Why do people hate edits so much? Isn't the whole point to make a song more digestible for people who aren't familiar with the band? Don't we want more success for Dream Theater?
We're the superfans, the nerds, the musicians, all that good stuff so I get that and we always have the actual version to party with. So what's wrong with trying to introduce DT to new people? It sucks to see people complaining about stuff like the mix, the levels, the edit, etc but that's us. A new listener won't be looking for stuff like that. I think we should embrace edits like this and take the opportunity to try and introduce new people rather than bash them.
Conspiracy theory suggests some people actually don't want DT to be successful and just keep them in their back pocket and can say "that's *my* band, back off!" and then would accuse them of "selling out" if they got too popular but I think that's a pretty selfish way to think.
How many of us have made mixtapes for others? Wouldn't that be considered an edit cuz you're picking and choosing what you think the listener will enjoy and represent the band fairly?
Personally, I love edits cuz if I like the song and then hear the 'real' version it's almost always more awesomer than the edit. I make my own fan edits for the car cuz driving with 8 minutes of ambient sounds taking up half of my drive time stinks.
TL;DR - Edits are a great way to introduce new people to music.