Dream Theater entered the studio in February v. No News is Good News

[paulstfu]

You know? This Awake theory is actually pretty reasonable.

The cycle ended with Octavarium, and started again with Systematic Chaos.
SC is considered bad (albeit not by me), so was most of their demo stuff.
BC&SL is also considered bad, even worse than SC (again, not by me). This could have been the new WDADU.

Portnoy is the modern Charlie. Leaves DT.
Joins new member, then it was James, now MM.
New album is written WITHOUT that member (I&W was written with no vocals and ADTOE was written without the drummer, JP creating it).
ADTOE resembled I&W as they would have done it back then.
DT12 is the new Awake.
The next album is totally FII related. Will someone leave the band?

JR posted he's doing a solo album, so JORDAN RUDESS IS LEAVING THE BAND. DIEGO TEJEIDA (Haken's Keyboardist and JR's adoptive son) IS THE NEW KEYBOARDIST, METROPOLIS PT 3 CONFIRMED.

[Kotowboy]

M3TROPOLIS PART III : Scenes From A Trilogy.



It will be a double album because Part 1 = song. Part 2 = Album. Part 3 = Double Album. It will bring the whole Metropolis Saga to a close.

It will also feature 8 tracks and a 24 minute epic at the end like Octavarium because Album 5 + Album 8 = Album 13 or something.

[Darkstarshades]

If one day they decide to make another concept album, I wouldn't want the shows to be like the SFAM ones, where the album was played entirely during the FIRST act, I think it's better if it's played during the Second act (after the intermission). More climatic, more exciting and the buildup during the first act would be awesome.

As for whether or not it's a double album. I got no problems with that, however, it's not a situation that I really see happening as they appear to be a largely situational group. So, unless they get a tremendous inspiration peak worth 75+ minutes of music, it won't happen.
Another thing is that if they get like 80 minutes of music, the're most likely going to cut or shorten stuff rather than making a double album, they would have to exceed the timing by at least 90 minutes.

[Cedar redaC]

I'd love to see something that Dream Theater hasn't ventured too deep into yet, but I plan on buying the album on release day anyway

[Crow]

comparing DT12 to Awake in any way is a travesty 

[Kotowboy]

comparing DT12 to Awake in any way is a travesty 

Yes ! They're both terrible !


Nah i kid i kid.....




DT12 is way better than Awake.

[BlackInk]

I'm not a big fan of Awake, bit it's miles and miles better than DT12.

[BlobVanDam]

I'm not a big fan of Awake, bit it's miles and miles better than DT12.

I agree.

[Kotowboy]

If DT12 had a much nicer drum sound and wasn't so compressed it would be a much better album.  I enjoy nearly all the tracks on it but Awake I only enjoy three tracks on it. . .

[BlackInk]

Super amateurish production aside, the only way DT12 would be better than any other DT album is if all the songs were replaced with songs that are good.

[Crow]

DT12 is probably my least favorite of all their albums because it's soooo boring and soooo badly produced
Awake on the other hand is fantastic.

[Train of Naught]

I tend to agree that DT12 is better than Awake, but it's pretty close.

[erwinrafael]

And the DT12 haters are out again in bunches. Very predictable.

For me, DT12 is more like Images and Words. And before you lynch me, let me explain what I mean. Images and Words is taking the direction they started with WDADU (marrying prog and metal), and making a definitive album out of that core sound.  The second album they did this is Train of Thought, which took a new direction they experimented with in SDOIT (heavier, darker, more riff heavy) and then built an album around that core sound. Dream Theater, in my view, is an attempt to build on the direction they took in ADTOE (updating the more melodic DT classic sound) and make a definitive album around a core sound. Whether they succeeded in their attempt is a separate question.

For the two earlier "definitive" albums, they were both followed by albums that tried to infuse the core sound with then-contemporary elements. Awake with grunge, Octavarium with Muse. Maybe the next album would also infuse the core sound of the Dream Theater album with more contemporary elements. I hope it's not djent!

