Dream Theater

Repentance is by far the worst and completely forgettable IMO. Every other part has multiple memorable moments.
 
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Saapanael said:
my favourite parts of the Suite by far are The Glass Prison and This Dying Soul
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This seems to be the most popular opinion, as well as mine. Glass and Soul together as a 25-minute song (which I was lucky enough to see the band play live on the Train tour) is outstanding. Fortress at least keeps the similar 7-stringed theme and riffage, but it gets to be a bit too much. Repentance is simply there - not good or bad, mind you - just "there." The first half is kind of cool and different for Dream Theater, with the odd dreariness. Almost reminds me of Opeth at parts. The second half is just boring talking over an overused riff from Dying Soul. Finally, Root is one of my least favorite songs by the band - completely forgettable other than the strong chorus. I'll never understand all the love this song gets, as one of the weakest songs from an already weak album.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
With The Astonishing, I feel like a lot of interesting characters and plot was left on the cutting room floor in favor of melodrama.
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Thought of this possibility: Maybe there was nothing interesting left? Who knows, now they're going to make up what they lacked to do earlier. Polishing improving a t... story.
MrKnickerbocker said:
why do we keep talking about Evangeline, but never see her?
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They forgot about that or lacked the creativity to integrate her more.
MrKnickerbocker said:
What's going on with the townspeople and the kingdom that Nefaryus rules under?
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They didn't know this themselves at the time.
Edition details:

* Full-length novel of "The Astonishing", adding new plot lines and intrigue, additional characters and motivations, answers to fan questions, as well as explanations and ideas not explored on the album
* In-depth introduction by John Petrucci, going deep on why he wrote "The Astonishing", what it means to him, etc.
* Definitive interviews of each member of DREAM THEATER, covering their experience in the genesis of the album, in performing it, what it means to them, as well as their own music history, interests, and part in the band
* A few early music demos (often taken from original iPhone recordings) of original songs set in the universe of "The Astonishing" but never used on the album
* The genesis of one song: From early iPhone recording to final tune, listen to several song clips of the steps in the songwriting process of one of the songs from "The Astonishing"
* Foreword by a celebrated musician (announcement coming soon)
* Afterword by a music industry luminary (announcement coming soon)
* Never-before-seen handwritten notes, early art renderings, photographs, etc. chronicling the development of "The Astonishing", with a behind-the-scenes look at how it all came to fruition
* An original story by John Petrucci and Peter Orullian, set in the universe of "The Astonishing"
* Original cover art on full-color dust jacket
* Original full-color interior art depicting key scenes in the story, including some scenes not represented in the album
* Map of the world of "The Astonishing"
* Full lyrics, song-by-song breakdown, and final synopsis as written by John Petrucci
* Printed on 60# acid-free paper
* Smyth sewn for durability
* Foil stamping on the front boards and spine
* Bound in leather
* Limited to 2500 copies
:nuts2:Man, they really do try to wrench everything out of this, don't they? They really are p........ a t.... Absolutely.
 
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You've said harsher things than polishing a turd Foro, don't know why you feel like censoring yourself :p
 
Forostar said:
Thought of this possibility: Maybe there was nothing interesting left? Who knows, now they're going to make up what they lacked to do earlier. Polishing improving a t... story.

They forgot about that or lacked the creativity to integrate her more.

They didn't know this themselves at the time.

:nuts2:Man, they really do try to wrench everything out of this, don't they? They really are p........ a t.... Absolutely.
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Yeah, everyone has their thing. Sometimes you would think that John Petrucci would be okay with being the single greatest progressive metal guitar player in the world, but no, he has to also be a storyteller. It's fine that he wants to experiment and stretch is wings and try it out, but the bullheaded determination with which he is pushing this album concept is simply hilarious. (And I like the album).
 
Yeah, he sounds really beaten down and uninspired. Hopefully the next album is a full band collaboration and he gets to show more of himself, as he did on DT13 and turned in his best performance by far.
 
I think if Mangini isn't included again on the next album he will probably leave. I could see him leaving earlier too if it seems like they're headed in that direction again before they start the sessions. Sounds like the idea for the album is already in place so this is possible too. Either way, I don't see him lasting long in the band. I can see where he is coming from though. When he was new he talked a lot about how the kind of music DT writes comes naturally to him and he was excited to contribute to the band creatively. He also seemed excited to be more than a replacement drummer. I'm sure when JP and JR approached the band to say that they wanted to compose The Astonishing without them, for JM and JLB it's probably no big deal because they've been in the band awhile and they don't contribute that much creatively anyway. For MM that had to be discouraging because he probably expected his input in the band to grow over time, not shrink.

