*Official* A View from the Top of the World discussion thread

[MirrorMask]

Mangini era, mmmh....

1) Dramatic
2) The Astonishing
3) Distance Over Time
4) View
5) Self titled

[Wim Kruithof]

Kotowboy, I've got a question...

ever since a View came out, you put Distance Over Time on top of it. I agree Distance Over Time is beautiful (today the artbook is delivered here), but I consider Room 137 as bottom of the well, on that album. To me, that low is way lower than any song on a View. I believe there is no low at all, on a View. Don't you consider Room 137 as the least track in a while?

At this moment I spent most of my time on Awake, the Astonishing and a View from the Top of the World.

[Wim Kruithof]

If I should rank both Mangini-albums and a View-songs at this moment, it would be

1) a View from the Top of the World
2) the Astonishing
3) a Dramatic Turn of Events
4) Dream Theater
5) Distance Over Time

***

1) Transcending Time
2) Answering the Call
3) a View from the Top of the World
4) Sleeping Giant
5) Awaken the Master
6) Invisible Monster
7) the Alien

But don't blame me if it changes often, I can't rank Dream Theater in absolutes, because whatever I give time and energy, it would raise in the rankings.

[RodrigoAltaf]

1) Self titled
2)Dramatic
3) Distance Over Time
4) View
5) The Astonishing

[Logain Ablar]

Ok, my first go at a ranking:

1) A View From The Top Of The World
2) Dream Theater
3) A Dramatic Turn Of Events
4) Distance Over Time
5) The Astonishing

[Kotowboy]

Dont you mean

1) A View From The Top Of The World
2) Dream Theater
3) A Dramatic Turn Of Events
4) Distance Over Time
















-1,000,000,000 ) The Astonishing  LOL AMIRITE ? LOL ? AMIRITE ?

[RAIN]

Just needed to say, that after having the album for a few weeks, it grows on me more and more.  It's truly an excellent album. I absolutely love DOT, and what's great is this album is so over the top it's a perfect balance to the "simpler more straight forward" (if that's possible) DOT. 
Stunning album guys.

[Logain Ablar]

-1,000,000,000 ) The Astonishing  LOL AMIRITE ? LOL ? AMIRITE ?

  Not me. I’m not a member of that particular club.

I do find lots to enjoy about TA, but being honest with myself I had to rank it at the bottom.

[Kotowboy]

The self titled is the weakest Mangini album I think.

I need to listen to Dramatic Turn and Dream Theater in full again to make up my mind.

[SeRoX]

MM Era:

1- View
2- The Astonishing
3- ADTOE
4- DT12
5- Distance Over Time

View Ranking (May change)

1- Sleeping Giant
2- Transceding Time
3- View
4- Answering The Call
5- Awaken The Master
6- The Alien
7- Invisible Monster

[Kram]

1a. A View - It's very close but a View wins based on the strength of the title track (Best song since 8V for me).
1b. Distance Over Time
2. A Dramatic Turn of Events
3. The Astonishing
4. Dream Theater

[Setlist Scotty]

The self titled is the weakest Mangini album I think.

I need to listen to Dramatic Turn and Dream Theater in full again to make up my mind.

A while back I did that and ranked the songs, and I was surprised that I favored the s/t over ADToE.

These days, I think my ranking would be:
1. AVFtTotW
2. d/t
3. s/t
4. ADToE
5. TA

[Hanz Gruber]

OK, three listens in and I don't feel the need nor do I feel the urge to listen to the album. I haven't experienced this since the BC&SL days...Not that it's a bad album per se, but maybe I have moved on. F***...

B.Lee

Amen

Dream Theater is my favorite band of all time and I appreciate every new release.  With that said.  This is the the absolute worst album they have ever  released to me personally.  I am not one of those people that say  Petrucci plays with no emotion but this album goes nowhere for me and does nothing for me. I can go back to any DT album and get chills (A Change of Seasons for example) but I feel absolutely nothing from this albums. No "Barstool Warriors" At Wit's End A Change of Seasons etc.  Nothing.  For the first time I am not taken on a journey.  I feel nothing.  Absolutely nothing from this album.  To this day I get chills from countless DT songs like the "let us adore him" section from a "Change of Seasons" This album to \me is void of melody and emotion.  Every song has solos that sound like they could come from any song on the album. It is lifeless. I appreciate all of the albums that DT has released and keeps on gifting to us.  To me though this s the absolute worst and I never need to hear it again.  No emotion.  Every solo sounds like it could come from any song on the album. I appreciate that DT keeps giving us new albums but tis is the first time where I do not wish to hear any songs from a DT album again.  I am glad that most fans seem to like it but it doesn't click with me no matter how many times that I listen.  Every release dwarfs this including The Astonishing and Cleaning the Closet. 

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

OK, three listens in and I don't feel the need nor do I feel the urge to listen to the album. I haven't experienced this since the BC&SL days...Not that it's a bad album per se, but maybe I have moved on. F***...

