DT13 time capsule album prediction game

[bosk1]

Wow, so unexpected that they would bring bosk1 in to do vocals on this one.  The fact that James agreed to just do backup vocals is really a testament for how secure he is in his vocalist abilities and his position in the band.  And I gotta say, bosk1 really nailed it. 

[TheGreatPretender]

Wow, so unexpected that they would bring bosk1 in to do vocals on this one.  The fact that James agreed to just do backup vocals is really a testament for how secure he is in his vocalist abilities and his position in the band.  And I gotta say, bosk1 really nailed it. 

Too bad they couldn't afford The Great Pretender.

[TAC]

Wow, so unexpected that they would bring bosk1 in to do vocals on this one.  The fact that James agreed to just do backup vocals is really a testament for how secure he is in his vocalist abilities and his position in the band.  And I gotta say, bosk1 really nailed it. 

He was so good they decided to make it an instrumental. 

[Zook]

I'm really impressed how well this sounds considering SC and BCSL were kinda meh, BCSL especially. I just wish they didn't give Mangini the boot for Portnoy again.

[King Postwhore]

And with Bosk1 they re recorded "Middle Aged Space Die Vest" (Cause I rock it onstage).

[Skeever]

First week: "This is their best album since Six Degrees"
Later: "This falls somewhere in the middle of the pack of albums they've done since Six Degrees"

[MoraWintersoul]

Wow, so unexpected that they would bring bosk1 in to do vocals on this one.  The fact that James agreed to just do backup vocals is really a testament for how secure he is in his vocalist abilities and his position in the band.  And I gotta say, bosk1 really nailed it. 

Too bad they couldn't afford The Great Pretender.

Wow, so unexpected that they would bring bosk1 in to do vocals on this one.  The fact that James agreed to just do backup vocals is really a testament for how secure he is in his vocalist abilities and his position in the band.  And I gotta say, bosk1 really nailed it. 

He was so good they decided to make it an instrumental. 

Future Milena: yeah I can see the point in the tsunami of gushing comments but this is really not my thing *goes back to teen melodeath and indie trash for relatable-ness and/or uplifting factors*

[the_silent_man]

"First week: "This is their best album since Six Degrees"
Later: "This falls somewhere in the middle of the pack of albums they've done since Six Degrees""

Ha, THIS!

[Kotowboy]

Album title : Triskaidekaphilia.

Cool title but for fucks sake it really didn't need to be 13 discs long. 

Although I like Track 7 on Disc 9

And the 2-DISC Epic was pretty Ph'nom'nal 

[Grizz]

I still can't believe that Jordan retired and KevMo came back. Guess it really was MP that drove him out?
Why is MM using electronic drums and garbage can lids? Is he trying to piss us off?
So glad that they opted out of the 19+ epic. ACoS live here I come!
An F#6? Shit son.

[TheGreatPretender]

Why is MM using electronic drums and garbage can lids? Is he trying to piss us off?

What are you talking about? That was awesome. It really gave it that Industrial edge.

[rumborak]

Never thought that would work, but that progressive Klezmer tune is pretty rad.

[wolfking]

4-5 song album.  Really long songs.

[Zyzzyva17]

First track: The ambient build-up was great, but I feel like it got heavy too suddenly. The drum beat at 2:35 has been stuck in my head. Once the vocals come in, it's sort of like a heavier Lines in the Sand. Around 9 minutes in is one of the best Rudess solos I've heard in quite a while.

Second track: This track has a lot of piano, both in the slow and fast sections. Petrucci's solo was more shreddy than I would have liked, but it still worked.

Third track: Was anyone else reminded of Holy Wars by Megadeth? My god, that riff must be difficult to play. I can't even fathom the time signatures at the beginning of the instrumental section. The ending is too abrupt.

Fourth track: Was not expecting this. Sounds almost like Liquid Tension Experiment. Dat unison, not to mention the bass riff under it. As a whole, the track is a bit too long.

Fifth track: Definitely the darkest song on the album. It took a while to grow on me. Liking the acoustic 7-string. Sort of in the vein of Disappear.

