Dream Theater self titled album discussion - [SPOILER FREE DISCUSSION ONLY]

[bosk1]

Have I missed something ?

Has there been a contest where DT fans submit the most ridiculous and overblown song titles and the band pick the best ones ?

This was my first impression when I saw the track listing for the new album.

Sure this must be some piss-take by the band - there's no way the song titles could be so laughable.

Or could they

I would suggest that you find a more constructive way to word your opinions.  Stating them the way you did is a violatino of forum rules.  Specifically:

12. Insults or senseless bashing of the current or former band members of Dream Theater and/or their music will not be tolerated.  Honest, open critique is always allowed, provided it does not cross the line and become bashing, belittling, etc.

If you have not read the rules, I suggest that you familiarize yourself with them.

[johncal]

Have I missed something ?

Has there been a contest where DT fans submit the most ridiculous and overblown song titles and the band pick the best ones ?

This was my first impression when I saw the track listing for the new album.

Sure this must be some piss-take by the band - there's no way the song titles could be so laughable.

Or could they

I think I'd get banned if I responded to this one

[fadetoblackdude7]

Have I missed something ?

Has there been a contest where DT fans submit the most ridiculous and overblown song titles and the band pick the best ones ?

This was my first impression when I saw the track listing for the new album.

Sure this must be some piss-take by the band - there's no way the song titles could be so laughable.

Or could they

Way to judge before you hear the album 

[Kotowboy]

Exactly !

There was no way of telling that The Count Of Tuscany would be full of sub par lyrics and imagery from looking at the title alone.


Only when we heard the song did we realise that was indeed the case

[Tom Bombadil]

Exactly !

There was no way of telling that The Count Of Tuscany would be full of sub par lyrics and imagery from looking at the title alone.


Only when we heard the song did we realise that was indeed the case

It was still a damn good song despite the silly lyrics

[MarkFitDT]

 

[Dark Castle]

Have I missed something ?

Has there been a contest where DT fans submit the most ridiculous and overblown song titles and the band pick the best ones ?

This was my first impression when I saw the track listing for the new album.

Sure this must be some piss-take by the band - there's no way the song titles could be so laughable.

Or could they

Way to judge before you hear the album 

Not only this, but I actually found the song titles to be pretty Bitchin' if I say so myself.

[dparrott]

I can overlook not-so-good lyrics if I love the music and/or feel of the song.  I guess it's the opposite for many people.  Even though I agree with PoW's lyrics, I may not like it as much if it had different music.

[BlackInk]

The song titles are fine, nothing mind blowing, but completely fine.

[serrano]

What's the problem with the titles?

I'm actually hyped because of MM's contribution.

[Kotowboy]

Lyrics are the least important thing to me - unless they're absolutely awful like :

" i've got so many clothes that I keep them at my Aunt's house. "

or

" I would not like to be a ghost - it's the thing that I fear the most. I'd rather have a slice of toast. "

[robwebster]

Lyrics are the least important thing to me - unless they're absolutely awful like :

" i've got so many clothes that I keep them at my Aunt's house. "

or

" I would not like to be a ghost - it's the thing that I fear the most. I'd rather have a slice of toast. "

You leave Des'Ree alone!

[Kotowboy]

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

I get a real "New World Order" and "Illuminati" feeling over both the artwork and tracklist. So I guess a concept album could be a possibility unless it's something else.

[dparrott]

Concept album or not, I would like the songs to flow into each other like on SFAM.

[Whatsername]

Concept album or not, I would like the songs to flow into each other like on SFAM.

If they flow too much though then I really can't listen to them outside of the entire album. I would like if they sort of transition, like SDOIT, but not so much that I can't listen to the separate if I want to.

[PROGdrummer]

I'm sure the tracks are probably going to transition into each other much like Octavarium did.
Little "segues" in and out of songs

[Frank]

Concept album or not, I would like the songs to flow into each other like on SFAM.

If they flow too much though then I really can't listen to them outside of the entire album. I would like if they sort of transition, like SDOIT, but not so much that I can't listen to the separate if I want to.

