Self Titled Album Discussion thread [Expect Spoilers]

[Mosh]

Got my box set today and the Jam midway through the Take Away My Pain video is better than anything on the new album IMO. That said, I think the album will be a slow builder on me, it hasn't really clicked just yet. I get more and more of the impression from watching that video that Mangini was already selected before the auditions began too, not that that's a bad thing, but a bit rude if they made the other 6 guys jump through hoops when the decision was already made.

I actually somewhat agree. I actually don't think the other guys ever had all that much chance, not so much based on their playing skills, but rather their overall status. Marco is a pretty hot drummer these days, and I think he knows that. To be the drummer for a late-career band would have seriously curtailed his own career.
Donati was never in the running to begin with (too big a name), nor really Priester or Wildoer (foreigners), so Ruddy is the only one remaining. He was alright, but the only one reasonably being able to play MP's parts was MM.
Frankly, I think they enticed most of the others with a free trip to New York and possible later collaboration. For maybe $10k RoadRunner got a documentary that assuaged a lot of doubters who didn't think anybody could succeed MP.

I haven't seen the video yet, but I agree that there wasn't really a competition because it was crystal clear who they would choose, once it also became clear that Marco wasn't even interested in joining the band.   

I think this 30 minute film is what pushed me over the edge for the box set.

Agreed with everyone here. It was painfully obvious that they were gonna go with MM.

By the way, has anyone scanned the QR code in the booklet? What's on it?

[ariich]

Ok, let's make an attempt at ranking:

1. Illumination Theory
2. The Bigger Picture
3. Surrender to Reason
4. Behind the Veil
5. Enigma Machine
6. The Enemy Inside
7. Along for the Ride
8. The Looking Glass
9. False Awakening Suite

[FlyingBIZKIT]

1. The Bigger Picture
2. Illumination Theory
3. Along for the Ride
4. Surrender to Reason
5. The Looking Glass
6. Behind the Veil
7. The Enemy Inside
8. Enigma Machine
9. False Awakening Suite

[Tomislav95]

1. Surrender to Reason
2. Illumination Theory
3. Behind the Veil
4. The Bigger Picture
5. Along for the Ride
6. The Looking Glass
7. The Enemy Inside
8. Enigma Machine
9. False Awakening Suite

[Zydar]

1. The Looking Glass
2. Illumination Theory
3. Surrender To Reason
4. Behind The Veil
5. Along For The Ride
6. The Bigger Picture
7. The Enemy Inside
8. Enigma Machine
9. False Awakening Suite

[ResultsMayVary]

1. Surrender To Reason
2. Illumination Theory
3. Behind The Veil
4. The Bigger Picture
5. The Looking Glass
6. Along For The Ride
7. Enigma Machine
8. The Enemy Inside
9. False Awakening Suite

[Onno]

Attempt at ranking:

1. Illumination Theory
2. Behind The Veil
3. Enigma Machine
4. The Enemy Inside
5. Along for the Ride
6. The Bigger Picture

7. False Awakening Suite


8. The Looking Glass
9. Surrender to Reason

[RuRoRul]

1. Illumination Theory
2. Behind The Vale
3. The Enemy Inside
4. The Looking Glass
5. Surrender To Reason
6. Enigma Machine
7. The Bigger Picture
8. False Awakening Suite
9. Along For The Ride

[Infinite Cactus]

1.Surrender To Reason
2.Illumination Theory
3.The Looking Glass
4.False Awakening Suite
5.Behind The Veil
6.The Bigger Picture
7.The Enemy Inside
8.Enigma Machine
9.Along For The Ride

[krieger]

1. Along for the Ride
2. The Looking Glass
3. Enigma Machine
4. Illumination Theory
5. Behind The Veil
6. The Enemy Inside
7. Surrender to Reason
8. The Bigger Picture
9. False Awakening Suite

(but I like all of them!)

[?]

1. Behind the Veil
2. The Bigger Picture
3. Along for the Ride
4. Surrender to Reason
5. The Looking Glass

6. Illumination Theory

7-9. False Awakening Suite, The Enemy Inside, Enigma Machine (can't come up with an order, all are equally meh)

I'll post my mini-review tomorrow.

