New Album “Distance Over Time’, First Set of 2019 Tour Dates announced!

[Ben_Jamin]

you could've at least wrote ONE song that's not this short.

7. At Wit’s End (9:20)

that's not one long enough song?  I get it, there's now a trend of three albums with shorter songs, but you said you wanted one longer song.  9 minutes isn't short.

I wonder if the live show comes into account with the shorter songs though.  Maybe with so many epics already and fans wanting them to keep playing those (Octavarium is a top songs DT fans want to see according to the poll here) the band doesn't feel like they should write another one because they don't want to play so many epics in a show?  Shorter songs are easier to insert in/out of a setlist.  Just speculating here.

Maybe they need to stop these Anniversary shows.

Well topping it off with ACOS must have been difficult, I'm just wondering if after doing that they realize maybe they need to relax with the epics 

"Sorry for the short set."

I doubt it. Likely they just wanted to make an album that rocks. JM must've been really happy with the decision to just jam together and write the songs, like the old days. And look what occurred. The song titles alone are refreshing.

I'm excited mainly because of that reason.

[RoeDent]

I'm very disappointed by the track lengths, because I've almost never heard a prog metal song I've actually ''loved'' that was this short (the only exceptions being The Brain Dance by AAL and first 8 minutes of Nocturnal Conspiracy by Haken).

I want songs that take me to another dimensions when I listen to them, I don't want songs which do nothing more than just make me say ''oh, really nice'' when I hear them. DT has been my favourite band because it could do that much more often than any other band could. But last two albums were really meh to me, and I'm afraid it will keep going that way with this one.
I see I'm a minority here with this attitude, but come on guys, you could've at least wrote ONE song that's not this short.

They already did, on every album from Images and Words thru DT12. Also, I'm amazed you have the ability to judge an album after hearing 30 seconds of it.

I mean, at least wait until a full track is released before pouring your (no doubt pre-prepared) contempt on the work of art that the band have worked hard on making and that the band are proud of. It saddens me that some people are probably already in a negative state of mind about the album before they've even heard the thing. They're prepared to hate it rather than to love it.

[Ninjabait]

DISTANCE OVER TIME - 22 FEBRUARY 2019

1. Untethered Angel (6:14)
2. Paralyzed (4:17)
3. Fall Into The Light (7:04)
4. Barstool Warrior (6:43)
5. Room 137 (4:23)
6. S2N (6:21)
7. At Wit’s End (9:20)
8. Out Of Reach (4:04)
9. Pale Blue Dot (8:25)
10. Viper King (4:00) (Bonus Track)

Huh...outside of The Astonishing, this is the first album since the debut to not include a song over 10 minutes in length.

This tracklist looks more like something Spock's Beard would put out, tbh, not that that's a bad thing! Now let's get a single!

-Marc.

There has also only been one song off the last 3 albums that's over 10min long, and that's Illumination Theory. I thought it might've been a fluke, but it seems like DT is actively trying for shorter song lengths and more concise songs. I think it's a good, healthy change!

Ready for my weave to be snatched tbh

how so?

imo it shows that the band is still willing to push themselves out of their comfort zones and grow. Prior to this, they've only had one album that had no songs over 10 minutes, and very few of them have less than two. Almost all of their albums are over an hour long, and most of them are over 75min. Forcing yourself to "trim off the fat" and decide what's really important in your writing style and what you can leave by the wayside is an excellent way to define and refine your writing style and grow as a composer.

Plus more variety in lengths and styles is always a good thing in an artist's oeuvre imo

[hefdaddy42]

For them, this is something new.  So I am excited to hear it.

I don't care how long the album is, and I don't care how long the songs are.  I only care how cohesive the album is, and how good the songs are.

[bosk1]

I'm trying not to form any opinions based on track lengths.  I generally prefer longer songs, but that doesn't necessarily mean that shorter songs are bad or less developed.  But I have seen comments along the lines of shorter means they are "trimming the fat," or the equivalent.  I strongly disagree with that sentiment.  That assumes there is "fat" that needs "trimming" in the first place.  Even in DT's longest songs, I find very little that, to me, sounds like something that should have been trimmed down.  There are only a small handful of songs that I felt contained songs that could/should have been trimmed down just a bit where that would have made them "better" songs (off the top of my head, the only ones are The Glass Prison, This Dying Soul, Endless Sacrifice, Repentance, TMOLS, ANTR, The Shattered Fortress, and TCOT).

