*Official* The Astonishing discussion thread

[rumborak]

What really surprised me is how, with all the visual emphasis on the NOMACS, on the album they play virtually no role. I was hoping for an actual NOMACS tune.

[RoeDent]

Just realised that Disc 1 is the longest single disc in DT studio album history (80:01 by my CD player), and Disc 2 is the shortest (50:41).

[Billzo]

Woah!!!! WTF happened to the forum 

Liking it 

[thosava]

Disc two of SDOIT is shorter.

After one listen my top 5 songs would be: The Gift of Music, Lord Nafaruys, A Savior in the Square, A New Beginning and Our New World

[fadetoblackdude7]

Today will be the LONGEST work day ever. Cannot wait to get home and pop this thing in!

[mikeyd23]

After listening through a couple times, I'm really liking this album. Simply put, there is some of their strongest writing and playing in years.

[TK]

Interior and exterior (Inside and outside).

Ah, makes sense. Thanks for clearing that up! 

[RoeDent]

Disc two of SDOIT is shorter.

D'oh! You're right! Why did I forget that?

OK, forget that last bit.

[senecadawg2]

Steven Wilson most gentle songs sound hardcore compared to this album.

Even if I accepted the insults targeted at the band, even if I took your opinions-stated-as-facts and even if I could get over the implications that DT should be less accessible and have failed to do so; even if I ran with all of that, I'd still have to question your knowledge of Steven Wilson.

[RoeDent]

What really surprised me is how, with all the visual emphasis on the NOMACS, on the album they play virtually no role. I was hoping for an actual NOMACS tune.

That's the thing. They don't play tunes. They play BZZZZ BRRRRT BLBLBLBLBL BLAAAARGH!

[Nekov]

Well, I must say there are some veeery interesting musical passages in this album but overall I find it kinda boring which is the first time for me with DT. The last few albums and would normally like a couple songs and then dislike some other but this just fails to grab my attention for the most part. I'll have to spin it a few more times and see if it somehow grows.

[Stadler]

All I know is I will be buying this today, and after ADTOE, I never ever thought I would "first day, unheard buy" a DT album again.  But there you go.

And if the only good thing to come of it is this awesome new forum design, I call it a WIN.  This is flipping awesome!!!

[fadetoblackdude7]

Question, are the characters pictured inside like on the website?

[Zydar]

Question, are the characters pictured inside like on the website?

Yes but not just their faces, but their upper body too.

[thedrumanimal]

Wow. Just wow. Heard the album one week ago at a listening session from Warner Music. I'am now listening to it now for the third time.

I liked DT12, I liked ADToE... basically I love everything they do much more than 99% all other Prog bands put out. I was always hoping for a 2CD concept album. And now I have it... And this album is just unreal. It is so inspiried. So diverse. There are so many things that will unfold only when listening to this piece of art for the 20th time or so... There is such a magic to this album.

While listening to it for the first time, there were certain parts that I thought were not working for me. But already now, even these parts work in the context of the album. I think the album will be a strong grower for many people.

I remember back in the 6DoiT days that the first critics for that album were really harsh. People didn't like the Misunderstood outro and that ruined nearly half the CD, for instance. And now, 6DoiT is widely considered as one of their best. I would really like to forward time for 14 years and see how this forum thinks of TA from back in 2016. Jordan is 74 by then right? 

The last time I liked an album as much as I like this album while listening to it for the first few times, was in 1999, when they released what is one of the best albums ever for me...

A better life is on right now - I have tears in my eyes. Really strong melodies...
Thanks DT, this is why I love you guys so much - music like this enhances my whole life!

And for me they archieved what JP intented to archive: Enjoy the CD without focussing on other activites, reading through the booklet, getting lost in the story and the amazing music.

[emtee]

All I know is I will be buying this today, and after ADTOE, I never ever thought I would "first day, unheard buy" a DT album again.  But there you go.

