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

[Dedalus]

TT is an amazing song 

[Pettor]

It's funny how this album feels like Awake, SDOIT, ADTOE and D/T all mixed into one. Dark and mature vibe like Awake. Modern sound and proggy like ADTOE. Great mix and fullness of D/T. Uncompromising and deep like SDOIT.

[AVFTTOTW]

My ranking:

1. A View From The Top Of The World
2. Awaken The Master
3. Sleeping Giant
4. Invisible Monster
5. Answering The Call
6. The Alien
7. Transcending Time


6&7 don't do much for me and 7 is pure filler. But still as a full album it's probably their best since ADTOE, hands down.

Damn opinions always vary but calling 7 pure filler surely is hard for me to wrap my head around 🤔 If you said 4 I would at least kind of understand you but 7, regardless of being a favourite or not, just doesn't qualify as filler in any definition I try to come up with. But DT seldom does anything I can call filler actually even if I don't like the song.

Well that is my frank view, agree or not.

Some more frank views on their back catalogue are in this post and the post below it: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=56905.msg2822110#msg2822110

I speak as a relatively seasoned DT fan, I like what I like.

[genome]

I feel like I may need to duck after posting this, but the intro to Awaken the Master reminds me of .... Raw Dog 

[Dedalus]

I feel like I may need to duck after posting this, but the intro to Awaken the Master reminds me of .... Raw Dog 

[Polarbear]

First impression was pretty positive!

Feels like "Mashed potatoes/ gravy" Dream Theater through and through. There was nothing i didn't like (except Invisible Monster), but nothing stood out as amazing either. There was nothing like At Wit's End or Barstool Warrior from the last album.

One problem I have, is the bloated song lengths. The title track, Sleeping Giant and Awaken the Master would all be better if they had cut back on the song lengths IMO. I find that this album has a similar problem with BC/SL. Like the three tracks I mentioned, A Nightmare to Remember, The Count of Tuscany and The Best of Times would all have been better if the were shorter. I loved D/T precisely because they trimmed all the unnecessary fat from the songs, and there was nothing over 10 minutes!

So Yeah, first impression was solid. But I'm not over the moon about it either. A step back from Distance Over Time...

[LordJordan]

Not so much time to write but so many thoughts to share...
So I'll say something that no one has written yet: the title track feels shorter than TMOLS to me.
I'll come back.
Just like they did: astonishing record.

[WardySI]

1. Answering The Call
(Heft and roll and LOVE those vocal melodies and James sounds epic!)

2. Awaken the Master
(That BASS Song moves & grooves perfect DT fer these ears and more 5star James)

3. Transcending Time
(What everyone else has already said, beautiful stuff)

Then the rest 
(Although I haven't delved into the title track yet want digest the rest of the album before plunging into the finale via headphones and a couple reds )

[DoctorAction]

After one listen, neither excited nor disappointed. Certainly, the production is terrific and performances. Some new sonic elements and vibes there.

I did notice the subtle influence of "musical" style elements in the more major key vocal sections.

I still really dislike the lyrics to Invisible Monster but it feels a little theatrical / hammy / tongue-in-cheek in the context of the album, which may help me with it going forwards.

The ending is very Finally Free.

Be interesting to see how it grows!

[lovethedrake]

Just did my first listen through….

I thought the best song by far was Transcending Time with the Alien a close second.  That could all change.

A little disappointed overall  but I’ll reserve real judgement until I have several listens under my belt.  I think my biggest disappointment is Petrucci which I’m not sure I’ve ever said before.  Every lead sounds exactly the same.  He’s my favorite guitarist of all time but…. Hopefully more listens reveal more nuance. 

Nothing really stood out from a performance standpoint. 

James had moments of “there’s the James I know and love” and then moments of “maybe vocal effects would have helped here”.

There wasn’t a single musical passage that “moved” me.  Everything is just a solo trade off… I miss the days of musical suites like the ending of about to crash reprise.  We don’t need to hear JP and JR just solo back and forth a million times.

Idk… a lot to digest and hopefully it will click more.   That often happens as I didn’t like SDOIT and now it’s in my big 3.

So far though it feels like a step down from DOT.  There is no AWE on this album.

Also I was enjoying the title track and then it just sort of ends.   Weird ending.


Also…  Am I crazy or does Apple Music sound awful… I had to switch to a YouTube version,  there are literally no dynamics on the Apple Music stream,

Any audio people out there that can attest to this?