B.Lee

Amen

Dream Theater is my favorite band of all time and I appreciate every new release.  With that said.  This is the the absolute worst album they have ever  released to me personally.  I am not one of those people that say  Petrucci plays with no emotion but this album goes nowhere for me and does nothing for me. I can go back to any DT album and get chills (A Change of Seasons for example) but I feel absolutely nothing from this albums. No "Barstool Warriors" At Wit's End A Change of Seasons etc.  Nothing.  For the first time I am not taken on a journey.  I feel nothing.  Absolutely nothing from this album.  To this day I get chills from countless DT songs like the "let us adore him" section from a "Change of Seasons" This album to \me is void of melody and emotion.  Every song has solos that sound like they could come from any song on the album. It is lifeless. I appreciate all of the albums that DT has released and keeps on gifting to us.  To me though this s the absolute worst and I never need to hear it again.  No emotion.  Every solo sounds like it could come from any song on the album. I appreciate that DT keeps giving us new albums but tis is the first time where I do not wish to hear any songs from a DT album again.  I am glad that most fans seem to like it but it doesn't click with me no matter how many times that I listen.  Every release dwarfs this including The Astonishing and Cleaning the Closet.

Sounds like maybe you have changed rather than the band.

[sylentman]

OK, three listens in and I don't feel the need nor do I feel the urge to listen to the album. I haven't experienced this since the BC&SL days...Not that it's a bad album per se, but maybe I have moved on. F***...

B.Lee

Amen

Dream Theater is my favorite band of all time and I appreciate every new release.  With that said.  This is the the absolute worst album they have ever  released to me personally.  I am not one of those people that say  Petrucci plays with no emotion but this album goes nowhere for me and does nothing for me. I can go back to any DT album and get chills (A Change of Seasons for example) but I feel absolutely nothing from this albums. No "Barstool Warriors" At Wit's End A Change of Seasons etc.  Nothing.  For the first time I am not taken on a journey.  I feel nothing.  Absolutely nothing from this album.  To this day I get chills from countless DT songs like the "let us adore him" section from a "Change of Seasons" This album to \me is void of melody and emotion.  Every song has solos that sound like they could come from any song on the album. It is lifeless. I appreciate all of the albums that DT has released and keeps on gifting to us.  To me though this s the absolute worst and I never need to hear it again.  No emotion.  Every solo sounds like it could come from any song on the album. I appreciate that DT keeps giving us new albums but tis is the first time where I do not wish to hear any songs from a DT album again.  I am glad that most fans seem to like it but it doesn't click with me no matter how many times that I listen.  Every release dwarfs this including The Astonishing and Cleaning the Closet.

How many times have you listened the album? Just curious to know how many listens and still feeling that way…hope you were not expecting them to repeat any of those songs you mentioned as that could work against you appreciating new material…

[erwinrafael]

I pity the man who does not feel the emotion from the slow guitar outro in the outro of The Alien, the vocals and orchestration ending Sleeping Giant, the slow guitar solo in A View, the vocals in the prechorus of Answering The Call, and the way James sang "like dreaming wide awake" in Transcending Time.

[Hanz Gruber]

OK, three listens in and I don't feel the need nor do I feel the urge to listen to the album. I haven't experienced this since the BC&SL days...Not that it's a bad album per se, but maybe I have moved on. F***...

B.Lee

Amen

Dream Theater is my favorite band of all time and I appreciate every new release.  With that said.  This is the the absolute worst album they have ever  released to me personally.  I am not one of those people that say  Petrucci plays with no emotion but this album goes nowhere for me and does nothing for me. I can go back to any DT album and get chills (A Change of Seasons for example) but I feel absolutely nothing from this albums. No "Barstool Warriors" At Wit's End A Change of Seasons etc.  Nothing.  For the first time I am not taken on a journey.  I feel nothing.  Absolutely nothing from this album.  To this day I get chills from countless DT songs like the "let us adore him" section from a "Change of Seasons" This album to \me is void of melody and emotion.  Every song has solos that sound like they could come from any song on the album. It is lifeless. I appreciate all of the albums that DT has released and keeps on gifting to us.  To me though this s the absolute worst and I never need to hear it again.  No emotion.  Every solo sounds like it could come from any song on the album. I appreciate that DT keeps giving us new albums but tis is the first time where I do not wish to hear any songs from a DT album again.  I am glad that most fans seem to like it but it doesn't click with me no matter how many times that I listen.  Every release dwarfs this including The Astonishing and Cleaning the Closet.

Sounds like maybe you have changed rather than the band.

