DT15: A View From The Top Of The World (Timeline for DT15)

[Bentower]

Take this with a grain of salt, but it appears that Biff Byford from Saxon has inadvertently spilled the beans that Andy Sneap is "busy doing Dream Theater at the moment".

https://youtu.be/2B9zussZbwQ?t=2202 (cued up soundbyte from his appearance on Robb Flynn's podcast)

The background story being that Andy has produced the last three Saxon albums, but is hence currently unavailable to work on Biff's project with his son.

[Enigmachine]

If that were true, I think it'd actually be pretty logical, given that he'd already mixed John Petrucci's solo album and that turned out quite well. It'd be interesting to see him approach Dream Theater though, given that Andy doesn't usually work with mixes that have keyboards in them, though he has done prog like Opeth and Nevermore (if they count, of course). It'd also be ironic given that he's said this:

"I like having individuality when it comes to a solo album, in terms of personnel, to the point of having Andy Sneap mix Terminal Velocity. It’s the first time I’ve worked with him. Likewise for having Sean do the artwork. He’s done layout work for Dream Theater but never a cover. So, when you look at it and listen to it and consider the players, it’s very independent from what I do with Dream Theater. That’s really important. I wanted it to reflect my identity and be my opportunity to say, “Here’s what I’m all about.”" - https://metalinjection.net/interviews/john-petrucci-on-when-fans-can-expect-new-dream-theater-his-new-solo-album

This gives the impression that he deliberately wanted to deviate from the team he'd usually use for Dream Theater. It'd be very ironic if he ended up using both Andy Sneap as mixer and Sean Smith as artist again for Dream Theater. It's also worth noting that Mike Mangini has worked with him before on Annihilator's Metal (which... is also very interesting considering that he said that "I've not played on an album this energetically unrelenting start to finish since Annihilator" and that was the last Annihilator album he was on). I can only speculate at this point, but it's possible that Mike Mangini heard Terminal Velocity, saw the producer and was like "oh shit, I know that guy too" and suggested him for the band. Sneap as a pick would probably indicate that there's a decent amount of metal on there as well.

[Mladen]

Holy shit! 

I mean, that would be fantastic news, Andy killed it on the production of Terminal velocity! It might be a rumour, but the musicians tend to know what their close colleagues are up to. Why would Biff say it if it weren't true? 

[MirrorMask]

I mean, that would be fantastic news, Andy killed it on the production of Terminal velocity! It might be a rumour, but the musicians tend to know what their close colleagues are up to. Why would Biff say it if it weren't true? 

Indeed, if it's a random journalist having a scoop... eh, you know how the internet goes, I'll believe it when I see it. But a musician knowing what a producer they work with is up to.... what's even the point of lying about it? if Byff said it, it must be true.

[lucasembarbosa]

Dimmu Borgir's Abrahadabra is a nice example of Sneap's mix with strings/choir/keyboard... I love his work in the recent Testament albums as well!

[Mladen]

I mean, that would be fantastic news, Andy killed it on the production of Terminal velocity! It might be a rumour, but the musicians tend to know what their close colleagues are up to. Why would Biff say it if it weren't true? 

Indeed, if it's a random journalist having a scoop... eh, you know how the internet goes, I'll believe it when I see it. But a musician knowing what a producer they work with is up to.... what's even the point of lying about it? if Byff said it, it must be true.

There is a small chance there was some sort of a miscommunication. Maybe Biff heard Andy was working on something else and that someone else was working with Dream Theater so he got confused and mixed up the information he had, but that's a stretch. Biff quite possibly spilled the beans. Bentower, thanks for the link. 

[Kyo]

Did the band ever said why they went with a different artist for The Astonishing? I'd be interested to know what prompted this decision

Isn't this pretty obvious? They wanted original artwork depicting the characters in a uniform style. Hugh Syme is not the guy for that.

[Enigmachine]

Well according to Setlist Scotty a couple pages back, JP actually came to Hugh with the concept, who actually declined it.

