Author Topic: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"  (Read 46568 times)

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Offline Edergilmour

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #175 on: December 07, 2018, 03:43:10 AM »
Well, they got some melodies stuck on my mind right now.
Nice riffs and solos.
The drum sound is really good.

I like it!

Offline Progmetty

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #176 on: December 07, 2018, 03:50:37 AM »
This going to be an great car album.
I wouldn't want somebody with 18 kids to mow my damn lawn, based on a longstanding bias I have against crazy fucks.

Offline Red_Queen

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #177 on: December 07, 2018, 03:57:29 AM »
After BC&SL I started to missing something in their music. It wasnt about comparing Mike to Mike. Both of them are such great musicians.
ADTOE and DT12 they are good albums. Yes they are but still something missing. TA was huge and Very different but in some point I was like ohhh there it is. I finally hear those elements in which DT were always different from the others. I love DT since i was kid. They are who they are ..legends of prog thats why I cannot turn my face from them. They are my biggest influence in music but something was still missing.
After TA my feelings were still same but when information about D/T started to come out and they say that they are in the same room and making music together in some secret place. I was like THATS IT. Come ooooon do it guys show us some chemistry and soul. Bring back those elements when i first heard I&W or SFAM or heavy mood of ToT and systematic chaos where everything buzzing and we are not able to catch it on first listen and today they served us new single and Im finally satisfied  :hefdaddy and Im really happy.
They are back.
Maybe after all Portnoy was right about take some time and let things just flow and take some rest. I dont know but now you can feel how chemistry is working even without him.

Offline noxon

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #178 on: December 07, 2018, 04:02:53 AM »
I've had a few weeks to digest this song. My initial reaction was that keys and vocals were too low, but after listening to it a bit more (especially in the car), I think the mix is actually working well as they intended - the focus is rhythms and riffs, and it succeeds at driving down the groove. The vocals DO take second position here, but the multi-layered style and distortion filters is actually something I think works very well for this song. It is a quintessential DT song in everything it does - contains all the ingredients of DT in a compact format. And it's a great intro to the rest of the album, imo. I don't expect DT to be revolutionary (heck, they tried that last time, and fans didnt react too kindly to that), so this is a great song for establishing "this is DT in 2018".

I really like the mix as well - it's a bit loud, but not s/t brickwalled. Almost no clipping, and it breathes. Drums sound huge, bass is loud as hell, and guitar tone is magic. And I love the classic rock organ sound. I really like the vocal melody as well. I like how it sounds modern, and raw and natural at the same time. The fret buzz in the beginning is a charming addition.

Offline Dellers

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #179 on: December 07, 2018, 04:02:59 AM »
Better than all the singles they released since I became a fan (2007-ish). I enjoyed this a lot, really. Instrumentally it sounds very good. There are a few negative points anyway of course. The first verse isn't that good, and the vocal effects don't sound great. The hi-hat sounds a bit off to me as well. Except for those things, this was a surprisingly good listen. The song was a lot better than I expected based on the snippet. Can't wait to play this in the car sometime. I don't really like any song on DT12, but this sounded a lot better.
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Offline LightCurves

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #180 on: December 07, 2018, 04:52:17 AM »
First reaction: Meh. sounds like a BC&SL-outtake. MP would have found a few spots for growling....

Offline jingle.boy

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #181 on: December 07, 2018, 04:59:56 AM »
First impression: I don't love it, but I don't hate it. It feels just like a standard Dream Theater song. It feels like you could have made a checklist of typical Dream Theater tropes and it would have hit every single item on that list. Nothing surprised me. It progressed exactly as I thought it would. It's nothing bad, but it's nothing new.
The keyboard sound Jordan uses at 1:50...I am so sick of hearing that patch. Jesus Jordan, you've got every keyboard sound imaginable at your disposal and you keep coming back to that cheesy patch.
I'm one of the people who did not like the Astonishing(Don't try to change my mind, I've given it many many chances in the almost 3 years since it came out), so I've been waiting 5 years now for a decent follow up to DT12, which I thought was just ok. I know this is only 6 minutes of an hour long album, but I hope this isn't just DT12 2.0.
I don't find myself enjoying DT as much as I used to. Maybe I've just outgrown the band.
This song really doesn't get me excited about the rest of the album.

It's like you're in my head.  Everything you said there is accurate from my perspective.

