Official Distance Over Time discussion thread

[lovethedrake]

Alright just listened again starting with BW.     It definitely clicked way more for me this time.

Honestly, there is no skippable track.   The only thing bringing this album down for me is PBT.  If that song would have been killer this may have been their best album since SDOIT.   

Viper King is growing on me A LOT!     The chorus actually reminds of the fun and spirit of Take the Time even though the styles are completely different.   I really wish they would do this type of thing more often.    Upbeat DT songs are always great IMO. 

UA... really enjoy it now, especially the instrumental break

Paralyzed... really enjoy it

Fall into the Light... Fantastic


BW(90% amazing, still hoping the final minute clicks) 

Room 137 Really enjoy it and that JP solo is great

S2N   Great... wish Rudess wasn't soloing at the end.

At Wit's end... fantastic.

Out of Reach... fantastic    This song needs more love....it sounds amazing! 

PBT- Huge bummer.... The beginning is sweet but as soon as the vocals come in its like SC all over again.   I hope it grows on me.

Viper King... fantatic.

[TAC]

The last thing I could think in 1992 was seeing myself giddy 27 years down the line for a 14th (and half) DT release. It's a kind of musical/professional miracle for at least 49 different reasons and I feel beyond grateful.

So I vividly remember consciously having those thoughts. I mean, I&W was so monumental "as it was happening". It was clearly the best album I had ever heard by the best band I had ever heard. I used to think, how will they follow this up? Where will they be in 5 years? 10? 25?

Even though I like some albums better than others, I "really like" or "love" all of them. They have never disappointed me, with the exception of FII.

[MirrorMask]

After the second listening, I'm feeling something's amiss... I mean, I like all about the approach: the production is cool, them holing up together for "summer camp" and jamming it out was a great idea and it shows, the songs have many nice twists and turns without never being bloated, but.... where are the choruses?

I mean, it's not that DT has to write catchy choruses like if they were a power metal band, but still I'm not totally sold on the choruses, they seem so weak or even absent, because sometimes they just feel like a bridge (Barstool Warrior and Room 137 for example). I have to wait until S2N to hear a good chorus, and yet it's still far from their best ones.... without going too far back in time, there's nothing like the chorus for Behind the Veil here that immediately stands out (even though At Wit's End has a quite cool and dramatic chorus).

Maybe with future listenings the songs will click with me, but even though I like the approach and the occasional great moment here and there (the mellow part in Fall Into the Light, the intro to Barstool Warrior, most if not everything about At Wit's End), I'm not sold yet on the choruses. I hope "yet" is the keyword here, it would feel weird to have an album where I basically applaud every stlistic choice they've made (the variety, the novelty, many of the ideas heard, the production as I said), but fail to appreciate truly the songs because of a lack of climaxes in the choruses.

[erwinrafael]

Barstool Warrior's chorus is not memorable?

[Progmetty]

I had cornered the Metallica influence in Fall in the Light to just the opening riff but the more I listen I find a very strong Metallica presence throughout the track.
Like starting 3:19; FITL closely follows the structure of Master of Puppets and almost provokes the same feels. Beautiful mellow section, back to metal, a singing bridge then a fast guitar solo. Only difference is that MOP has another verse and chorus after that while FITL ends.
And the verses, the verses are what most of Hardwired's songs would have sounded like if Metallica had a better drummer or generally gave a genuine fuck about their output.

[Progmetty]

Barstool Warrior's chorus is not memorable?

Hands down best chorus since Bridges in The sky.

[Indiscipline]

The last thing I could think in 1992 was seeing myself giddy 27 years down the line for a 14th (and half) DT release. It's a kind of musical/professional miracle for at least 49 different reasons and I feel beyond grateful.

So I vividly remember consciously having those thoughts. I mean, I&W was so monumental "as it was happening". It was clearly the best album I had ever heard by the best band I had ever heard. I used to think, how will they follow this up? Where will they be in 5 years? 10? 25?

Same here, so true. After all, at the time I was someway unconsciously convinced every band's lifespan rarely exceeded the 10 years mark. It takes a special kind of bond between a special kind of people to keep the ship together for all these years, unless you're a moneymaking/driven monster like, say, The Rolling Stones, but that's obviously not the case.

Even though I like some albums better than others, I "really like" or "love" all of them. They have never disappointed me, with the exception of FII.

This resonates a lot. All (my) jokings aside, I can't find myself "really" not liking even those albums I don't like. They're too dense of ideas, music and musicianship. Dislike for me always stemmed from my (not DT's) particular moments and personal expectations in time, and even the albums I like less, I still love. A little bit like family.

Thread sentimental hijacking over.

[SeRoX]

I'm at work now, busy with stuff and people. In all this mess I find myself mumbling "call it bad luck, call it fate... call it la la la..." repeatedly. Just this chorus. 