[Max Kuehnau]

Take this with a grain of salt, but it appears that Biff Byford from Saxon has inadvertently spilled the beans that Andy Sneap is "busy doing Dream Theater at the moment".

https://youtu.be/2B9zussZbwQ?t=2202 (cued up soundbyte from his appearance on Robb Flynn's podcast)

The background story being that Andy has produced the last three Saxon albums, but is hence currently unavailable to work on Biff's project with his son.

added in, thanks very much.

[Enigmachine]

Hmm... I'd be careful about using the term "confirmed" given that he's a non official source. I do think it's likely that he's correct given that he's in the industry and works with Sneap but at the same time, there's the possibility that he could've misspoke, because it was a very off the cuff remark.

[Max Kuehnau]

Hmm... I'd be careful about using the term "confirmed" given that he's a non official source. I do think it's likely that he's correct given that he's in the industry and works with Sneap but at the same time, there's the possibility that he could've misspoke, because it was a very off the cuff remark.

of course. (and I like to think I'm careful). Had I used "rumoured", it might not have been accurate either. It's an odd one. I am very aware of the contradictory nature. Nonetheless, I have accounted for it in the title page. Thanks for correcting me.

[gzarruk]

Terminal Velocity sounds great and it actually won "best sounding record" or something like that on the Prog awards last year.

If Andy is, in fact, mixing DT15, which is almost sure at this point, we can expect a great sounding album

[Mladen]

That might mean a great sounding Mangini drum kit. 

[Kotowboy]

So the vitality of Distance Over Time with the production of "Terminal Velocity" and the songs of "Scenes From A Memory" with - according to Jordan - a " very youthful exuberance " on the album...

I don't want to get my hopes up as bands tend to overstate their new albums and then talk them down on the NEXT album cycle. But yeah looking forward to it.

I've never HATED a Dream Theater album.

[Kyo]

Well according to Setlist Scotty a couple pages back, JP actually came to Hugh with the concept, who actually declined it.

These two statements aren't mutually exclusive. It's quite possible that he declined because he's not the guy for original character artwork. 

[Ben_Jamin]

Well according to Setlist Scotty a couple pages back, JP actually came to Hugh with the concept, who actually declined it.

These two statements aren't mutually exclusive. It's quite possible that he declined because he's not the guy for original character artwork. 

He probably would've used King Friday.

[nikatapi]

As we move closer to the release (still away but time flies) i'm getting very hyped about the album.
On DoT i think all the problems i've had with the production since JP took over as the sole producer have been eliminated, and i feel that Mangini's contributions gave a differerent and fresh character to the songs.

Hopefully, this will continue (and expand) on the new album, and having done the LTE album as well, JP and JR might have found some more inspiration and experimentation.
My hope is that James delivers and we hear his voice in a clean way, not with a million effects on top as was the case in DoT. Keep it in a comfortable range and focus on the delivery.

I'm sure we'll get something great from the band (again), i can only take Jordan's excitement when we talked as an indicator, i've seen him in interviews from the time he joined the band, i can tell when it's marketing talk and when it's genuine excitement.

[Enigmachine]

Yeah I know what you mean. In regards to the vocals, given that the likely mixer seems to be Andy Sneap, he tends to mix vocals with a lot of clarity. He doesn't tend to overburden the vocals with a ton of effects and whenever he does throw on effects, it's right when they need them. Also yes, Jordan's excitement here seems very genuine in this cycle and I think it's because of the informality of it. It's not the kind of calculated hype that album cycles tend to have, but rather something more spontaneous.

[jonny108]

In an interview with Jordan on CATtales he says about DT15 (43:48): "I'm so excited, it's gonna be really hard to hold on to this album and not have anybody hear it until it comes out...because I think it's really one of our best, I mean, I have never said that, like I don't think I've said that about an album we're working on...I feel like they're my children but this one I feel is so unique and special, it's really really awesome."

https://www.cattales.co.uk/96-the-one-with-dream-theaters-jordan-rudess/

[illusionist]

Thanks for sharing @jonny108!
Now that gets us even more excited!
What it is that they have come up with now?What??

[Ben_Jamin]

I can only imagine.

D/T was amazing and I feel a great progression that has begun since ADTOE. Each album since then, not counting The Astonishing of course, has had a certain progression.

