Distance Over Time - TWO Years on...

[billboy73]

Gave D/T a good listen for the first time in 6 months or so, and I still think it is one of their most consistent albums.  No super highs or big lows for me, but everything is solid.  That is not a bad thing.  I remember when I first picked it up, I would have liked a longer, proggy track on it, but that doesn't bother me much now.  It is definitely my favorite of the MM era, and a nice rebound after the bloated Astonishing. 

[Cool Chris]

I did this as well. At Wit's End is still awesome. I had this feeling it would have fit well on Awake (I love Awake so I consider that high praise). I knew Fall into the Light was solid, but it ratcheted up a few notches up this listen. That could be Top 25 material for me. A great song that doesn't try to be more than it should be, unlike many of DT's songs since 8VM.

The rest of that album was what I thought it was. My initial opinions haven't changed. Paralyzed and Barstool Warrior are good songs, but don't quite reach the upper echelon of their material. Pale Blue Dot should be much better than it is. Out of Reach is a nice tune. Untethered Angel is alright. S2N and R137 would be cutting room floor material from FII.

[Trav86]

It’s a good album.  Some songs are awesome; Fall Into the Light, Barstool Warrior, At Wit’s End, Out of Reach.  Untethered Angel, Paralyzed, Room 137, and Viper King seem like they were thrown together in the same afternoon. They’re not bad though.  S2N and Pale Blue Dot both feel like they’re reaching farther than can achieve. 

Overall, it’s enjoyable. I think it shows a lot of potential for the next album. And considering it’s their 14th album, 30 years into their career, they should be quite proud. And for what it’s worth, as a 20 year long fan, I’m quite proud of them as well.

[vtgrad]

Overall, it’s enjoyable. I think it shows a lot of potential for the next album. And considering it’s their 14th album, 30 years into their career, they should be quite proud. And for what it’s worth, as a 20 year long fan, I’m quite proud of them as well.

I'll echo that as well as an almost 30-YR fan... I'm proud of them and I'm stoked that they're still making music!  I have no problem at all being 41 and still headbanging like I'm 21. 

This thread being the impetus, I put on D/T while working outdoors a few days ago and the same thing that always happens happened... once I start listening to it, I can't stop.  That's a good thing I guess.  PBD, AWE, and FITL are highlights for me; I find myself restarting/re-listening to AWE two and three times in a row.

[nikatapi]

Coming back to this album, i think what i love the most is Mike's drumming. He's such a tasteful player and so unique and it really tickles my ears and brain.
Still feel like Barstool Warrior is one of the best songs DT have written after 2000, could use a better title though 

[darkshade]

Coming back to this album, i think what i love the most is Mike's drumming. He's such a tasteful player and so unique and it really tickles my ears and brain.
Still feel like Barstool Warrior is one of the best songs DT have written after 2000, could use a better title though 

My main gripe with BW is the name. It sounds like a working title, similar to 'The Shaman's Trance'.

[TAC]

Coming back to this album, i think what i love the most is Mike's drumming. He's such a tasteful player and so unique and it really tickles my ears and brain.
Still feel like Barstool Warrior is one of the best songs DT have written after 2000, could use a better title though 

My main gripe with BW is the name. It sounds like a working title, similar to 'The Shaman's Trance'.

I agree guys.

[nick_z]

Coming back to this album, i think what i love the most is Mike's drumming. He's such a tasteful player and so unique and it really tickles my ears and brain.
Still feel like Barstool Warrior is one of the best songs DT have written after 2000, could use a better title though 

My main gripe with BW is the name. It sounds like a working title, similar to 'The Shaman's Trance'.

I agree guys.

So true  In fact, when the tracklist for D/T came out, I was positive that was a working title. I guess they were going for a Fish-era Marillion vibe with that too...

[BlacklistJones]

• How did you feel about it two years ago?

Very excited, as I always am for a Dream Theater. I've been a fan since I was 5, and they have always been a major connection between my brother and I. A tradition, in terms of album releases, seeing them in concert, etc. - so naturally, as it is tradition, it was a big deal for me.

