Official Distance Over Time discussion thread

[The Letter M]

So the final track by track video reveals that "Viper King" was the 8th song written, now we can piece together the order in which the songs were written/completed!

At Wit's End
Paralyzed
3
Untethered Angel
5
Fall Into The Light
7
Viper King
9
S2N

Haven't quite figured out where the last four go- Barstool Warrior, Room 137, Out Of Reach, and Pale Blue Dot. Were their "song numbers" ever revealed?

-Marc.

[erwinrafael]

Mangini said:

"Very excited for D.O.T. to be heard from top to bottom. I'm smiling typing this knowing what's going to happen if you sit in a great, but fairly loud listening environment..and then hit that halfway mark and off you go... and then get to the last dooozy. Don't go out of order!! Then when you get back to Untethered Angel.. you may see why it is Track 1 even though it was written 4th. 4 Can't be 8 and 10 (if you get the bonus) can't be 4. 9 has to be 9, but not released first. Get it?"

And the only thing I can decipher is that PBD is 9th. 

[MirrorMask]

I heard it the other day and I must say it's definitively a grower, by now even Room 137 which had me a bit WTF-ey at first grabs me, and I think it's a cool and concise rocking tune.

And yet, I'm now listening to a band from Italy that just released their latest album (a folk / rock band) and I'm much more caught by it. I'm not saying it's better, also because the music is apples and oranges when compared, but at the end of Distance Over Time I am totally happy, and yet not with that "WHOAH!!!!!" factor, that urging desire to go back again, the delusion to realize that I have other stuff to do and that I won't be able to listen to the album until the next day...

I mean, there's nothing I dislike here. All the songs are from good to great. Songs that I consider bad or just so-so? none. Moments in the songs that makes me cringe? zero. Things I have to complain about the approach (the songwriting all together, the splitting of the tasks, the diversity in the lyrics writers, the lyrics themselves, the style of the album, the production....)? none, not a single one. And yet as I said, I miss that burning desire to go back to it again as soon as it finished and I'm already not listening to it every single day (same as Avantasia after all, they steal each other time).

To put it in a deliberately funny and not so literal way: I never liked so (relatively) little an album that I like so much (if it makes sense).

[The Letter M]

Mangini said:

"Very excited for D.O.T. to be heard from top to bottom. I'm smiling typing this knowing what's going to happen if you sit in a great, but fairly loud listening environment..and then hit that halfway mark and off you go... and then get to the last dooozy. Don't go out of order!! Then when you get back to Untethered Angel.. you may see why it is Track 1 even though it was written 4th. 4 Can't be 8 and 10 (if you get the bonus) can't be 4. 9 has to be 9, but not released first. Get it?"

And the only thing I can decipher is that PBD is 9th. 

  MM sure has a way to making things complicated... I guess that means PBD was written 9th then, maybe? That still leaves OOR, BW, and R137.

-Marc.

[IDontNotDoThings]

Mangini said:

"Very excited for D.O.T. to be heard from top to bottom. I'm smiling typing this knowing what's going to happen if you sit in a great, but fairly loud listening environment..and then hit that halfway mark and off you go... and then get to the last dooozy. Don't go out of order!! Then when you get back to Untethered Angel.. you may see why it is Track 1 even though it was written 4th. 4 Can't be 8 and 10 (if you get the bonus) can't be 4. 9 has to be 9, but not released first. Get it?"

And the only thing I can decipher is that PBD is 9th. 

I think what he's saying is:
-The fourth track (Barstool Warrior) wasn't the 8th track written
-The tenth track (Viper King) wasn't the 4th track written
-The ninth track (Pale Blue Dot) was the 9th written

So basically that's the only thing we didn't already know. 

[RoeDent]

While I'm appreciating the long overdue love for Mangini's drumming that has come with this album...I still don't hear much difference over what he did on the other DT albums, which makes me wonder why those albums (especially DT12) attracted such vitriol over the drum sound/drumming. He's been absolutely stellar all the way through his time with DT.

[Pound4aBrown]

I don't get this "chorus" thing. Dream Theater isn't a chorus band. They have some but a lot of their best tracks aren't built around the chorus.