[Aythesryche]

For them, this is something new.  So I am excited to hear it.

I don't care how long the album is, and I don't care how long the songs are.  I only care how cohesive the album is, and how good the songs are.

Completely agree. My major hope is that this will be another album in their diverse catalogue that’ll satiate that itch for something a bit different from the rest of their offerings. Seems DT has a bit of everything to cater to whatever mood I’m in musically. Sure, might be another heavy album, but I’m sure it’ll be quite different from their other heavy offerings. Sorta like craving spicy foods, I’ll have a choice between spicy Thai or spicy Hungarian. Hopefully this’ll be a nice addition.

[robwebster]

I have seen comments along the lines of shorter means they are "trimming the fat," or the equivalent.  I strongly disagree with that sentiment.  That assumes there is "fat" that needs "trimming" in the first place.  Even in DT's longest songs, I find very little that, to me, sounds like something that should have been trimmed down.  There are only a small handful of songs that I felt contained songs that could/should have been trimmed down just a bit where that would have made them "better" songs (off the top of my head, the only ones are The Glass Prison, This Dying Soul, Endless Sacrifice, Repentance, TMOLS, ANTR, The Shattered Fortress, and TCOT).

I get what you mean, but the difference between Dramatic Turn and Dream Theater (to pick two albums I love) is really stark.

It's not so much that Bridges in the Sky needs cutting down, more that the sheer pace of something like The Enemy Inside is invigorating. It's the path less travelled, and that's refreshing.

[Samsara]

I'm trying not to form any opinions based on track lengths.  I generally prefer longer songs, but that doesn't necessarily mean that shorter songs are bad or less developed.  But I have seen comments along the lines of shorter means they are "trimming the fat," or the equivalent.  I strongly disagree with that sentiment.  That assumes there is "fat" that needs "trimming" in the first place.  Even in DT's longest songs, I find very little that, to me, sounds like something that should have been trimmed down.  There are only a small handful of songs that I felt contained songs that could/should have been trimmed down just a bit where that would have made them "better" songs (off the top of my head, the only ones are The Glass Prison, This Dying Soul, Endless Sacrifice, Repentance, TMOLS, ANTR, The Shattered Fortress, and TCOT).

Taste, and opinions, and all of that. Dream Theater's songs, TO ME, tended to have a lot of bloated passages that really took away from the song. Again, just my opinion, and I know I am in the minority. While an album full of tracks that are a bit shorter than the usual DT recipe doesn't ensure that the songs are good (although I think they will be), I think they can still be progressive and expressive without the need to drone on and on for 15-minutes at a clip.

Shorter songs also mean they can quite possibly play MORE songs on tour, in the same amount of time. That was starting to become a problem, and this album could be the start of a way to help fix that.

Again, my opinion is just that, an opinion. But we disagree about the need to "trim the fat." They absolutely needed to, not only on the songs you mentioned (Endless Sacrifice...man, that tune could have been so killer if it was trimmed), but a number of others as well.

[dream75]

For you there are not too many 4 songs of only 4 minutes? Excluding the concepts I believe it never happened

[Progmetty]

1. I love the song titles!
2. I definitely wouldn't have noticed this album is shorter than usual if nobody said anything about it, so I probably don't care about that.
3. Track length wise, my favorites from DT are anywhere less than 12 minutes, more than that and I lose interest no matter how good the music is.
So all this new info is good news to me!

Some folks made remarks worrying about the bonus track not fitting within the flow of the album, I don't think DT wrote this song separately to be a bonus track. I think it was probably already in the album and Inside Out said they wanted a bonus track so DT picked this song as the one that least hurts the album by not being included in the jewel case.

[Ninjabait]

Well, yeah, of course. I'm not going to argue that the long songs are inherently worse or they have a serial padding problem. Fat adds a lot of flavor, but it's also good to know how to make something lean. Fat isn't a bad thing. Lean and fatty are just different flavors. I'd also disagree with a lot of the songs you listed as being too long lol (like TDS, ES, and TCOT).

It's more like saying "we are really comfortable getting our point across in 11min, but can we get the same point across in 6, or even less?" To be really specific, it's like seeing if they can still capture their artistic voice in a song that doesn't have a section with trade-off solos, or without compounded structures, or dwelling on an idea or variation for 16 measures and then reprising later, or a minute long introduction and coda. And I think The Astonishing showed that they really can do that on a song-by-song basis.

