For some reason I find MM's drumming more interesting on ADTOE than the new album.
*puts flameshield on*
No need for flameshield. I know some people with intelligent views on drumming who agree with you. I think people sorta dismissed ADToE's drumming without taking the to really listen to it in comparison to MM's other work. I think it's pretty close between ADToE and DT12 drumming.
I'm a drummer and have played every song on either album as much as twice (only Along For The Ride. Great drumming, don't find it much fun to play.) to as many as 100+ times (Outcry and Bridges in the Sky). In my opinion (coming from a 17 year old who's been drumming for 2 1/2 years mind you, not a professional), the drumming on DT12 is very technical at a lot of parts, but so is ADToE. TEI has some great drum work. The Looking Glass flows very nicely and the improv behind JP's solo is very tasteful. Enigma Machine isn't the most technical song but the drumming is great and the mini solo towards the end is very nice. Surrender To Reason has excellent drumming the whole way through and the way he plays the ride and bass during the main riff is fairly technical. The solo section with the MM JMX groove in the back on that song is probably my favorite section of the album. It's really grooving and accents the solo very well. IT has amazing drumming throughout the whole thing. Highlights include the groove at the beginning of "Surrender, Trust, and Passion", the cool fill at the end of the intro, the monster fill during "Surrender, Trust, and Passion".
On ADToE, while certain songs have their technical parts (BITS has some nice drumwork, LNF bass patterns, Outcry instrumental), DT12's drumming feels more free and open than ADToE, like he had more freedom and more input (which MM did), despite the less than ideal mix (which i don't mind too much, but it's not great).
As far as the album as a whole goes, i love it. It's probably my fourth favorite, after SDOIT, SFAM and Awake. One complaint i have though is in the final part of IT, LaBrie doesn't sound very good. The rest of the album he sounds great, but on this one part he doesn't match the rest of the album for some reason.