Dream Theater

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What characterises The Astonishing in terms of songwriting, in my opinion, is simple catchy songs (ballades) done in immensely beautiful Dream Theater fashion. Beyond the softness and cheese, there is a layer to the songs that affects me in a deeper emotional way. The story is what it is: I don't really care what Nefaryus and Faythe have done, but somehow the vocals and melodies carry meanings more profound than their original concept. And because there are so many of them, I can easily pick out a song or three that I currently feel like listening to and enjoy them for a long time.
 
I guess I'm more likely to find beauty in something poignant, I can't really get a feel for any depth behind the warm soft stuff. I'd have to go looking for that extra layer because I just don't see it at the moment.
 
Overall, I really like it and I think it achieves what it sets out to do. But honestly, until the end of the first act it all just sounds like one gigantic blur. The ballads are not only too numerous, but too similar. Once the second disc kicks in the individual songs stand out a bit more.

After Maiden on Wednesday I plan on listening to this album at least 4-5 times before the concert on 4/30. I hope the songs open up and differentiate themselves on repeat listens, or, at worst, when I see The Astonishing Live.
 
I love that there are so many ballads. As a rule I think DT write excellent ones and they tend to be amongst my favourite songs on any DT album. It's fantastic that DT can write (relatively) simple and catchy songs. Being able to hook a listener with something other than sheer instrumental prowess is a skill a lot of other prog bands could learn, as too many play extremely complex music that can't hold my interest for a fraction of a normal song length let alone that of the usual prog song.

In this case, I think that it also makes the more "by numbers" songs on the album (Moment of Betrayal is the one I immediately think of) more rewarding as a result, and the heavier songs (Three Days, Ravenskill) carry a lot more weight as well.
 
DJMayes said:
I love that there are so many ballads. As a rule I think DT write excellent ones and they tend to be amongst my favourite songs on any DT album. It's fantastic that DT can write (relatively) simple and catchy songs.
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I also love DT ballads. I guess my point is that after a few listens I don't find most of the ballads on The Astonishing to be excellent because they aren't very distinct.
 
I love DT's ballads - Lifting Shadows, Hollow Years, Anna Lee, Spirit, the end of Disappear, Wither, and my favorite, Beneath the Surface. Even Space Dye Vest is beautiful in a pathetic sort of way. But I don't want an album FULL of ballads, and much of The Astonishing is. Sure, it fits the story, but all the tracks blend together on this album so much so that it's hard for me to pick out specific moments of songs. The only big one I can think of now is the bass groove in New Beginning.
 
After listening to the Astonishing again (I haven't given up on it yet), I was seized by an urge to clean my ears a little ;) :
 
What exactly did Steve Harris mean when he said Book of Souls was progressive like Dream Theater, like classic 70s prog? Because of I've always thought DT and reunion-era Maiden represented two different ends of the progressive rock/metal spectrum.
 
Black Bart said:
The band Yes is also an influence to both bands, though it seemed only to concern the bass in Maiden's case (and it was more obvious in the days of Killers than now).
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They are, but from Squire's bass to full on "Yes influence" is a bit of a stretch, IMO. You could name a Rush influence, a Jethro Tull influence... I know 'Arry mentioned a lot of prog bands as his favourites and it is seen in the songs somehow - they are longer and multipart and try to be cinematic... But 1.) it's a long way to Dream Theater in particular, 2.) I don't see how TBoS is any more "prog" than, for example, any other reunion album. So that's why I was somewhat baffled.
 
Did Steve name Dream Theater specifically? I don't really hear it tbh.
 
terrell39 said:
2017 will be the 25th anniversary of I&W (my first DT CD). Wonder what they will do (if anything) about that?
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Jordan Rudess will probably release a new KeyFarter, John Petrucci will launch a career in weighlifting and James LaBrie will strive to look even more threatening...or they can get Mike Portnoy back and start making music again.:rolleyes:

EDIT More seriously, they have already played the record in full to celebrate its 15th anniversary:
 
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terrell39 said:
2017 will be the 25th anniversary of I&W (my first DT CD). Wonder what they will do (if anything) about that?
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Hard to say, they already celebrated the 20th anniversary by playing quite a bit of it on the ADTOE tour. It's not like Awake where they were able to pull out a bunch of songs that haven't been done in a long time, most of the album gets played quite a bit. They'll probably just play some of it next year.
 
NotePad said:
What exactly did Steve Harris mean when he said Book of Souls was progressive like Dream Theater, like classic 70s prog?
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I think he probably just threw out the biggest progressive name he could think of. I mean, The Red and the Black has multiple feeling changes and a long, winding instrumental section. The Great Unknown is an unconventional song structure. The title track changes halfway through and never goes back, save for the intro reprise. If Eternity Should Fail has a cinematic intro and outro. Empire is 18 minutes long. These are all attributes of the album that are shared with Dream Theater, but certainly aren't EXCLUSIVE to Dream Theater.
 
I listened to The Astonishing again last night on a 3-hour plane ride and tried to really focus on the music.

The exact moment where the album loses me is between the NOMAC instrumentals in the first act, from Hovering Sojourn to Digital Discord. The beginning of the album is really magical, diverse, at turns heavy or beautiful, but right between those two interludes everything starts moving in slow motion. Brother Can You Hear Me? is decent, but the next four tracks are just an exercise in patience and lyrical exposition.

The end of the first act and beginning of the second are the highlights of the album for me. From A New Beginning to Begin Again everything is great - the music, the fact that the songs sound like songs instead of one chorus plot movements.

I have only listened to The Astonishing three times and each time it has grown on me and I've discovered new things. It really is a massive commitment to listen to, though. I'm excited to see how my opinion changes after seeing it live.
 
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