[BlackInk]

I wouldn't want DT to do the old classic chugga-chugga aspect of djent, but experimenting with some more complex polyrhythmic riffs would be really cool, which is really what djent has become these days.

[TL]

I definitely feel that DT12 is a good album with production bad enough to be actively detrimental. Fairly often, you'll sort of notice an interesting thing going on in one of the songs, and think, "man, it would be great if I could actually clearly hear that part".
With proper mixing and mastering, I think that it would be one of my favorite DT albums, instead of just "pretty good".

[Lucien]

Hopefully DT13 will be massively different in that regard. I remain cautiously optimistic.

[MarkFitDT]

And the DT12 haters are out again in bunches. Very predictable.

For me, DT12 is more like Images and Words. And before you lynch me, let me explain what I mean. Images and Words is taking the direction they started with WDADU (marrying prog and metal), and making a definitive album out of that core sound.  The second album they did this is Train of Thought, which took a new direction they experimented with in SDOIT (heavier, darker, more riff heavy) and then built an album around that core sound. Dream Theater, in my view, is an attempt to build on the direction they took in ADTOE (updating the more melodic DT classic sound) and make a definitive album around a core sound. Whether they succeeded in their attempt is a separate question.

For the two earlier "definitive" albums, they were both followed by albums that tried to infuse the core sound with then-contemporary elements. Awake with grunge, Octavarium with Muse. Maybe the next album would also infuse the core sound of the Dream Theater album with more contemporary elements. I hope it's not djent!

agree! would take DT12 over Awake any day of the week.

[Rodni Demental]

Agreed, I like me some Awake but DT12 is far more interesting to my ears at this point. Until I've listened to it more than Awake I couldn't say for sure. But as it is: DT12 > Awake.

[pcs90]

Totally agree, with Awake there are several tracks I skip over. With DT12 I like every single track. Sure, the mix and the drum sound are pretty bad, but in my opinion it's worth dealing with it for the music...and there are not many bands I could say that for.

[erwinrafael]

And the DT12 haters are out again in bunches. Very predictable.

For me, DT12 is more like Images and Words. And before you lynch me, let me explain what I mean. Images and Words is taking the direction they started with WDADU (marrying prog and metal), and making a definitive album out of that core sound.  The second album they did this is Train of Thought, which took a new direction they experimented with in SDOIT (heavier, darker, more riff heavy) and then built an album around that core sound. Dream Theater, in my view, is an attempt to build on the direction they took in ADTOE (updating the more melodic DT classic sound) and make a definitive album around a core sound. Whether they succeeded in their attempt is a separate question.

For the two earlier "definitive" albums, they were both followed by albums that tried to infuse the core sound with then-contemporary elements. Awake with grunge, Octavarium with Muse. Maybe the next album would also infuse the core sound of the Dream Theater album with more contemporary elements. I hope it's not djent!

agree! would take DT12 over Awake any day of the week.

Thank you for agreeing with my point. But I did not say I prefer Dream Theater over Awake. (Actually, Awake is my favorite album followed by Dream Theater). Or is that a separate thought?

[NotePad]

Just give us another Awake goddamnit! Everything since SFAM has just been a slight variant of the same thing. Not different enough! They need to be that unpredictable band again. What happened to the guys who released I&W and then Awake right after? And don't say they've done everything there is to do, because that's not true. They've just gotten too comfortable doing the same thing.

[erwinrafael]

How is SDOIT, ToT  a variant of the same thing as SFAM? Or even SC and BC&SL?

[Bertielee]

How is SDOIT, ToT  a variant of the same thing as SFAM? Or even SC and BC&SL?

I was asking myself the same question.

B.Lee

[Kotowboy]

How is SDOIT, ToT  a variant of the same thing as SFAM? Or even SC and BC&SL?

I was asking myself the same question.

