A Dramatic Turn Of Events - One Year On

[BlobVanDam]

I rank it among the bottom of DT's albums (probably bottom 4), although I wouldn't say I dislike it either. It's consistently good, but it doesn't have any real high points either compared to other DT stuff, and feels pretty flat and lifeless. Their previous albums were so much more energetic.
I rank it about the same as BCASL, though the only songs I'd say I dislike are Outcry and BTS. The rest are fine.

I don't really like it either. But I never felt the need to start a thread about it I guess.

I know you've said before that you weren't big on ADTOE, but I'm not sure if I've ever seen you say why?

[wolfking]

I have never really liked it either.  Weakest DT album.

[PwnsomeWin]

ADTOE is one of my favorite DT albums, because the songwriting is so solid and balanced. That said, you can't force yourself to like something if it just doesn't do anything to you - everyone is entitled to their own opinion

This is true, but again, I haven't listened to it much. When I bought Awake, I didn't really care for it. But after a bit, I started to like it a lot. So maybe the same will happen with this album.

And I guess it does sound silly to want to like an album that I don't like.

[BlobVanDam]

ADTOE is one of my favorite DT albums, because the songwriting is so solid and balanced. That said, you can't force yourself to like something if it just doesn't do anything to you - everyone is entitled to their own opinion

This is true, but again, I haven't listened to it much. When I bought Awake, I didn't really care for it. But after a bit, I started to like it a lot. So maybe the same will happen with this album.

And I guess it does sound silly to want to like an album that I don't like.

That's not silly at all! It's always better to be able to find enjoyment in something, than hate it.
Give it more listens, but of course don't force it either. DT aren't a band that's always going to click right away. Some songs can take time. It took me a while before I appreciated Blind Faith and Trial of Tears, but now I love them.

Of course there are some songs that aren't going to do it for you no matter how often you listen to them, but you don't really know until you give it some time.

[Dellers]

Bridges In The Sky is a big enough reason to wanna listen to the album.

[MoraWintersoul]

I don't really like it either. But I never felt the need to start a thread about it I guess.

I know you've said before that you weren't big on ADTOE, but I'm not sure if I've ever seen you say why?

I'm not sure myself. Besides BAI and OTBOA, there's not a single song where I wouldn't change at least one tiny thing, up to total erasure of TITL, and the production really bothers me. It's either the chorus, or the verse riffs, or the solo section, but there's always something in each song that really brings me down. I do like the direction and most of the mood of the album though, and I think it's a definite step forward from the previous two albums. But I just don't have the desire to listen to it at all.

That's not silly at all! It's always better to be able to find enjoyment in something, than hate it.
Give it more listens, but of course don't force it either.

Yeah, I second this advice, if it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but you can try and see will anything change

[adastra]

IMO ADTOE is a step in the right direction.
Breaking all Illusions is awesome but apart from that the other songs are boring.
I'd rank ADTOE somewhere close to the bottom tied with Systematic Chaos. Systematic is maybe a little bit better , because Portnoy 

[ariich]

Besides BAI and OTBOA, there's not a single song where I wouldn't change at least one tiny thing, up to total erasure of TITL

WHAT IS THIS.

I mean, opinions and all that, but this is unacceptable.

Prepare for death.

[Nekov]

I'm gonna jump into this train myself. BAI, BITS and BTS are all great songs really but the rest of the album is too overplayed. It feels like the guys were trying too hard to please the fans and just went with a formula of heavy plus technical but not really paying attention to how those two flowed together (my opinion of course). I do feel this can be a transition to something good given were they came from and that with those 3 songs I mentioned before, they showed some of the elements that make me love them so I hope "Dream Theater" will be full of those.

[Bolsters]

Except for maybe two or three songs, I didn't like ADTOE much at all for a while, either, at least at first. But I warmed up to most of the other songs on subsequent listens and now there's really only one song that I'll consistently skip (Lost Not Forgotten). But I'll still listen to that and I would go so far as to say I like it now. Just not as much as the rest of the album. Though if Far From Heaven were any longer I'd probably be inclined to skip that more often, too.

