What Are Your Thoughts On "The Gift of Music?"

[wideworldofmike]

Since many are comparing The Gift of Music to About to Crash, I decided to play them on a loop on my commute to work. They indeed have a lot of similarities. I love how the differences in Portnoy and Mangini's drumming really show when you listen to the two songs. Portnoy loves his cymbals. Mangini loves his bass drums.  Portnoy loves inserting fills. Mangini loves going up and down the scale with the other instruments.  I am happy that  we get to hear two great drummers with different styles in the Dream Theater repertoire.

Does anyone remember the surveys they were sending out to us on social media about a year/year and a half ago about our favorites / preferences? I think we are going to hear the results of that on this album.

[Darkstarshades]

The fact that Octavarium won the epic polls just got me hyped.

[Nomaniac]

I want to make the argument that they sound great both natural and triggered. I&W is pretty much perfect, but so is SFAM and they couldn't be on more opposite ends of the spectrum.

It's like saying blue is better or worse than red.

You could stick an iPhone in the middle of the room and record these guys and they could make art.

gift of music is on steroids. Every aspect of their music and career is in there somehow. The musical decisions made, note/register selection is seamless and it's so nuanced on every level.

JP and JR are like a singular organism at this point. I think this will be their greatest album, can't wait to see them when they come to NY. I hope they play radio city again!!

Well for me the production has never really mattered that much. And yeah like you said in certain situations it just boils down to personal taste rather than a mix being "good" or "bad."

And even to aspects less subjective - I'd rather have the better mix but unless the sound quality is complete garbage it really isn't a deal breaker to me

[Nomaniac]

Does anyone remember the surveys they were sending out to us on social media about a year/year and a half ago about our favorites / preferences? I think we are going to hear the results of that on this album.

I haven't been following DT social media that long. What were they asking exactly?

Your theory sounds pretty cool if I'm understanding it right

The fact that Octavarium won the epic polls just got me hyped.

I really hope his theory is true then!!!

[Podaar]

My personal assessment is that the drums remain the weakest part in the mix. The snare is indeed gated with a ton a reverb on it, and the bass drum during the instrumental section sounds a bit like a typewriter. Better than on DT12, but still suffering from a lot of the same issues.

I haven't liked the sound of the kick drum on the last two albums and it looks like this one will be the same. It's just too clipped for my taste. Not that it will take away from my overall opinion of the songs. It's just something I notice (with distaste) on the periphery.

[IDontNotDoThings]

Does anyone remember the surveys they were sending out to us on social media about a year/year and a half ago about our favorites / preferences? I think we are going to hear the results of that on this album.

I haven't been following DT social media that long. What were they asking exactly?

Iirc, they would post a picture of an album one whatever day it was released & say "Today is the xth anniversary of y," & then a question like "what's your favourite track?", "what's your favourite section of the epic?", "what do you remember most about this album?", "where were you when this album released?", etc.

[erwinrafael]

My personal assessment is that the drums remain the weakest part in the mix. The snare is indeed gated with a ton a reverb on it, and the bass drum during the instrumental section sounds a bit like a typewriter. Better than on DT12, but still suffering from a lot of the same issues.

I haven't liked the sound of the kick drum on the last two albums and it looks like this one will be the same. It's just too clipped for my taste. Not that it will take away from my overall opinion of the songs. It's just something I notice (with distaste) on the periphery.

I think they are going for an Images and Words sound for the drums. If you listen to The Gift of Music back to back with Under a Glass Moon, you can hear the similarities.

It would be interesting if they would do a different drum sound (or overall sound) for Empire songs.

[fischermasamune]

I like the "music battles" like the one in the end (Gabriel =  Petrucci vs NOMACs = Rudess). Hopefully there will be more in the other tracks.

[BlobVanDam]

My personal assessment is that the drums remain the weakest part in the mix. The snare is indeed gated with a ton a reverb on it, and the bass drum during the instrumental section sounds a bit like a typewriter. Better than on DT12, but still suffering from a lot of the same issues.

I haven't liked the sound of the kick drum on the last two albums and it looks like this one will be the same. It's just too clipped for my taste. Not that it will take away from my overall opinion of the songs. It's just something I notice (with distaste) on the periphery.

I think they are going for an Images and Words sound for the drums. If you listen to The Gift of Music back to back with Under a Glass Moon, you can hear the similarities.

It would be interesting if they would do a different drum sound (or overall sound) for Empire songs.

I don't think there's any intentional similarity between the drum sound on this album and IAW, they just both happen to have snares with zero dynamics. It's not too different from DT12, just without the mastering compression destroying it.

[erwinrafael]

I think they are going for an Images and Words sound for the drums. If you listen to The Gift of Music back to back with Under a Glass Moon, you can hear the similarities.

It would be interesting if they would do a different drum sound (or overall sound) for Empire songs.

I don't think there's any intentional similarity between the drum sound on this album and IAW, they just both happen to have snares with zero dynamics. It's not too different from DT12, just without the mastering compression destroying it.

My guess that they are intentionally going for an I&W style of drum sound is because Rich Chycki has already mixed Mangini's drums before with quite different results (Elements of Persuasion) and Mangini has gone on record that the EoP sound is an amped up version of how he actually hears his drums (his favorite mix is actually Mullmuzzler 2). If they are still not going with the EoP drum sound that Mangini actually likes, then maybe they are intentionally targeting a particular sound.

[ariich]

That sound is far closer to drums from other non-DT albums than I&W, no idea why you would think they were specifically trying to make it sound like that album but I'm pretty confident they are not.

[BlobVanDam]

I think they are going for an Images and Words sound for the drums. If you listen to The Gift of Music back to back with Under a Glass Moon, you can hear the similarities.