If we got Breaking All Illusions, The Bigger Picture, At Wit's End, all songs that I feel show this progression, we will be in for an awesome treat then...

I surely can't wait for the first song to be released. And I do hope for another of that style of Epic. It could only get better. At Wit's End is so epic and it was just as epic live.

[SystematicThought]

I think he said the self titled was their best album. Although every artist says their new album is their best yet. What are they gonna say: “This new album is alright, not our best, but it’s passable” As long as they don’t start doing the MP: “It’s Pull Me Under, ACOS, Octavarium, Learning To Live and The Glass Prison on one album” or “Metallica meets Yes”, I’m good with hype

[Enigmachine]

I think he said the self titled was their best album. Although every artist says their new album is their best yet. What are they gonna say: “This new album is alright, not our best, but it’s passable” As long as they don’t start doing the MP: “It’s Pull Me Under, ACOS, Octavarium, Learning To Live and The Glass Prison on one album” or “Metallica meets Yes”, I’m good with hype

Nope, I think that was JP who hyped up the self titled like that. When Jordan Rudess says that he's never said a previous album is one of their best within its promo cycle, he's actually telling the truth. It'd make sense that he's this proud, given that apparently he's put much more thought into tailoring the individual keyboard sounds this time around.

[gzarruk]

I think he said the self titled was their best album. Although every artist says their new album is their best yet. What are they gonna say: “This new album is alright, not our best, but it’s passable” As long as they don’t start doing the MP: “It’s Pull Me Under, ACOS, Octavarium, Learning To Live and The Glass Prison on one album” or “Metallica meets Yes”, I’m good with hype

Nope, I think that was JP who hyped up the self titled like that. When Jordan Rudess says that he's never said a previous album is one of their best within its promo cycle, he's actually telling the truth. It'd make sense that he's this proud, given that apparently he's put much more thought into tailoring the individual keyboard sounds this time around.

I don't remeber seeing Jordan this excited for a new DT album before. I seriously can't wait to get more info

What it is that they have come up with now?What??

Jordan said a while ago that it isn't a concept album but they did follow some kind of theme/topic. Whatever it ends up being, it seems they really tried to make one of their best albums to date.

[Cool Chris]

As long as they don’t start doing the MP: “It’s Pull Me Under, ACOS, Octavarium, Learning To Live and The Glass Prison on one album” or “Metallica meets Yes”, I’m good with hype

Oh, man, I remember that comment for BC&SL.

[kirksnosehair]

I think he said the self titled was their best album.

This doesn't exactly help with credibility.  It's a good album, but their best?  Not by a long shot.

[darkshade]

As long as they don’t start doing the MP: “It’s Pull Me Under, ACOS, Octavarium, Learning To Live and The Glass Prison on one album” or “Metallica meets Yes”, I’m good with hype

Oh, man, I remember that comment for BC&SL.

The more accurate description for BC&SL would be the Train of Thought and Octavarium albums mixed into one, with their newfound ability to craft 00s mainstream rock choruses.

[hefdaddy42]

As long as they don’t start doing the MP: “It’s Pull Me Under, ACOS, Octavarium, Learning To Live and The Glass Prison on one album” or “Metallica meets Yes”, I’m good with hype

Oh, man, I remember that comment for BC&SL.

The more accurate description for BC&SL would be the Train of Thought and Octavarium albums mixed into one, with their newfound ability to craft 00s mainstream rock choruses.

That doesn't sound like an accurate description at all to me.

[darkshade]

As long as they don’t start doing the MP: “It’s Pull Me Under, ACOS, Octavarium, Learning To Live and The Glass Prison on one album” or “Metallica meets Yes”, I’m good with hype

Oh, man, I remember that comment for BC&SL.

The more accurate description for BC&SL would be the Train of Thought and Octavarium albums mixed into one, with their newfound ability to craft 00s mainstream rock choruses.

That doesn't sound like an accurate description at all to me.

It's more accurate than what MP said. You have the band bringing the heaviness of ToT, the songwriting style of Systematic Chaos, but also bringing back the light, airy, and ambient moments, and proggy stuff in the last two songs and also the Beautiful Agony section of ANTR.