 I haven't changed at all. This album does nothing for me.  Every album has taken me on a journey but this one is emotionless and is the first that I can't even force myself to enjoy.  Dream Theater is my favorite band of all time and nothing will change that. I hope that their next album connects with me but this is the first one that I don't enjoy listening to at all.  I rate it below the debut album.  I like the songs on WDDU but I am not a fan of Charlie so it has always been ranked the lowest for me. This one ranks lower because it is emotionless and unrememberable when it comes to solos or vocal melodies. Nothing catches me at all on this one.  On albums that I considered weaker at least I had songs like "At Wits End" or "Barstool Warriors" that connected.  Nothing from this album is memorable and is anything that I want to hear again.  To me is seems that memorable vocal melodies were a complete afterthought.  So many DT songs in the past give me chills and still do no matter how many times that I hear them.  This one to me sounds all the same through most of the album and is emotionless.  For context "Awake" is my favorite album.  The choruses , guitar solos, and songs themselves are not memorable no matter how many times that I listen. I have a hard time distinguishing one from another on this album for the first time.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

OK, three listens in and I don't feel the need nor do I feel the urge to listen to the album. I haven't experienced this since the BC&SL days...Not that it's a bad album per se, but maybe I have moved on. F***...

B.Lee

Amen

Dream Theater is my favorite band of all time and I appreciate every new release.  With that said.  This is the the absolute worst album they have ever  released to me personally.  I am not one of those people that say  Petrucci plays with no emotion but this album goes nowhere for me and does nothing for me. I can go back to any DT album and get chills (A Change of Seasons for example) but I feel absolutely nothing from this albums. No "Barstool Warriors" At Wit's End A Change of Seasons etc.  Nothing.  For the first time I am not taken on a journey.  I feel nothing.  Absolutely nothing from this album.  To this day I get chills from countless DT songs like the "let us adore him" section from a "Change of Seasons" This album to \me is void of melody and emotion.  Every song has solos that sound like they could come from any song on the album. It is lifeless. I appreciate all of the albums that DT has released and keeps on gifting to us.  To me though this s the absolute worst and I never need to hear it again.  No emotion.  Every solo sounds like it could come from any song on the album. I appreciate that DT keeps giving us new albums but tis is the first time where I do not wish to hear any songs from a DT album again.  I am glad that most fans seem to like it but it doesn't click with me no matter how many times that I listen.  Every release dwarfs this including The Astonishing and Cleaning the Closet.

Sounds like maybe you have changed rather than the band.

 I haven't changed at all. This album does nothing for me.  Every album has taken me on a journey but this one is emotionless and is the first that I can't even force myself to enjoy.  Dream Theater is my favorite band of all time and nothing will change that. I hope that their next album connects with me but this is the first one that I don't enjoy listening to at all.  I rate it below the debut album.  I like the songs on WDDU but I am not a fan of Charlie so it has always been ranked the lowest for me. This one ranks lower because it is emotionless and unrememberable when it comes to solos or vocal melodies. Nothing catches me at all on this one.  On albums that I considered weaker at least I had songs like "At Wits End" or "Barstool Warriors" that connected.  Nothing from this album is memorable and is anything that I want to hear again.  To me is seems that memorable vocal melodies were a complete afterthought.  So many DT songs in the past give me chills and still do no matter how many times that I hear them.  This one to me sounds all the same through most of the album and is emotionless.

You know, you keep saying the album is 'emotionless' and 'unmemorable' but also that you haven't changed. The contradiction there is that DT15 is very much in line with 3 out of the last 3 albums. I am not sure what in this album is 'emotionless' or why you think that JP play with 'no emotion' here but not on DoT or DT12. I can tell you for sure, nothing in his style has changed. Maybe you are just moving on from this band? I think that saying it's 'emotionless' is sort of a meaningless thing to say -- how can you say that his output is emotionless? were you there with him when he was writing the album? did he seem exhausted and uninterested? did he say he felt detached while writing DT15? --so I was just trying to come up with a more plausible explanation that is actually quite common: people and their tastes change over time.

[Hanz Gruber]

OK, three listens in and I don't feel the need nor do I feel the urge to listen to the album. I haven't experienced this since the BC&SL days...Not that it's a bad album per se, but maybe I have moved on. F***...

B.Lee

Amen

Dream Theater is my favorite band of all time and I appreciate every new release.  With that said.  This is the the absolute worst album they have ever  released to me personally.  I am not one of those people that say  Petrucci plays with no emotion but this album goes nowhere for me and does nothing for me. I can go back to any DT album and get chills (A Change of Seasons for example) but I feel absolutely nothing from this albums. No "Barstool Warriors" At Wit's End A Change of Seasons etc.  Nothing.  For the first time I am not taken on a journey.  I feel nothing.  Absolutely nothing from this album.  To this day I get chills from countless DT songs like the "let us adore him" section from a "Change of Seasons" This album to \me is void of melody and emotion.  Every song has solos that sound like they could come from any song on the album. It is lifeless. I appreciate all of the albums that DT has released and keeps on gifting to us.  To me though this s the absolute worst and I never need to hear it again.  No emotion.  Every solo sounds like it could come from any song on the album. I appreciate that DT keeps giving us new albums but tis is the first time where I do not wish to hear any songs from a DT album again.  I am glad that most fans seem to like it but it doesn't click with me no matter how many times that I listen.  Every release dwarfs this including The Astonishing and Cleaning the Closet.

