Dream Theater announces 16th Studio Album - Parasomnia

[durga2112]

As someone who is the exact same age as Mike and John P. (and presumably John M.) I think this talk about "nearing the end" is perhaps relative, but I think a little presumptuous, unless you think "20 years to go" is "nearing the end". 

You can count the number of musicians that just walked away on two hands and have fingers left over, and not even then.  I would name The Kinks - but Ray has (or had) been active well after the band called it quits because of Dave's illnesses.  REM. 

Whether it's "John Petrucci's Dream Theater" or "John and Mike play the Music of Dream Theater" or some variation like that, I don't see any of these people just 'walking away' any time soon.  Even Jordan. 

Well, even 20 years is much closer to the end than to the beginning at this point, so yes, relatively speaking, we're nearing the end.  And you have several-ish years on me, so I'm sure you don't need to be told just how fast time passes these days, so even if they do go another couple of decades, it sure won't feel like that.

I really hope you're right, though - I'd love to be able to still be rocking out to new Dream Theater music when I'm retired!

[Dream Team]

After one (and only one) listen-through thus far, IMO, the 3 singles released are the 3 least-interesting pieces on the album.

Which was good news for me, since I wasn't in love with any of the 3.

Awesome news, thanks Hef. 

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

That sounds promising, since all three are good but not mind-blowing songs. Perhaps they'll become better in the context of the full album experience.

Maybe to some degree but I'm not sure. The songs make sense as standalone pieces. I personally find this album hard to listen to straight through without getting ear fatigue.

[durga2112]

The only problem and potential limit with DT is the technical intricancy of their music - Bruce Springsteen can get away with playing slowed down versions of Born to Run and Badlands, DT just can't slow down Pull Me Under. Even Iron Maiden got slower through years, but a 13 minutes version of Metropolis because they can't do it at the original tempo anymore would be plain weird.

If they still want to keep playing past the point of being able to play their songs note for note, I'd love to see them do some acoustic or otherwise mellowed out versions of their songs.

[DreamerTV]

There's a sense of maturity in this album, especially in the vocals, that I honestly didn't expect anymore.

I'm not talking about technique — I mean the subtle nuances in certain choices, in some phrasing. I don't think it's a coincidence that the best example of this is the track where James is the lyricist — not one of the three singles, but the other one he wrote (one that is so close from being an absolute gem...).

It's interesting because the most striking feeling is that the band deliberately comes within inches of repeating melodies they've already written, vocally speaking, only to take an almost unexpected turn (instrumentally, the repetitions are there, and quite a few). Sometimes, it's nothing groundbreaking, but in certain moments, it's genuinely enjoyable.

Much has already been said, and more should rightfully be discussed after Friday.

As for me, for whatever it's worth, I consider myself a happy fan. This album may not appeal to everyone, especially those still clinging to the old cliché about past successes (which, to be fair, has some truth to it— no denying that), but one thing is clear: this band is more alive than ever.

[Awaken]

There's a sense of maturity in this album, especially in the vocals, that I honestly didn't expect anymore.

I'm not talking about technique — I mean the subtle nuances in certain choices, in some phrasing. I don't think it's a coincidence that the best example of this is the track where James is the lyricist — not one of the three singles, but the other one he wrote (one that is so close from being an absolute gem...).

It's interesting because the most striking feeling is that the band deliberately comes within inches of repeating melodies they've already written, vocally speaking, only to take an almost unexpected turn (instrumentally, the repetitions are there, and quite a few). Sometimes, it's nothing groundbreaking, but in certain moments, it's genuinely enjoyable.

Much has already been said, and more should rightfully be discussed after Friday.

As for me, for whatever it's worth, I consider myself a happy fan. This album may not appeal to everyone, especially those still clinging to the old cliché about past successes (which, to be fair, has some truth to it— no denying that), but one thing is clear: this band is more alive than ever.

IMO, it is. 

