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

[TAC]

Who is Peter Orullian?

[Logain Ablar]

Who is Peter Orullian?

He’s the author of The Astonishing novel. He’s also a singer.

https://www.orullian.rocks/

[TAC]

Cool. Thank you!

[Logain Ablar]

I’ve gotten as far as Awaken The Master in the video. There’s a fair amount of name dropping (“I must send Jordan a text about that”), but sure, if you were on first name terms with the band, why wouldn’t you? 

He has some interesting insights, coming from a vocalist’s perspective.

[Trav86]

Who is Peter Orullian?

He’s the author of The Astonishing novel. He’s also a singer.

https://www.orullian.rocks/

On top of that he’s been friends with James, JP and Jordan for years. I think he worked with the through their music label at one time too. And he’s been a fan since I&W. So, he brings a pretty knowledgeable perspective to things.

[jammindude]

Shameless plug…he’s also an absolutely brilliant fantasy author. He has his own series called The Vault of Heaven. The first two books are absolutely brilliant, and the third is in the works (but delayed because of things like being asked to write The Astonishing novelization).

I met him at Emerald City Comicon when he was promoting his newest book in a booth with Kevin Anderson, and even interviewed him for my show a year later. Really nice guy. We hung out a bit at the Astonishing show in Seattle.

[Kotowboy]

Ok i just listened to the whole album again whilst playing a PS4 game.

I love the first 3 tracks and the final 2 tracks .

Best "epic" since Octavarium. Easily. It's nowhere near as disjointed as Illumination theory and I think it's stronger overall than The Count...

And absolutely better than In The Presence of Enemies. Definitely Part II at the very least.

Transcending Time and Sleeping Giant are just OK at the moment.

So yeah. After a couple of weeks - I think Distance Over Time is stronger overall.

[Stadler]

An update on a topic previously discussed in case helps anyone who wants to buy the album in Amazon US.
Just realized Amazon US added the Autorip mp3 option for the US CD and US Vinyl versions -if shipped & sold by them (Not the imported ones). Not sure why it wasn’t before and why added now, bad news is that seems not retroactive if you had bought, had to re-purchase cd to get that into my digital library (the collector part of me could not rest until getting that haha).

Can't you just rip the CD??

Funny you say that. I still play cds, rip cds, burn cds etc… my 3 boys have computers that don’t even have cd drives. They don’t even know what a cdr is.

So I got a new laptop about a year ago or so. I got the Distant Memories CD/DVD thing. I was like, Oh cool, I'm gonna watch the DVD on my laptop. Where's the fucking disc drive?? WTF??

That sucks! If you build your own through any company you have to ask them to include a cd/dvd drive. Same with new cars. I bought an external CD/DVD drive from Amazon just to have one. ***I cannot and will not stop playing cds***

My wife and I have that conversation all the time.  She plugs her phone in and all is dandy.  I'm still pissed that the car she picked out doesn't have a CD player in it. 

[Stadler]

I listened again this weekend - twice - while painting my bathroom...  I've had three or four main comments.  I was critical of some of the drum choices (including and especially the bass drum) and the lack of epic melodies.  I praised John P's playing in particular, and the ensemble John/John/Jordan playing.   I think the two negative ones are largely the same; I think to some degree James' singing overcomes the lack of really determinative melodies so there's that but there are a couple moments where it seemed ripe and right for the epic resolution that never came.  All that, of course, is a matter of my taste, and I understand that.   And I'm not looking to relitigate those; if you disagree, so be it.   I came to write that the two positive imporessions are really confirmed.  This is fast becoming one of my favorite Petrucci records.  He's all over this record, and in a good way.  Really impressed.  And the other is the ensemble playing; I was really impressed how the three lead instruments worked together; the composition on this album is really strong.  I don't mean the songwriting per se, but how the three lead instruments share and trade space on the record.  Really impressive.

[the_silent_man]

Agreed, I think Petrucci has been on a roll lately. He really stepped it up on DOT, and moreso on his solo, LTE and now this. For a few years prior with the s/t and TA, I felt that he was losing his edge, but he seems in great form lately.

[CDrice]

For some reason, I feel like Jordan is really the highlight of this album for me. Not so much for his solos, which are always hit or miss for me, but for everything else he does. Like I don't know if it's because he stepped up his game a bit, if it's just that what I focus in music has shifted recently or the production that makes him shine more, but I love what his playing adds to the music. He sets some great atmospheres and has some really cool moments throughout the whole album.

Anyway, I think at this point the new album will sit in the upper half of their discography for sure. I doubt it will ever reach the level of Images and Words, Scenes and Six Degrees, but I think it could sit comfortably in the tier below along Train of Thought and Distance Over Time. I'm quite impressed that they managed to make two albums I like this much in a row, so late in their career.