[gborland]

My first thought is:

Too many Jordan solos. 

[MarkFitDT]

I havent managed to get past Answering the Call yet as I'm on my third play of it! Brilliant song, lovely melodies and love Jordans performance on it especially.

[andrewt67]

Hi all
Played it through twice now.
Obviously, there's a lot of music to take in.
At the moment, the outstanding tracks for me are Answering The Call and Transcending Time.......I'm sure this could change as I have more listens - I'm a postie in UK so I'll be listening to this through my earbuds tomorrow whilst I'm out on my post round.
Enjoy the new album and have a great weekend everyone !

[bl5150]

Just did my first listen through….

I thought the best song by far was Transcending Time with the Alien a close second.  That could all change.

A little disappointed overall  but I’ll reserve real judgement until I have several listens under my belt.  I think my biggest disappointment is Petrucci which I’m not sure I’ve ever said before.  Every lead sounds exactly the same.  He’s my favorite guitarist of all time but…. Hopefully more listens reveal more nuance. 

Nothing really stood out from a performance standpoint. 

James had moments of “there’s the James I know and love” and then moments of “maybe vocal effects would have helped here”.

There wasn’t a single musical passage that “moved” me.  Everything is just a solo trade off… I miss the days of musical suites like the ending of about to crash reprise.  We don’t need to hear JP and JR just solo back and forth a million times.

Idk… a lot to digest and hopefully it will click more.   That often happens as I didn’t like SDOIT and now it’s in my big 3.

So far though it feels like a step down from DOT.  There is no AWE on this album.

Also I was enjoying the title track and then it just sort of ends.   Weird ending.


Also…  Am I crazy or does Apple Music sound awful… I had to switch to a YouTube version,  there are literally no dynamics on the Apple Music stream,

Any audio people out there that can attest to this?

That was more my take on the album (incl fave track) ...................but we're in the minority.   Hopefully your ears agree with the majority wolfking 

I'm actually happy to hear how it's being received despite my relative ambivalence.   I gave it a solid 7/10

[Pettor]

My ranking:

1. A View From The Top Of The World
2. Awaken The Master
3. Sleeping Giant
4. Invisible Monster
5. Answering The Call
6. The Alien
7. Transcending Time


6&7 don't do much for me and 7 is pure filler. But still as a full album it's probably their best since ADTOE, hands down.

Damn opinions always vary but calling 7 pure filler surely is hard for me to wrap my head around 🤔 If you said 4 I would at least kind of understand you but 7, regardless of being a favourite or not, just doesn't qualify as filler in any definition I try to come up with. But DT seldom does anything I can call filler actually even if I don't like the song.

Well that is my frank view, agree or not.

Some more frank views on their back catalogue are in this post and the post below it: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=56905.msg2822110#msg2822110

I speak as a relatively seasoned DT fan, I like what I like.

Oh this wasn't a "you are wrong", and more of a "it would be cool to know how you reached that conclusion". To be frank, I couldn't care less how other rank their stuff haha, but it's fun when someone has an idea I can't relate to at all. Then it's quite fun to understand more about that. I just think the song is filled with creative and memorable stuff. The only fillers I know in DT discography I guess would be FII stuff like You Not Me and possibly some stuff on TA.

[lovethedrake]

My ranking:

1. A View From The Top Of The World
2. Awaken The Master
3. Sleeping Giant
4. Invisible Monster
5. Answering The Call
6. The Alien
7. Transcending Time


6&7 don't do much for me and 7 is pure filler. But still as a full album it's probably their best since ADTOE, hands down.

Damn opinions always vary but calling 7 pure filler surely is hard for me to wrap my head around 🤔 If you said 4 I would at least kind of understand you but 7, regardless of being a favourite or not, just doesn't qualify as filler in any definition I try to come up with. But DT seldom does anything I can call filler actually even if I don't like the song.

Well that is my frank view, agree or not.

Some more frank views on their back catalogue are in this post and the post below it: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=56905.msg2822110#msg2822110

I speak as a relatively seasoned DT fan, I like what I like.

Oh this wasn't a "you are wrong", and more of a "it would be cool to know how you reached that conclusion". To be frank, I couldn't care less how other rank their stuff haha, but it's fun when someone has an idea I can't relate to at all. Then it's quite fun to understand more about that. I just think the song is filled with creative and memorable stuff. The only fillers I know in DT discography I guess would be FII stuff like You Not Me and possibly some stuff on TA.