[bosk1]

For all the discussion about "heaviness," here's an interesting thought experiment.  If you swapped the album covers on TOT and View, would so many people still subjectively perceive TOT to be easily the "heaviest" DT album?  I'm not so sure.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

Re: Awakens post

It is. I don't feel that way about any other song yet but this one stands apart in more ways than one.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

For all the discussion about "heaviness," here's an interesting thought experiment.  If you swapped the album covers on TOT and View, would so many people still subjectively perceive TOT to be easily the "heaviest" DT album?  I'm not so sure.

Probably not. They're really on similar footing in that regard. I'm not sure how one could make View heavier than it is besides scrapping TT.

[Stadler]

For all the discussion about "heaviness," here's an interesting thought experiment.  If you swapped the album covers on TOT and View, would so many people still subjectively perceive TOT to be easily the "heaviest" DT album?  I'm not so sure.

I'm not even sure I need that anymore; TOT is "heavy" compared to "Octavarium", sure, but I don't think it stands alone as "HEAVIEST" any more for me.

[erciccio]

For all the discussion about "heaviness," here's an interesting thought experiment.  If you swapped the album covers on TOT and View, would so many people still subjectively perceive TOT to be easily the "heaviest" DT album?  I'm not so sure.

It is certainly true that the View's album cover does not match with the overall "mood" of the album- I was expecting a "major" album, based on the "bright and blue" cover, and the heaviness of the album was a total shock for me.

As concerns ToT vs View heaviness, for me it's a tough call...
ToT's "softer" moments (e.g. Vacant) keep a dark mood, there is no "light"at all in that album.
View has its "bright" moments (e.g. Trascending Time), but 80% of the music is really "heavy", and the sense of heaviness is increased by the production and by the ehm... over present chugga-chugging! (Bosk, don't get upset..)

So probably:
Heaviness (View) > Heavyness (ToT)
Heaviness + Darkness (View) < Heaviness + Darkness (ToT)

Switching cover would proabaly move the balance slighlty to the left in both equations

[TheOutlawXanadu]

For all the discussion about "heaviness," here's an interesting thought experiment.  If you swapped the album covers on TOT and View, would so many people still subjectively perceive TOT to be easily the "heaviest" DT album?  I'm not so sure.

I have thought about how album covers influence our perceptions. Haven't heard Parasomnia yet, but View is a very heavy record. The brighter blue and green cover art probably does have an impact on my brain, but maybe that's more a commentary on me than anything else.

[rab7]

The brighter blue and green cover art probably does have an impact on my brain, but maybe that's more a commentary on me than anything else.

I 100% agree with you. However, I associate that to the melodic, major key, happy moments (bits of Alien and Awaken the Master, all of Transcending Time), and the mountain climbing imagery of ATM and the Title Track.

Also this was the 3rd in the trilogy of what I call "positive outlook metal" that includes JP's Terminal Velocity album and LTE3. We were all in the midst of pandemic quarantines and the general tone of A View From the Top of the World seemed positive to me

[cramx3]

I find it funny that some folks on this forum, last I checked, didn't even think AVFTTOTW was a metal album.  I'd still give TOT the nod for heaviest.  It's not a huge gap though.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

View definitely has more prog elements and more Jordan. I find it way more balanced.

Parasomnia sits somewhere in between.

[Madman Shepherd]

For all the discussion about "heaviness," here's an interesting thought experiment.  If you swapped the album covers on TOT and View, would so many people still subjectively perceive TOT to be easily the "heaviest" DT album?  I'm not so sure.

I see where you're going with this but you would also need to swap the lyrics. ToT has a song about cults being killed en masse, hating a father figure, and feeling "fucked" because someone is being a jerk and telling you a better way to play guitar.

AVFTTOTW is heavy for sure but is about journeying through space and to great heights, having hope for a better world, and persisting through life and personal improvement.

[dparrott]

I'm waiting until my CD arrives on Friday.

I'd like to hear MP try Alien!

[hefdaddy42]

I understand what you guys are saying about View, but to me, it doesn't FEEL as heavy as it does to you guys.

[Northern Lion]

For all the discussion about "heaviness," here's an interesting thought experiment.  If you swapped the album covers on TOT and View, would so many people still subjectively perceive TOT to be easily the "heaviest" DT album?  I'm not so sure.