It would be interesting if they would do a different drum sound (or overall sound) for Empire songs.

I don't think there's any intentional similarity between the drum sound on this album and IAW, they just both happen to have snares with zero dynamics. It's not too different from DT12, just without the mastering compression destroying it.

My guess that they are intentionally going for an I&W style of drum sound is because Rich Chycki has already mixed Mangini's drums before with quite different results (Elements of Persuasion) and Mangini has gone on record that the EoP sound is an amped up version of how he actually hears his drums (his favorite mix is actually Mullmuzzler 2). If they are still not going with the EoP drum sound that Mangini actually likes, then maybe they are intentionally targeting a particular sound.

EoP was a decade ago for a different band and style, and probably a different drumkit (certainly a different snare). I don't see the relevance of how his drums sounded on EoP or whether he liked it. The drums sound like a minor tweak to the DT12 sound, and we know MM didn't have much input on how they sounded there.

And even ignoring that, it's a huge leap to connect this to IaW, given they don't even sound that similar. The only similarity is that neither one sounds organic/dynamic, and that's very common with metal mixes these days.

[erwinrafael]

That sound is far closer to drums from other non-DT albums than I&W, no idea why you would think they were specifically trying to make it sound like that album but I'm pretty confident they are not.

What non-DT Mangini albums sounded like the drum in The Gift of Music?

Try listening to TGOM back to back with the songs Lost from Elements of Persuasion (a song that emphasizes bass and snare hits so you can compare with TGOM). Then listen to TGOM back to back with Under a Glass Moon.

[wideworldofmike]

The drum sound is definitely a throwback to I & W

[wideworldofmike]

... And it's awesome. They can borrow from themselves as much as they want. That song is out of control amazing.

[ariich]

That sound is far closer to drums from other non-DT albums than I&W, no idea why you would think they were specifically trying to make it sound like that album but I'm pretty confident they are not.

What non-DT Mangini albums sounded like the drum in The Gift of Music?

I wasn't referring to Mangini specifically, I meant other albums generally. It's definitely not an uncommon sound.

[Kotowboy]

I don't think there's any intentional similarity between the drum sound on this album and IAW, they just both happen to have snares with zero dynamics. It's not too different from DT12, just without the mastering compression destroying it.

There's more snap in this snare than on DT12.

[Bertielee]

I don't think there's any intentional similarity between the drum sound on this album and IAW, they just both happen to have snares with zero dynamics. It's not too different from DT12, just without the mastering compression destroying it.

There's more snap in this snare than on DT12.

True! And what's even better, I think the music has a lot more room to breathe than on DT12.

B.Lee

[Kotowboy]

Yes. If the drums sounded a lot more natural - the production would be much closer to classic DT.


But based on The Gift Of Music - The Astonishing will be the best produced of the Mangini era.

[BlobVanDam]

I don't think there's any intentional similarity between the drum sound on this album and IAW, they just both happen to have snares with zero dynamics. It's not too different from DT12, just without the mastering compression destroying it.

There's more snap in this snare than on DT12.

The limiting and compression on DT12 really killed the snare sound. It's snappier on the HDTracks version, and another improvement here due to the better production.

[jimbosile]

The bit from 3:22-3:40 gets me every fucking time

[Bertielee]

Dat kwayer, goys, dat kwayer! Really poppy, in a good way, almost gospel-like! I love it. In any case, something DT hadn't done before if I'm not mistaken.

B.Lee

[Destiny Of Chaos]

I cannot get this song out of my head, and that's a good thing.

[Bertielee]

I cannot get this song out of my head, and that's a good thing.

I can't either and I've listened to it only 4 times. When I remember the chorus with the choir part, I always feel like snapping my fingers or clapping my hands as in a gospel choir.

B.Lee

[Paintbox]

I cannot get this song out of my head, and that's a good thing.

I still can quite easily, at first I'm singing it in my mind, and after a while I find out I eventually switched to sing TLG or ATC, somehow even A place in your world by FC.
Anyway I really like the song, especially the instrumental ending. I did not give much attention to the lyrics and I won't mind if they'll be cheesy or not, but I think James's voice sound quite metallic as in DT12

[Runei]

Here, I isolated the guitar from the synth solo at the end of the track, so you can better appreciate what's going on.

Guitar
Synth

[TheLordOfTheStrings]

I blame Rich for the snare sounds. Some mixers INSIST on using triggers. Chris Lord-Alge is a good example.

[Nomaniac]

Here, I isolated the guitar from the synth solo at the end of the track, so you can better appreciate what's going on.

Guitar
Synth

Thanks for putting the work into this Runei!!! Interesting to hear

[DreamTension]

Here, I isolated the guitar from the synth solo at the end of the track, so you can better appreciate what's going on.

Guitar
Synth

Awesome!  I really enjoyed that, thank you!

[RaasMah]

I think that if were gonna have a nomac vs real music battle, the bebot solo has to make a return

[Estiui]

Here, I isolated the guitar from the synth solo at the end of the track, so you can better appreciate what's going on.

Guitar
Synth

Wow, that's nice! How did you do that?

[SuperTaco]

In those isolated versions of the outro solo, I can hear the brass/orchestral bits that go along with the bass/rhythm more clearly.. Sounds great. They can use the orchestra to fill space left underneath a solo.

[nicmos]

I think that if were gonna have a nomac vs real music battle, the bebot solo has to make a return

Bebot, the Jar Jar Binks of The Astonishing...

[SystematicThought]

So it is to be assumed that the synth at the end is a NOMAC? I think that's really cool if it was the intention

[nattmorker]

So it is to be assumed that the synth at the end is a NOMAC? I think that's really cool if it was the intention

The more I listen to TGOM the more I'm convinced that's the case, if that'd be the case, it's pretty pretty cool.