[erciccio]

I don't get the view that there is a lack of memorable vocal melodies in this album. UA 2nd verse and prechorus? BW chorus? Paralyzed verse? Beatles-esque portion of R137? S2n chorus? AWE chorus? AWE pre-chorus before the 2nd chorus? AWE outro? Out of Reach? VK chorus?

People put on a pedestal a song like LtL which has no good vocal melody, and then complain lack of vocal melody on this album which has lots of them.

Here is my humble view

UA 2nd verse and prechorus? - I actually love the chorus here
BW chorus? 
Paralyzed verse? I actually love ALL the melodies here...it's the best song for me 
 Beatles-esque portion of R137?  Fun to here once, but not my cup of tea.
S2n chorus?  Pity because the "dynamics" of the song are great
AWE chorus? Yes, this one is good.
AWE pre-chorus before the 2nd chorus?  Nice but not stellar
AWE outro? That's cheating, it's guitar 
Out of Reach?  preatty meah...it's probably my least favorite ballad in a while
VK chorus Fun

So...UA, Paralyzed and AWE (my fav songs at the moment) have indeed nice melodies, all other songs have..other great things, but not vocal melodies.
(e..g the melody of FITL interlude is beautiful, and also the guitar melodies of BW)

I will add one...quite controversial.

The melody of the verse of PBT is indeed beautiful.
I found it absolutely weird and out of place for at least 5-6 listens, but then it clicked and now I love it...
My "click" was a movie...Melancholia by Lars Von tier (strange how the brain works). It dragged me deep into the mood of the song, and there came the click. (probably it came associating sinister + science-fiction + planet + dystopia)

Of course, if you know the movie, it's better not to stay there too long...

[erwinrafael]

I don't get the view that there is a lack of memorable vocal melodies in this album. UA 2nd verse and prechorus? BW chorus? Paralyzed verse? Beatles-esque portion of R137? S2n chorus? AWE chorus? AWE pre-chorus before the 2nd chorus? AWE outro? Out of Reach? VK chorus?

People put in a pedestal a song like LtL which has no good vocal melody, and then complain lack of vocal melody on this album which has lots of them.

LOL, what?

Seriously, what is the good vocal melody in that song? The verse where James is almost just talking? The chorus which sounds like something that could only come out of the late 1980s?

[erciccio]

I don't get the view that there is a lack of memorable vocal melodies in this album. UA 2nd verse and prechorus? BW chorus? Paralyzed verse? Beatles-esque portion of R137? S2n chorus? AWE chorus? AWE pre-chorus before the 2nd chorus? AWE outro? Out of Reach? VK chorus?

People put in a pedestal a song like LtL which has no good vocal melody, and then complain lack of vocal melody on this album which has lots of them.

LOL, what?

Seriously, what is the good vocal melody in that song? The verse where James is almost just talking? The chorus which sounds like something that could only come out of the late 1980s?

Well, us people from the 70s love melodies from the 80s..
And I LOOOOOOVE that chorus

[Dedalus]

very cool video with JP about his riffs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7u8-RTJkM_g

Very cool, but did the interviewer electrocute himself before the interview?

 

[MirrorMask]

Barstool Warrior's chorus is not memorable?

Feels more like a bridge to me. I like it, but after the second time I can imagine something more bombastic coming, that actually doesn't happen. Not such a big problem because the song is great from start to finish, but still....

[Bertielee]

Barstool Warrior's chorus is not memorable?

Feels more like a bridge to me. I like it, but after the second time I can imagine something more bombastic coming, that actually doesn't happen. Not such a big problem because the song is great from start to finish, but still....

On the first listens, I had the same opinion as yours, Mirror, and I felt a bit frustrated, but now, I think the choruses work pretty well in each song.

B.Lee

[TAC]

D/T Track by TAC 


Untethered Angel-

WHY the Outcry style first verse and opening to the solo section? I mean. It simply doesn't make any sense. The have to know the fans will make the connection. I just think it completely udermines the track.
That said, the groove going into the second verse is fantastic, as is the second verse itself. It's a good, not great, song, that I wish had an opportunity to stand on its own.

Paralyzed-

I must say when I first heard it, I was quite bummed. The more I listen, the more I like. It's just the beginning up through the first chorus is so plodding. But the song really rescues itself by lightening and opening up in the second half. For such a short song, I can't believe the transformation it makes me feel from beginning to end.

Fall Into The Light-

This is one of my favorites on the album. I love everything about it. When the full band kicks in, it's a total ass kicker. That middle instrumental section is amazing. It is so moving and hypnotic. And that outro. Holy shit JP!

Barstool Warrior

Love the Rush-isms. I think this is a really good song. I like the lyric and feel of it. The JR/JP duet in the middle is really nice. I'm sorry. I hear Gary Moore. I think the vocals production holds the ending back a bit though.