A few of my absolute favourite albums I loathed or even hated at first, some DT material included (I had no appreciation for FII or ToT at first, but became very fond of both after giving them more time). Further listening is something I do as standard now, because I usually have a knee-jerk reaction to dislike almost everything the first time I hear it. A little issue that I developed a few years ago.

[BlobVanDam]

A few of my absolute favourite albums I loathed or even hated at first, some DT material included (I had no appreciation for FII or ToT at first, but became very fond of both after giving them more time).

I would go as far as to say I despised FII at first, now I rank it #4 just behind IaW. Some albums/songs are "grow-ers", while others are "show-ers".

[MoraWintersoul]

Besides BAI and OTBOA, there's not a single song where I wouldn't change at least one tiny thing, up to total erasure of TITL

WHAT IS THIS.

I mean, opinions and all that, but this is unacceptable.

Prepare for death.

Marco already killed me, don't worry

[JPX]

My opinions?

- Definitely a step in the right direction for DT after the weak SC and BCSL.
- It's still in the upper half on my DT album ranking list.
- Breaking All Illusions is their best song since the release of 6DOIT.
- The only tracks I find to be the weak spots are BMUBMD and Outcry. Maybe Far From Heaven too.
- Mangini proved to be a great fit for the band, and it will be interesting to see how he contributed to the writing of the new album.

This is essentially how I feel too.

My problem with the album has always been that I like parts of the songs, but not the songs as a whole. Especially with tracks like Lost Not Forgotten, Bridges In The Sky and Outcry. Breaking All Illusions can be true of this too, but to a much lesser extent because it's almost 100% awesome.

Far From Heaven and Beneath the Surface are fine when I listen to the album in it's entirety, but otherwise I will always skip them. The BMUBMD I deleted anyway.

This is The Life I love all the way through.

From a musical standpoint, I think it had some real high spots for JP and that's about it. The rest of the guys performances, while stellar as always, aren't memorable to me. But I will specifically listen to the TITL and BAI solo's just to get my JP fix.

[chwik]

For me the album is top notch! Such an improvement over SC and BC&SL. ADTOE sounds like Dream Theater influenced by Dream Theater again, and not Dream Theater influenced by other bands...plus BC&SL did not have a great song structure IMO...seems like the songs were rushed to get finished as soon as possible. 

BAI, BITS, Outcry, OTBOA, LNF, TITL are wellcrafted and wellrounded songs with a clear structure. I have seen people describe Outcry being messy in the song department, but if you think of the song in the context of the rise and fall of Egypt it makes perfect sense.

I actually like the mix. It sounds powerful and clear to my ears.

[KevShmev]

5th best DT album.  The first three songs are all merely good, but This Is the Life through Beneath the Surface is an incredible run of songs.

[Mindflux]

Welcome to the club.

[ZKX-2099]

I'm usually kinda neutral on it. But whenever I do play it I'm always surprised at how much I like it.

[MoraWintersoul]

BMUBMD I deleted anyway.

I forgot that existed while I was writing my post

[BlobVanDam]

I actually like the mix. It sounds powerful and clear to my ears.

Can I have your copy of ADTOE? My copy sounds flat and unmixed, and completely unbalanced.

[krands85]

My third favourite DT album behind I&W and ToT. I don't really care much for FFH and BMUBMD is a bit meh, but the rest is great - I find it to be a really consistent album. Since ToT, they've struggled to get more than half an album's worth of really great songs - but that was definitely remedied with ADToE. BAI is in my top 5 DT tracks and BitS, OtBoA & Outcry are all in my top 20. LNF, TitL and BtS are also great efforts and far more enjoyable than the majority of BC&SL, SC and 8VM.

[abydos]

OP should post his DT album rank list before I unleash my fury on him.

Awake is still their best album.

ADTOE is the best albums since ToT.

Fact.

[BlobVanDam]

OP should post his DT album rank list before I unleash my fury on him.

Awake is still their best album.^{citation needed}

ADTOE is the best albums since ToT.^{citation needed}

Fact.^{citation needed}

[Mindflux]

ADTOE is the best albums since ToT.

