- " The Astonishing " - One Year -- er, SEVEN YEARS On.

[Schurftkut]

4,20

[hefdaddy42]

Slightly off topic but anybody know what a good asking price is for an autographed Astonishing poster?

Not sure.  I consider mine priceless because it is literally one of a kind, so I'm not the best judge lol.

[ytserush]

Slightly off topic but anybody know what a good asking price is for an autographed Astonishing poster?

No clue but I'd make room on my wall for one.

[nobloodyname]

Think I actually binned mine.

[wolfking]

I should try this again.  I despised it when it came out and never tried again.  I guess I should.

You know, I hate this album but I think I only actually listened to it like......twice?  Do I dare?

Go into it with an open mind. You might hate it again, but also, it might just slightly improve. 

Try to focus on the eccentric vocals and the beautiful musical themes, especially the piano passages. That's where the gold of the album is in my opinion, but there's a lot of it to love.

Hmmm....sounds like a lot of work.

Seems these three posts were all I've contributed to the discussion of this album.  Before you thank me for the contributions to the thread, I'm planning on doing my what I think is third proper listen in about 23 hours from now.  I'll post some live thinkings as I'm going along.  I want to try and find some positive things about this album so will be going in open minded.

[jingle.boy]

I should try this again.  I despised it when it came out and never tried again.  I guess I should.

You know, I hate this album but I think I only actually listened to it like......twice?  Do I dare?

Go into it with an open mind. You might hate it again, but also, it might just slightly improve. 

Try to focus on the eccentric vocals and the beautiful musical themes, especially the piano passages. That's where the gold of the album is in my opinion, but there's a lot of it to love.

Hmmm....sounds like a lot of work.

Seems these three posts were all I've contributed to the discussion of this album.  Before you thank me for the contributions to the thread, I'm planning on doing my what I think is third proper listen in about 23 hours from now.  I'll post some live thinkings as I'm going along.  I want to try and find some positive things about this album so will be going in open minded.

Good luck!

Finding the positive things to say, that is.   

[TAC]

Oh puleeze. If Lonestar sent you The Astonishing in a roulette, you'd find a way to love it and give it the highest score.

[jingle.boy]

Oh puleeze. If Lonestar sent you The Astonishing in a roulette, you'd find a way to love it and give it the highest score.

You know he's never finished better than 4th in a Roulette of mine, and didn't even qualify for one of them.

Ya know, I've heard of penis envy, but I've never heard of musical-taste envy. 

[wolfking]

Settle down ladies.

I will definitely be doing the listen tomorrow, Friday morning I'm busy.

[jingle.boy]

I tried really hard to give it another shot with an open mind ... er, ears.  But even after sifting out the NOMAC shit and unnecessary bits through Tim's abridged version, it's still just not good, imo. It's as if JP was trying to write a graphic novel, and then adapt it for a concept album.  But adapting the story to fit into a double album made both the story and the album worse off for it.  The storyline is pedestrian enough to begin with, and the adaptation into a concept album made the lyrics, frankly, juvenile.  Few of the songs stand up well on their own (with so many sampled effects that were needed to tell the story), and it just all blends into a pot purri of mediocrity.  And I simply cannot stand the premise that JLB is portraying, what??  .... 8 different characters??  There's not enough variation in his delivery that allows me to buy this for even one moment.  And the overall production of his voice sounds just too processed - I just don't think it sounds natural; it's almost the equivalent of the snare in I&W; it's a programmed sound, replicating the instrument.  That's how I hear his vocals on this album.

Again, all of this is just my opinion. 

TASTES^TM!!

[wolfking]

Fair critique there Chad.  I did always think James playing all the characters was a bit of a head scratcher.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I tried really hard to give it another shot with an open mind ... er, ears.  But even after sifting out the NOMAC shit and unnecessary bits through Tim's abridged version, it's still just not good, imo. It's as if JP was trying to write a graphic novel, and then adapt it for a concept album.  But adapting the story to fit into a double album made both the story and the album worse off for it.  The storyline is pedestrian enough to begin with, and the adaptation into a concept album made the lyrics, frankly, juvenile.  Few of the songs stand up well on their own (with so many sampled effects that were needed to tell the story), and it just all blends into a pot purri of mediocrity.  And I simply cannot stand the premise that JLB is portraying, what??  .... 8 different characters??  There's not enough variation in his delivery that allows me to buy this for even one moment.  And the overall production of his voice sounds just too processed - I just don't think it sounds natural; it's almost the equivalent of the snare in I&W; it's a programmed sound, replicating the instrument.  That's how I hear his vocals on this album.

Again, all of this is just my opinion. 

TASTES^TM!!

It's like they were trying to make an Ayreon album without the key Ayreon ingredient, numerous guest vocalists.....Oh and a compelling story...

