Incidentally I just recently listened to (the bulk of) this album last week. A few of my general thoughts:
It's a fun journey, for the most part. Considering how mediocre (I think) the story is, the album could've easily lost 30-45 minutes. Some of the tracks towards the end of Disc 1 (Ravenskill, Chosen, A Tempting Offer) do absolutely nothing for me, and I think Disc 2 is pretty hit or miss. Speaking of the latter disc, it also takes a little bit to get going, but there's some great dramatic crescendos in The Path that Divides and The Walking Shadow. And the finale, which really is the 3 closing tracks, are all great for their own reasons. Hymn of a Thousand Voices is a nice, folksy tune with shades of gospel. Our New World is a straightforward rockin' one, with some great melodies. And then there's Astonishing, which is more in the vein of your classic show closer, with a pleasant wrap-up of all the main themes. It may be too many "finales" but I like 'em.
While I seem pretty negative on the album of the whole, I love that DT wrote a lot of shorter songs. Unfortunately, as with most concept albums (or rock albums), if you're not all in to what the story is selling, then the album suffers (depending on your focal point in lyrics, I suppose).
It's ironic that there seems to be some disappointment about the latest album having shorter songs, when there are so many fantastic and epic tracks in The Astonishing. The epic track, A New Beginning, is only 7:41. There are longer songs on DOT, but I hope they can measure up. Hell, even a 3 and a half minute track like Lord Nefaryus reaches places that other DT "epics" have not.
Bottom line: I like the majority of the tracks, as I do any other DT album (for the most part), but the story can make it harder to get into.