This is seriously the first DT album that won't be a day-1 / automatic purchase.  I'll sample it first, then decide if it's purchase-worthy.  It sounds like a song that's designed to attract new fans and/or appeal to newer fans - while not really doing anything new/different/creative.
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Offline RodrigoAltaf

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #182 on: December 07, 2018, 05:04:45 AM »
Some of the vocal lines in the song have the same melody as "I am ready" on Root of All Evil.

Online Zydar

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #183 on: December 07, 2018, 05:05:52 AM »
I've only listened once this morning, but I'm not blown away by it. So a pretty standard 1st single by DT then.
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Offline Pax

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #184 on: December 07, 2018, 05:16:28 AM »
Standard DT single, nice 2nd verse, nice drum sound, and some cool. Redundant instrumental section that reminds of Pareidolia, does nothing for the song except of just being there
Considerably inferior to some past singles like OTBOA

The song is very compressed and too short to evolve. I would be ok with that, if there were longer songs on the album, but there are not (3 mins isn't really much). If every song ends up compressed like this, it will be just another DT12 without illumination theory, which would make this their worst album to date (after wdadu). I truly hope that isn't the case
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Offline Ruba

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #185 on: December 07, 2018, 05:17:53 AM »
First impression: I don't love it, but I don't hate it. It feels just like a standard Dream Theater song. It feels like you could have made a checklist of typical Dream Theater tropes and it would have hit every single item on that list. Nothing surprised me. It progressed exactly as I thought it would. It's nothing bad, but it's nothing new.
The keyboard sound Jordan uses at 1:50...I am so sick of hearing that patch. Jesus Jordan, you've got every keyboard sound imaginable at your disposal and you keep coming back to that cheesy patch.
--- ---
I don't find myself enjoying DT as much as I used to. Maybe I've just outgrown the band.
This song really doesn't get me excited about the rest of the album.

I very much agree.

I thought I've never been a big fan of DT's singles on Rudess era (OTBOA is a notable exception) and I remember thinking The Enemy Inside was a bit iffy, but I revisited it last night and I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. It's definitely better than Untethered Angel. There are some things I like about UA, but some of its melodies I just find sort of unpleasant for some reason. The chorus just doesn't do it for me.
« Last Edit: December 07, 2018, 05:37:06 AM by Ruba »

Offline King Postwhore

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #186 on: December 07, 2018, 05:21:28 AM »
Not bad but not blown away.  I do like production so we'll see about the full album.
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Offline Destiny Of Chaos

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #187 on: December 07, 2018, 05:26:33 AM »
 :metal :metal :metal

Offline DreamerTV

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #188 on: December 07, 2018, 05:28:05 AM »
I really like the general feeling and sound, and that’s a good thing if this’s the mood of the entire album.

Nothing extraordinary, but a good one for sure.


p.s. I can’t help but hear o holy night chorus in UA’s one, at least a part of it.

Online Phoenix87x

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #189 on: December 07, 2018, 05:50:02 AM »
I found it pretty strait forward. Not terrible, not all that great. Not something I would go out of my way to listen to, but there's still a whole album to check out, so we'll see.

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #190 on: December 07, 2018, 05:55:01 AM »
Sounded pretty good and like standard DT fare, not that that's a bad thing.  We'll see how it sounds after a few more listens.

Offline abydos

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #191 on: December 07, 2018, 06:07:20 AM »
The beginning riff sounds very similar to Outcry. There was one other riff towards the middle that I liked but other than that, quite forgettable and generic. The album teaser sounded better as they kept the more melodic part of the song in it.  I like the mix though.
« Last Edit: December 07, 2018, 06:21:02 AM by abydos »

Offline jayvee3

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #192 on: December 07, 2018, 06:10:55 AM »
Standard DT single, nice 2nd verse, nice drum sound, and some cool. Redundant instrumental section that reminds of Pareidolia, does nothing for the song except of just being there
Considerably inferior to some past singles like OTBOA

The song is very compressed and too short to evolve. I would be ok with that, if there were longer songs on the album, but there are not (3 mins isn't really much). If every song ends up compressed like this, it will be just another DT12 without illumination theory, which would make this their worst album to date (after wdadu). I truly hope that isn't the case

See - and I personally think this kills OTBOA. I really enjoy ADTOE, but skip OTBOA almost every time. To me UA has some great punch, top solos, nice melodies and is compact enough but never feels rushed. OTBOA just never grabbed me from the start, and still doesn't to this day. Different strokes I guess...

