Official Distance Over Time discussion thread

[hunnus2000]

As I said - for my money there's nothing on Distance Over Time as boring or uninteresting as Surrender To Reason or Along For The Ride.

I can concede with Along for the Ride but Surrender is a top 5 song quintessential song that I would introduce DT to people.

[darkshade]

As I said - for my money there's nothing on Distance Over Time as boring or uninteresting as Surrender To Reason or Along For The Ride.

That's because DT12 is the worst DT album.

[Kotowboy]

As I said - for my money there's nothing on Distance Over Time as boring or uninteresting as Surrender To Reason or Along For The Ride.

That's because DT12 is the worst DT album.

Nah. Systematic Chaos is worse. And Awake is 3 good opening songs then boring as fuck from then on.

[MirrorMask]

Awake is 3 good opening songs then boring as fuck from then on.

HAHAHAHAHAHA No.

[gzarruk]

As I said - for my money there's nothing on Distance Over Time as boring or uninteresting as Surrender To Reason or Along For The Ride.

That's because DT12 is the worst DT album.

FII would like to have a word with you

[Kotowboy]

FII > Awake

[MoraWintersoul]

Guys, this is the Distance Over Time thread, the controversial opinions are two doors down.

[Kotowboy]

Guys, this is the Distance Over Time thread, the controversial opinions are two doors down.

In YOUR opinion

[pg1067]

As I said - for my money there's nothing on Distance Over Time as boring or uninteresting as Surrender To Reason or Along For The Ride.

That's because DT12 is the worst DT album.

Not even close.  At least WDADU, FII, SC, BC&SL and TA are worse.

Awake is 3 good opening songs then boring as fuck from then on.

HAHAHAHAHAHA No.

Agree.  Every song on Awake is no worse than really good except for Innocence Faded and The Mirror.

FII > Awake

Back in the day, Awake beat up FII on the playground on pretty much a daily basis.

Guys, this is the Distance Over Time thread, the controversial opinions are two doors down.

Well...yeah....

[darkshade]

As I said - for my money there's nothing on Distance Over Time as boring or uninteresting as Surrender To Reason or Along For The Ride.

That's because DT12 is the worst DT album.

Nah. Systematic Chaos is worse. And Awake is 3 good opening songs then boring as fuck from then on.

Now you're just trolling me.

[Dublagent66]

Guys, this is the Distance Over Time thread, the controversial opinions are two doors down.

That's right but this one can actually be posted in both.

Long story short, this is the result of my experience over the last 3 albums.


DT12:  Punched me in the gut.

TA:  Kicked me while I was down.

DoT:  "Come with me if you wanna live".    

[darkshade]

As I said - for my money there's nothing on Distance Over Time as boring or uninteresting as Surrender To Reason or Along For The Ride.

That's because DT12 is the worst DT album.

FII would like to have a word with you

WDADU already did.

[Trav86]

Guys, this is the Distance Over Time thread, the controversial opinions are two doors down.

That's right but this one can actually be posted in both.

Long story short, this is the result of my experience over the last 3 albums.


DT12:  Punched me in the gut.

TA:  Kicked me while I was down.

DoT:  "Come with me if you wanna live".    

This is hilarious.

[kirksnosehair]

For me the biggest determining factor in where I rank an album is "how often do I play it." 


Based on just that criteria, Images & Words will be my #1 Dream Theater album for a long time because I must have repeat played that thing 10,000 times.  It was ALL I listened to until they released Awake, which, to me, is Dream Theater's most overrated album.  I was disappointed with it then and to this day I rank it in the bottom 1/3 of their catalog.  I rarely listen to it and usually the only time I hear any of those songs is on the live albums.  The only other albums that are like that for me are the debut and The Astonishing.  I'll even admit I've never made it all the way through the first disc and I don't even know what the second disc sounds like, after 4 or 5 tracks I'd heard enough.  It's just not the kind of thing I listen to Dream Theater for. 


One thing about this band that I've learned over the years is they're never afraid to try something new and different and I give them a lot of credit for that even if I don't always like the outcome.  It takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there like that and I admire it. 