And if the only good thing to come of it is this awesome new forum design, I call it a WIN.  This is flipping awesome!!!

I predict you will love it! It's so full of melody.

Just do yourself a favor (if you can) and dedicate alone time to the first spin. Quiet and alone.

[Rickharris1011]

Count me in the "love it" camp.  I love it as a musical AND as a musical record. 
Also count me in the "slightly too many slower cuts in ACT I" than makes it run a bit long...but I can see the fit in the story.   I have a feeling a couple might find the skip button in the future...but...out of 34 tracks...that's pretty impressive. 

A couple of thoughts:
There is so much Pink Floyd influence in this - love it.  WAY more like the Wall than Operation Mindcrime.  That makes me happy.  The end of A New Beginning.  JP Gilmore.    The songs focus on the relationships between the characters, rather than than a relatively ubiquitous plot. 

Will James channel his inner Peter Gabriel when performing it live?  Costume changes, moving around the stage to sing the different parts ALA Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.  I haven't pined for a live show this much in a LONG time. (Oh April 19th how you seem so far away)

I love the production and sound of the Album - honestly I think its my favorite sounding album ever by them.  I am a HUGE JP fan.  Have been since '92.  But he's so much more powerful as a player without the wall of guitar sound that was so dominant on SC, BCSL and especially DT12 (I loved the DT12 songs on BTFW when the mix was more even with JR). 

How much does Beck's Dad rock?  The orchestration is absolutely awesome, sits well in the mix and adds to the power of the song.  Especially in cuts like A tempting Offer.  I totally see where Beck gets the musical genius gene.

Songs I love (MoB and TGOM would both be in this, though I listened those to death before this came out)

Dystopian Overture - awesome and perfect length.  This one is in the same league as 1928 and SDOIT.

The whole scene at the Square - set up so well - introduces the characters.  I love the Van Hagar guitar/keyboard unison and solo in "When your time has come" and 3 days is gold.  I like Act of Faythe in the context...but I hate to say it...this might be the one that gets skipped...a lot like Goodnight Kiss in SDOIT - I love it in theory...but I always skip to the instrumental when I listen to it.

A life Left Behind - the intro - and the song behind it. 

Chosen - I should find this absolutely cheesy and it's yet another slow song...and I feel like I've heard it before...but I love it!

A Tempting Offer - really cool mood.  Nice progression.

A New Beginning - Prog candy, great groove.  Awesome hooks.  Great use of multiple characters .  The distored Hammond Organ groove from Gift of Music.  The unison playing Those double-bass fills...damn...  Like someone else said, I could listen to 3 hours more of that solo at the end.  JP and David Gilmore need to do a show together and trade-off on this groove. Seems a little more like an act I closer than Road to revolution. 

Heaven's Cove - My favorite moment and biggest gripe rolled into one.  When james starts singing "Under the glow..." I get the tingles...possibly my favorite DT vocal groove of all time...followed by an awesome hook....but they never come back to it!!! 

Walking Shadow/Last Farewell - Epic, powerful, awesome.

Hymn of 1000 Voices - This is the 11th hour full cast unison song if it ever makes the stage.  Great use of the choir.

Our New World - someone else said it's a hit in 1992.  I fully agree.  Another stud song.  Perfectly reprises A Savior in the Square.  Ear Candy. 

[Billzo]

Is it weird that I think it's weird that literally nobody but myself commented on the new forum theme...? Are you guys actually seeing it? 

[Awaken]

All I know is I will be buying this today, and after ADTOE, I never ever thought I would "first day, unheard buy" a DT album again.  But there you go.

And if the only good thing to come of it is this awesome new forum design, I call it a WIN.  This is flipping awesome!!!

I predict you will love it! It's so full of melody.

Just do yourself a favor (if you can) and dedicate alone time to the first spin. Quiet and alone.

Absolutely agree with the alone time comment.  I'd only add, allow time within another day or two to do it again.  On the second listen, everything has really started to come together for me.  This is an amazing effort IMO.