[lovethedrake]

For some reason, I feel like Jordan is really the highlight of this album for me. Not so much for his solos, which are always hit or miss for me, but for everything else he does. Like I don't know if it's because he stepped up his game a bit, if it's just that what I focus in music has shifted recently or the production that makes him shine more, but I love what his playing adds to the music. He sets some great atmospheres and has some really cool moments throughout the whole album.

Anyway, I think at this point the new album will sit in the upper half of their discography for sure. I doubt it will ever reach the level of Images and Words, Scenes and Six Degrees, but I think it could sit comfortably in the tier below along Train of Thought and Distance Over Time. I'm quite impressed that they managed to make two albums I like this much in a row, so late in their career.

I agree with you on Jordan's non solo playing.  He is great on this album when he isn't soloing.  I actually think they should turn him up in the mix a bit more.   We have similar taste as I would replace TOT with Awake but outside of that those are probably my top 6 also.

[LKap13]

For some reason, I feel like Jordan is really the highlight of this album for me. Not so much for his solos, which are always hit or miss for me, but for everything else he does. Like I don't know if it's because he stepped up his game a bit, if it's just that what I focus in music has shifted recently or the production that makes him shine more, but I love what his playing adds to the music. He sets some great atmospheres and has some really cool moments throughout the whole album.

Anyway, I think at this point the new album will sit in the upper half of their discography for sure. I doubt it will ever reach the level of Images and Words, Scenes and Six Degrees, but I think it could sit comfortably in the tier below along Train of Thought and Distance Over Time. I'm quite impressed that they managed to make two albums I like this much in a row, so late in their career.

Jordan, James and Mike.

All of them really

[rab7]

For some reason, I feel like Jordan is really the highlight of this album for me. Not so much for his solos, which are always hit or miss for me, but for everything else he does. Like I don't know if it's because he stepped up his game a bit, if it's just that what I focus in music has shifted recently or the production that makes him shine more, but I love what his playing adds to the music. He sets some great atmospheres and has some really cool moments throughout the whole album.

Anyway, I think at this point the new album will sit in the upper half of their discography for sure. I doubt it will ever reach the level of Images and Words, Scenes and Six Degrees, but I think it could sit comfortably in the tier below along Train of Thought and Distance Over Time. I'm quite impressed that they managed to make two albums I like this much in a row, so late in their career.

I agree with you on Jordan's non solo playing.  He is great on this album when he isn't soloing.  I actually think they should turn him up in the mix a bit more.   We have similar taste as I would replace TOT with Awake but outside of that those are probably my top 6 also.

I actually think his solos have gotten a teensy bit better this time. Whereas his solos usually devolve into blizzards of notes and then sustained pitch bending that are completely unmemorable, he seems to have made an effort to play less notes this time. I was listening to Awaken the MAster this morning, and his solo reminded me of Kevin Moore

[Kotowboy]

As far as 'dull vocal melodies' - I only agree on Transcending Time. The " Traaaanscending Timmme TRAAAAAANSCENDING TIME " bit should have ben way more catchy than it is.

[TheCountOfNYC]

After a few weeks, I think I’m ready to update my rankings to include this album.

01: Scenes From a Memory
02: Octavarium
03: Images and Words
04: A Dramatic Turn of Events
05: A View From the Top of the World
06: Awake
07: The Astonishing
08: Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
09: Distance Over Time
10: Train of Thought
11: Black Clouds & Silver Linings
12: Dream Theater
13: Falling Into Infinity
14: Systematic Chaos
15: When Dream and Day Unite

[krands85]

As far as 'dull vocal melodies' - I only agree on Transcending Time. The " Traaaanscending Timmme TRAAAAAANSCENDING TIME " bit should have ben way more catchy than it is.

That's my least favourite moment on the whole album. The first time I heard it, it felt really clumsy/clunky to me and I haven't quite been able to get over it yet.

Thankfully, there aren't any other real standout low points like that for me on the album and I'm enjoying TT a bit more as a song overall too.

[LKap13]

Here's a question for you all... how can DT possibly top this album now? Ha!

[Glasser]

Here's a question for you all... how can DT possibly top this album now? Ha!

Well, I agree but not everyone feels the same about this album and it may be topped easily for some.

[geeeemo]

Except for WDaDU, I love all DT albums. Some more than others. I doubt they could make an album that I wouldn't love. Their sound, lyrics, JP guitar and just how they do, for me, a different record each time, but still maintain their amazing Dream Theater identity.

[KevShmev]

For some reason, I feel like Jordan is really the highlight of this album for me. Not so much for his solos, which are always hit or miss for me, but for everything else he does. Like I don't know if it's because he stepped up his game a bit, if it's just that what I focus in music has shifted recently or the production that makes him shine more, but I love what his playing adds to the music. He sets some great atmospheres and has some really cool moments throughout the whole album.