Sounds like maybe you have changed rather than the band.

 I haven't changed at all. This album does nothing for me.  Every album has taken me on a journey but this one is emotionless and is the first that I can't even force myself to enjoy.  Dream Theater is my favorite band of all time and nothing will change that. I hope that their next album connects with me but this is the first one that I don't enjoy listening to at all.  I rate it below the debut album.  I like the songs on WDDU but I am not a fan of Charlie so it has always been ranked the lowest for me. This one ranks lower because it is emotionless and unrememberable when it comes to solos or vocal melodies. Nothing catches me at all on this one.  On albums that I considered weaker at least I had songs like "At Wits End" or "Barstool Warriors" that connected.  Nothing from this album is memorable and is anything that I want to hear again.  To me is seems that memorable vocal melodies were a complete afterthought.  So many DT songs in the past give me chills and still do no matter how many times that I hear them.  This one to me sounds all the same through most of the album and is emotionless.

You know, you keep saying the album is 'emotionless' and 'unmemorable' but also that you haven't changed. The contradiction there is that DT15 is very much in line with 3 out of the last 3 albums. I am not sure what in this album is 'emotionless' or why you think that JP play with 'no emotion' here but not on DoT or DT12. I can tell you for sure, nothing in his style has changed. Maybe you are just moving on from this band? I think that saying it's 'emotionless' is sort of a meaningless thing to say -- how can you say that his output is emotionless? were you there with him when he was writing the album? did he seem exhausted and uninterested? did he say he felt detached while writing DT15? --so I was just trying to come up with a more plausible explanation that is actually quite common: people and their tastes change over time.

Like I said.  I haven't moved on.  I enjoy every album by DT (even The Astonishing)  This is the first "miss" for me personally.  Music is subjective. This is the first time in the history of DT that I personally feel no emotion from any of these songs. Many of the instrumental sections in the songs (Awaken the Master, Sleeping Giants, Title Track etc) are indistinguishingable from each other and could be interchanged with each other. This is the first DT album that I honestly could never listen to again and be fine with. I listened to "A Change of Seasons" the other day and it almost felt like the first time I heard it. So many emotions ran through me (even though I have heard it countless times) To me this album feels lifeless and emotionless. The vocal melodies are not memorable and I can't even imagine singing along with them. Songs from Falling to Infinity or even The Astonishing have more memorable solos and are chock full of emotion whereas this feels like a lifeless slog to me. I appreciate every time this band releases a new album because I consider it a blessing. Even though I do not like this album at all I look forward to the next one and consider it a blessing.   For a band that has been releasing albums since the late 80's I can't fault them for finally putting out an album that I do not care for.   This isnt like a St Anger situation.  This is just my favorite band finally putting out an album that I don't like even though the musicianship is top notch.  The songs just don't connect with me at all and are not memorable. On most DT songs I can hum many of the guitar parts or the vocal parts.  I am not even slightly interested in doing so on this one. Absolutely nothing catches me on this release

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

OK, three listens in and I don't feel the need nor do I feel the urge to listen to the album. I haven't experienced this since the BC&SL days...Not that it's a bad album per se, but maybe I have moved on. F***...

B.Lee

Amen

Dream Theater is my favorite band of all time and I appreciate every new release.  With that said.  This is the the absolute worst album they have ever  released to me personally.  I am not one of those people that say  Petrucci plays with no emotion but this album goes nowhere for me and does nothing for me. I can go back to any DT album and get chills (A Change of Seasons for example) but I feel absolutely nothing from this albums. No "Barstool Warriors" At Wit's End A Change of Seasons etc.  Nothing.  For the first time I am not taken on a journey.  I feel nothing.  Absolutely nothing from this album.  To this day I get chills from countless DT songs like the "let us adore him" section from a "Change of Seasons" This album to \me is void of melody and emotion.  Every song has solos that sound like they could come from any song on the album. It is lifeless. I appreciate all of the albums that DT has released and keeps on gifting to us.  To me though this s the absolute worst and I never need to hear it again.  No emotion.  Every solo sounds like it could come from any song on the album. I appreciate that DT keeps giving us new albums but tis is the first time where I do not wish to hear any songs from a DT album again.  I am glad that most fans seem to like it but it doesn't click with me no matter how many times that I listen.  Every release dwarfs this including The Astonishing and Cleaning the Closet.

Sounds like maybe you have changed rather than the band.

