Here are the main facts (if you need a complete translation, it'll take some time) I have from the first page.
So you were right, they did listen to the 9 tracks and the interview was done with JP.
The beginning of the interview is about the terrorist attacks at the Bataclan, the 30th anniversary tour so I won't translate as the name of the thread is : The Astonishing.
The idea of composing a new concept album is not new, they have had it in mind for a few years and some years had passed since SFaM so it was an opportunity to catch as you can't release a concept album every two years. Moreover, John had to think about a good story in order to avoid meeting the rest of the group and saying "hey guys, I got a new concept album" without any ideas in mind.
So two years ago, he started thinking seriously about the concept and started recording on his phone (he still has the demos on his phone) and the concept, the story took one year to be created.
The rest of the group was not fully aware of what was going on inside John's mind. He just told them bits and pieces of the project but again, he wanted to have a consistant project, the way things would be set on stage, the way the concept would be revealed to the public, before explaining his ideas to the rest of the group.
Next question refers to a previous interview in 2013 where he stated he already had ideas about the next album (The Astonishing).
Then the interviewer wants to know if, by composing Illumination Theory and by playing with an orchestra on Breaking the Fourth Wall, John was not in fact "rehearsing" for his new project. And John says he wasn't, because, as a creative person, he likes art in a global way and especially science fiction, dystopias, movies, orchestras in rock music, so that's his background and his tastes that led him to create The Astonishing.
End of the first page, I'll edit or post again when I get the rest of the interview.
Topic: Dream Theater: The Astonishing (now with moment of betrayal!) (Read 1200752 times)