Signed.

[Pound4aBrown]

Continuing this side-discussion, I never really liked Transatlatntic and Neal Morse. Probably haven't heard more than 3 songs from him over the years. I checked out some songs from TGA and I really liked I Got To Run and Welcome To The World. I might go back and check his discography and even relisten to TA as my musical tastes have expanded since then.

Give the first Transatlantic album another go, it is pretty amazing.

[Pound4aBrown]

Room 137 reminds me of something that would be on an 80's Alice Cooper album.     

For the life of me I have no idea what you mean by this. Half of Alice's 80's albums were punk/new wave influenced. And nothing on Constrictor or RYFAY sound anything like Room 137.

[red barchetta]

I really like this album.  There is a lot of good music, much more heavier than the previous one.  The acoustic segment of Fall into the light is the more beautiful and emotional moment of that album for me.  I only had the time to listen to it 3 or 4 times. 

[TAC]

Room 137 reminds me of something that would be on an 80's Alice Cooper album.     

For the life of me I have no idea what you mean by this. Half of Alice's 80's albums were punk/new wave influenced. And nothing on Constrictor or RYFAY sound anything like Room 137.

The only Alice album I could see this coming from is Brutal Planet.

[Pound4aBrown]

Room 137 reminds me of something that would be on an 80's Alice Cooper album.     

For the life of me I have no idea what you mean by this. Half of Alice's 80's albums were punk/new wave influenced. And nothing on Constrictor or RYFAY sound anything like Room 137.

The only Alice album I could see this coming from is Brutal Planet.

Yeah, maybe. But that came out in 2000.

[lovethedrake]

Room 137 reminds me of something that would be on an 80's Alice Cooper album.     

For the life of me I have no idea what you mean by this. Half of Alice's 80's albums were punk/new wave influenced. And nothing on Constrictor or RYFAY sound anything like Room 137.

The only Alice album I could see this coming from is Brutal Planet.

Yeah, maybe. But that came out in 2000.

Just the straight forward metal combined with the playful sinister vibe...  80's Cooper is probably the wrong way to describe it, something like Brutal Planet is what I meant.     Alice is one of my all time favorites so I didn't mean it as an insult.   Just that it doesn't sound like modern metal to me.   

[TAC]

  Alice is one of my all time favorites

We're going to get along just fine!

[Jay T]

I'm really enjoying this album a lot. My favorite track is S2n, but they are all just great. It might be my favorite of the Mangini era so far.

[erwinrafael]

While I'm appreciating the long overdue love for Mangini's drumming that has come with this album...I still don't hear much difference over what he did on the other DT albums, which makes me wonder why those albums (especially DT12) attracted such vitriol over the drum sound/drumming. He's been absolutely stellar all the way through his time with DT.

Uhm...open and close hi-hats? 

[Loggins]

This album is one of their best. It has a great balance of the old and new, the chunky and soaring moments. Really a pleasure to listen to loudly, the production is good, and I feel like MM absolutely shines here. I have DT tickets for a little over a month from now and am damned eager to be there!

[Max Kuehnau]

He always did shine brightly IMHO. It's possible that some people had a hard time appreciating that, but like I said, he always did on the DT records and he always did with Steve Vai too. (I liked him with Annihilator too, I'm not too familiar with them though)

[Jay T]

I agree. I love Mangini's drumming on A Dramatic Turn of Events. I know JP had a general idea of the drum parts, but there are lots of Mangini-isms in there (like where he follows Jordan's lines on the ride cymbal).

[bill1971]

He always did shine brightly IMHO. It's possible that some people had a hard time appreciating that, but like I said, he always did on the DT records and he always did with Steve Vai too. (I liked him with Annihilator too, I'm not too familiar with them though)

I agree I loved Mangini's drumming from his DT debut, not sure why people are just noticing but I'm glad they are.

[Bentower]

So far I've been listening to the album via the official playlist on Youtube when I'm away from home (I have the CD). Since that's now missing a track I guess I'll move on to a less legit 'full album' provider.

Delightful album, my favourite since SFAM. The Astonishing, which brought back my enthusiasm for the band, had higher highs, but this is a tad more consistent and sounds kickass apart from the at times annoyingly clicky bassdrum sound.