 I haven't changed at all. This album does nothing for me.  Every album has taken me on a journey but this one is emotionless and is the first that I can't even force myself to enjoy.  Dream Theater is my favorite band of all time and nothing will change that. I hope that their next album connects with me but this is the first one that I don't enjoy listening to at all.  I rate it below the debut album.  I like the songs on WDDU but I am not a fan of Charlie so it has always been ranked the lowest for me. This one ranks lower because it is emotionless and unrememberable when it comes to solos or vocal melodies. Nothing catches me at all on this one.  On albums that I considered weaker at least I had songs like "At Wits End" or "Barstool Warriors" that connected.  Nothing from this album is memorable and is anything that I want to hear again.  To me is seems that memorable vocal melodies were a complete afterthought.  So many DT songs in the past give me chills and still do no matter how many times that I hear them.  This one to me sounds all the same through most of the album and is emotionless.

You know, you keep saying the album is 'emotionless' and 'unmemorable' but also that you haven't changed. The contradiction there is that DT15 is very much in line with 3 out of the last 3 albums. I am not sure what in this album is 'emotionless' or why you think that JP play with 'no emotion' here but not on DoT or DT12. I can tell you for sure, nothing in his style has changed. Maybe you are just moving on from this band? I think that saying it's 'emotionless' is sort of a meaningless thing to say -- how can you say that his output is emotionless? were you there with him when he was writing the album? did he seem exhausted and uninterested? did he say he felt detached while writing DT15? --so I was just trying to come up with a more plausible explanation that is actually quite common: people and their tastes change over time.

Like I said.  I haven't moved on.  I enjoy every album by DT (even The Astonishing)  This is the first "miss" for me personally.  Music is subjective. This is the first time in the history of DT that I personally feel no emotion from any of these songs. Many of the instrumental sections in the songs (Awaken the Master, Sleeping Giants, Title Track etc) are indistinguishingable from each other and could be interchanged with each other. This tis the first DT album tat I honestly could never listen to again and be fine with. I listened to "A Change of Seasons" the other day and it almost felt like the first time I heard it. So many emotions ran through me. To me this album feels lifeless and emotionless. The melodies are not memorable. Song from Falling to Infinity or even The Astonishing have more memorable solos and are chock full of emotion whereas this feels like a lifeless slog to me. I appreciate every time this band releases a new album because I consider it a blessing. Even though I do not like this album at all I look forward to the next one and consider it a blessing.   For a band that has been releasing albums since the late 80's I can't fault them for finally putting out an album that I do not care for.   This isnt like a St Anger situation.  This is just my favorite band finally putting out an album that I don;t like even though the musicianship is top nothh.  The songs just don't connect with me at all

Until I got to the bolded sentence I was thinking that maybe there was just a misunderstanding and that all you meant was that DT15 doesn't create any emotions in you (except presumably negative ones?). However, that is not the same thing as saying the record and JP's playing are 'emotionless'. I think this sort of thing really belongs in the Uninspired thread.

Also if you really hate this one, I wouldn't bother looking forward to the next one. It sounds like the band has settled into their MM-era sound as of late, and I wouldn't bank on that changing any time soon.

[sylentman]

I think there are many memorable parts as said in a past post, and erwinrafael mentioned some of them recently.
Could be Hanz is focusing mostly on the instrumental middle sections which may not be easily assimilated, or again maybe looking for a repeat of other songs like those he quoted.

Hanz, a quick example, you did not like nor remember the transition to the piano of Awaken The Master after that nice 8 string guitar + keyboard intro?

[erwinrafael]

To be fair, there really is no song like AWE and Barstool Warrior in terms of emotions in this album. The problem is when we think in hyperboles and equate that to the whole album not having any emotion at all.
And there is a variety of emotions. For example, Transcending Time. It really felt joyous for me at the start but by the time the second verse, it is already mixed with melancholy.

[cramx3]

To be fair, there really is no song like AWE and Barstool Warrior in terms of emotions in this album.

I don't know about emotions, but there's no song on this album that is on AWE level for me.  It's why I rank D/T higher right now.

[TAC]

To be fair, there really is no song like AWE and Barstool Warrior in terms of emotions in this album.

I don't know about emotions, but there's no song on this album that is on AWE level for me.  It's why I rank D/T higher right now.

AWE is easily the best song on either album, but I find AVFTTOTW way more consistent and stronger overall.

[Setlist Scotty]

This is the first time in the history of DT that I personally feel no emotion from any of these songs. Many of the instrumental sections in the songs (Awaken the Master, Sleeping Giants, Title Track etc) are indistinguishingable from each other and could be interchanged with each other.

Hanz (and Bertielee), I can relate to what you're feeling because I felt similarly upon the first few listens, not only to the full album, but with both The Alien and Invisible Monster when both were initially released. But after a few listens, the songs and album started to click, and now I really enjoy it and would say it's the best MM-era album. Aside from The Astonishing, I didn't have that problem with any of the other MM-era albums - they all clicked pretty quickly. AVFtTotW is definitely a grower, and I have seen others comment similarly. So give it a few more spins just to become more familiar with each of the individual songs so that you can distinguish between them - maybe then it will click. And if not, take a break from it and come back later. Perhaps some time away may make a difference. Or not. But I think you'd be doing yourself a disservice by throwing in the towel and giving up on it completely already.