To me TT is the most 90’s sounding Dream Theater song in a very long time.  Which is why it’s my favorite on the album so far.

[Dedalus]

I think the excess of solo trade off is the main criticism that can be made.
On my first audition it dominated a lot of my attention and that's why I thought the record wasn't that good. It felt like I was listening to the latest MP records.
Fortunately, the rest of the material offers a lot of interesting stuff, which manages to make up for this very well IMO. Something that does not occur with the almost monochrome TOT.

It seems that this was due to the songs being bigger. There wasn't as much room for "DT being LTE" on records like DOT.

[Dedalus]

I think the excess of solo trade off is the main criticism that can be made.
On my first audition it dominated a lot of my attention and that's why I thought the record wasn't that good. It felt like I was listening to the latest MP records.
Fortunately, the rest of the material offers a lot of interesting stuff, which manages to make up for this very well IMO. Something that does not occur with the almost monochrome TOT.

It seems that this was due to the songs being bigger. There wasn't as much room for "DT being LTE" on records like DOT.

And speaking of the devil. Is this a consequence of LTE3?

[Pettor]

I don't have the ability to recognize chords easily but it still strikes me that this album has a lot of interesting chord progressions!

[Dedalus]

I don't have the ability to recognize chords easily but it still strikes me that this album has a lot of interesting chord progressions!

Oh it has. Especially ATM.

[genome]

Sleeping Giant - I love the chord they hit on "that doesn't make a sound" in the chorus. That is a sexy modulation. Nice harmonies from JLB there too.

[Pettor]

I don't have the ability to recognize chords easily but it still strikes me that this album has a lot of interesting chord progressions!

Oh it has. Especially ATM.

Yeah. ATM, Sleeping Giant and ofc AVFTTOTW really has a lot of stuff going on. It strikes me as a sound that isn't always easily digestible but at the same time paint the music in a way I really like! The more my brain will start understanding them the better they will get as well! 😁

BTW need to add that I am once again baffled how a 20 minute song can feel so short. Getting to the cello part feels like 3 minutes and then it's already half time. Love it!

[DoctorAction]

Mid second listen (in the middle of TT atm) and am feeling excited and happy now. 

[wolfking]

My ranking:

1. A View From The Top Of The World
2. Awaken The Master
3. Sleeping Giant
4. Invisible Monster
5. Answering The Call
6. The Alien
7. Transcending Time


6&7 don't do much for me and 7 is pure filler. But still as a full album it's probably their best since ADTOE, hands down.

Damn opinions always vary but calling 7 pure filler surely is hard for me to wrap my head around 🤔 If you said 4 I would at least kind of understand you but 7, regardless of being a favourite or not, just doesn't qualify as filler in any definition I try to come up with. But DT seldom does anything I can call filler actually even if I don't like the song.

Well that is my frank view, agree or not.

Some more frank views on their back catalogue are in this post and the post below it: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=56905.msg2822110#msg2822110

I speak as a relatively seasoned DT fan, I like what I like.

Love it, make no apologies mate. 

Some need to just think that difference in opinions shows the strength of the album.

[gborland]

The phone-call delay effect on James' vocals in Sleeping Giant is one of the worst production decisions they've made since they decided to use exactly the same effect in Ministry Of Lost Souls back in 2007.

[wolfking]

Just did my first listen through….

I thought the best song by far was Transcending Time with the Alien a close second.  That could all change.

A little disappointed overall  but I’ll reserve real judgement until I have several listens under my belt.  I think my biggest disappointment is Petrucci which I’m not sure I’ve ever said before.  Every lead sounds exactly the same.  He’s my favorite guitarist of all time but…. Hopefully more listens reveal more nuance. 

Nothing really stood out from a performance standpoint. 

James had moments of “there’s the James I know and love” and then moments of “maybe vocal effects would have helped here”.

There wasn’t a single musical passage that “moved” me.  Everything is just a solo trade off… I miss the days of musical suites like the ending of about to crash reprise.  We don’t need to hear JP and JR just solo back and forth a million times.

Idk… a lot to digest and hopefully it will click more.   That often happens as I didn’t like SDOIT and now it’s in my big 3.

So far though it feels like a step down from DOT.  There is no AWE on this album.

Also I was enjoying the title track and then it just sort of ends.   Weird ending.


Also…  Am I crazy or does Apple Music sound awful… I had to switch to a YouTube version,  there are literally no dynamics on the Apple Music stream,

Any audio people out there that can attest to this?