Anyway, so as I mentioned already, the number of times I go back to an album is the thing that tells me the most about how I like it and unfortunately Distance Over Time, while having a few really good songs, is also going to end up ranking in the bottom 1/3.  In fact, those are my bottom 3 albums, The Astonishing in last place, Distance over Time next to last and the debut just above that.  Yes, I like the debut more than Distance over Time and The Astonishing.  The debut is really an incredible album, musically.  The vocals are, well, they could have been better.

[James Mypetgiress]

I have been feeling a certain way about Distance over Time for a while, and never really been able to sum up how I feel about it. I think you summed up my thoughts pretty well, Kirk. There's some really good songs on DoT, but for some reason I just don't feel any draw to it, no desire to go back and listen to it. I thought this would change when I saw them play some tracks from it live on the tour earlier this year, (that was what happened for me on the 2014 tour with Awake) but I really didn't. Despite being leagues above The Astonishing for me, it's still not grabbing me in the same way most other DT releases have

[WilliamMunny]

For me the biggest determining factor in where I rank an album is "how often do I play it." 


Based on just that criteria, Images & Words will be my #1 Dream Theater album for a long time because I must have repeat played that thing 10,000 times.  It was ALL I listened to until they released Awake, which, to me, is Dream Theater's most overrated album.  I was disappointed with it then and to this day I rank it in the bottom 1/3 of their catalog.  I rarely listen to it and usually the only time I hear any of those songs is on the live albums.  The only other albums that are like that for me are the debut and The Astonishing.  I'll even admit I've never made it all the way through the first disc and I don't even know what the second disc sounds like, after 4 or 5 tracks I'd heard enough.  It's just not the kind of thing I listen to Dream Theater for. 


One thing about this band that I've learned over the years is they're never afraid to try something new and different and I give them a lot of credit for that even if I don't always like the outcome.  It takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there like that and I admire it. 


Anyway, so as I mentioned already, the number of times I go back to an album is the thing that tells me the most about how I like it and unfortunately Distance Over Time, while having a few really good songs, is also going to end up ranking in the bottom 1/3.  In fact, those are my bottom 3 albums, The Astonishing in last place, Distance over Time next to last and the debut just above that.  Yes, I like the debut more than Distance over Time and The Astonishing.  The debut is really an incredible album, musically.  The vocals are, well, they could have been better.

Man, I could've written this post myself. Those are my exact thoughts!

DOT, while widely considered a return to form, literally does nothing for me. The brickwalled production is really what kills me here, but generally, despite a handful of attempts to revisit, there's nothing outside of a few songs that really grabs my ear.

As far as The Astonishing, other than 'A Life Left Behind,' I literally cannot get into that record whatsoever.

But, to your point, I give them credit for trying new things, and am happy that the majority of the fanbase was so happy with DOT.

[Kotowboy]

I no longer listen to brand new albums to death to where i'm sick of them...

I usually listen to them on repeat for about a week then very sporadically after that.

That way - when i do decide to play it again - it still sounds fresh - years later.

The only reason I haven't listened to Distance Over Time in a while is because I listened to it A LOT when it came out and I don't want to get sick of it.

Also that way - I find the 'gap' until the NEXT album that much shorter . If I only listen to the most recent album VERY occasionally - when another album comes out - the

previous one still feels new.

----

That said I think Distance Over Time is comfortably the best album with Mangini so far.  If the drums sounded better on Dream Theater it may have been that one.

I see Distance Over Time as a way of re-doing their "eponymous" album. It's a very similar style with mostly all shorter songs but they couldnt call it Dream Theater again

so they called it something that could be abbreviated to D/T.

[Pettor]

DoT is still one of my favorite car albums. FITL is a blast! Barstool is as beautiful and perfect as day one. Honestly this is the best catchy melodic song they've done since Surrounded, which is big in my book. At Wits End is amazing and Pale Blue Dot could be better, since the intro is mind blowing and the rest never reach the same levels, but overall great track. The rest are solid tracks that work well in the album flow.

All in all DoT stands the test of time really well. It's fun and varied and a big step up in fidelity from what ever they did with ADTOE and onward. I can't believe how anyone could ever say that WDADU or self titled is better. The awful sound of both albums alone should make that impossible 

[Kram]

DoT is still one of my favorite car albums. FITL is a blast! Barstool is as beautiful and perfect as day one. Honestly this is the best catchy melodic song they've done since Surrounded, which is big in my book. At Wits End is amazing and Pale Blue Dot could be better, since the intro is mind blowing and the rest never reach the same levels, but overall great track. The rest are solid tracks that work well in the album flow.