[Indiscipline]

I should try this again.  I despised it when it came out and never tried again.  I guess I should.

You know, I hate this album but I think I only actually listened to it like......twice?  Do I dare?

Go into it with an open mind. You might hate it again, but also, it might just slightly improve. 

Try to focus on the eccentric vocals and the beautiful musical themes, especially the piano passages. That's where the gold of the album is in my opinion, but there's a lot of it to love.

Hmmm....sounds like a lot of work.

Seems these three posts were all I've contributed to the discussion of this album.  Before you thank me for the contributions to the thread, I'm planning on doing my what I think is third proper listen in about 23 hours from now.  I'll post some live thinkings as I'm going along.  I want to try and find some positive things about this album so will be going in open minded.

I am very interested in your opinion about JP's soloing in this album.

[wolfking]

I should try this again.  I despised it when it came out and never tried again.  I guess I should.

You know, I hate this album but I think I only actually listened to it like......twice?  Do I dare?

Go into it with an open mind. You might hate it again, but also, it might just slightly improve. 

Try to focus on the eccentric vocals and the beautiful musical themes, especially the piano passages. That's where the gold of the album is in my opinion, but there's a lot of it to love.

Hmmm....sounds like a lot of work.

Seems these three posts were all I've contributed to the discussion of this album.  Before you thank me for the contributions to the thread, I'm planning on doing my what I think is third proper listen in about 23 hours from now.  I'll post some live thinkings as I'm going along.  I want to try and find some positive things about this album so will be going in open minded.

I am very interested in your opinion about JP's soloing in this album.

Ok mate, I'll definitely take note and make some observations.

[jingle.boy]

I tried really hard to give it another shot with an open mind ... er, ears.  But even after sifting out the NOMAC shit and unnecessary bits through Tim's abridged version, it's still just not good, imo. It's as if JP was trying to write a graphic novel, and then adapt it for a concept album.  But adapting the story to fit into a double album made both the story and the album worse off for it.  The storyline is pedestrian enough to begin with, and the adaptation into a concept album made the lyrics, frankly, juvenile.  Few of the songs stand up well on their own (with so many sampled effects that were needed to tell the story), and it just all blends into a pot purri of mediocrity.  And I simply cannot stand the premise that JLB is portraying, what??  .... 8 different characters??  There's not enough variation in his delivery that allows me to buy this for even one moment.  And the overall production of his voice sounds just too processed - I just don't think it sounds natural; it's almost the equivalent of the snare in I&W; it's a programmed sound, replicating the instrument.  That's how I hear his vocals on this album.

Again, all of this is just my opinion. 

TASTES^TM!!

It's like they were trying to make an Ayreon album without the key Ayreon ingredient, numerous guest vocalists.....Oh and a compelling story...

And good story telling.  Yes, Arjen has some cheesy lyrics sprinkled throughout every album, but at least he doesn't spoon feed the story to me in a color-by-numbers kinda way.  To me, the way the story is told/explained/described is more like an instruction manual than an actual storyline.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

I remember that The Astonishing show, back in 2016, was absolutely incredible. This album was definitely made for the stage because the visuals (although I still think the 3D models were cringy AF) and production added so much to the experience.

On the subject of NOMAC tracks... I think they are really weird. I mean, I do a lot of experimental electroacoustic composition so I'm very familiar with timbre-based music but those pieces don't serve any narrative purposes other than saying: "The Noise Machines produce noise, let's all remember this. Gabriel has the power of chords and harmony!", which is a really bland storytelling device. Maybe one or two could've been enough at that.

I still think this album has some of the most beautiful DT music ever written (I rank it quite high among DT's catalog), but I think that some of the choices they made with this were not very effective. The full Astonishing novel that was released after the album is the clear example of this. It's like they realized the story was as literal and linear as you could go and had the need to "deepen" the characters. I once tried to watch the 7 hour YouTube video with Peter Orullian and I felt it was too much. They try to add this ambivalence and dimension to characters like Lord Nafaryus (you could've just called him Lord Evil at that) when the whole scope of the story was already clear and set. The reason that novels like A Song of Fire & Ice are so good is that the narrative and plot are so deeply intertwined with character motivation and development which is something that's not very present in The Astonishing. I think it tried, but was not very good at it.