That was more my take on the album (incl fave track) ...................but we're in the minority.   Hopefully your ears agree with the majority wolfking 

I'm actually happy to hear how it's being received despite my relative ambivalence.   I gave it a solid 7/10

Ah that word. 

Yeah, I'm keen for this now.  The hype might be a downfall though, we'll see.

It's funny how this album feels like Awake, SDOIT, ADTOE and D/T all mixed into one. Dark and mature vibe like Awake. Modern sound and proggy like ADTOE. Great mix and fullness of D/T. Uncompromising and deep like SDOIT.

That's some big calls right there.

[Lonk]

Alright album day 

[Pettor]

It's funny how this album feels like Awake, SDOIT, ADTOE and D/T all mixed into one. Dark and mature vibe like Awake. Modern sound and proggy like ADTOE. Great mix and fullness of D/T. Uncompromising and deep like SDOIT.

That's some big calls right there.

Doesn't mean it manages to take the best from all those, just that I can feel similarities like the ones above. So far I love the album more and more for each second (as expected) but I should wait 6 month before saying anything 😁 For me how well an album stands the test of time is maybe the most important one and it's never possible to give a fair judgement on that this early.

[wolfking]

It's funny how this album feels like Awake, SDOIT, ADTOE and D/T all mixed into one. Dark and mature vibe like Awake. Modern sound and proggy like ADTOE. Great mix and fullness of D/T. Uncompromising and deep like SDOIT.

That's some big calls right there.

Doesn't mean it manages to take the best from all those, just that I can feel similarities like the ones above. So far I love the album more and more for each second (as expected) but I should wait 6 month before saying anything 😁 For me how well an album stands the test of time is maybe the most important one and it's never possible to give a fair judgement on that this early.

Fair play mate.

[Kotowboy]

Parts of this album do sound very familiar - but not in a "we've run out of ideas" way. It's more like they're celebrating every era of the band. On their Fifteenth album...


Anyway - i've got a 1 hour bus ride later today so will listen to it again.

[Pettor]

I am not crazy for thinking Transcending Time sounds a lot like The Looking Glass initially? I like TT a lot more than TLG but there's still some similarities initially that feels weirdly similar 

[devieira73]

I really loved this album on my first listens!!! I think TA (what an opener!), SG (a perfect 10 minutes DT song), TT (DT blending AOR amazingly) e AVFTTOTW (wonderful, with a bit of an unexpected ending for an epic, right?) will be easily regarded to me among DT best songs in the future. ATC and ATM are both excellent, with ATM reminding me a bit of The Dark Eternal Night, but more melodic in parts. I think the vocal melodies are kind of a grower, but definitely not weak, maybe in some places of IM. IM is the only song in the album that I find a bit ordinary, but the rest of the album is really amazing! And the production/overall sound is stellar! It's already safe to say tha it's (at least) the best album from Mangini era - it really oozes excitement by the band. Let's see how it evolves from here...

[Peter Mc]

Lots of very Rush moments on this so yes, The Looking Glass is a valid comparison.

Not got to grips with the album yet but I’m enjoying it more than I was expecting early on after having to work hard with the singles.  After hearing the album though, it’s crazy to me that they released The Alien as the first single.  There’s much more commercial sounding stuff here for a single and they could have saved that opening song onslaught for when people heard the album for the first time.

Some of Petrucci’s playing in the title track is just jaw dropping.

[Kotowboy]

I'm just glad that Petrucci uses and 8 string and doesn't JUST go Gunga Gunga Gunga GAGOWWW Gunga Gunga Gowwww.... Like a Meshuggah track.

It sounds so PHAT and not like most tech/djent bands use 8 strings. Which is basically that ONE sound ( except Tosin Abasi )..

[Dellers]

This is a great album. The singles are the weakest tracks, but Invisible Monster seems to grow a bit now. The other songs are great, although there is a lot to take in. Easily the best album since ADTOE. I listened to this louder than I usually do since it didn't have any frequencies that bothered me. The mix is great, but sadly the master is still too hot for my liking. Seems to be DR7, but considering that the drums and bass are fairly loud that's pretty much as squished as it gets without getting too many problems. Very disappointed that the blu-ray didn't have a bit more dynamics since the previous album had that. Why go through all that great mixing work only for the mastering limiter to make things sound worse than necessary? Limiting dynamic range too much is a bit like selling 96 kbit/s mp3's, that takes away about as much (but in a completely different way) for no sensible reason.