[dodido253]

I really don't get why FAS so underrated .. Such a masterpiece

[Zyzzyva17]

1. Illumination Theory (10/10)
2. The Enemy Inside (9.5/10)
3. Enigma Machine (9/10)
4. Behind the Veil (9/10)
5. Surrender to Reason (8/10)
6. False Awakening Suite (8/10)
7. The Bigger Picture (7/10)
8. The Looking Glass (6/10)
9. Along for the Ride (5/10)

(My median ranking for DT songs is 8/10)

[wasteland]

I really don't get why FAS so underrated .. Such a masterpiece

I agree! It's compact, cinematic, logical and entertaining!

My father loves it too, he always asks for it to be played first whenever we are in the car.

[jammindude]

Initial rankings:

1. The Bigger Picture
2. The Looking Glass
3. Behind the Veil
4. Illumination Theory
5. Along for the Ride
6. Enigma Machine
7. The Enemy Inside
8. Surrender to Reason
9. False Awakening Suite

It's all amazing...and I wouldn't rate a single song below an 8/10.   FAS is only at the bottom because...well...it's just an intro.  A cool intro, but not really a "song"...

[BlackInk]

I really don't get why FAS so underrated .. Such a masterpiece

It is good, sure. But a bit short to earn a high ranking spot for me.

[Ben_Jamin]

Just finished The Looking Glass....That was exactly what I was hoping DT would do again. An uplifting song that just drives, akin to UAGM, IF and AFIL. This may very well end up being my favorite DT album.

[GasparXR]

I might post my rankings after my next listen, which will be on the release date. I could maybe do it now, but I want to be a bit more sure about them.

[Kotowboy]

https://open.spotify.com/album/2yzeTza4DXX5XpzJYY7CXO

Just finished listening on Spotify and there's so much more top end compared to the Soundcloud stream that it's ridiculous.

[Tom Bombadil]

As of now:
1. The Bigger Picture
2. Illumination Theory
3. Surrender to Reason
4. Along for the Ride
5. The Looking Glass
6. Behind the Veil
7. The Enemy Inside
8. Enigma Machine
9. False Awakening Suite

[Secor]

1. The Bigger Picture
2. The Looking Glass
3. Illumination Theory
4. Surrender to Reason
5. Behind the Veil
6. The Enemy Inside
7. False Awakening Suite
8. Along for the Ride
9. Enigma Machine

[Syzzle]

1.Illumination Theory
2.The Bigger Picture
3.Behind The Veil
4.Surrender To Reason
5.False Awakening Suite
6.The Looking Glass
7.Enigma Machine
8.Along For The Ride
9.The Enemy Inside

[BlobVanDam]

I really don't get why FAS so underrated .. Such a masterpiece

I think it's probably the strongest track on the album. It packs a lot in to such a short time span. It's condensed goodness!

[Nearmyth]

Oh man let's see...

1. Illumination Theory
2. Surrender To Reason
3. The Bigger Picture

4. The Enemy inside
5. Behind The Veil
6. The Looking Glass

7. Along For The Ride
8. Enigma Machine
9. False Awakening Suite

Disclaimer: I think FAS is fuckin badass.

[ResultsMayVary]

Yea, FAS is fucking awesome, but it suffers in the 'rankings' because of its length. It has some awesome moments, but not many awesome moments as some of the other songs.

[FourthHorseman]

*subject to change*

1. Surrender to Reason
2. The Bigger Picture
3. Illumination Theory
4. The Looking Glass
5. The Enemy Inside
6. Enigma Machine
7. Behind the Veil
8. Along for the Ride
9. FAS

[Bolsters]

As of this moment:

The Looking Glass
The Bigger Picture
Surrender to Reason
False Awakening Suite
Illumination Theory
Behind the Veil
Along for the Ride
The Enemy Inside
Enigma Machine

[stellarnight]

This is going to be a struggle to rank because each song is great for their own reasons~

For now:

1) Illumination Theory ( JLB performance here is phenomenal and does anyone else get a Beyond this Life vibe from the solos? BTL was my first DT song so perhaps biasness )
2) Behind the Veil ( Chorus ..Wow. Plus the Song evolves so much in 6 minutes. I would like to say it surpasses it's Megadeth influences.)
3) Surrender to Reason ( Restless Angels..Restless Angels..and that sweet 12 string at the start)
4) The Bigger Picture (The start of what i feel is the best 3 consecutive songs on the album. )
5) FAS (Epic stuff. Looking forward to seeing this during the tour!)
6) The Looking Glass (The Limelight comparison is apt. Same theme and similar riffs. It is a good song but the rest are just so great that this gets overshadowed)
7) Enigma Machine. ( I still have not warmed up to it yet. Perhaps it is too complex for me..or maybe i prefer songs with JLB. The drumming is insane though)
7) TEI ( Awesome song but the other songs are more ...proggy and more interesting to hear)
8) AFTR. (Last because the other songs are almost head and shoulders above it. Not a bad song per se.)

[eviljust]

1 - Illumination Theory
2 - The Bigger Picture
3 - Surrender To Reason
4 - Behind The Veil
5 - Enigma Machine
6 - False Awakening Suite
7 - Along For The Ride
8 - The Enemy Inside

[GasparXR]

1 - Illumination Theory
2 - The Bigger Picture
3 - Surrender To Reason
4 - Behind The Veil
5 - Enigma Machine
6 - False Awakening Suite
7 - Along For The Ride
8 - The Enemy Inside

I'm trying to look through something, but I can't seem to find it...

[Moor]

I decided to upgrade my basic ipod earbuds to better enjoy this album, so I bought some decent Harman/Kardon earbuds, which provided more clarity but the sound seems louder now and much more compressed to the point you get tired. Maybe I should stick to the old ipod earbuds? Has anyone witnessed such thing?

[wasteland]

I decided to upgrade my basic ipod earbuds to better enjoy this album, so I bought some decent Harman/Kardon earbuds, which provided more clarity but the sound seems louder now and much more compressed to the point you get tired. Maybe I should stick to the old ipod earbuds? Has anyone witnessed such thing?

Oh, all the time. I have a set of decent 70€ headphones and listening to music there can be really tiring for the ears, because of both the lining touching the whole ear (and I'm very sensible to alteration of temperature in that zone) and the regular music feeling more compressed or muddy.

[Onno]

I decided to upgrade my basic ipod earbuds to better enjoy this album, so I bought some decent Harman/Kardon earbuds, which provided more clarity but the sound seems louder now and much more compressed to the point you get tired. Maybe I should stick to the old ipod earbuds? Has anyone witnessed such thing?

Oh, all the time. I have a set of decent 70€ headphones and listening to music there can be really tiring for the ears, because of both the lining touching the whole ear (and I'm very sensible to alteration of temperature in that zone) and the regular music feeling more compressed or muddy.

YOUR AVATAR
I HADN'T SEEN IT YET

[Moor]

I decided to upgrade my basic ipod earbuds to better enjoy this album, so I bought some decent Harman/Kardon earbuds, which provided more clarity but the sound seems louder now and much more compressed to the point you get tired. Maybe I should stick to the old ipod earbuds? Has anyone witnessed such thing?

Oh, all the time. I have a set of decent 70€ headphones and listening to music there can be really tiring for the ears, because of both the lining touching the whole ear (and I'm very sensible to alteration of temperature in that zone) and the regular music feeling more compressed or muddy.

Ah thanks  The thing you did to your avatar is a winner 
Maybe I will try to change the ipod eq settings, any recommendations for the best eq settings for DT12?

[wasteland]

I decided to upgrade my basic ipod earbuds to better enjoy this album, so I bought some decent Harman/Kardon earbuds, which provided more clarity but the sound seems louder now and much more compressed to the point you get tired. Maybe I should stick to the old ipod earbuds? Has anyone witnessed such thing?

Oh, all the time. I have a set of decent 70€ headphones and listening to music there can be really tiring for the ears, because of both the lining touching the whole ear (and I'm very sensible to alteration of temperature in that zone) and the regular music feeling more compressed or muddy.

YOUR AVATAR
I HADN'T SEEN IT YET

Now you undestand what I meant when I said "I might change it in the past". It was already  like this when you revealed me that I am The Doctor