[erwinrafael]

To be fair, there really is no song like AWE and Barstool Warrior in terms of emotions in this album.

I don't know about emotions, but there's no song on this album that is on AWE level for me.  It's why I rank D/T higher right now.

AWE is easily the best song on either album, but I find AVFTTOTW way more consistent and stronger overall.

That is how I see it as well. Also, what elevated AWE is the final thirds of the song. Up to the end of the instrumental, it would fit in just fine to AVFTTOTW if it is in that album.

Anyway, what I listen to more nowadays are my two playlists that mixed the songs in the two albums. The two albums really sound good together, balancing the complexity of AVFTTOTW and the more direct to the point appeal of D/T.

[Wim Kruithof]

Hanz Gruber, funny you mention this albums lacks on both emotion and memorable moments, while Awake is your favorite. Especially Answering the Call reminds me of Awake all the time and the solo starts like Lie did.

I agree with the Barstool Warrior… this is Dream Theater at their finest, Petrucci said many times that a View is their best production ever brought out. If this isn’t your style, maybe you do moved on. Althought a View as a whole has many freshness and new elements, it absolutely fits in the Mangini era.

But then again, you wrote you only listened three times. So your judgement is pretty fast thrown out.

[lovethedrake]

Listened to DoT in its entirety today.  Really a great album.   

At Wits End is fantastic and Out of Reach is super underrated IMO.   The tone JP uses on the little opening solo melts my ears.

I'm quite torn on which album I like more between A View and DoT.  I will say that the fact that DoT still stands up so well is really impressive.

Either way they will likely be my #1 and #2 of the Mangini era.  TBD on the order.   

I think AWE is the best DT song since SDOIT.   Everything about it is awesome.  The opening guitar playing by petrucci is off the wall awesome and unique, The bass lines are incredible, the chorus is great and super 90's DT, the outro is incredible and emotional.   

I don't think A View has an AWE, but I think the title track is certainly close.

[Logain Ablar]

To be fair, there really is no song like AWE and Barstool Warrior in terms of emotions in this album.

I don't know about emotions, but there's no song on this album that is on AWE level for me.  It's why I rank D/T higher right now.

AWE is easily the best song on either album, but I find AVFTTOTW way more consistent and stronger overall.

I totally agree. There’s no one song on the new one that delivers an emotional KO like AWE, but I find the overall consistency a lot higher. There are no skippers on the new one, but I find myself skipping a few on D/T (S2N, R137, even FITL sometimes)

[Kotowboy]

I'm quite torn on which album I like more between A View and DoT.  I will say that the fact that DoT still stands up so well is really impressive.

I tend to prefer albums with more choice - I got bored of Black Clouds really quickly. So Distance Over Time wins by default.

but also because I find it more consistent. If the new album had a couple more actual tracks of similar quality it would be trickier.

Sleeping Giant and Transcending Time are both good but they haven't really clicked with me like the other 5 have.

I love all 10 songs on Distance Over Time and I think it's just slightly stronger overall. ( even though it's actually around 10 mins shorter overall ! )...


BUT there's not that much in it - and I hope their next album is as strong as these last two. There's no reason now it shouldn't SOUND as good.

[KevShmev]

Hanz Gruber, funny you mention this albums lacks on both emotion and memorable moments, while Awake is your favorite. Especially Answering the Call reminds me of Awake all the time and the solo starts like Lie did.

I agree with the Barstool Warrior… this is Dream Theater at their finest, Petrucci said many times that a View is their best production ever brought out. If this isn’t your style, maybe you do moved on. Althought a View as a whole has many freshness and new elements, it absolutely fits in the Mangini era.

But then again, you wrote you only listened three times. So your judgement is pretty fast thrown out.

But the door swings both ways on that, yes?

If someone's judgement about the album not being that great because they have only listened a few times means nothing, then gushing about the album after only a few listens also means nothing as well, correct?

Personally, I think this "maybe your tastes have changed" attitude towards Hanz Gruber is a bit oft-putting. Maybe his tastes haven't changed that much and he just thinks the album isn't that great.  I know, I know, crazy to think that some DT fans do not love it, but it happens.  A part of me is still puzzled when some fans do not genuflect to Awake or (even crazier ) compliment Constant Motion, but opinions vary.  That is how it works.  

My original thought was similar in that I wondered if maybe my tastes had changed, but nope, I have gone back and listened to quite a bit of the old stuff recently and still enjoy it as much as always (I had a blast cranking The Count of Tuscany the other day, and that is not even that high on my list of favorites), and the new album, while pretty solid overall, still isn't hitting that sweet spot for me.  And it isn't because "my tastes have changed," or "it's not different enough," or anything like that.  I just don't think the songwriting and melodies overall are very strong.  Not saying they are weak, just not standing out for me thus far.

[ReaPsTA]

But then again, you wrote you only listened three times. So your judgement is pretty fast thrown out.

