Some comments on the music...if you don't want any more info on certain tracks do not read!
I will agree on a lot of what has been said. It's a very emotional and melodic album, lots of slower sections and lots of piano, but I never felt like it was too long. And, even though some posts here give the impression that there are a lack of instrumental sections, there really aren't. It's just that most of them are on the calmer melodic side rather than super technical runs everywhere.
I really like the nomac tracks. They're very atmospheric, with lots of cool digital sound effects going on, but there's something oddly musical about them, especially the later ones. And as mentioned there's one in particular that almost has this weird fragmented dubstep vibe...very different for DT!
Dystopian Overture is the most diverse overture they have written, and definitely my favorite. I won't go into specifics except to say that at the very end, there's a section where Rudess plays an epic slow synth lead with the full choir in the background and it is glorious. Definitely sounds best when played loud!
JP's solos are all outstanding. There's a great balance of melody, emotion, and technique. "A Better Life" has one that is especially noteworthy for me, and following that is an amazing build-up with James.
Speaking of James, this is some of his best work in my opinion. Naturally with playing so many characters it can be hard to figure out who is speaking at times, but based on listening to the lyrics and paying attention to the subtle changes in his voice, it will make sense. He really does a great job of letting you understand how each character feels.
There are several songs that, in my opinion, can stand alone. There may be some lyrical references to the story, but they should be easy to apreciate on their own. These songs are mostly in a more pop-based format, but being DT there are much more details, solos, etc so don't get turned off by that description.
A New Beginning has one of the most catchy choruses ever, and the music changes with the different characters. Very cool. About half of this track is instrumental as well!
To clear up some things on Three Days and the swing / jazz / blastbeat stuff. There is a swing section in the middle where the emperor is speaking. This is piano with the rest of the band playing lightly underneath. The "blastbeat swingjazz" section is much faster, and kind of gives me a New Orleans vibe, with plenty of brass. The blastbeat section isn't as sudden as it may seem due to the already fast tempo though the style obviously switches. If anything the quick horn solos are more of a surprise. Super cool section either way though.
The bagpipe section is a reprise of an earlier theme, with a choir in the background.
It seems like I'm the first person to say this but the title track feels like a perfect ending. It has a section for each character (or at least most of them) with their theme and shows how each changed, sort of. I view it like an epilogue. I think Bosk had this idea a few pages back and that is exactly what I believe it's meant to be.
Topic: Listening Parties for The Astonishing ***SPOILERS*** (Read 80031 times)