Oh well, I still think this was by far the most ambitious and risky musical project of the Mangini era and that's mostly a good thing. Great things happen with artists get very far from their comfort zone.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I tried really hard to give it another shot with an open mind ... er, ears.  But even after sifting out the NOMAC shit and unnecessary bits through Tim's abridged version, it's still just not good, imo. It's as if JP was trying to write a graphic novel, and then adapt it for a concept album.  But adapting the story to fit into a double album made both the story and the album worse off for it.  The storyline is pedestrian enough to begin with, and the adaptation into a concept album made the lyrics, frankly, juvenile.  Few of the songs stand up well on their own (with so many sampled effects that were needed to tell the story), and it just all blends into a pot purri of mediocrity.  And I simply cannot stand the premise that JLB is portraying, what??  .... 8 different characters??  There's not enough variation in his delivery that allows me to buy this for even one moment.  And the overall production of his voice sounds just too processed - I just don't think it sounds natural; it's almost the equivalent of the snare in I&W; it's a programmed sound, replicating the instrument.  That's how I hear his vocals on this album.

Again, all of this is just my opinion. 

TASTES^TM!!

It's like they were trying to make an Ayreon album without the key Ayreon ingredient, numerous guest vocalists.....Oh and a compelling story...

And good story telling.  Yes, Arjen has some cheesy lyrics sprinkled throughout every album, but at least he doesn't spoon feed the story to me in a color-by-numbers kinda way.  To me, the way the story is told/explained/described is more like an instruction manual than an actual storyline.

This is Gabriel.....he wants to make the world a better place....that makes him the good guy...

This is Lord Nefaryus.....he is the bad guy....

With a name like that, he better be...

[jingle.boy]

I remember that The Astonishing show, back in 2016, was absolutely incredible. This album was definitely made for the stage because the visuals (although I still think the 3D models were cringy AF) and production added so much to the experience.

On the subject of NOMAC tracks... I think they are really weird. I mean, I do a lot of experimental electroacoustic composition so I'm very familiar with timbre-based music but those pieces don't serve any narrative purposes other than saying: "The Noise Machines produce noise, let's all remember this. Gabriel has the power of chords and harmony!", which is a really bland storytelling device. Maybe one or two could've been enough at that.

I still think this album has some of the most beautiful DT music ever written (I rank it quite high among DT's catalog), but I think that some of the choices they made with this were not very effective. The full Astonishing novel that was released after the album is the clear example of this. It's like they realized the story was as literal and linear as you could go and had the need to "deepen" the characters. I once tried to watch the 7 hour YouTube video with Peter Orullian and I felt it was too much. They try to add this ambivalence and dimension to characters like Lord Nafaryus (you could've just called him Lord Evil at that) when the whole scope of the story was already clear and set. The reason that novels like A Song of Fire & Ice are so good is that the narrative and plot are so deeply intertwined with character motivation and development which is something that's not very present in The Astonishing. I think it tried, but was not very good at it.

Oh well, I still think this was by far the most ambitious and risky musical project of the Mangini era and that's mostly a good thing. Great things happen with artists get very far from their comfort zone.

7 Hours of The Astonishing!?!?  I'd rather dry shave RJ's balls with a rusty blade.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

I remember that The Astonishing show, back in 2016, was absolutely incredible. This album was definitely made for the stage because the visuals (although I still think the 3D models were cringy AF) and production added so much to the experience.

On the subject of NOMAC tracks... I think they are really weird. I mean, I do a lot of experimental electroacoustic composition so I'm very familiar with timbre-based music but those pieces don't serve any narrative purposes other than saying: "The Noise Machines produce noise, let's all remember this. Gabriel has the power of chords and harmony!", which is a really bland storytelling device. Maybe one or two could've been enough at that.

I still think this album has some of the most beautiful DT music ever written (I rank it quite high among DT's catalog), but I think that some of the choices they made with this were not very effective. The full Astonishing novel that was released after the album is the clear example of this. It's like they realized the story was as literal and linear as you could go and had the need to "deepen" the characters. I once tried to watch the 7 hour YouTube video with Peter Orullian and I felt it was too much. They try to add this ambivalence and dimension to characters like Lord Nafaryus (you could've just called him Lord Evil at that) when the whole scope of the story was already clear and set. The reason that novels like A Song of Fire & Ice are so good is that the narrative and plot are so deeply intertwined with character motivation and development which is something that's not very present in The Astonishing. I think it tried, but was not very good at it.

Oh well, I still think this was by far the most ambitious and risky musical project of the Mangini era and that's mostly a good thing. Great things happen with artists get very far from their comfort zone.

7 Hours of The Astonishing!?!?  I'd rather dry shave RJ's balls with a rusty blade.

Here you go, some easy afternoon listenin': https://youtu.be/wmm6Rz9uKkM

[bosk1]

I'd rather dry shave RJ's balls with a rusty blade.

IT'S IN MY MIND NOW! 

[wolfking]

I remember that The Astonishing show, back in 2016, was absolutely incredible. This album was definitely made for the stage because the visuals (although I still think the 3D models were cringy AF) and production added so much to the experience.