Room 137

So the song has two of my favorite parts of the album...JLB's phychadelic vocal passage and JP neato-keen solo. That's it.

S/N

Amazing track. Love the Rush influence. It's all over it. I couldn't list everything I like about it. The playing is off the charts. It is totally engaging and entrapping. My ONLY issue is the TDEN style outro. WHY? Doing something so blatantly similar to a previous song can be a track killer for me. The fact that it isn't speaks to how amazing the rest of the song is. It's something Untethered Angel couldn't overcome. S/N is one of the best tracks here.

At Wit's End

The most bad ass opening of any DT song. Ever. Holy crap. It's this album's tour de force. Like ariich said, it really reminds me of The Bigger Picture. I mean, doing a side by side, they don't really sound alike, and AWE is so much more active, but by the time it ends, the outro really draws me back to TBP. It just does.
I love the fade out and the demo snippet. I feel like the silence between them goes on a few seconds too long. This should've been the album closer, especially with that fade out. It's not Breaking All Illusions, but this is a TOP 5 MM Era track.

Out Of Reach

Yawn. Not much I can say about it.

Pale Blue Dot

So yesterday, I made the observation that this is The Dance Of Eternity with vocals. Yes, there is a song format, but it's all about the wanking, which I am all for. But I think that's why I've read many comments about not being able to connect to it. It's position on the album and it's length brought certain expectations that are unfortunately not met. The playing is hands down ridiculous. I think once people accept it for what it's not, the better it will age. There's a lot to chew on during this song, but it does feel like a glorified instrumental. It would've been more effective if traded places with AWE.

Viper King

This is fantastic. So much fun. I would love to hear an EP of material in this vain. Not sure we'd all accept an entire album like this. We have Systematic Chaos for that. But I love this, and if Inside Out requires them to produce a bonus track on each album, then I'm all for it.





I really like this album a lot. But like most albums, it has skippable tracks, great tracks, and a lot in the middle that simply need some time. But I do love the vibe on it. The band really sounds infused and happy. I think the sound is great. You can almost hear everything JM is playing. Jordan is a bit back, and it's funny, but I haven't read anyone complaing about his noodling. He's more in a support role, but his sounds are all fantastic.


My main issue with the album are the vocals. I'm reposting this from the other day..

To me, the thing that keeps this album good instead of great is the vocals. And I don't mean James.

So much is made of the vibe of their barn studio. You can hear the fun and comradery through the music. So why were the vocals recorded in Canada?
To me, the vocals are so far separated from the rest of the music. They are lower in the mix than they should be. James is kind of what sets DT apart from the rest of the genre in terms of melody and emotion. The way the vocals were recorded and mixed totally impeded this connection.

Which is a shame because I LOVE some of the things they did vocally. An example would be the psychedelic part in Room 137. I think that's great.

Rankings:

1. At Wit's End
2. Fall Into The Light
3. S/N
4. Barstool Warrior
5. Pale Blue Dot
6. Viper King
7. Untethered Angel
8. Paralyzed
9. Room 137
10. Out Of Reach

[Dream Team]

For such a grandiose topic, DT could pull a Rush and begin the next album with Pale Blue Dot: Book Two. Similar subject matter even.

[TAC]

For such a grandiose topic, DT could pull a Rush and begin the next album with Pale Blue Dot: Book Two. 

 

[SeRoX]

So it seems Out Of Reach ends up pretty underrated. Sure it lacks some guitar solo in the end but the arrangement of it something DT hasn't done much. I especially love James' vocal style on it.

[TAC]

No complaints vocally on it, Serox. Honestly, it's all the song has going for it.

[KevShmev]

I don't get the view that there is a lack of memorable vocal melodies in this album. UA 2nd verse and prechorus? BW chorus? Paralyzed verse? Beatles-esque portion of R137? S2n chorus? AWE chorus? AWE pre-chorus before the 2nd chorus? AWE outro? Out of Reach? VK chorus?

People put in a pedestal a song like LtL which has no good vocal melody, and then complain lack of vocal melody on this album which has lots of them.

LOL, what?

Seriously, what is the good vocal melody in that song? The verse where James is almost just talking? The chorus which sounds like something that could only come out of the late 1980s?

Pretty much all of it.  It is one of the band's most popular songs for over 25 years now for a reason.

My main issue with the album are the vocals. 

I agree, but for a different reason.  It feels like they wrote some vocal melodies that were not only less strenuous for JLB in the studio, but will be easier for him to sing live, but the problem is that some of these choruses sound like the hook isn't quite there.  Some of them are good, but the songs I am having trouble connecting with thus far are lacking in the vocal melodies department (which is more of an indictment of the written vocal melody than it is of JLB's vocals).