• How do you feel about it now?

Most of the album maintains its rotation. There are a few songs that have since fallen off the radar, like with any album, that just didn't age well for my ears (Pale Blue Dot, Out of Reach, Untethered Angel). I remember when the initial tracklisting came out and being weary about a song called "Barstool Warrior". Ironically, for me, it turned out to be the best track on the album and one that is most definitely still in rotation two-years on.

[jsbru]

I can still get into the first 4 songs, but it drops off fast from there.  I've given the latter 2/3rds of the album a try plenty of times, but they're just not catchy songs.

Barstool Warrior is one of their best of the Mangini era, and Fall into the Light is not far behind.  Paralyzed is a cool little changeup from what they normally do--not too complex.  Untethered Angel is good, but it sounds too much like a paint by number DT song that they've released 8 times before.  The rest of the album just seems to me to be too much un-focused noodling and filler.

I really feel like DT would benefit from hiring an outside producer, but Petrucci has made it pretty clear that they don't want to do that.  Their best albums are their early albums, and I think they all benefited from having an outside producer preventing them from getting too much groupthink and cutting down on excessive musical wankery.  Nothing wrong with wankery per se, as DT is the best band in the world at it, but sometimes there's just too much.  Focus on composing songs.  DT 12 was headed in the right direction with this, but the second half of DOT reverted back to the unfocused noodling.

I really liked The Astonishing--it was a refreshing change of pace, and it is really aging well with me.  Too much of their other stuff for the last 15 years has been the same prog jam, remixed 12 different ways.  I hope this new album offers up some new creative ideas.

[IgnotusPerIgnotium]

Just out of curiosity I was searching in which order they composed the songs.  So far I've found the following,

Song 1 AWE
Song 2 PAR
Song 4 UA
Song 6 FITL
Song 8 VK
Song 10 S2N

Does anybody knows when the other songs were written?

[Another_Won]

Just out of curiosity I was searching in which order they composed the songs.  So far I've found the following,

Song 1 AWE
Song 2 PAR
Song 4 UA
Song 6 FITL
Song 8 VK
Song 10 S2N

Does anybody knows when the other songs were written?

AWE is quite an intense song to start with.  They must have been on fire, ready to go.

[jayvee3]

I can still get into the first 4 songs, but it drops off fast from there.  I've given the latter 2/3rds of the album a try plenty of times, but they're just not catchy songs.

Barstool Warrior is one of their best of the Mangini era, and Fall into the Light is not far behind.  Paralyzed is a cool little changeup from what they normally do--not too complex.  Untethered Angel is good, but it sounds too much like a paint by number DT song that they've released 8 times before.  The rest of the album just seems to me to be too much un-focused noodling and filler.

See, this is where DT are so great, with so many differing opinions on their material. I'm almost the opposite - loving the back half of D/T the most. The beginning of the album starts a bit "standard" for me, then Fall into the light and Barstool Warrior are a brilliant 1-2 punch of what I love about the band. Room 137 is a little like the first couple of tracks for me - fine, but nothing I have a constant urge to revisit frequently. From there, it just keeps getting stronger for me. S2N is a ripper, At Wits End is one of their finest songs full of great lyrics and emotion and Out of Reach is not only underrated, I feel for me, it could be the finest ballad the band have done. I love that song. Pale Blue Dot also closes the album out with a bang, and is another of my faves. For some reason, I've always felt that song would sound more complete, if the outro included some of the samples of the astronauts that feature at the start of the song. but that's minor. Viper King I don't really include, as its a bonus track and for me doesn't fit the album feel and is exactly that - a cool little extra bonus.

In any case, it's an album I really enjoyed on release, and still really enjoy to this day, revisiting many of the songs frequently. To me, every album - not just DT's discography, but every album in existence - have tracks I don't revisit. But this is a great album overall. Being a longtime fan from the early days, I really have enjoyed the MM era albums more than many. I prefer his drumming and feel and find I revisit these albums a lot. And D/T is no exception.