So, my pre-order came early. I just got done with my first listen.
Just so everyone knows, I haven’t read anyone else’s posts on this thread because I didn’t want what I have to say to be influenced by anyone else’s thoughts or opinions at this stage. I just wanted to share my raw feelings about this album with you all right now.
So, without further ado…
OH…MY…GOD!!!
WHAT AN INCREDIBLE ALBUM!
Holy shit... I have not enjoyed
any album, let alone a DT album, so much on first listen for a very, very long time. Possibly ever. It took me to places I was not expecting to go.
As the album unfolded, I couldn’t help but smile, and burst out laughing, and at one particular point, I burst into uncontrollable tears of joy. My mouth is still hurting from smiling so much right now.
Why? Because THIS is the band I fell in love with 15 years ago. A band that can transport me to all these different places, nearly everything I could possibly want to hear in my music. And after having not been particularly crazy about the majority of their output since Portnoy left the band all those years ago, I was not expecting to feel this way again about their music.
Just so that you guys know where I’m coming from, I was in the camp that absolutely loved the Astonishing because concept albums, music that tells a story, are something that really appeal to me. And also, I just loved the fact that they were bold enough to make such an album when they knew full well it was not likely to be loved universally, even within the existing fanbase. I love this band so much that I’ve always just wanted them to make the music they want to make, not necessarily what they think we as fans want to hear - which I always felt was something they tried to do with ADToE, and where I felt that they were going with this album following the reception of the Astonishing. So for that reason, I had set my expectations pretty low for this one.
But as it happens, I now feel like I couldn’t have been more wrong.
I’ve been paying attention to what the guys have been saying in interviews, and I know all about how they stayed together in this studio over the summer and really bonded while making this album, which they haven’t done in years. I got the impression that the brotherhood between them was a core component to this album. I also remember reading, or hearing somewhere, that they wanted to make sure there was a “fun” element to this music. And those two things, I think, were absolutely key to making this album so much more enjoyable to me than any of theirs in recent memory. I can hear it in every single song. The five of them are all totally on the same page, making the music they want to make, and having an absolute blast playing it. It really comes through on this album, and I think it’s something that may have been missing (or at least, not quite as present) on most recent albums - for example, the Astonishing, due to the fact that it was entirely written by John and Jordan alone.
The album is definitely more concise than we have come to expect from a band that usually makes a point of filling up the entire disc. And as it turns out, that is no bad thing at all. It gets to the point, and yet none of the elements we would expect to hear from Dream Theater music are missing. There are plenty of heavy moments. There’s a number of quiet moments. There’s a lot of epic moments. And, oh my god, plenty of crazy instrumentals.
Oh my god, the musicianship on this album. Even for a band of virtuosos, this is absolutely off the charts. I lost count of the number of times my mouth fell open, blown away by what I was hearing. Here we have a bunch of men in their 50’s, and one other in their 60’s, who have been playing this kind of technically challenging music for decades, and yet it feels like they’ve lost absolutely none of their enthusiasm, creativity, energy or precision. Rather, they seem to have reached a new level here that seems barely believable. I really am blown away by it.
So, what were the specific highlights for me? Well, considering I have only just listened to this album once I can't recall too many specifics, but a few of them are:
- The first two minutes of Barstool Warrior. This is one of the first moments of the album that really just made me smile, and feel like the album was starting to take me on an interesting adventure. In fact, this song as a whole was really epic and I feel will probably be one of my favourites.
- S2N - oh my god, JM’s bass riff kicks untold levels of ass. So according to interviews, this riff was the catalyst for several songs on the album, but only ended up becoming one of its own at the very end of the process. But wow, I can totally understand why the guys took it in so many different directions. This is a really, really fun song and if I recall, has an amazing instrumental section. I remember hearing a spoken voice quietly saying “wow…” before the final chorus - a moment which made me laugh out loud with joy as it, for me, totally captured the spirit of the album and how I was feeling at the time listening to it.
- The outro of At Wit's End and the false ending - a nice, unexpected touch.
- Pale Blue Dot. Just... the whole thing. What an incredible rollercoaster of a song. It reminded me so much of why I first became really interested in this band - the incredible musicianship and the crazy time signature changes. I tried to keep up as best as I could while listening to it, trying to understand what time signature they were playing in and where the downbeat was, but after a while realising it’s completely futile, and again, just laughing a laughter of joy. And this was even BEFORE it got to the instrumental section. OH GOD, that instrumental section. You know how that passage near the beginning of Lost Not Forgotten is referred to as the “tickle” section, because it just kept on going and getting crazier and crazier? Well, this was very much like that - times half a dozen or so. When I listened to this moment, something quite phenomenal came over me. I have already mentioned that the music kept making me laugh a laughter of joy, but this section absolutely pushed me over the edge - and suddenly, there I was, laughing and crying uncontrollably. This song, this album was so much better, so much more enjoyable, and so much more fun than I have dared expect, or even imagine.
As an afterthought, that bonus track was - interesting. And really awesome. It was just a fun-ass song with really cool, groovy riffs and rhythms that I don't generally expect to hear in Dream Theater. But it fucking ruled. It almost make me wonder why they don't make more straight-ahead "rocking" tracks like this one!
I really was not expecting this much of an emotional experience, and it felt amazing. My all-time favourite band is back.
I'm still feeling the buzz right now and I got the end of the album about an hour ago.
If any of you guys enjoy this album a fraction as much as I did, then oh my god are you in for something really special.
Topic: Official Distance Over Time discussion thread (Read 189152 times)