Offline Lax

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #193 on: December 07, 2018, 06:11:13 AM »
The album with be a preorder :D not even a day one !

I'm like everybody on the "typical modern DT song", we all hear different songs typical styles in it and I listened it only once in shitty headphones !
To me it sounded like the child of "you build me up, you break me down" and "the ennemy inside", with obviously other parts.

I'm not disappointed because mix and sound seems fantastic and our gods' talent is still unparalleled :)
I hope some other songs are more fantaisist / taking risks, to satisfy my musician ears used to crazy DT. Even if there is no instrumental or epic in the album.

I remember being moved listening to ADTOE, feeling like I was getting back my favorite band, stylewise, maybe this one will make me this kind of effect again :)

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Offline Joshgirouard

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #194 on: December 07, 2018, 06:29:15 AM »
After my first few listens I have mixed feelings .

Things I love :

-drum sound
-short and to the point


Things I dislike :

-opening heavy guitar riff seems lazy
-way to bass/guitar heavy

Overall 7.50/10 but knowing DT , this will probably
Be the most commercial song on the album and I’m really looking forward to the album as a whole
« Last Edit: December 07, 2018, 07:22:02 AM by Joshgirouard »

Offline Art

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #195 on: December 07, 2018, 07:04:03 AM »
it's fine. the drum sound has improved, IMHO.

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Offline Another_Won

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #197 on: December 07, 2018, 07:04:26 AM »
Great new single!  I love it!  I think people need to keep that in mind, that it is the single off the album like OTBOA and TEI and evaluate in that context.  The really juicy stuff comes later.  I actually think it's a little better than the other singles.  If this is an indication of how the whole album is going to develop over the tracks then the it's going to be awesome.

The structure is not quite standard verse/chorus.  Good balance of interesting, but still single-like.  Some of it is familiar and I agree with the Outcry references.  But this is how our brains work.  When we see or hear something our brains will immediately try to match it up with something we already know.  DT music has always grown for me as I listen so I'm sure this one will come into it's own over time.  To me if a song is catchy throughout from the beginning then it doesn't grow, it just gets boring.

It's interesting how many people here are so critical and (to me) too nit-picky.  It's just the single and shouldn't be used to evaluate the whole album.  The mix, the drum sound, bass in the mix, keys in the mix, vocals etc.  Sure I get it, we're a very technical bunch and can really give things a thorough review - that's fine.  Let's not forget we're FANS and don't let stuff ruin our enjoyment of the song.  When the song is playing, does your head nod with the music?  Great! go with that. :biggrin:

The great thing about DT is that the music is loved by a wide variety of people with their own musical preferences, but we're ALL FANS! Can't wait for Feb 22nd.   :metal

Offline abydos

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #198 on: December 07, 2018, 07:10:16 AM »
Mangini looks ridiculous with this setup.

Offline Woodworker1

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #199 on: December 07, 2018, 07:11:27 AM »
DT usually releases a more accessible, commerical track for their single, so keeping that in mind: 

1)  Mangini's drumming is really powerful.  The drum sound is much improved.

2)  The bass presence is also improved; really loving the bass sound on this one.

3)  I like the vocals (but I always like Labrie's vocals!).  The processing doesn't bother me; I wouldn't noticed it if others wouldn't hadn't pointed it out.  It fits the song.

4)  I agree with a previous poster who state the mix/production places emphasis on the rhythm section.  I found myself tapping my foot and nodding my head (my co-workers were looking at me funny).

5)  Can we talk about the guitar solo?  I'm not a muscian; I lack the musical vocabulary to describe it properly, but it sucked me in right away.  I wish it was longer.  I'm sure we will get some longer solo's on the album.  Petrucci really put some effort into composing this one. 

Offline Another_Won

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #200 on: December 07, 2018, 07:12:27 AM »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gylxuO6dKOw&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0faPGPuiaC8feQ0sSmugS87dKwuwMJNQsOkp3VPgNEEcj4W-wR84pBjMI

Offical video for the single.
Wow!  The official video is amazing!  I really like the split screen style.  It's great to watch how each person is playing their part.  It helps to bring out their respective instruments in the mix.  This is also new for DT, right?  I don't recall them doing this before.

How about the clips of BBQ?  Really funny and nice touch.

One thing, where is James?  He doesn't look like he's in the Yonderbarn.