All in all DoT stands the test of time really well. It's fun and varied and a big step up in fidelity from what ever they did with ADTOE and onward. I can't believe how anyone could ever say that WDADU or self titled is better. The awful sound of both albums alone should make that impossible 

I agree with everything you just said here.

[darkshade]

It's not til Barstool Warrior that the album really kicks off, but then I don't care for the next few songs, and then the last 3 tunes are pretty good. Bonus track is ok like the first 3 tracks. So not a return to form, that would require the band to let MP rejoin or write with MP's style in mind (see: ADTOE)

[Kotowboy]

So not a return to form, that would require the band to let MP rejoin or write with MP's style in mind (see: ADTOE)

 

Distance Over Time is the best album since Octavarium. They don't need Ol' Blue Beard in the band to make classic sounding DT music.


Also - Sons Of Apolling have MP in the band and neither of their albums sound like classic DT either.

[ErHaO]

Haven't listened to the album since the release window. Maybe I feel different now, but then I felt the album lacked any interesting vocal-hooks (and I do think their preceding three albums deliver on that front), while the music itself was really good.

[w_marano]

So not a return to form, that would require the band to let MP rejoin or write with MP's style in mind (see: ADTOE)

 

Distance Over Time is the best album since Octavarium. They don't need Ol' Blue Beard in the band to make classic sounding DT music.


Also - Sons Of Apolling have MP in the band and neither of their albums sound like classic DT either.

I agree 100% with you.

[darkshade]

So not a return to form, that would require the band to let MP rejoin or write with MP's style in mind (see: ADTOE)

 

Distance Over Time is the best album since Octavarium. They don't need Ol' Blue Beard in the band to make classic sounding DT music.


Also - Sons Of Apolling have MP in the band and neither of their albums sound like classic DT either.

I think DoT is the best since ADTOE, but it's not better than ADTOE. ADTOE is the best album since Octavarium, but I enjoyed the last two MP albums.

Octavarium is the band's last classic album, with good flow, all the in between track stuff, the greatest song the band has written, and lots of other things we don't usually hear from the band. ADTOE is good, but its production flaws and the fact that they're trying to recreate the past brings it down. Say what you want, but even though MP touted BC&SL as an album with ACOS, The Glass Prison, Octavarium, etc.. all in one album, the album didn't sound like any of the older albums/era those songs came from (obviously excluding The Shattered Fortress for obvious reasons) They were always moving forward, which hasn't happened since ADTOE. They've sounded the same on every album, even though they claim some rule of doing something different every album. They may try different themes for an album, but the style of the music hasn't evolved, other than trying to prove, when they're not letting Rudess play slow boring sad piano themes for 2 hours, that they can play really fast with an even more technical drummer... but where's the feel? I'm a musician, and I don't get off on a million notes played over every time signature possible and then awkwardly drop into a "it-was-barely-mainstream-anymore-10-years-ago" rock ballad anthem chorus bridge that doesn't fit with everything that had just preceded it. Just my opinion of course.

I'm not familiar with Sons of Apollo yet, I'm behind on a lot of MP-projects, been catching up recently.

[IgnotusPerIgnotium]

Personally I share the opinion of darkshade. The 4 albums that they produced after MP left lack in variety, creative ambition and adequate exploration of styles.

Also I want to talk about a little bit about ADTOE. I think this album doesn't belong anywhere in the scope of the band meaning simply that, to me, it's a transitional album and a post-echo of the DT that used to be until then. It was a product of the departure of MP combined by the effort of JP and the band to prove that they still maintain the style, sound and playing that they are known for. They succeeded in that respect but moving forward they left a lot to be desired. I'll be very surprised if the upcoming album will be anything drastically different from DoT..

[Kotowboy]

Well they did something vastly different on The Astonishing. A 2 hour concept album with very short songs, not one epic and a LOT of ballads and not a lot of shredding.

...The fans hated it.