I completely agree.  I think both albums are about the same amount of heavy.  Although, I think AVFTTOTW is more technical.  And both have favorite epics of mine .

[durga2112]

I understand what you guys are saying about View, but to me, it doesn't FEEL as heavy as it does to you guys.

Someone here (was it you?) said something about View being "heavy" without necessarily being "metal", and I think that pretty much sums it up. Train of Thought is Metal with a capital M, whereas View has its heavy moments but it's not constantly bludgeoning you with them. Even a song like "Awaken the Master" comes across as sounding brighter than it "should" be with its 8-string guitar (and make no mistake, that opening riff is HEAVY - when they played it live, I was fully expecting another dimension to open up in front of me from the sheer sonic force of it  ).

I love both albums, but for sheer, unrelenting heaviness, Train of Thought gets my vote.

[hefdaddy42]

was it you?

Not that I recall.

[Pettor]

One more day ...

Also ToT is wild fire.

AVFTTOTW is chugga chugga.

[Northern Lion]

...Three Days... till release 

[emtee]

For those that own digital and physical, is there a notable sonic difference between the two?

[faizoff]

For those that own digital and physical, is there a notable sonic difference between the two?

I don't know about the digital one but I have the CD and it sounds great. I would assume the digital version should be close to it. The stereo stream of the Blu-ray is fantastic too and the CD very closely matches it.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

One more day ...

Also ToT is wild fire.

AVFTTOTW is chugga chugga.

ToT has plenty of chugga chugga of its own. And View has way more to offer than just guitar riffs and shred.

[nobloodyname]

First listen done. Ended up listening to the CD rip on headphones. I did that because the blu-ray* is neither song- nor timestamped. It appears to be one long animation which meant I couldn't record my thoughts with the usual timestamps.

I loved Night Terror. A Broken Man wasn't bad. Both sound very much at home on the album. I hadn't heard Midnight Messiah but man, I loved it on first listen! So much fun.

* the Atmos mix, anyway. Didn't check the others.

[Pettor]

ToT feels like a frenzied dog with rabies.

View feels like a 60 old man who read a book about the correctness of prog metal.

ANyyyyyyyway I am bored so sorry for doing these bad takes. I just want the damn record now and everyone seem to have it 😁

[Stadler]

Mine came this afternoon.  I couldn't dig in during the day, but I will tonight after dinner. From the outside the packaging looks exquisite. 

[jammindude]

Mrs Dude just sent me a picture at work confirming it has arrived at the house. Can't wait to get home and check it out!

[Ben_Jamin]

I mean, how can it look great when that's not how shadows work? Are there several suns? I don't know how you guys solve this issue in your head, it doesn't work for me.

They decided to not improve upon the artwork at all, leave all the glaring errors in. So, how am I supposed to not react to that fact? I'm at a loss.

For me, it's because I can relate it to the theme. For me, the artwork symbolizes a dream state where nothing is entirely clear. Unless dreams are vivid, they tend not to be quite clear, things can be distorted including faces, voices, scenery. So for example, even if that's not how shadows work, in a dream it could very well be that way. This dream state is why I quite like how the border is blackened, it's like if you're looking through a lens.

Now that I mentioned and thought about that. It goes well with my own far-reaching "theory" of each album cover artwork since BC&SL being a sort of continuation from the one before. In this case, when viewing the "viewfinder", we end up seeing into the nightmare/dream, hence the blackened border that surrounds the art.

[Logain Ablar]

Video of the band unboxing the limited edition box set:

https://youtu.be/z2IqqH7yhVk?si=fd7gICv1O1fFC0ya

Looks really cool..

[Nissim]

Higher than all of them I'd say

A View gang rise up

[faizoff]

I did that because the blu-ray* is neither song- nor timestamped. It appears to be one long animation which meant I couldn't record my thoughts with the usual timestamps.

That's odd, you have a menu that you can select each track or do a play all. And if you do a play all, you can always skip forward for each track.

They may not be timestamped in the traditional sense but you can check the status of the track being played.

[nobloodyname]

Yes, you can skip forward (or back) but that's it. There is no OSD whatsoever. I can't pass judgment on the animation but the mechanics are, well, not quite there.