I don't think I've ever seen everything I hate about fandom culture captured so singularly.

[Podaar]

I've been digging this album, although I wouldn't call it a favorite after my several listens when it was released.

I took a couple of weeks off to get acquainted with Hushed and Grim (which is fantastic) and came back to this yesterday and enjoyed AVFtTotW a lot more. The vocal melodies are starting to click with me, and of course, the instrumentation is all excellent!

Mangini is the star of this record, IMO.

[erciccio]

OK, three listens in and I don't feel the need nor do I feel the urge to listen to the album. I haven't experienced this since the BC&SL days...Not that it's a bad album per se, but maybe I have moved on. F***...

B.Lee

Amen

Dream Theater is my favorite band of all time and I appreciate every new release.  With that said.  This is the the absolute worst album they have ever  released to me personally.  I am not one of those people that say  Petrucci plays with no emotion but this album goes nowhere for me and does nothing for me. I can go back to any DT album and get chills (A Change of Seasons for example) but I feel absolutely nothing from this albums. No "Barstool Warriors" At Wit's End A Change of Seasons etc.  Nothing.  For the first time I am not taken on a journey.  I feel nothing.  Absolutely nothing from this album.  To this day I get chills from countless DT songs like the "let us adore him" section from a "Change of Seasons" This album to \me is void of melody and emotion.  Every song has solos that sound like they could come from any song on the album. It is lifeless. I appreciate all of the albums that DT has released and keeps on gifting to us.  To me though this s the absolute worst and I never need to hear it again.  No emotion.  Every solo sounds like it could come from any song on the album. I appreciate that DT keeps giving us new albums but tis is the first time where I do not wish to hear any songs from a DT album again.  I am glad that most fans seem to like it but it doesn't click with me no matter how many times that I listen.  Every release dwarfs this including The Astonishing and Cleaning the Closet.

Sounds like maybe you have changed rather than the band.

 I haven't changed at all. This album does nothing for me.  Every album has taken me on a journey but this one is emotionless and is the first that I can't even force myself to enjoy.  Dream Theater is my favorite band of all time and nothing will change that. I hope that their next album connects with me but this is the first one that I don't enjoy listening to at all.  I rate it below the debut album.  I like the songs on WDDU but I am not a fan of Charlie so it has always been ranked the lowest for me. This one ranks lower because it is emotionless and unrememberable when it comes to solos or vocal melodies. Nothing catches me at all on this one.  On albums that I considered weaker at least I had songs like "At Wits End" or "Barstool Warriors" that connected.  Nothing from this album is memorable and is anything that I want to hear again.  To me is seems that memorable vocal melodies were a complete afterthought.  So many DT songs in the past give me chills and still do no matter how many times that I hear them.  This one to me sounds all the same through most of the album and is emotionless.

You know, you keep saying the album is 'emotionless' and 'unmemorable' but also that you haven't changed. The contradiction there is that DT15 is very much in line with 3 out of the last 3 albums. I am not sure what in this album is 'emotionless' or why you think that JP play with 'no emotion' here but not on DoT or DT12. I can tell you for sure, nothing in his style has changed. Maybe you are just moving on from this band? I think that saying it's 'emotionless' is sort of a meaningless thing to say -- how can you say that his output is emotionless? were you there with him when he was writing the album? did he seem exhausted and uninterested? did he say he felt detached while writing DT15? --so I was just trying to come up with a more plausible explanation that is actually quite common: people and their tastes change over time.

Like I said.  I haven't moved on.  I enjoy every album by DT (even The Astonishing)  This is the first "miss" for me personally.  Music is subjective. This is the first time in the history of DT that I personally feel no emotion from any of these songs. Many of the instrumental sections in the songs (Awaken the Master, Sleeping Giants, Title Track etc) are indistinguishingable from each other and could be interchanged with each other. This is the first DT album that I honestly could never listen to again and be fine with. I listened to "A Change of Seasons" the other day and it almost felt like the first time I heard it. So many emotions ran through me (even though I have heard it countless times) To me this album feels lifeless and emotionless. The vocal melodies are not memorable and I can't even imagine singing along with them. Songs from Falling to Infinity or even The Astonishing have more memorable solos and are chock full of emotion whereas this feels like a lifeless slog to me. I appreciate every time this band releases a new album because I consider it a blessing. Even though I do not like this album at all I look forward to the next one and consider it a blessing.   For a band that has been releasing albums since the late 80's I can't fault them for finally putting out an album that I do not care for.   This isnt like a St Anger situation.  This is just my favorite band finally putting out an album that I don't like even though the musicianship is top notch.  The songs just don't connect with me at all and are not memorable. On most DT songs I can hum many of the guitar parts or the vocal parts.  I am not even slightly interested in doing so on this one. Absolutely nothing catches me on this release

I am not as negative as you, but I share most of your feelings.