[hefdaddy42]

That's a stretch.  Not any more of a stretch than what MP said (depending on your point of view), and not any more accurate that what he said, in my book.

[Enigmachine]

This doesn't exactly help with credibility.  It's a good album, but their best?  Not by a long shot.

Just to clarify again for the sake of emphasis, JR did not say this. The closest we get to a quote like this is when John Petrucci said it was "taking things to the next level" and comments to the extent ot it being a reference point for future fans. As the hype man for DT, that's kinda to be expected. JR's actual tone around DT12 looks like this:

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/upcoming_releases/jordan_rudess_things_are_really_intense_in_dream_theater_land.htm

"We've made our way through the album process to a good point now. We're still finishing up, I'm doing some keyboard stuff, it's intense, it's definitely a strong process."

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/upcoming_releases/jordan_rudess_on_dream_theater_this_is_what_were_all_about.html

"It ended up being that we all feel that this is an amazing time in Dream Theater's career. We've put together music that we feel that we can put the Dream Theater stamp of approval on. This is Dream Theater. This is what we're all about. It's a combination of all the stylistic things we love to do that we feel represent Dream Theater."

His tone is a lot different from how he speaks about DT15, which has a bit more of a spontaneous, informal quality to his excitement, at least from what I can hear.

It's more accurate than what MP said. You have the band bringing the heaviness of ToT, the songwriting style of Systematic Chaos, but also bringing back the light, airy, and ambient moments, and proggy stuff in the last two songs and also the Beautiful Agony section of ANTR.

I don't see how any of those descriptions would even mark a shift from Systematic Chaos, given that it also has its extremely heavy moments that arguably eclipse ToT in intensity, has airy and ambient moments (admittedly with a more melancholy tonality I guess) and a lot of proggy stuff. This is the trouble with trying to describe albums with other albums, because it often forgets the kind of variation that they have within them. Honestly, MP's probably makes more sense because at least it's more evocative in regards to the actual nature of the songs.

[evilasiojr]

In some of the videos from the studio sessions of DT12, John says something like this: "I feel this is our strongest work to date". I am almost sure that's what he said about the self titled. And I don't agree with the statement, DT12 is not one of my favorites.

But I'm really excited about DT15 already, given the fact that Jordan is quite excited too and JP is kinda of secretive about it. It leaves me thinking why all the discretion...

[Enigmachine]

In some of the videos from the studio sessions of DT12, John says something like this: "I feel this is our strongest work to date". I am almost sure that's what he said about the self titled. And I don't agree with the statement, DT12 is not one of my favorites.

But I'm really excited about DT15 already, given the fact that Jordan is quite excited too and JP is kinda of secretive about it. It leaves me thinking why all the discretion...

Ah yes, I think I remember him doing that. In all fairness, from a purely guitar perspective, the album was probably fun as hell to play with tracks like Enigma Machine and Illumination Theory (and even on The Looking Glass or Along for the Ride, there's some pretty intricate stuff going on), so I can see why he would be on that high. But yeah, it makes sense for JR's comments to be getting more attention in this case, given his slightly more muted track record in regards to hype.

[Peter Mc]

I’d rather the guys be excited for the new album than not.  It’s all subjective though at the end of the day.  Even if Rudess and/or Petrucci genuinely feel this is their best album, it doesn’t mean I will and vice versa.  When you put a poll up on here for DT’s best album you will get a huge range of opinion on that.  There’s certain albums that will get more votes than others but pretty much every album is someone’s favourite.

I hope the new one is a great album and I know it will be a good album at the very least as DT have never made a bad album imo.  It’s just been a while since they made a classic album, at least for me.  They’ve kind of stagnated a little on the last few albums albeit at a consistently high level but would love for them to really blow my socks off with a modern classic.

[IgnotusPerIgnotium]

Getting the hype out to people is a double edged sword. If JR feels it's they best album ever (in the JP production era anyway), it's okay to freely express it but for the most time it's better to let the music speak for itself and watch the impact it makes.