[Zydar]

Is it weird that I think it's weird that literally nobody but myself commented on the new forum theme...? Are you guys actually seeing it? 

https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=45721.msg2087302

[dreamtheater360]

Listened to the whole thing and I Love It! JR and JP really nailed the Rock Opera feel to this, while still sounding fresh. It's new and unique, yet at the same time, still sounds like Dream Theater to me. I personally don't even think there are any filler songs like others have said, as I think some of the slow ballads are beautiful. Still too much to take in, but I can say this will probably go in my top 3 DT albums, right after SFAM and SDOIT.

[senecadawg2]

A New Beginning might've been my favorite song on the album if not for the fade out during the fantastic solo. Feels like such a tease.

[Billzo]

Is it weird that I think it's weird that literally nobody but myself commented on the new forum theme...? Are you guys actually seeing it? 

https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=45721.msg2087302

Ah! Sorry  Been living in this thread for the past few days 

[Awaken]

I haven't seen it mentioned much, though may have missed it, but the vocal melody (especially the 'Evangeline' part) in X Aspect is amazing.  James really does sound stellar on this record

[TL]

Wow, there's a lot to digest here. Definitely too early to know how I feel about this album, so I'll give my general first impressions for now.

For the music; there's definitely a spark there. There are definitely some great moments, and it really does seem like they were feeling inspired. It's definitely "Dream Theater meet musicals", and I like a well done musical. While there were some stand out moments, I'm definitely going to have to go through it again to form an impression on a lot of it. There are some songs that feel more like interludes than full fledged songs that blend together a bit for me. Not necessarily a problem; plenty of musicals do that, so it may be intentional.
For the vocals, James generally sounds quite good, and I got the impression while listening that he really got into it and had fun with it. It translates into his singing/performance. He definitely goes for it, so plenty of credit to him.

The lyrics/concept;
I was extremely skeptical of the concept going in, and my first impression of it having heard the album is that it's a bit hit and miss. There are moments where it works well enough, but there are occasional lines or sound effects that really drag me out of it. (As a side note, while it's obviously a personal preference, I almost always hate sound effects in music). The better moments for me are either where the lyrics are a bit unspecific, or if they get specific, when things are really hammed up. There are a few parts where it starts to feel a bit self serious, combined with lyrics that are a bit silly, and the tonal dissonance is a bit difficult to get past. I did find myself zoning out in regards to the lyrics at times, and didn't really follow all of the specifics of the story as a result.

Overall, it's certainly an ambitious project, and while it has its flaws, there are some great moments as well. I'll need some more listens to get a fuller opinion. The band sound creatively refreshed, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens if they channel this sort of enthusiasm and exploration into their next album.

(On a side note, one critique that I may well be the only person to care about; the pronunciation of "Evangeline". "Eeee-vaaaan-ja-leeeeen". Mostly because I grew up surrounded by the culture that the name is actually from (French Acadian), and have known several people with that name. It's closer to "Ehh-vaughn-zhaa-lynn" (french phonetics can be tricky to explain in english  ). To be fair to DT, they're far from the first to do this; names like that have a long history of being butchered in the US.    It just sticks out like a sore thumb to me, given my upbringing).

[Jinx]

I think my Dream Theater days are over. I didn't care about the last two albums, but this one takes the cake.

This, along with the fact that you pointed out MMs drumming says to me you just miss Portnoy. And that's fine. But it's got to start dawning on people that there's 99% chance he's not coming back.

And the metal parts are laughable? "Day after day, night after night..."

I've just finished Act 1. It was incredible. The variety in the songs, the different themes going on (how many times does it refer to Faythe's theme?!). It's quite easy to tell what's going on just be listening 

Referring to the NOMACS tracks. The noises do sound quite musical to me actually. Listening with headphones it sounded quite good! The one with the video games sounds and War of the Worlds tripods was the best, followed by Descent.

