I just think there is a complete misalignment in what The Astonishing is (and professes to be), vs your tastes Kade. Honestly not surprised to hear this at all from you. What's more surprising is that Paul and Tim are loving it.
I'm kinda middle-of-the-road. I can appreciate some/much of it, but too much of it feels forced. Like, if it's going to be a story I'm going to get involved in, I don't need the lyrics to be so goddamn explanatory! Things like "they ask me "Ahrys... could things be any tougher" and other parts where they have explicitly told us what's going on - I don't need to be told that this is Ahrys. The art of a concept album is in knowing that the listener is invested into it. Especially in this case where there really is only a couple of songs that stand alone on their own, this album is going to appeal to the listener that dives into the story and characters.
And they really should have hired a female lead to play the part of Faythe. They could've brought her (whoever) on tour with them too. Hell, if Kamelot can do it, DT sure as shit can.
You don't see SFAM pulling shit like that. Or O:M, or The Wall, or T.H.E., or .... I could go on.
The more I think about what I don't like, the more I'm leaning towards your opinion, Kade. I wouldn't call it a steaming turd, but it's currently near the bottom of my DT album rankings. I'll give it more chances though - especially since I shelled out $95 to see them in April.