Anyway, I think at this point the new album will sit in the upper half of their discography for sure. I doubt it will ever reach the level of Images and Words, Scenes and Six Degrees, but I think it could sit comfortably in the tier below along Train of Thought and Distance Over Time. I'm quite impressed that they managed to make two albums I like this much in a row, so late in their career.

I agree with you on Jordan's non solo playing.  He is great on this album when he isn't soloing.  I actually think they should turn him up in the mix a bit more.   We have similar taste as I would replace TOT with Awake but outside of that those are probably my top 6 also.

I agree that Rudess mostly does a great job on this album with the non-solo playing (his solos, as usual, are more miss than hit for me), but I actually think he works well being not as high in the mix.  It is a pretty dark album, and I think he did a great job this time around in his choices of sounds and tones, and not being high in the mix a lot of the time works to the advantage of the music.  With the bass, guitar and drums all going full tilt so often, having the keys laying down those faint dark tones in the background works extremely well instead of having them mixed higher to where it feels like they are all fighting each other to be heard.  The jury is still out on how much I like the album, largely because I am still having difficult really connecting with some of the songs and melodies, but I think the overall vibe they captured is really good, and I do think the keyboard sounds and the way they were mixed was very well done.

[jayvee3]

I listened again this weekend - twice - while painting my bathroom...  I've had three or four main comments.  I was critical of some of the drum choices (including and especially the bass drum) and the lack of epic melodies.  I praised John P's playing in particular, and the ensemble John/John/Jordan playing.   I think the two negative ones are largely the same; I think to some degree James' singing overcomes the lack of really determinative melodies so there's that but there are a couple moments where it seemed ripe and right for the epic resolution that never came.  All that, of course, is a matter of my taste, and I understand that.   And I'm not looking to relitigate those; if you disagree, so be it.   I came to write that the two positive imporessions are really confirmed.  This is fast becoming one of my favorite Petrucci records.  He's all over this record, and in a good way.  Really impressed.  And the other is the ensemble playing; I was really impressed how the three lead instruments worked together; the composition on this album is really strong.  I don't mean the songwriting per se, but how the three lead instruments share and trade space on the record.  Really impressive.

While I don’t agree with you on the drum choices (I think the drumming throughout the album is stellar and a real highlight), I do agree with your point with James. I think he sounds great, but there absolutely are times when I felt we were going somewhere bigger than we ultimately got. Nice album overall though 😊

[rab7]

Here's a question for you all... how can DT possibly top this album now? Ha!

We've all been distracted by the song lengths. From the moment they were revealed, we all thought "finally they're no longer limiting themselves to concise songs!", and even after we've heard all the music, people have said they're happy DT is letting the ideas flow instead of stopping.

But after a few weeks, I've realized that with the exception of the Title Track, every song still follows the formula of DT12 and D/T, except much longer. Whereas DT12 and D/T focused on shorter songs with the fixed Intro-Verse-Chorus-Cool 2nd Verse-Chorus-Instrumental-Chorus, this album does the exact same thing, but the Intros are much longer and the instrumental sections are much longer.

That being said, it doesn't make me enjoy the album any less. In fact, it makes me even more excited for DT16 because I think they've explored this structure as far as they can go, and will probably move away from it next album.

So to answer your question, they will top this album by breaking away from the Intro-Verse-Chorus-Cool 2nd Verse-Chorus-Instrumental-Chorus, while still maintaining A View's level of heaviness and energy

[erciccio]

Here is mine..quite consolidated

01: Images and Words
02: Scenes from a Memory
03: Awake
04: A Dramatic Turn of Events
05: The Astonishing
06: Six Degrees of Inner Turbolence
07: Dream Theater
08: Octavarium
09: Train of Thoughts
10: Distance Over Time
11: Black Clouds & Silver Linings
12: A View from the Top of the World
13: When Day and Dream Unite
14: Systematic Chaos
15: Falling Into Infinity

[Kotowboy]

Mangini Era - I need to listen to A Dramatic Turn again but...

1. Distance Over Time
1a. A View From The Top - it's very close but I find D/T more consistent.

2. The Astonishing
3. A Dramatic Turn of Events
4. Dream Theater.  The tom sounding snare really ruins it for me and I don't like Illumination Theory.

---------------

A View From The Top Of The World :

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

[illusionist]

Hey guys,can someone please pinpoint me which exactly is the Bethoven/Bach/Mozart section
in the middle of the title track?
I guess it's somewhere in the softer 5 minutes in the middle,but where exactly it is?
Thanks!

