I'll precurser this by saying I do *like* the astonishing, however it is not just the length that many have issue with.
The main issues for me are, all in my opinion:
- The focus is on lyrics and story (fine, as it is a rock opera), however the story is not nearly strong enough to warrant 2+ hours. It is essentially a simple love story between Gabriel and Faythe and the dystopian element is relegated to background and barely touched upon;
- The music does not highlight DTs current strengths. It focuses on quieter/balled type songs, which have not been a strong point for DT currently. Sure, the old ballads are great, some brillant (see my username), however theyve lost the subtlety in their later years that made these work, and 99% of the time the later ballads come across as throwaway/cheesy;
- Whilst there is no issue with it not being metal, there are not enough interesting musical ideas to warrant 2 hours. Musically, there is a great 50-60 minute album in there, but TA is spread too thin. There's some amazing sections, but they last seconds and disappear without being built upon;
- The lyrics and character names are overtly saccherine/"cheesy" and too on the nose. I had some issue on the self titled with this as well, but it is amplified here given the focus on them.
Those are just my thoughts. I loved ADTOE and DOT was very good too so I am looking forward to the new one!
Great response...I can agree on the "cheesy", almost cliche' story being a turn off.
The story being focused on Gabriel and Faythe and their love, is the essential plot and theme of the concept. Faythe is a play on "Faith" because she is the one that Gabriel sees as being that Faith for bringing peace to Ravenskill and The Great Northern Empire, contrasting how his brother Ahrys wants to achieve peace. Gabriel being infatuated with her is the big, big plot point where we are introduced to this connection that will be essential to restoring the peace, and we are shown Faythe's part in the peace in "Act of Faythe" when she sings, "I never knew they spent their days in rags" and how even through all this poverty and struggle, they still find time to gather in the square and enjoy Gabriels music, which is like hearing jesus speak, as no one knows or understands what this music is, "For all they know is the Noise Machines". I really do wish that Live intro narration was included on the album, or even releasing it as a stand-alone digital track, so that it can give the album and story that added "You are entering a safe place where nothing can harm you" type of introduction into the world of The Astonishing.
The music is not meant to highlight Dream Theaters strengths musically. The music is meant to compliment the story and to add the emotion of the characters, the atmosphere of the settings, and to set the tone of what is happening in each scene.
The focus on the ballad style contributes to the format of the story being an Opera. And this is not a flawless production either. JP is not a script writer, nor is he an Opera writer, or good with words. And for a first time doing a production project such as this, I feel he did an excellent job. You could take these songs and you'll have the music and story for the Opera, all you would need is the cast, setting, and those non-musical aspects of a broadway type Opera.
The musical ideas are not meant to be like how they were on SFAM. Each character has a theme, even the narrator has a certain theme and tone for their parts. The music was based around these themes and how the band used these themes to intertwine to tell a story. Each of these themes were connected to form the whole, and at parts they're used in great aspects. A flaw I would find in the use of the themes, is the use of the Brother theme, I think "Brother Can You Hear Me" could've been a bit shorter or a bit more upbeat. As it's about Arhys letting Gabriel know that with the threat of the Three Day ultimatum, him and his army will have his back and be there for him, there could've been some more energetic spots. But for me, I think it's done this way as JP wanted to portray that bond and that "Brotherhood" of not only Arhys but of the entire Militia, by making it like a big arena sing-along style type of song. I like how they subdue it to just piano, as I think that represents how the Militia and Arhys become silent while Gabriel speaks to the entire congregation, The setting for this song is at the Ravenskill Rebel Command.
Topic: DT16 : The Very Best of DT (Read 5246 times)