The technical quality and the musicianship are out of discussion, but there are very few things that I really love (that's just a bit bitter than your "absolutely nothing"...) or that are stuck in my mind and I "hum in the shower", or that I feel like learning on guitar. It's a short list though..:
 - the melodic line in The Alien
 - the outro solo in Invisible Monster
 - the riffs, the "wooooohs" and the chorus in the Sleeping Giant ("shadows disappear"...)

All the rest...well, is not just that interesting, for me, not even the instrumental sections or the solos.

I had similar feelings when I first listened to Haken and other modern prog-metal bands...I appreciate the musicianship, but I cannot just "feel the magic".

This is the first DT album where it happens to me, and I am bit sad about it, but I cannot force myself to love it...

There is one good thing though- I went back to a few epics that I thought I didn't love so much, such as Illumination Theory and TCOT and well...I realized that they were actually great songs, much better than AVFTTOTW in my opinion and much better than I remembered.

One last thing- I read that everybody is loving the production and the mixing.
While I agree on the production, I really don't like the mix, especially during the vocal sections. Keys and James are really low, while guitar, bass and bass drum are way too loud, for my tastes...

All of the above are just personal opinions, of course..

[Stadler]

OK, three listens in and I don't feel the need nor do I feel the urge to listen to the album. I haven't experienced this since the BC&SL days...Not that it's a bad album per se, but maybe I have moved on. F***...

B.Lee

Amen

Dream Theater is my favorite band of all time and I appreciate every new release.  With that said.  This is the the absolute worst album they have ever  released to me personally.  I am not one of those people that say  Petrucci plays with no emotion but this album goes nowhere for me and does nothing for me. I can go back to any DT album and get chills (A Change of Seasons for example) but I feel absolutely nothing from this albums. No "Barstool Warriors" At Wit's End A Change of Seasons etc.  Nothing.  For the first time I am not taken on a journey.  I feel nothing.  Absolutely nothing from this album.  To this day I get chills from countless DT songs like the "let us adore him" section from a "Change of Seasons" This album to \me is void of melody and emotion.  Every song has solos that sound like they could come from any song on the album. It is lifeless. I appreciate all of the albums that DT has released and keeps on gifting to us.  To me though this s the absolute worst and I never need to hear it again.  No emotion.  Every solo sounds like it could come from any song on the album. I appreciate that DT keeps giving us new albums but tis is the first time where I do not wish to hear any songs from a DT album again.  I am glad that most fans seem to like it but it doesn't click with me no matter how many times that I listen.  Every release dwarfs this including The Astonishing and Cleaning the Closet.

Sounds like maybe you have changed rather than the band.

 I haven't changed at all. This album does nothing for me.  Every album has taken me on a journey but this one is emotionless and is the first that I can't even force myself to enjoy.  Dream Theater is my favorite band of all time and nothing will change that. I hope that their next album connects with me but this is the first one that I don't enjoy listening to at all.  I rate it below the debut album.  I like the songs on WDDU but I am not a fan of Charlie so it has always been ranked the lowest for me. This one ranks lower because it is emotionless and unrememberable when it comes to solos or vocal melodies. Nothing catches me at all on this one.  On albums that I considered weaker at least I had songs like "At Wits End" or "Barstool Warriors" that connected.  Nothing from this album is memorable and is anything that I want to hear again.  To me is seems that memorable vocal melodies were a complete afterthought.  So many DT songs in the past give me chills and still do no matter how many times that I hear them.  This one to me sounds all the same through most of the album and is emotionless.

You know, you keep saying the album is 'emotionless' and 'unmemorable' but also that you haven't changed. The contradiction there is that DT15 is very much in line with 3 out of the last 3 albums. I am not sure what in this album is 'emotionless' or why you think that JP play with 'no emotion' here but not on DoT or DT12. I can tell you for sure, nothing in his style has changed. Maybe you are just moving on from this band? I think that saying it's 'emotionless' is sort of a meaningless thing to say -- how can you say that his output is emotionless? were you there with him when he was writing the album? did he seem exhausted and uninterested? did he say he felt detached while writing DT15? --so I was just trying to come up with a more plausible explanation that is actually quite common: people and their tastes change over time.

Can I ask a question of those who are pushing back on some of the criticisms? Do you "think" about these reactions, or are they visceral?   I know for me - and for those that don't know, DT fan since 1992; I have something like 2500 CDs and 35,000 songs on my iPod, and I think DT is the band with the 3rd or 4th most songs in there - most of this is visceral.  I either like it or I don't.  Sometimes things change over time - it took until the Ytsejam Director's Cut to really embrace Falling Into Infinity - but for the most part, I FEEL it, then try to explain it, not the other way around.   So for some of you to question someone's emotional response to something (or not) makes me scratch my head.  Even across the album there are parts that hit and parts that don't.   I LOVE LOVE LOVE the part in "Awaken The Master" when the vocals come in (about 2:40) and there's a sort of resolution at about 3:00 that is really satisfying.  I can't help but listen to other songs and wish there was as impactful a moment.  It is what it is.