Also I think this is relevant:

Asked about the shorter, more compact nature of some of the songs that appear on DREAM THEATER's latest, self-titled album, Petrucci said: "Actually, the funny thing is, this album, it kind of has everything, if you look at it, because that was one of the conversations we did have. It's something we did on the 'Awake' [1994] album, too, if you go back. The basic mentality is that every song doesn't have to be 12 minutes long. It's actually hard to do. The challenge is to try to write and keep the style that we write in without straying from the thing that makes us unique. And to try to do that within a four- or five- or six-minute mark, it's hard to do. But we did that on a few songs and kept the energy up and everything. And we also made sure that we did include a big epic piece on there. We made sure that there was an instrumental on there, which is something that we wanted to do. But, yeah, as far as those few songs that are kind of on the shorter side, we did say, it would be a nice challenge to try to keep things short. And it's really hard."

[gzarruk]

All this discussion about the lenght of the album made me compare it to other things they've done before and just realized that DOT (or D/T), without the bonus track, is only 7 minutes longer than TA disc 2

As for my opinion, I think shorter songs gives them the benefit of playing more new songs on a set, while also playing some longer songs from previous albums. Nothing to worry there.

[RoeDent]

It still feels like I'm getting my money's worth with this length of album. It's not like those artists who just chuck out 35 minutes of music or less and expect you to pay full price for it.

[hefdaddy42]

All of you people are talking about the album's length.

I am far more worried about it's height.

[Max Kuehnau]

All of you people are talking about the album's length.

I am far more worried about it's height.

the album's height? what do you mean by that?

[rab7]

All of you people are talking about the album's length.

I am far more worried about it's height.

the album's height? what do you mean by that?

Exactly what it sounds.

How tall is it?

[Ninjabait]

All of you people are talking about the album's length.

I am far more worried about it's height.

the album's height? what do you mean by that?

Exactly what it sounds.

How tall is it?

18cm/7" on a good day.

The real question is how wide is it?

[Samsara]

7.31 inches.

 

[hefdaddy42]

7.31 inches.

 

*shakes hand*

[TheLordOfTheStrings]

All of you people are talking about the album's length.

I am far more worried about it's height.

I'm over here worrying about it's girth/yaw.

😉

[cramx3]

I'm interesting in it's taste, given how good those burgers and wings looked while making it

[TheLordOfTheStrings]

I'm interesting in it's taste, given how good those burgers and wings looked while making it

That's a good point. I too wonder how it tastes.

[pg1067]

All of you people are talking about the album's length.

I am far more worried about it's height.

I would think width and depth would be more concerning.

[Adami]

Ask the ladies, girth is what it's all about.

How thick is the album?

[noxon]

The only important measurement here is what SPEED the album is.

[Fritzinger]

You guys really need a single 

[noxon]

https://www.amazon.de/Distance-Over-Time-Dream-Theater/dp/B07KLTV9J4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1543962549&sr=8-5&keywords=dream+theater+distance+over+time.   details the actual content of the different sets now.

[cramx3]

https://www.amazon.de/Distance-Over-Time-Dream-Theater/dp/B07KLTV9J4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1543962549&sr=8-5&keywords=dream+theater+distance+over+time.   details the actual content of the different sets now.

Not sure I see what you are saying, looks like just a listing for the Ltd. Deluxe Collector's Box Set and this part is the only interesting thing in the listing since i dont see anymore info (although google translated from German to English):

Number of discs / sound carriers: 7

[Fritzinger]

https://www.amazon.de/Distance-Over-Time-Dream-Theater/dp/B07KLTV9J4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1543962549&sr=8-5&keywords=dream+theater+distance+over+time.   details the actual content of the different sets now.

Not sure I see what you are saying, looks like just a listing for the Ltd. Deluxe Collector's Box Set and this part is the only interesting thing in the listing since i dont see anymore info (although google translated from German to English):

Number of discs / sound carriers: 7

Just noticed this too, what could this be about?? Two Vinyls, one CD, maybe a 7" like The Bigger Picture? What else?

[rab7]

https://www.amazon.de/Distance-Over-Time-Dream-Theater/dp/B07KLTV9J4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1543962549&sr=8-5&keywords=dream+theater+distance+over+time.   details the actual content of the different sets now.