B.Lee

Octavarium is basically the sequel to SFAM because both albums begin and end

[Kotowboy]

ALSO :


Scenes From A Memory has 9 "scenes" and Octavarium ALSO has some songs on too

[Kotowboy]

All joking aside - SFAM has 13 tracks and is the 5th album and Octavarium is the 8th album and 5 + 8 = 13 and DT13 is out next year

[fischermasamune]

SFAM has 13 tracks?

[MarkFitDT]

And the DT12 haters are out again in bunches. Very predictable.

For me, DT12 is more like Images and Words. And before you lynch me, let me explain what I mean. Images and Words is taking the direction they started with WDADU (marrying prog and metal), and making a definitive album out of that core sound.  The second album they did this is Train of Thought, which took a new direction they experimented with in SDOIT (heavier, darker, more riff heavy) and then built an album around that core sound. Dream Theater, in my view, is an attempt to build on the direction they took in ADTOE (updating the more melodic DT classic sound) and make a definitive album around a core sound. Whether they succeeded in their attempt is a separate question.

For the two earlier "definitive" albums, they were both followed by albums that tried to infuse the core sound with then-contemporary elements. Awake with grunge, Octavarium with Muse. Maybe the next album would also infuse the core sound of the Dream Theater album with more contemporary elements. I hope it's not djent!

agree! would take DT12 over Awake any day of the week.

Thank you for agreeing with my point. But I did not say I prefer Dream Theater over Awake. (Actually, Awake is my favorite album followed by Dream Theater). Or is that a separate thought?

I was agreeing with you and also having a separate thought of my own

[CDrice]

SFAM has 13 tracks?

There is a actually a song after Finally Free on the album, but due to a mistake made during the production it ended up sounding like static noise.

[Kotowboy]

That's right. SFAM has 12. It's Six Degrees that has 13 tracks.

[Train of Naught]

SFAM has 13 tracks?

There is a actually a song after Finally Free on the album, but due to a mistake made during the production it ended up sounding like static noise.

[Pax]

prog magazine with 6 pages long Petrucci interview comes today

[AboutToCrash]

as I have access to prog mags articles in full I found the JP interview, there's not too much mention of the new album.. Mainly the past. But I managed to get this info out of it;

As for the new album, you’ve been writing for a lot longer than normal, which suggests either writer’s block or a double album.
 There’s certainly no writer’s block and there’s been no shortage of ideas. Without going into detail, this is a huge undertaking, what we’re doing. We’ve been working really hard and probably longer on this than other albums in the past. But you’ll see why.

Some fans suggested you played it too safe with the last two albums, whereas with Train Of Thought or Octavarium you took different approaches. Will this new album address those concerns?
 Absolutely. This new album is definitely not like anything else we’ve done before. Sometimes you feel like you need to make a change and do something totally different like this, and that’s when the albums like the ones you mention come out. But those albums were also very polarising and a lot of people said they hated them at first. So you take a huge chance whenever you do anything like that, but it’s part of the growth of a band and is massively important to keeping things interesting and keeping the spirit alive, and keeping people engaged, ourselves engaged, and excited.

It’s not going to be a blues album, then?
 No, it’s not a blues album! But we felt like we needed to do this, and that we needed to do something right now that is going to ground us. This album absolutely addresses that.

In the past, it’s been mentioned that if Dream Theater are unsure about something, you use the maxim: “What would Rush do?” Does that still hold true?
 Ha, yes, it does in a lot of instances. Even for us, there are iconic bands out there who we still look up to, and we may try to emulate some of the decisions they would make. You could be sitting there, trying to make a decision, and think, “Hmm. Would Geddy do that?”

Not sure if this is from the actual mag but not too much detail being given away at all.

[Zydar]

Interesting, thanks to AboutToCrash for the facts

[BlobVanDam]

Interesting indeed. I'm hoping the extra studio time has gone into crafting one disc of something especially special, and not just creating a longer album of the same (although that wouldn't be anything different that they haven't done before).
I'm hoping the mention of a double album was just the equivalent of clickbait.