On the subject of NOMAC tracks... I think they are really weird. I mean, I do a lot of experimental electroacoustic composition so I'm very familiar with timbre-based music but those pieces don't serve any narrative purposes other than saying: "The Noise Machines produce noise, let's all remember this. Gabriel has the power of chords and harmony!", which is a really bland storytelling device. Maybe one or two could've been enough at that.

I still think this album has some of the most beautiful DT music ever written (I rank it quite high among DT's catalog), but I think that some of the choices they made with this were not very effective. The full Astonishing novel that was released after the album is the clear example of this. It's like they realized the story was as literal and linear as you could go and had the need to "deepen" the characters. I once tried to watch the 7 hour YouTube video with Peter Orullian and I felt it was too much. They try to add this ambivalence and dimension to characters like Lord Nafaryus (you could've just called him Lord Evil at that) when the whole scope of the story was already clear and set. The reason that novels like A Song of Fire & Ice are so good is that the narrative and plot are so deeply intertwined with character motivation and development which is something that's not very present in The Astonishing. I think it tried, but was not very good at it.

Oh well, I still think this was by far the most ambitious and risky musical project of the Mangini era and that's mostly a good thing. Great things happen with artists get very far from their comfort zone.

7 Hours of The Astonishing!?!?  I'd rather dry shave RJ's balls with a rusty blade.

Here you go, some easy afternoon listenin': https://youtu.be/wmm6Rz9uKkM

Why would anyone on earth put themselves through this? 

[jingle.boy]

I'd rather dry shave RJ's balls with a rusty blade.

IT'S IN MY MIND NOW! 

Sorry bout that.  Correction ... a DULL, rusty blade.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Why would anyone on earth put themselves through this? 

I'm on team "I think The Astonishing is a great album"! so I really wanted to connect a little bit more with the concept, but after 30 minutes or so I left. It was pretty overwhelming.

[wolfking]

Why would anyone on earth put themselves through this? 

I'm on team "I think The Astonishing is a great album"! so I really wanted to connect a little bit more with the concept, but after 30 minutes or so I left. It was pretty overwhelming.

I'm not coming from that angle.  I think a 30 minute breakdown video would have been fine.  I mean, 7 hours!?   Even my fav albums of all time, I wouldn't sit through a 7 hour breakdown video.  That's just crazy.

[wolfking]

While I'm in here, putting myself through the album will commence in about 3 to 3.5 hours.

[ReaperKK]

Look forward to following along!

[bosk1]

Well, keep in mind that Peter wrote the novel, so he felt like he had a LOT to contribute.  And even his regular music breakdown videos tend to be long, as I recall.  Of course, none of that makes it any easier or more desireable to listen to as a listener.  But I offer that simply as an explanation for why he would even make such a thing to begin with.

[wolfking]

Well, keep in mind that Peter wrote the novel, so he felt like he had a LOT to contribute.  And even his regular music breakdown videos tend to be long, as I recall.  Of course, none of that makes it any easier or more desireable to listen to as a listener.  But I offer that simply as an explanation for why he would even make such a thing to begin with.

That is good context and makes it less of a WTF moment.  I thought it must have been just some random dude breaking it down or something.

[Indiscipline]

Here you go, some easy afternoon listenin': https://youtu.be/wmm6Rz9uKkM

Thank you! Next bus it's on.

[Ben_Jamin]

I honestly wish this would've been expanded into a full on Broadway musical. This is a concept that does not translate well as it is. I understand that the band and JP could only do with what they are given.

I went to go see HadesTown a couple weeks ago and this is a concept that started as a single CD and ended up being expanded into a full on musical. It was amazing seeing this show.

It would work wonders if The Astonishing was able to get this treatment. You have the different cast of characters, the stage production, and you could even include some different interludes and transitions

[TAC]

Nah. It's a rock band album. No need for anything else...novels, action figures..

[Ben_Jamin]

Nah. It's a rock band album. No need for anything else...novels, action figures..

What we got is a rock band album.  The concept itself deserves to be realized as a full on musical. Just like when I first heard the HadesTown album, I told my friend, this would be amazing as a musical. Lo and behold, the concept was expanded into a musical.

[Indiscipline]

I love TA, Top 4 DT for me, and I believe its music ideas would have benefitted much by an extention to grand musical theatre length standards. On the other hand, among its flaws is wanting to be a kind of musical while lacking many structural features making great musicals effective.

[Wim Kruithof]

Why would anyone on earth put themselves through this? 

To digest the storyline on a deeper level. I did, watched the whole 7 hours (split in three sections) and learned a lot from it. But I wanna dive deep into the albums they made and The Astonishing has many ways to do so.

[crystalstars17]

action figures

Even I would never have purchased those.