Not sure I see what you are saying, looks like just a listing for the Ltd. Deluxe Collector's Box Set and this part is the only interesting thing in the listing since i dont see anymore info (although google translated from German to English):

Number of discs / sound carriers: 7

That last paragraph, translated using google translate:

After more than 15 million records sold worldwide and a double GRAMMY® nomination, DREAM THEATER make their debut at InsideOutMusic / Sony Music. 'Distance Over Time' is the title of their 14th studio album, for which the band set out to return to their roots to produce a more organic sound. For writing and recording, they moved to remote Yonderbarn studios in Monticello, New York for four months, working together for the first time from beginning to end in the same location on an album. Apart from these little innovations, DREAM THEATER remain true to their unique combination of progressive metal and playful precision. And although 'Distance Over Time' deals with difficult topics, it is audible how much heart, fun and passion have been put into this album. 'Distance Over Time' is available in the following formats: - Deluxe Collector's Box Set (including lenticular card as cover, the Artbook, 180g exclusive color 2LP Gatefold Edition with exclusive artwork, exclusive Picture 7Inch, 60x60 Poster, 10 Art Cards, one Slipmat, one Patch, and a hand-numbered certificate of authenticity) - limited artbook with two CDs, a Blu-Ray and a DVD (including a bonus track, 5.1 mixes with video animations, instrumental mixes, the album's high-resolution files, master data of the song 'Untethered Angel', extended liner Notes, additional artwork with photos from the time of the album and additional video content) - limited CD Digipak (including a bonus track) - Standard CD Jewelcase - 180g heavy vinyl in the gatefold (including a bonus track, an eight-page LP booklet and the entire album as CD) - Digital album

[cramx3]

Ah weird, the translated part ends at "it is audible how much heart, fun and passion have been put into this album. " for me and then its blank  way to cut off before the important part, thanks for showing

[rab7]

Ah weird, the translated part ends at "it is audible how much heart, fun and passion have been put into this album. " for me and then its blank  way to cut off before the important part, thanks for showing

Yeah I saw "Untethered Angel" before translating, but once I click the Translate button, that whole section disappears. So I just copied the entire paragraph and pasted it into google translate so that nothing would be lost

[cramx3]

but anyway....

a Blu-Ray and a DVD (including a bonus track, 5.1 mixes with video animations, instrumental mixes, the album's high-resolution files, master data of the song 'Untethered Angel', extended liner Notes, additional artwork with photos from the time of the album and additional video content)

I want to know more about this.  Specifically the video animations.

[Pax]

I'm very disappointed by the track lengths, because I've almost never heard a prog metal song I've actually ''loved'' that was this short (the only exceptions being The Brain Dance by AAL and first 8 minutes of Nocturnal Conspiracy by Haken).

I want songs that take me to another dimensions when I listen to them, I don't want songs which do nothing more than just make me say ''oh, really nice'' when I hear them. DT has been my favourite band because it could do that much more often than any other band could. But last two albums were really meh to me, and I'm afraid it will keep going that way with this one.
I see I'm a minority here with this attitude, but come on guys, you could've at least wrote ONE song that's not this short.

They already did, on every album from Images and Words thru DT12. Also, I'm amazed you have the ability to judge an album after hearing 30 seconds of it.

I mean, at least wait until a full track is released before pouring your (no doubt pre-prepared) contempt on the work of art that the band have worked hard on making and that the band are proud of. It saddens me that some people are probably already in a negative state of mind about the album before they've even heard the thing. They're prepared to hate it rather than to love it.

It will be much better for me if I'm pleasantly surprised by the album when it comes out, than vice versa, so no thanks

Also, to the people saying that songs don't need to be 10+ mins to be excellent - I agree. But my point is that DT has shown that THEY cannot write a short song that's really great (the only examples of prog metal short songs I think are great are songs by non-DT bands).
Also, I'll admit that even DT has written some great short songs, but that was really a long time ago (i.e. metropolis, take the time, and they don't really sound like anything DT is today). My doubt in this album arises from the fact that their own attempts at short songs (in modern age) really failed for me (last two albums), so one can only expect that this one will be similar in that regard.

And when I say ''longer song'', I don't necessarily mean epic. Actually, I don't want epics (because I don't like their last two epics, they were artificially made way longer than they should've been, I don't know if they still have what it takes to write an outstanding epic like 8vm and ITPOE). What I was hoping for, were songs like ones from ADTOE, because they're the last DT songs that I really love.

[Darkstarshades]

I think The Gift of Music is an example of an amazing short song, for me it's a song that defines DT in 4 mins.