Personally, I find the flow of an album to be much more important to me. Obviously the ideal is to have both a coherent flow and an ability for songs to be extracted as their own, but if I were forced to choose, I would pick an album with songs that can't be listened to in isolation - while limiting the physical time I can listen to the album due to the constraints of my life, it makes the album listening experience so much more engaging and enjoyable to me. Instead of a 20 minute epic, subsequently, I get a 70 minute epic.

Overture 1928 and Strange Deja Vu are great examples of my ideal of a song moving to another. It's just so satisfying to hear that singular moment of transition. Another example would be the transition between Empty Spaces and Young Lust on Pink Floyd's The Wall. So my personal hopes are for a flow like that in the new album. I prefer transitions like that over the ones on 8VM, for example, because they feel more naturally built into the music rather than a general (but admittedly cool) transition of sound effects.

[sueño]

This is a rather new concept for me, this listening to an album as a whole.

I generally like entire albums of music that I have, but especially with the advent of digital players and my beloved "shuffle" option, I rarely listen to any one artist's work all the way through.  I see where albums, particularly rock, it seems (jazz does too, to a degree), would produce a work meant to be enjoyed "in order".  It's just interesting to me...it's not how I listen to music.

Not saying that won't change, tho...      This is all very educational.   

[Whatsername]

This is a rather new concept for me, this listening to an album as a whole.

I generally like entire albums of music that I have, but especially with the advent of digital players and my beloved "shuffle" option, I rarely listen to any one artist's work all the way through.  I see where albums, particularly rock, it seems (jazz does too, to a degree), would produce a work meant to be enjoyed "in order".  It's just interesting to me...it's not how I listen to music.

Not saying that won't change, tho...      This is all very educational.   

I used to be the same way. I would just randomize everything. Dream Theater is the first band I've preferred to listen to albums in their entirety.

[iamtheeviltwin]

This is a rather new concept for me, this listening to an album as a whole.

I generally like entire albums of music that I have, but especially with the advent of digital players and my beloved "shuffle" option, I rarely listen to any one artist's work all the way through.  I see where albums, particularly rock, it seems (jazz does too, to a degree), would produce a work meant to be enjoyed "in order".  It's just interesting to me...it's not how I listen to music.

Not saying that won't change, tho...      This is all very educational.   

I used to be the same way. I would just randomize everything. Dream Theater is the first band I've preferred to listen to albums in their entirety.

I cut my musical teeth on Pink Floyd and listening to one of their albums in entirety was an experience.  I used to get annoyed when an album had no real flow or feeling, but I have gotten more used to singles land with the advent of digital players and internet radio. 

However, it still annoys me when my wife skips songs when we are listening to an album straight through.

[dongringo]

This is a rather new concept for me, this listening to an album as a whole.

I generally like entire albums of music that I have, but especially with the advent of digital players and my beloved "shuffle" option, I rarely listen to any one artist's work all the way through.  I see where albums, particularly rock, it seems (jazz does too, to a degree), would produce a work meant to be enjoyed "in order".  It's just interesting to me...it's not how I listen to music.

Not saying that won't change, tho...      This is all very educational.   

Well, way back in the old days, listening to albums in their entirety was what we did...you know, back when record players were the norm and the dual cassette player was revolutionary. It wasn't always so perfect though. One always needed a matchbook laying around the car in order to shim the 8 track tape. 

[Rattlehead]

Have I missed something ?

Has there been a contest where DT fans submit the most ridiculous and overblown song titles and the band pick the best ones ?

This was my first impression when I saw the track listing for the new album.

Sure this must be some piss-take by the band - there's no way the song titles could be so laughable.

Or could they

Even though I don't agree, I still found this hilarious 

[sueño]

This is a rather new concept for me, this listening to an album as a whole.

I generally like entire albums of music that I have, but especially with the advent of digital players and my beloved "shuffle" option, I rarely listen to any one artist's work all the way through.  I see where albums, particularly rock, it seems (jazz does too, to a degree), would produce a work meant to be enjoyed "in order".  It's just interesting to me...it's not how I listen to music.

Not saying that won't change, tho...      This is all very educational.   

Well, way back in the old days, listening to albums in their entirety was what we did...you know, back when record players were the norm and the dual cassette player was revolutionary. It wasn't always so perfect though. One always needed a matchbook laying around the car in order to shim the 8 track tape. 