Am gonna listen to Act 2 in a bit then probably listen to it again later over my sounds system instead and with the lyrics.

EDIT: I'm always on my phone so apologies if what I'm writing is not always readable!

[bosk1]

Obviously, not everyone will like this album.  And as has been said over and over since the inception of this forum, ALL opinions are welcome.  However, negative opinions still should be expressed constructively, as clearly stated in the forum rules.  Petty insults like the following are clearly out of bounds and will not be tolerated: 

...laughable...
...pompous rock for women in their 50's or kids.
...childish ...
...The album sounds like it was written by 15 years old.
...embarassing. ...

Honestly, if you need to be told that that sort of thing is out of bounds, I'm not really sure what more can be said to you.  We are better than that here.

As for your other criticisms, I don't see any basis for them, but your opinion is your opinion.  But this warning is strictly for the off-base insults.

[Woodworker1]

The melodies are running through my head hours after the last song ended.  I love this album.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

I love 'Astonishing' the song. It's basically a collection of my favorite themes from the whole thing tied with this 'the cast comes out and sings the end in unison' feeling. Amazing stuff.

[JRuless]

I see why this is dividing 'us' into lovers and haters camps.

I don't see many ballads, what I see is a head to toe musical experience and I love it! 

I give it a few more spins to completely let it sink before any definite judgement.
Hopefully some will give it a chance before throwing it into a unexplored corner.

We wanted something fresh and different for a long time and I think we got some... yeah! Can't wait to see it live...soon 

[thosava]

I'm gonna listen the second time after dinner. After one listen this album is either number 3 or 4 on my list.
1. Six Degrees
2. Scenes
3. Images/Astonishing

[Kilgore Trout]

Obviously, not everyone will like this album.  And as has been said over and over since the inception of this forum, ALL opinions are welcome.  However, negative opinions still should be expressed constructively, as clearly stated in the forum rules.  Petty insults like the following are clearly out of bounds and will not be tolerated:
Honestly, if you need to be told that that sort of thing is out of bounds, I'm not really sure what more can be said to you.  We are better than that here.

As for your other criticisms, I don't see any basis for them, but your opinion is your opinion.  But this warning is strictly for the off-base insults.

Insults to who ? The musical notes on the album ? Do you take personnaly remarks about a musical material in a "if you don't like what I like the way I like it, you insult me" way ? This has nothing to do with moderation, but with with your inability to distinguish your own tastes from the OBJECT of your liking.

It's pretty obvious that NOT ALL opinions are welcome.

[mike099]

"A New Beginning." Holy f**k are you serious? Dream Theater in a groove? Yes!

This could be an early favorite for me. I could listen to them jam that last part for like 20 minutes. In fact, it would be awesome if they did that in the live show to give James a little break before the end of Act I.

I too am hoping there are some extended solos for the live show, especially since there will be no variation in the setlist

[jakepriest]

Obviously, not everyone will like this album.  And as has been said over and over since the inception of this forum, ALL opinions are welcome.  However, negative opinions still should be expressed constructively, as clearly stated in the forum rules.  Petty insults like the following are clearly out of bounds and will not be tolerated:
Honestly, if you need to be told that that sort of thing is out of bounds, I'm not really sure what more can be said to you.  We are better than that here.

As for your other criticisms, I don't see any basis for them, but your opinion is your opinion.  But this warning is strictly for the off-base insults.

Insults to who ? The musical notes on the album ? Do you take personnaly remarks about a musical material in a "if you don't like what I like the way I like it, you insult me" way ? This has nothing to do with moderation, but with with your inability to distinguish your own tastes from the OBJECT of your liking.

It's pretty obvious that NOT ALL opinions are welcome.

"This album was written by a 15 year old." is not an opinion but an insult directly to the band. To be honest, your entire post is really hostile towards them, so get off your mighty horse here mate.

[RaasMah]

You must be that pink squid guy. Off you go, you wont be missed.