Offline goo-goo

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #201 on: December 07, 2018, 07:14:24 AM »
Loving the song, liking the video....new avatar for me!

Offline nikatapi

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #202 on: December 07, 2018, 07:16:09 AM »
Mangini looks ridiculous with this setup.

I'm pretty sure his setup is this way to better record the cymbals. I might be wrong, but i have a strong feeling about this.

Offline mikeyd23

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #203 on: December 07, 2018, 07:20:43 AM »
I like it, seems like a good solid single-type song.

- Like the clean picking intro. The riff when the band comes in is nice.
- The first verse grooves, just sounds a little too much like Outcry.
- Chorus is pretty good, vocals are a little muffled with the effects, the melody is decent though.
- Second verse is cool, and the groove before the vocals enter is nice. MM does some nice changes in the second cycle of the first section of the verse with his cymbal work, nice.
- The breakdown at like 3:25 is SOOOO Home and I love it.
- Solos sound good, nice trade off and to the point, not too long. JP has some really nice playing in there.
- Unison is good, but feels like it takes away from the momentum of the solos a little. Still a good line though.
- Outro is really cool, nice heavy stuff.

Mix/production observations -
- Drums are probably the best sound MM has got in the studio with DT. Not much to complain about here, the kick is full and present. The snare sounds decent in the mix, and the cymbal balance is WAY better than usual.
- Bass is solid and audible throughout.
- JP guitar tone sounds really nice and heavy, very good tone with less chorus than he's been using in recent years.
- JR had some good patches in there, especially the organ.
- JLB sounds like he performed well, but they went a little overboard with the effects and muffled him a little.

The mix sounds really strong, the balance of the instruments is good. The rhythm section sounds big and heavy, the presence instruments sat well in the mix. The big issue with this track was the vocals. I like the idea of the effect work they put on his voice, I just think they overdid it and the result are the vocals being muffled at times. Overall though, this is a really solid sounding mix and master.

I'm excited for this record.

Offline dream75

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #204 on: December 07, 2018, 07:23:10 AM »

Offline cramx3

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #205 on: December 07, 2018, 07:24:22 AM »
Second listen this morning and I enjoyed it a bit more than my very much enjoyed first listen, but it is true, the vocals in this mix sound not only low, but the effects kind of make it sound weird.  I listened on my phone last night and didn't want to judge the mix from listening that way, today I am using my laptop and it still sounds muddy a little.  I do like the big heavy guitar and don't mind the lowered keys in favor of the bass and drums.  THe mix isn't horrible and the song is rockin, just think i agree with what others are saying about the vocals here.  I'm sure the rest of the songs won't have the same effects on his vocals so I'm not really worried about the album, if anything this song has just made me 10 times more excited.  This is good heavy DT IMO.

Offline theanalogkid7

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #206 on: December 07, 2018, 07:27:36 AM »
Is it just me or do the mixes sound different between the single and the video? It could be YT doing what it does, but I almost think the video has a better sound...

I don't know, I need to listen when I'm at home on proper speakers.
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Offline mikeyd23

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #207 on: December 07, 2018, 07:28:37 AM »
Second listen this morning and I enjoyed it a bit more than my very much enjoyed first listen, but it is true, the vocals in this mix sound not only low, but the effects kind of make it sound weird.  I listened on my phone last night and didn't want to judge the mix from listening that way, today I am using my laptop and it still sounds muddy a little.  I do like the big heavy guitar and don't mind the lowered keys in favor of the bass and drums.  THe mix isn't horrible and the song is rockin, just think i agree with what others are saying about the vocals here.  I'm sure the rest of the songs won't have the same effects on his vocals so I'm not really worried about the album, if anything this song has just made me 10 times more excited.  This is good heavy DT IMO.

My first listen was in my car this morning (fell asleep last night before the single dropped) and the vocals were hard to make out. Got to the office, and my next couple listens were on a decent pair of headphones and everything much easier to make out.

Offline rumborak

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #208 on: December 07, 2018, 07:29:06 AM »
Is it just me or do the mixes sound different between the single and the video? It could be YT doing what it does, but I almost think the video has a better sound...

I don't know, I need to listen when I'm at home on proper speakers.

That was exactly my reaction too. I felt keys and vocals were clearly audible in the video, whereas in the only-audio track they weren't.
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Offline Shooters1221

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Re: Distance over Time - New Single "Untethered Angel"
« Reply #209 on: December 07, 2018, 07:29:24 AM »