Oh, I remember those days, I'm probably older than you!     I just listened to records that were essentially collections of singles, not themed concepts.  Listening to all or one didn't really make a difference.

[TheLordOfTheStrings]

Have I missed something ?

Has there been a contest where DT fans submit the most ridiculous and overblown song titles and the band pick the best ones ?

This was my first impression when I saw the track listing for the new album.

Sure this must be some piss-take by the band - there's no way the song titles could be so laughable.

Or could they

You have been voted off the island.

[wolven74]

Something I've been thinking about: We know there's going to be a 20+ minute epic on DT12. DT has only done 2 such epics in the past: SDOIT & 8VM. I'm hoping for something totally original of course, but I find that SDOIT flows better, is a heavier song. 8VM has some heavy parts, but for the most part I find it leaning toward a ballad. I'd like to see some more groove and driving guitar in the DT12 epic. What do you hope for in the upcoming opus? More  or more 

[TheLordOfTheStrings]

Something I've been thinking about: We know there's going to be a 20+ minute epic on DT12. DT has only done 2 such epics in the past: SDOIT & 8VM. I'm hoping for something totally original of course, but I find that SDOIT flows better, is a heavier song. 8VM has some heavy parts, but for the most part I find it leaning toward a ballad. I'd like to see some more groove and driving guitar in the DT12 epic. What do you hope for in the upcoming opus? More  or more 

A Change Of Seasons

[wolven74]

Something I've been thinking about: We know there's going to be a 20+ minute epic on DT12. DT has only done 2 such epics in the past: SDOIT & 8VM. I'm hoping for something totally original of course, but I find that SDOIT flows better, is a heavier song. 8VM has some heavy parts, but for the most part I find it leaning toward a ballad. I'd like to see some more groove and driving guitar in the DT12 epic. What do you hope for in the upcoming opus? More  or more 

A Change Of Seasons

Yeah forgot that one. 

[PROGdrummer]

I consider In The Presence of Enemies to be a 20+ minute epic too as well...

I mean, it IS 25:38 long. And pretty epic.
I also consider The Count of Tuscany to be an epic, although it's not quite 20 minutes but still.

[Mosh]

I expect it to be heavier than the others. More neo-classical too, assuming they used the orchestra; leaning more toward the Romantic era than SDOIT though.

[wolven74]

I consider In The Presence of Enemies to be a 20+ minute epic too as well...

I mean, it IS 25:38 long. And pretty epic.
I also consider The Count of Tuscany to be an epic, although it's not quite 20 minutes but still.

This is true. ITPOE is 20+ mins when played together, as it is live. However, it is split in two on the album, so I consider it to be 2 separate songs.

[BlobVanDam]

I consider In The Presence of Enemies to be a 20+ minute epic too as well...

I mean, it IS 25:38 long. And pretty epic.
I also consider The Count of Tuscany to be an epic, although it's not quite 20 minutes but still.

This is true. ITPOE is 20+ mins when played together, as it is live. However, it is split in two on the album, so I consider it to be 2 separate songs.

It's only split on the album for the sake of the album sequencing. It was written as one song, so it's definitely considered one of the 20+ minute epics.

The official list of the super epics is-
ACOS
SDOIT
Octavarium
ITPOE

Plus the new one, of course. I don't know what to expect from it, but I'm sure that given the circumstances, it will live up to any expectations.

[jammindude]

[fadetoblackdude7]

Have I missed something ?

Has there been a contest where DT fans submit the most ridiculous and overblown song titles and the band pick the best ones ?

This was my first impression when I saw the track listing for the new album.

Sure this must be some piss-take by the band - there's no way the song titles could be so laughable.

Or could they

Way to judge before you hear the album 

Not only this, but I actually found the song titles to be pretty Bitchin' if I say so myself.

Same here 

[BlackInk]

The official list of the super epics is-
ACOS
SDOIT
Octavarium
ITPOE

Three out of these four are in my top 3... So Illumination Theory has some pretty strong stuff to live up too. Trying not to hype IT up that much but it's a bit difficult seing how their other 20+ epics have turned out.