[Orbert]

Damn, 40 pages!  But here I am.

I avoided this thread and as much "spoiler" material as possible.  Didn't listen to the singles, didn't read up on how they did this one differently, or the same, or whatever, until I'd listened to the album in its entirety.  But life got in the way and I wasn't able to get to Best Buy until a week ago Saturday, then I learned that they stopped carrying CDs last year!  So I had to order it.  I have a physical copy of every Dream Theater album, and because I'm anal that way, I'm gonna keep that going as long as I have the option.

It came last Wednesday, and so did I (bad joke).  Since then, I've listened to it probably 10 times.  I like this album more than any Dream Theater since Scenes from a Memory.  A lot of people were saying that at first, but it's been a couple dozen pages since then.

I like how the songs are more concise.  I like the mix.  The production is compressed, but not too horribly.  It's passable.  The most important thing is that I can hear everything.  I've listened to it on CD in the car, lossless rip on the PC via earphones, and finally 320k mp3 on both the iPod and over the PC speakers.  I really like this album.  The music is great, the grooves are groovy.

For me, the weakest link continues to be JLB.  I get it; this is how he sings now.  Always the same tone, zero emotion, and silly breathy stuff when he's trying (and failing) to project emotion.  Sorry, but that's what I hear.  Nothing at all like back in the early days.  So this album is in many ways a return to form, but not for everyone and everything.  I know some people think he's fine here, some even say he's great.  I'm glad some people like it.  To me, the melodies and choruses are very hit or miss.  Not so bad that it spoils the album for me, but as much as I love the music, I can already tell that JLB's boring sameness on every fucking song is what will eventually make me tire of this album.

But until that happens, I'm still digging it.

[jammindude]

 I did receive my boxed set this morning .....just as I was heading out the door to spend the entire weekend at Emerald City Comic Con. 

It’s still in the shrink wrap, but I will do an unboxing video when I get home.

LLLOOOVVVEEE The ventricular cover!!!

[The Letter M]

I did receive my boxed set this morning .....just as I was heading out the door to spend the entire weekend at Emerald City Comic Con. 

It’s still in the shrink wrap, but I will do an unboxing video when I get home.

LLLOOOVVVEEE The ventricular cover!!!

WHOA! I'm jealous - I just browsed the Entertainment Guests line-up for that con and I am FLOORED by how many are going! That's exciting, hope you have a great weekend!

Also, glad to hear you finally got your box set! I'm sure you'll be super tired when you get home on Sunday or Monday, but that'll give you some time to break open the box set and go through all that it has to offer! You'll love it!

-Marc.

[jammindude]

I did receive my boxed set this morning .....just as I was heading out the door to spend the entire weekend at Emerald City Comic Con. 

It’s still in the shrink wrap, but I will do an unboxing video when I get home.

LLLOOOVVVEEE The ventricular cover!!!

WHOA! I'm jealous - I just browsed the Entertainment Guests line-up for that con and I am FLOORED by how many are going! That's exciting, hope you have a great weekend!

Also, glad to hear you finally got your box set! I'm sure you'll be super tired when you get home on Sunday or Monday, but that'll give you some time to break open the box set and go through all that it has to offer! You'll love it!

-Marc.

Last year was better.... but I am excited about Peter Capaldi and the Stranger Things cast. I’m actually dressing up as the Capaldi Dr.....which was serendipity, because he’s a last minute replacement for Matt Smith who cancelled.

[KevShmev]

Damn, 40 pages!  But here I am.

I avoided this thread and as much "spoiler" material as possible.  Didn't listen to the singles, didn't read up on how they did this one differently, or the same, or whatever, until I'd listened to the album in its entirety.  But life got in the way and I wasn't able to get to Best Buy until a week ago Saturday, then I learned that they stopped carrying CDs last year!  So I had to order it.  I have a physical copy of every Dream Theater album, and because I'm anal that way, I'm gonna keep that going as long as I have the option.

It came last Wednesday, and so did I (bad joke).  Since then, I've listened to it probably 10 times.  I like this album more than any Dream Theater since Scenes from a Memory.  A lot of people were saying that at first, but it's been a couple dozen pages since then.

