I'm just hoping that, sonically, the epic doesn't resemble anything DT has done thus far. I came to the conclusion, long ago, that Dream Theater would never come up with another Change of Seasons, and any attempt to do so would not succeed. Not to say that they couldn't come up with something just as good, maybe even better in some ways, but it's got to be different.
The same applies to albums, in the case of I&W, Awake, and SFAM. Those three are masterpieces (SDOIT deserves a mention here too, I suppose), and their magic cannot be repeated. ADTOE is the perfect example of a great album, that didn't ultimately grow like I would have hoped, because of it's I&W Version 2.0 feel. Many of the connections are just in my head, and some may even be imaginary, but they are there. And while V2.0 is supposed to be an upgrade, that's impossible when it comes to an album like I&W.
Which brings me to the upcoming self titled album, said to encapsulate the sound, style, and technique of Dream Theater's musical personality. While that kind of bold statement of self-definition is very exciting for me, I just hope it isn't an attempt to recreate the old. There's a big difference between 'This is Dream Theater' and 'This is Dream Theater, and we are moving'.