Epic (Tracks 6-9):
Interesting choice to make the epic have actual distinct movements separated by silence instead of all of the movements flowing into each other. The first movement starts very bombastically, but settles down a lot, into almost a ballad. The second movement has a great main riff, and an excellent performance by LaBrie. The third movement sounds like it could be edited into a single, it's accessible enough. The fourth movement goes over the top with the epic symphonic sound, even during the instrumental section. All in all, it's like a mix between Six Degrees and Octavarium. It's really cool how the album ends with the ambience starting the first track played backwards.

Overall: I really like that even though this is a heavy album, it has a sort of uplifting feel to it, and not in a contrived way like the end of Illumination Theory. The epic definitely feels like its own entity from the rest of the album. Also, I'm sure everyone is pointing out the structural similarities to SDOIT. They're not quite as bad as the ones between ADTOE and IAW, but it's noticeable. Probably will end up at number 4 or 5 in my album rankings.

[hefdaddy42]

The guest appearance by Bela Fleck was inspired.

[puppyonacid]

I find it interesting that they called track 6 "take the time played backwards" and some people actually believe they are playing take the time backwards even though it has no resemblance to take the time being played backwards and they are making crazy crackpot theories to make it fit like how they're both the exact same length except the counter on everyone's music player counts down from 8:21 to zero instead of the other way around and how the time sigs are the same yet in reverse and JLB is singing "emiiiiit eth kaaaate" in the chorus and there's a guy doing a tiny bit of rapping in different voices but backwards at the end of the song.

I see no similarity in structure forwards or backwards.

[Polarbear]

I feel like DT have perfected the direction they were aiming with BC&SL.

Track 1. 9.04 IMO the safest song on this album. Reminds me of PMU and OTBOA. Feels kinda weird that the weakest song kicks off the otherwise excellent album. I don't hate this song, but it feels to much like an afterthought.

Track 2. 13.37 This is where the album gets exciting! A classic DT epic. Feels like a mix of This Dying Soul and Voices. Love it!

Track 3. 6.54 Getting some serious Opeth vibes from this song! Very much like Face of Melinda or Harvest. This is not DT ripping of Opeth however, it still feels like a DT song underneath. And i just love the guest vocals by Mike Portnoy. This song felt like a handshake between the two sides!

Track 4. 6.30 Interesting experiment! This song reminds me of the band: Textures. Very heavy and djenty feel to this song. Im not sure how i feel about it, but interesting experiment regardless.

Track 5. 17.24 What a colossus! Song goes through so many phases, and moves around so much! One moment it feels like happy prog rock. Other times it feels dark and menacing. Might just become my favourite DT epic and dethrone ACOS, but time will tell!

Track 6. 21.18 Its hard to describe this song on first listen, it's so massive. This has heavier vibe than track 5, but has a very melodic section thrown in. The orchestral stuff sounds great also! It was quite exhausting to listen two long epics in a row, but this was an awesome ride!

We will see what happens next year!

[Fredo96993]

I think that JMX's decision to clone himself so they could have two bass players was amazing.
I mean it's obvious from that dark, brooding slow build up that the dynamic's gonna work and it added so much flavour to the instrumental opener. I thought it was ballsy to then have a slow song but it strangely worked. Putting the 30 minute epic right in the centre of the album too. Then to finish with such a heavy crescendo that doesn't fade out, just disappears. This is up there with Scenes.

[rumborak]

I think that JMX's decision to clone himself so they could have two bass players was amazing.

Reminds me of this: https://blog.thephoenix.com/BLOGS/onthedownload/archive/2007/12/07/video-christopher-guest-at-berklee.aspx

[sylvinception]

Aww come on guys, don't be so vague! Make some predictions about what specific songs or parts of songs on the album will sound like! 

"Metropolis Part 3 : Scenes from a much too long concept album."

Is that precise enough to you ?

[Viking of the Sagas]

Holy crap that Justin Bieber guest appearance.

Didn't sound all that bad, actually.