. This album knocked it out. I wanted more Jordan, more piano, and got that in spades. But I was hoping for James to feature some of the soaring higher register vocals. Unfortunately they are not there. But he does have more life vocally in the songs live so that's good.


3) Does ADTOE have any songs that you would consider a part of the DT elite?
I'm not sure yet. Breaking All Illusions is definitely Top 15.

4) How does ADTOE affect the band's standing, in your opinion? Have they risen to new heights? Have they sunk to new lows? Are you optimistic about their future? Are you pessimistic about their future? Do you think of them differently than you used to because of ADTOE?
They cement their status as my favorite band even further.

[Juular]

1) Is ADTOE as good as you hoped?

It's better than I hoped it would be.

2) If there were certain changes you wanted Dream Theater to make style-wise, did they make them?

They did. No more growling/bad backround vocals, no more songs that sound way too much like other bands. Also much better keyboard sounds.

3) Does ADTOE have any songs that you would consider a part of the DT elite?

Yes.

4) How does ADTOE affect the band's standing, in your opinion? Have they risen to new heights? Have they sunk to new lows? Are you optimistic about their future? Are you pessimistic about their future? Do you think of them differently than you used to because of ADTOE?

They're back on my favourite bands ever list. I'm very optimistic about their future right now.

[lanemeyer]

I rated it as "great."

1) Is ADTOE as good as you hoped?
Yes, I had my expectations at about the same level of past albums and they exceeded that by quite a bit.

2) If there were certain changes you wanted Dream Theater to make style-wise, did they make them?

Yes, almost all of them. Thankfully, MP's poor vocals and sometimes questionable lyrics were gone. Lyrics in general were a big improvements. Gone were the instrumental sections that didn't fit the song and were uninspired. Solo tradeoffs were replaced with a more concise melody and sections that simply fit the direction of the songs themselves.  Labrie didn't stretch himself outside his range into a "metal" arena... what he can do, he can do extremely well, and he stayed within that range.

3) Does ADTOE have any songs that you would consider a part of the DT elite?
I think TITL is an "elite" ballad, but in terms of epics, that I won't know for several months. I think BAI may be in there.

4) How does ADTOE affect the band's standing, in your opinion? Have they risen to new heights? Have they sunk to new lows? Are you optimistic about their future? Are you pessimistic about their future? Do you think of them differently than you used to because of ADTOE?
They've "returned to form" as far as I'm concerned, and I'm VERY excited about their future. I think all the bad elements that was pushing DT in a direction which I didn't like left with MP.  Can't wait until they make more music.

[krands85]

I voted 4.5. I think it's safe to say that this is my 3rd favourite album of theirs, behind I&W and ToT

1) Is ADTOE as good as you hoped?
Better! Even though my expectations did increase the more time went on and the more we heard from the band about the record, I'm still more impressed with it than I thought I'd be

2) If there were certain changes you wanted Dream Theater to make style-wise, did they make them?
Yes. There seems to be a more balanced feel with the songs. Lyrics, vocals and keys have all vastly improved and Myung sounds much better - plus he got back to the writing. I've never really been put off by MPs backing vocals like other people were, but I prefer the way things are now.

3) Does ADTOE have any songs that you would consider a part of the DT elite?
BAI definitely. BITS and OTBOA probably, depending on your definition of 'the DT elite' TITL and BTS are also 2 of their best ballads ever.

4) How does ADTOE affect the band's standing, in your opinion? Have they risen to new heights? Have they sunk to new lows? Are you optimistic about their future? Are you pessimistic about their future? Do you think of them differently than you used to because of ADTOE?
I was very worried about the future of the band after MP left, not just in creation of the songs, but also because of all the other things he did for the band. But from the time the audition documentary came out and I saw how good a fit Mangini was, I got more and more excited about the new album and also things further down the road. Hearing the guys interviews, seeing them on stage and obviously hearing the new album paints a very rosy picture for the future. I can't wait to see what comes next and how things will work with Mangini having a more prominent role perhaps in the writing of the next album.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

First off: Amazing amount of votes. We got almost 200. Of those, over 170 rated the album as "very good" or better. That's amazing.

Second off: I'm interested to see how these votes compare a year or two from now. I feel like the enthusiasm for SC and BC&SL dipped off once they started to age.

[edu]

1) Is ADTOE as good as you hoped?
Yes.

2) If there were certain changes you wanted Dream Theater to make style-wise, did they make them?
Yes, exactly the changes i was hoping the do. More "colorfull", more melodic, more prog, and more emotional.


3) Does ADTOE have any songs that you would consider a part of the DT elite?
BAI, BITS, at least.

4) How does ADTOE affect the band's standing, in your opinion? Have they risen to new heights? Have they sunk to new lows? Are you optimistic about their future? Are you pessimistic about their future? Do you think of them differently than you used to because of ADTOE?
ADTOE is a great step in the right direction.

[coffees for closers]

1. yes
2. yes
3. Lost Not Forgotten, Farcry, and actually maybe more the verdict is still out. Got mine late because of Omega dicks.
4. risen and optimistic

[bss4life15]

1) Is ADTOE as good as you hoped?

Yes, exceded my expectations x10

2) If there were certain changes you wanted Dream Theater to make style-wise, did they make them?

I didn't really have any problems with the style of BC&SL and SC, so not really.

3) Does ADTOE have any songs that you would consider a part of the DT elite?

Beneath The Surface and Bridges In The Sky will probably enter my top 10, Beneath The Surface might even enter top 5.  Outcry and BAI probably top 20, and the rest are in the top 50 somewhere.

4) How does ADTOE affect the band's standing, in your opinion? Have they risen to new heights? Have they sunk to new lows? Are you optimistic about their future? Are you pessimistic about their future? Do you think of them differently than you used to because of ADTOE?

Doesn't really affect their standing for me, they have always been my favorite band and still are.  I'm very optimistic for the future and hope future albums are just as good or even better.  ADTOE will probably end up being in my top 3 DT albums.

[Demolition]

I give it a 3.5

1) Is ADTOE as good as you hoped?

No, it is good but seems to be missing something.  It is growing on me as I continue to listen though.

2) If there were certain changes you wanted Dream Theater to make style-wise, did they make them?

I wasn't really looking for any changes except maybe less growling.

3) Does ADTOE have any songs that you would consider a part of the DT elite?
No, that is the main reason it only gets a 3.5 from me.  None of the songs hooked me on initial listen and even after many listens I wouldn't consider any an elite song.

4) How does ADTOE affect the band's standing, in your opinion? Have they risen to new heights? Have they sunk to new lows? Are you optimistic about their future? Are you pessimistic about their future? Do you think of them differently than you used to because of ADTOE?

It doesn't affect my opinion.  I think the next disc will be more telling because they will have a tour under their belts with MM.  I will be interested in if he gets more involved in future writing and also if JP dominates the lyric writing or if others contribute more.