I'm 100% fine with DT sounding like DT on every album

Why do they have to suddenly do an album of Nicaraguan Pan Pipe Throat singing for some people to find it 'valid' ?

It'll probably sound like Dream Theater. . . It's their living after all..

[IgnotusPerIgnotium]

Kotowboy I get what you're saying and totally respect that. What can I say, the reason why I still keep listening to them is that they spoiled me..Every time they released an album it was a surprise (for the most part) plus they made me have great expectations..not a good thing I suppose! I wholeheartedly wish they deliver some great satisfying music that makes us all happy!

[Kotowboy]

If they make albums like ADTOE, DT12 & D/T for the remainder of their career i'm fine with that.

Everyone is 50 and Jordan is 64 in 2 weeks now so be happy that the albums are still quality.

[Nachtmerrie]

If they make albums like ADTOE, DT12 & D/T for the remainder of their career i'm fine with that.

Everyone is 50 and Jordan is 64 in 2 weeks now so be happy that the albums are still quality.

Count me among the ones that didnīt like The Astonishing.
Still I would prefer them pushing their boundaries like they did on that album instead of playing it safe like they did on DT12 and DoT.

[Dedalus]

The discussion here made me realize that:

1. Haven't listened to DOT since the release window. Plus, haven't listened any DT album since DOT.

2. I wondered, which DT's albums have I listened to independently in the last 10 years (outside the context of listening to the discography in chronological sequence)?

Well, if I remember correctly - I&W, FII, Awake, SFAM, SDOIT and Mangini era.

But it is worth saying that in the last 6-7 years I have become a listener of discography. Except for a few releases, I listen to  isolated discs less and less. It became a craze. 

[Lupton]

It's true. People just don't have the time for music anymore.

[darkshade]

Well, if I remember correctly - I&W, FII, Awake, SFAM, SDOIT and Mangini era.

For me, all those pre-Mangini albums, plus Train of Thought and Octavarium as well. Things started getting weird on SC and the band hasn't been the same since, and as someone highly critical of the Mangini era, I fail to see how it was Portnoy's fault for the decline in the last 15 years. Him leaving didn't improve things in my eyes/ears, in fact, things slowly got worse. I'd have taken 3 or 4 more albums like SC or Black Clouds, or a hiatus and coming back 5 years later with a big album, over nearly all of the post-Portnoy output. I thought BC&SL was actually a step in the right direction, but SC and BC&SL have aged well IMO. I really liked ADTOE when it came out, but in hindsight I think it is flawed musically, and was a transitional album to the era we've had for the last 10 years. I agree with Ignotus, about ADTOE being an echo of the band that used to be, while it was also a preview of things to come, unfortunately, both with production, and musically. The one good thing is Myung has been more audible (but I think he's audible just fine in earlier releases, even Train of Thought.)

[Dedalus]

It's true. People just don't have the time for music anymore.

Yeah, it's just a matter of time.

[Dedalus]

Well, if I remember correctly - I&W, FII, Awake, SFAM, SDOIT and Mangini era.

For me, all those pre-Mangini albums, plus Train of Thought and Octavarium as well. Things started getting weird on SC and the band hasn't been the same since, and as someone highly critical of the Mangini era, I fail to see how it was Portnoy's fault for the decline in the last 15 years. Him leaving didn't improve things in my eyes/ears, in fact, things slowly got worse. I'd have taken 3 or 4 more albums like SC or Black Clouds, or a hiatus and coming back 5 years later with a big album, over nearly all of the post-Portnoy output. I thought BC&SL was actually a step in the right direction, but SC and BC&SL have aged well IMO. I really liked ADTOE when it came out, but in hindsight I think it is flawed musically, and was a transitional album to the era we've had for the last 10 years. I agree with Ignotus, about ADTOE being an echo of the band that used to be, while it was also a preview of things to come, unfortunately, both with production, and musically. The one good thing is Myung has been more audible (but I think he's audible just fine in earlier releases, even Train of Thought.)

And I probably wouldn't be here writing anything about DT.
 

[DoctorAction]

Still like DOT. I'm not in a DT space right now but a few weeks back I listened to it and really enjoyed it still.

SC, DT and BCSL get no attention from me, however, and i can't imagine revisiting.