I would think that the logical choice if/when Mangini leaves would be to bring Portnoy back, but I doubt Petrucci wants to relinquish his new creative freedom and power in the band. I also don't see Portnoy returning to the band as anything less than the boss. It would be an excellent business move though. It would probably bring back some of the DT fans who were turned off by The Astonishing and Portnoy seems to be having a hard time with his projects. He was apparently unhappy with the sales of the new Neal Morse album. Which weren't bad at all btw, actually pretty good for Neal. But I guess Portnoy thought the overhyping would make this outsell Dream Theater or something.
 
If Mangini leaves and they don't want to bring back Portnoy, they should get Baard from Leprous, he's incredible. Also someone much younger than them in the band might do them good. It reinvigorated Judas Priest.
 
It doesn't matter who they get if they are only looking for a breathing drum machine. I don't really like Mangini's role in the band, but it's becoming increasingly obvious that the band (i.e. JP and JR) push him to play that way. I agree a younger drummer might be good, but they need to get someone who can write music and let him contribute creatively. I hope The Astonishing let JP get his creative control thing out of his system and they write the next album in classic DT style. Recent interviews with JR suggest that won't be the case though.
 
I would say they should bring in Jason Rullo (who is amazing and used to just being a guy who takes orders while still playing with fire), but I wouldn't want to lose him in Symphony X (even though they only do something every 5 years anyway). Plus, his heart probably couldn't take the schedule.

Mosh said:
I hope The Astonishing let JP get his creative control thing out of his system and they write the next album in classic DT style. Recent interviews with JR suggest that won't be the case though.
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What recent interviews and what have they suggested?
 
I think it was posted here, the one where JR said that he and JP receiving full writing credits on The Astonishing is something that has been a long time coming? If that doesn't sound familiar I can probably find the exact interview. That said to me that they didn't really have any interest in going back to the full band jamming approach to writing.
 
Something that is obvious about Astonishing is that it was clearly written by a guitarist and a keyboardist; there are almost no standout bass or drum sections on the album. What stands out to me about some of my favorite metal songwriters -- Mikael Akerfeldt and Michael Romeo, for example -- is that even though they're guitarists, they write with a full band in mind. Dream Theater (including Mangini, excluding Myung) are so stuck on themselves that this is rarely the case. Petrucci is the worst offender, but I've been saying for years now that they'd be better off without Rudess. He's a good guy, but he's also a "look at me bend my wheel with space sounds and use my new gimmicky Apple(TM) device to slide an F up to a Bb really slowly in this four-minute borefest of an intro" kind of guy. Moore and Sherinian -- regardless of being constantly depressed and out of their mind on coke, respectvely -- knew how to play with feeling. Jordan can do this (see Blind Faith for one example), but it's few and far between. Their sound grew stale very quickly after Train of Thought.

As much as I am annoyed by Portnoy's excessive personality and terrible tuf guy backing vocals, he had a style and flair to his playing that fit the attitude and aggressiveness of the band. Mangini, simply put, does not.
 
Now, though I still love Jordan, I admit that I might have liked him better in the band when he was more of a contrast and the band was more... metal. I admit it, I really miss the latter-Portnoy era, "brocals" and all.

While Jordan is still my fave (and it'll probably take many more overblown musicals by Petrucci to change that - anyway, I still think Jordan's most stellar moments would probably be on Neal Morse's ? or on SDOIT), I wouldn't flip over Derek returning. But not Moore. Rather a bloody diarrhea than Moore (since he's still mostly not on talking terms with the band anyway, IIRC, that's kind of a moot point now).

Gettin back Portnoy... that's a tricky question. First of all, I don't think any side really wants that - Portnoy's too deep in his own ego and like you guys mentioned above, Trucci probably doesn't look too kindly on the option of sharing the reins. It might also be seen as a kind of a retreat. They'd be hooked on Portnoy (and his whims) forever, because they'd be admitting to their fans "we can't do it without him". That's probably the biggest concern for them right now.

Second (third?) of all, JLB and JMX wouldn't like that decision. Especially LaBrie with that "I would have had chosen a different singer" and all that.
 
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