Fact.

Not fact at all.

[Dellers]

I actually like the mix. It sounds powerful and clear to my ears.

I think it really doesn't sound powerful. Systematic Chaos could bee too much in your face, this one is too little. It lacks some punch. The guitar is for the most part really dull sounding, it seems to lack top end or something. Sounds really dark.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

I love ADTOE. My third favourite of theirs behind Awake and SFaM.

[kirksnosehair]

My opinions?

- Definitely a step in the right direction for DT after the weak SC and BCSL.
- It's still in the upper half on my DT album ranking list.
- Breaking All Illusions is their best song since the release of 6DOIT.
- The only tracks I find to be the weak spots are BMUBMD and Outcry. Maybe Far From Heaven too.
- Mangini proved to be a great fit for the band, and it will be interesting to see how he contributed to the writing of the new album.

Pretty much this, except I very much enjoy Outcry.


My biggest beef with ADTOE is the dull production values.

[Rattlehead]

I'm not a huge fan of ADToE either, but it does have some redeeming qualities that put it right around the top of the lower half of my DT album rankings 

[Full Speed]

I really like it. My favorite album since SDOIT. There's a few songs I don't really like, but that's most DT albums anyway. I usually skip BMUBMD and FFH, and I don't like TITL very much. But OTBOA, LNF, BITS, Outcry, and BAI are all awesome. And BTS is my favorite DT song so it really brings the album up for me.

[emtee]

Don't mean to beat a dead horse but I can't talk about this album without saying the sonic quailty is unacceptable FOR ME.
Maybe not for others and that is OK. But I was SO excited to hear this and popped it into my car system after just spinning
SMX's Iconoclast (brickwalled but sounds very clear in my car) and it sounded like somebody threw a blanket over my speakers.
Muffled, muted and I could barely even hear the drums. No seperation in cymbals and very little in the toms and the bass
drums were almost non existant. I honestly thought I had a CD with issues but then other people were saying the same thing.

Musically I think it's a solid effort and obsiously the playing is top notch as always but I just can't listen to it because of how it
sounds.

[Mindflux]

Don't mean to beat a dead horse but I can't talk about this album without saying the sonic quailty is unacceptable FOR ME.

I'm pissed about the lack of mario quality. The lack of turtle stomping Italians on this album have me disappointed.

[Pepe108]

It's the stronger album they have released since ToT, but the one that has least personality.

[Zook]

I don't get much pleasure from On The Backs of Angels.
Build Me Up, Break Me Down doesn't put out either.
Lost Not Forgotten just makes me want to listen to Under a Glass Moon.
I like This is the Life.
Bridges in the Sky is AMAZING.
Outcry isn't bad, and although the instrumental is kinda cool, it's not fun like say, Metropolis'.
Far From Heaven is just kind of there.
Breaking All Illusions is AMAZING.
Beneath The Surface is a nice little diddy... but still just kind of there.

But this album is still better than SC and BC&SL. Especially BC&SL.

[chwik]

I actually like the mix. It sounds powerful and clear to my ears.

Can I have your copy of ADTOE? My copy sounds flat and unmixed, and completely unbalanced.

PM me your adress and I will ship it right over!

[chwik]

I actually like the mix. It sounds powerful and clear to my ears.

I think it really doesn't sound powerful. Systematic Chaos could bee too much in your face, this one is too little. It lacks some punch. The guitar is for the most part really dull sounding, it seems to lack top end or something. Sounds really dark.

Maybe there is something different with my ears....or I just got a better car stereo!


Just kidding ofcourse!

[TheAtliator]

Sometimes I think ADTOE and Awake may be my top two albums. This album is absolutely incredible. They use so much technicality for the purpose of portraying tons of emotion, and there is vivid imagery. Plus the flow of the album is really something to behold. There are so many absolutely mind blowing parts, and every use of electronic sounds is just astonishing- Jordan so carefully puts together his sounds which are essential and could not be slightly changed, just like the notes in a song.