I like how the songs are more concise.  I like the mix.  The production is compressed, but not too horribly.  It's passable.  The most important thing is that I can hear everything.  I've listened to it on CD in the car, lossless rip on the PC via earphones, and finally 320k mp3 on both the iPod and over the PC speakers.  I really like this album.  The music is great, the grooves are groovy.

For me, the weakest link continues to be JLB.  I get it; this is how he sings now.  Always the same tone, zero emotion, and silly breathy stuff when he's trying (and failing) to project emotion.  Sorry, but that's what I hear.  Nothing at all like back in the early days.  So this album is in many ways a return to form, but not for everyone and everything.  I know some people think he's fine here, some even say he's great.  I'm glad some people like it.  To me, the melodies and choruses are very hit or miss.  Not so bad that it spoils the album for me, but as much as I love the music, I can already tell that JLB's boring sameness on every fucking song is what will eventually make me tire of this album.

But until that happens, I'm still digging it.

As always, your points are well-articulated and laid out nicely.

Regarding JLB, while I was a bit worried at first, after hearing the whole album, he still sounds good, even quite good at times, but I do think it is clear that the vocal melodies are being written with the thought that he cannot do what he used to, rather than merely being stylistic choices that fit the song. And that is okay. He is in his mid-50's now and is lucky to have any voice left given the issue he had over 20+ years ago combined with how he has abused it live over the years.

[Lonk]

My favorite track is S2n.

[erwinrafael]

For me, the weakest link continues to be JLB.  I get it; this is how he sings now.  Always the same tone, zero emotion, and silly breathy stuff when he's trying (and failing) to project emotion.  Sorry, but that's what I hear.  Nothing at all like back in the early days.  So this album is in many ways a return to form, but not for everyone and everything.  I know some people think he's fine here, some even say he's great.  I'm glad some people like it.  To me, the melodies and choruses are very hit or miss.  Not so bad that it spoils the album for me, but as much as I love the music, I can already tell that JLB's boring sameness on every fucking song is what will eventually make me tire of this album.

I think JLB displayed a variety of emotions in AWE. I remember listening to the instrumental mix of the outro section and that's when I noted how much JLB added to the impact of that section.

[Orbert]

It's hard to describe.  I can hear that he's trying to emote; I know that he's capable of it.  I've heard him do it!

Imagine a device capable of measuring the "degree and intensity of emotion" in a vocal performance, from pure joy to infinite sadness.



James, to me, never gets outside the yellow anymore.  He was never the most expressive guy to begin with, but he used to be able to at least get into the light green at one end and the orange at the other end.  All I hear is blah blah yellow whenever he opens his mouth.  The needle moves a bit, just not enough to do anything for me, not consistently.  He's like the Nicolas Cage of vocalists.  Great if you like what he does, but no range at all.

[Cool Chris]

It's hard to describe.

You did a good job nonetheless.

I don't know if I fully agree with the specifics but there is something to what you are talking about. And I don't know how much of it I want to put on JLB's shoulders. He has a lot of control over the vocal melodies, but not 100% of it. He always defers to the song's lyricist when crafting his performance. If the lyricist calls for him to sing a song a certain way, he will incorporate that in to his delivery.

[erwinrafael]

Hmmmm...He does display a range of emotions in The Astonishing.

[TAC]

Right. He's great on The Astonishing.

[lovethedrake]

James hasn’t been the same singer since six degrees imo but I actually love his vocals on D/T and think he sounds great.

[Dream Team]

Hmmmm...He does display a range of emotions in The Astonishing.

Yup, Don't understand this criticism at all. Emotion is basically the ONLY thing he can bring these days, power and range are history.

[SeRoX]

Regarding James' voice and style in DoT I love what he does. He knows his limits, doesn't abuse his voice like he did on Awake and live performances and it sounds natural to me. And saying that James doesn't give emotions anymore is just off base. Range, power is another story but he conveys lots of emotions both TA and DoT, imo. Actually I've never had a problem about feeling emotions from the songs James sings from the beginining. And I can safely say that conveying amazing emotions define his singer career.