Big round of replies after listening to the album for a second time while reading through this topic:First listen reactions: More like a random copy and paste collection of various interludes.
This can be a copy paste comment for every single DT album review since the first one. I always laugh because when every new DT album gets released, there will always be a faction that says this exact same thing on every single album release.
The thing is it never felt like this much copy and paste to me before, even on BCASL and TOT. I definitely prefer songs that are
written to songs that are
constructed and I think most of this album sounds very constructed.
I was just wondering if you could be more specific as regards what you mean when you say 'filler' (a word you use a lot). I don't see it as a word of much substance.
You're right, filler can be a filler kind of word without much substance. And it's substance I miss on this album, a lot of it feels superficial, hollow, and empty. It's supposed and said to be more song focussed yet it feels like a mish mash of individual parts and ideas glued together without cohesion. It's like those overly technical interludes trying to connect two sections of a song that end up more like a wedge separating them. And for me DT12 is a collection of these wedges.
Illumination Theory tries so hard it hurts. Really, just give up on the epic thing. It's sounded forced every time going back to Octavarium and this is certainly no different.
It feels extremely forced, like "okay, and now let's do the epic, anyone got a few seconds worth of epic, let's connect the stuff until we're at twenty minutes" with crampy faces.
Ideas are thrown away randomly and they are not properly developed. Choruses are really weak, and that could be said for all vocal melodies, except for Illumination Theory. Even Petrucci's solos are uninspired and pretty forgettable.
There are no memorable vocal melodies, the riffs are all over the place and nothing stands out except for a few moments here and there. I really liked ADTOE and thought it was there best work since SDOIT but the music on this album is just putting me to sleep. The enemy within is the only song that I really like. I'll buy the album when it comes out just so that I have it in my DT collection, but I have no desire to see them play these songs live this time around.
Yeah, I think the lyrics / vocal melodies are the biggest weaknesses here. Just not much sticks out or is memorable. Hopefully as KevShmev suggested the album could just be a grower.
A few production issues aside I like ADTOE a lot too. It took me a few spins to really get into it but it had several moments that grabbed me and made me look forward to listening to them again. I miss those moments on DT12, there are only a few sound nuggets that made me raise an eyebrow. Hardly any of the vocal melodies, riffing and solo lines had any touching, moving, or inspiring impact on me in any way. Though I'm pretty sure though at least some of it will grow in time. Especially with the CD and 5.1 mix as the stream quality is something that affects my reception of the songs quite a lot.
Haven't listened yet, but to those who think Illumination Theory sounds disjointed (which it very well may), you can't really cite A Change of Seasons as an example of a "smoothly flowing" epic. ACoS is my favorite DT song, but quite frankly it's full of abrupt transitions and strange pace changes.
I don't beg to differ, I demand to differ here. I'd even go as far as saying ACOS has more way cohesion as a song than most of the songs on DT12, which is a major reason I'm having a hard time feeling the music.
I'm shocked there are this many people disliking the album.
Ummm... I'd say 90% is over the top positive.
I also tried to listen to it quietly last night, but I fell asleep somewhere in the middle, so after two and a half times listening to it I'm afraid I'm still pretty
meh about it.
And something I'd never have thought I'd say... MM the guy almost overdoses on great character and personality but his drumming has almost none of that, it feels so sterile and cold compared to his performance on ADTOE or his energy on stage.
Let's see if and how this album will grow. I can't always trust my initial reception of an album (as an example I disliked Ayreon's The Human Equation a lot on the first listen, but it clicked the second time and now it's the best fucking album of the decade 2001-2010 for me) but so far I'm still in a tunnel with no light at the end with DT12.
Greetings...
Nef