[Phoenix87x]

I need to stop listening to At wits end. I'm gonna wear it out 

[Lonk]

I need to stop listening to At wits end. I'm gonna wear it out 

Me too

[SeRoX]

After the instrumental break of Barstool Warrior the bridge starting with James' intense vocals something beautiful DT has ever done.

[erwinrafael]

So, I now have a CD-length playlist called DreaMM Theater of Post-Portnoy DT songs.

2 ADTOE + 1 DT + 3 TA + 3 D/T songs.

[adamack]

After the second listening, I'm feeling something's amiss... I mean, I like all about the approach: the production is cool, them holing up together for "summer camp" and jamming it out was a great idea and it shows, the songs have many nice twists and turns without never being bloated, but.... where are the choruses?

I mean, it's not that DT has to write catchy choruses like if they were a power metal band, but still I'm not totally sold on the choruses, they seem so weak or even absent, because sometimes they just feel like a bridge (Barstool Warrior and Room 137 for example). I have to wait until S2N to hear a good chorus, and yet it's still far from their best ones.... without going too far back in time, there's nothing like the chorus for Behind the Veil here that immediately stands out (even though At Wit's End has a quite cool and dramatic chorus).

Maybe with future listenings the songs will click with me, but even though I like the approach and the occasional great moment here and there (the mellow part in Fall Into the Light, the intro to Barstool Warrior, most if not everything about At Wit's End), I'm not sold yet on the choruses. I hope "yet" is the keyword here, it would feel weird to have an album where I basically applaud every stlistic choice they've made (the variety, the novelty, many of the ideas heard, the production as I said), but fail to appreciate truly the songs because of a lack of climaxes in the choruses.

I have to agree with pretty much everything you said. For me personally, the choruses are the weakest part of this album. S2N is also my favorite chorus on the album, and BTV is a perfect example of one of their better more recent choruses. The first time I heard that song, I was in love with the hook. Even the chorus on a song like The Enemy Inside drew me in.

It just seems like everything else is in place - from the mix of the album, to JP's excellent guitar work, and MM and JM sounding better than ever. I feel like nearly every song deserves a better chorus, and that would propel this album to a new level.

I'm glad many people are digging this album though. It makes me really happy to see all of the praise. I just wish I had that same magical feeling I had when listening to ADToE for the first time - playing the album over and over and over again for a full 2 years after its release. I just don't have the excitement to revisit any of the songs, aside from S2N.

That said it is still a solid album. When I am in the mood for it, I really enjoy it.

[gzarruk]

So now it’s official for me, the Mangini albums are DT’s best 4-album stretch. If FII had never been released, obviously it would be I&W-SDoIT, but . . .

I don't disagree with this... at all.

D/T Track by TAC 

TL;DR: It all sounds like Gary Moore.

 

[TAC]

So, I now have a CD-length playlist called DreaMM Theater of Post-Portnoy DT songs.

2 ADTOE + 1 DT + 3 TA + 3 D/T songs.

What are the tracks?

[MirrorMask]

If he fills up a CD with only 9 songs, I'm quite confident the DT track is Illumination Theory.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

"wow"

[Ninjabait]

Pale Blue Dot is like The Dance Of Eternity with words. There's some crazy ass playing, but as a song, it just seems to lack the glue to hold it all together.

tbh I kinda agree with your assessment of PBD (at least for the middle section), but TDoE (unbelievably) has a really tight knit structure. There are four main sections: that 30 second-ish intro; the "A-section", which is defined by loads of time-signature changes and uses that scalar riff at the beginning as kind of the "main theme" of that section; the "B-Section" which is defined by being entirely in 4/4 (or cut time, depending on what you look at, I'd personally argue 4/4 tho); and a return to that A-section at the end (which again, uses that scalar riff and has loads of time-signature changes). There's a lot of tension built up by all the time-signature changes in the A-section, which gets released in the B-section with its stable 4/4 time-signature.

PBD imo either needs to develop the ideas it has in the second half of that middle-section (5:30-6:30) more, replace everything starting from that 1-bar slow down riff with stuff based on the ideas introduced in the beginning, or just remove everything from that point to when the main riff comes back in. The only thing that section has anchoring it down is one reprise of one riff. There's sooooo much new stuff being introduced there and imo it's just not being developed.

[TAC]

D/T Track by TAC 

TL;DR: It all sounds like Gary Moore.

 

Hah! When JP goes for those deep toned soulful notes it does! To me only apparently.

[Zydar]

"wow"

[TAC]

How on earth did that guy get famous?

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

"wow"

Yep 

Btw I actually missed that Mangini contributed with lyrics for this album, that's cool!

[gmillerdrake]

I need to stop listening to At wits end. I'm gonna wear it out 

Me too

Yep. Same here.