[Max Kuehnau]

16:25 (ish)- 16:57 (ish). The actual section is 4 bars long, but it gets to be expanded and used in a different rhythmic and melodic context, so I gave you the whole section. The third movement follows it directly afterwards. (and it's inspired by Bach IMHO, not Beetie or Mozart)

[Dream Team]

For some reason, I feel like Jordan is really the highlight of this album for me. Not so much for his solos, which are always hit or miss for me, but for everything else he does. Like I don't know if it's because he stepped up his game a bit, if it's just that what I focus in music has shifted recently or the production that makes him shine more, but I love what his playing adds to the music. He sets some great atmospheres and has some really cool moments throughout the whole album.

Anyway, I think at this point the new album will sit in the upper half of their discography for sure. I doubt it will ever reach the level of Images and Words, Scenes and Six Degrees, but I think it could sit comfortably in the tier below along Train of Thought and Distance Over Time. I'm quite impressed that they managed to make two albums I like this much in a row, so late in their career.

I agree with you on Jordan's non solo playing.  He is great on this album when he isn't soloing.  I actually think they should turn him up in the mix a bit more.   We have similar taste as I would replace TOT with Awake but outside of that those are probably my top 6 also.

I actually think his solos have gotten a teensy bit better this time. Whereas his solos usually devolve into blizzards of notes and then sustained pitch bending that are completely unmemorable, he seems to have made an effort to play less notes this time. I was listening to Awaken the MAster this morning, and his solo reminded me of Kevin Moore

Yes, he does a melodic solo about every 3rd album so I'll give him that.

[Stadler]

Mangini Era - I need to listen to A Dramatic Turn again but...

1. Distance Over Time
2a. A Dramatic Turn of Events
2b. A View From The Top - it's very close but the high points of ADTOE are higher
3. Dream Theater
4. The Astonishing (better than it should be, but just not there)

---------------

A View From The Top Of The World :

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


Honestly, 3, 4, and 5 are in a sort of Schroedinger's Cat relationship; they are all 3 and 4 and 5 at the same time unless you pull one out of the hat (or are listening to it).   Pluses and minuses aside, this is a VERY consistent album.  I won't say I skip it yet, it's too early, but the only potential skip is Invisible Monster.

[illusionist]

16:25 (ish)- 16:57 (ish). The actual section is 4 bars long, but it gets to be expanded and used in a different rhythmic and melodic context, so I gave you the whole section. The third movement follows it directly afterwards. (and it's inspired by Bach IMHO, not Beetie or Mozart)

Thanks Max!

[Stadler]

16:25 (ish)- 16:57 (ish). The actual section is 4 bars long, but it gets to be expanded and used in a different rhythmic and melodic context, so I gave you the whole section. The third movement follows it directly afterwards. (and it's inspired by Bach IMHO, not Beetie or Mozart)

Thanks Max!

I was going to ask that; "inspired by Bach, Beethoven and Mozart" is like saying "inspired by Les Paul, Jimi Hendrix and Yngwie Malmsteen".  Okay, they're all classical composers/guitar players, but the similarities start to diverge from there pretty quickly. 

[bosk1]

I hate trying to rank an album this early after a release.  I just feel like I haven't digested it enough to pick up on all the little things that can make a big impact, have had time to let the newness wear off, etc.  But maybe I'm just too obsessive about it.  But I'm just more comfortable putting a new album by a given artist into a "ranking" once I have sat with it long enough to feel like that ranking is unlikely to change drastically.  But that said, here's my preliminary "right now" ranking of the Mangini era albums:

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

But having listed them all, I have to point out that, to me, the difference between #1 and #5 is very small.  I would be perfectly happy listing any of these as my "favorite DT album" if the others didn't exist.  And I should also say that, to me, the Mangini era as a whole, all 5 albums worth, has been so solid that they would still be my all time favorite band if the Portnoy era albums didn't exist (but I'm super glad they do!). 

[cramx3]

I'll give it a shot...

MM era albums:

ADTOE
TA
DoT
AVFTTOTW
DT12

and track rankings:

Answering the Call
AVFTTOTW
Trancsending Time
Invisible Monster
Awaken the Master
Sleeping Giant
The Alien

[lovethedrake]

This could change but I’ll give it a shot.  I’m torn between DOT and A View.

1. A view
2. DoT
3. TA


4. Self Titled.








5. ADTOE


Song ranking on a view

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

But I really like all 7 so I feel bad ranking anything last.

[krands85]

MM Albums:
1. ADTOE

2. DOT
3. AVFTTOTW

4. TA
5. DT12

A View Tracks:
1. AVFTTOTW

2. The Alien
3. Awaken the Master

4. Sleeping Giant
5. Answering the Call
6. Invisible Monster

7. Transcending Time