After listening to the album once a day since the first day of the stream, I think I have given DT12 enough time to fully sink in and form an opinion of it and it's contents.
When ADTOE came out, I was kind of at a low with my interest in Dream Theater. SC and BC&SL, while good, solid prog albums in their own right, did not appeal to me as much as DT's classic work of the 90's or early 2000's (or for that mater, WDADU), and I found Dream Theater's position as my favorite band to be in question. ADTOE helped towards rekindling my interest, and indeed, my love for this band. I easily considered it to be the best album that band had made since SFAM, and listened to more upon release then any DT album since Train Of Thought. That being said, ADTOE still didn't quite reach the heights that Dream Theater did back in the 90's. It came close, but it was still a bit of a ways off for me from Images, Awake, and Scenes.
The self titled, however, is something completely different. I can confidently say that it is indeed on par with the holy trinity of I&W, Awake and SFAM. Not necessarily better, but at least in the same league. There is a certain magic on this album that Dream Theater has not displayed in a long time. It's almost as if they are rediscovering themselves, returning to their roots and taking a fresh look at themselves that only 28 years of experience can bring. I kind of feel like the band returned to the style of WDADU (especially on songs like The Looking Glass), but with a level of maturity and balance that they simply did not have before. There is a very classic prog-rock vibe to the album, the songs have a certain patience and mastery that only a band with this many years behind them can possess.
That being said, I find the band exploring some new ground on the record. Especially the orchestral and classic portions, such as False Awakening Suite and the middle section of Illumination Theory, add a vibrant new level of depth, grace and (dare I say it), majesty that the band has simply never shown before. DT12 is regal to a degree Dream Theater has never been before, and as someone who is a huge fan of symphonic metal, that is a quality which I feel will benefit DT greatly.
Overall, I think the most telling thing about this record is that, upon the first few listens, I found myself less focused on the awesomeness of individual songs, and more on the feel and flow of the album as a whole. The entire piece simply resonates with me in a way a truly great album should. Something I have discovered about myself is that albums where I enjoy many individual songs can be highly enjoyable in the short term, but it is the albums that have a consistently pleasant and enchanting feel throughout the whole of the record that I find to have the most enduring appeal. For that, I rank DT12 as one of the best albums of the band's career. Perhaps not
the best, but it is certainly in the top tier.
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Topic: What are your thoughts on DT12? (Read 155599 times)