Been a fan since Images… watched the band evolve, stretch their minds and challenge their musical prowess. They have never shied away from trying new things, venturing into uncharted territory. Each new album unveiled some new talent/ability/idea. I'm also an un-apologetic fan of SciFi and speculative fiction--hell, DT actually influenced a few of my novels and short stories. The Great Debate inspired me to pen my stem cell tech thriller: Rubicon Harvest [url]https://cwkesting.com/Home_Page.html/url]!!! I grew up with the classic "rock opera" masterpieces: Rush's 2112, Hemisphere's, etc... Pink Floyd's The Wall. Queensryche's Operation:Mindcrime. Even DT's own Metropolis and SDOIT. These are enduring effective classics. They shake up your psyche and affect you viscerally. They are so good that any individual chapter in any particular story can stand alone as a seminal piece. But then there are the many other failing attempts at elaborate "concept musical theatrics". Saga's Generation 13 comes to mind.
So I was excited and intrigued about TA. Especially from my favorite artists.
That being said, I really wanted--perhaps expected--to enjoy this new project. And that's what Astonishing feels like, a project. A LONG project that sat on JP's creative shelf for far too long and while perhaps it needed air, should've been edited a bit more before being rolled out . So here's my two cents:
In a phrase, DT "jumped the shark" with this one. It's a sluggish slog through an adolescent fantasy world that doesn't deliver on it's promise. Clearly JP wanted to make this for awhile and the rest of the guys acquiesced. That's what lifelong friends and professionals do. So they let JP entertain this teenage muse of his that has been gnawing away at the creative folds of his brain ever since he listened to 2112 for the first time--(For clearly, that is what TA aspires toward). The problem is that the story itself never gets there, in my opinion. The difference here is that Neil Peart understood Ayn Rand and her brilliant story, Anthem, so well, that he was able to condense the philosophy into lyrical perfection. In the case of TA, we don't actually see anything new (or exciting or thought provoking) happening here other than it's happening in some make-believe World of Warcraft realm. The plot is loose, convoluted and eventually (after two hours) contracts a serious case of deus ex machina . It reads like Shakespeare trying his hand at a Spanish soap opera, unfortunately. I won't take up too much space here dissecting the characters, other than to start with their ridiculous names (Nafaryus, really?) and end with their weak motivations. There's also a HUGE void in the concept: From start to finish I kept asking WHY? Why does this dystopian society reject music? And how does that give Nafaryus control over the people? What exactly is Gabriel's musical "power" (gift, talent, whatever)--we're led to believe it's his "song". Is this metaphorical or literal; and how do either give him actual power? How in the hell do all the people suddenly and inexplicably unify their voices--and again why? So what? What new world are they pining for and why is the current world so bad. We never see the oppression of Nafaryus's reign. It's simply assumed that he is bad ('cuz he's.. you know Nafaryus). And the NOMACS? What are they, why are they and who cares? Yet, they're the de facto "face of the album".
I think JP was hoping we'd all get the same shivers we got when Jon discovered the relic guitar in 2112 and took it to the Priests in the Temple of Sirynx. But Rush accomplished this magic in a fraction of the time and space that JP did. Don't get me wrong--I love JP and in my opinion he is one of--if not THE--best guitarists around. But as a lyricists (or even conceptualist) he is lacking. I think, overall, DT has lost a step (or ten) in their "lyrical composition" since parting ways with MP. Granted, we were all pretty tired of the alcoholic diatribes and aggressive pomposity that MP saturated us with (BTW, I am an alcoholic and appreciate his efforts the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd times. It got preachy-old after that). But, overall TA is a weak attempt at telling a worn-out tale while dressed as a MMORPG.
As for the musicality, well…. it's also less than impressive. And that probably bums me out the most. I could always count on the guys blowing me away with their individual craftsmanship--even if the lyrics didn't ring my bell. But with TA… I see none of the sweeping melodies that transition to amazing solo sections. I see none of the showcase bridges anywhere within this epic movie score. No memorable guitar riffs, no heart thumping bass wakeup calls, no staccato drum segue's. Just a lot of James crooning and Jordan's nimble fingers. Oh, there are little tastes: brief wiffs of something developing on the periphery of all the costume pomp and melodrama. But aside from the NOMACS creepy cool mechanizations… there's nothing that gives me that classic DT shot-in-the arm. I always try to get my 15 year old son to appreciate DT and he has grown to enjoy the classics. We have moments when we both are like: "Now THAT"S why JP is one of the best guitarist! Just listen to Myung's bas riff here--the speed and dexterity!! Have you ever heard drumming that precise?!" There was none of that for me anywhere in TA. And that, more than the cheesy plot material, disappoints the greatest.
I hope they get this silliness out of their system, have a great tour, and get back to composing music with substance and style. They already nailed the rock opera genre with Metropolis; scored symphonically with SDOIT and An Evening with… In my humble opinion, The Astonishing didn't need to be made other than to get it out of JP's head and clear the way for better stuff.
Just one old fan's opinion.
Thanks and sorry for the long post. I don't post much (if ever) but this album bugged me enough...
Topic: *Official* The Astonishing discussion thread (Read 519899 times)
