Dream Theater - A View From The Top Of The World - New Album October 22nd

Probably not a bad idea. I see both the Deluxe Box Set and Artbook are currently out of stock at Burning Shed.

I recently bought my Artbook through cdJapan (with the Blu-Spec CD) and they had 13 copies left at that time.

 

So, it's early days, right, and I hate to say this, because I've been a fan forever (my Dad was friends with Charlie in high school), but, am I alone is feeling like this album is just sort of...happening?

Don't get me wrong, the playing is as stellar as ever, but, I don't know if it's the mix or what.

I feel like they're just relentlessly throwing an endless array of sections at you, with no regard for song structure or composition (even less than usual!). They're just rotely performing as the parts fly by.

I get that's been the DT standard operating procedure for a while - dazzling playing, blistering solos, unison runs - but, this one, in particular, for some reason, may have finally broken me LOL

What am I hearing?...Let's talk!

 

Playing it now. Had to turn the speaker volume well down following the Live in Seattle Coltrane set lol.

 

Listening to the CD just now, no idea of the compression but sounds like a standard Andy Sneap mix to me (i.e. pretty damn good). A nicely balanced mix, can hear Myung pretty good too.

 

I have just played on YT some of the supposed highlights from the album: "Answering the Call", "Sleeping Giant", "Awaken the Master", and "A View from the Top of the World". Same old same old as usual, but quite enjoyable nonetheless.

"Sleeping Giant" and the title epic stand out and I like the fact that Rudess keeps using quite a lot of classic organ sounds, just like on the previous album. One could make a really decent album by combining the best cuts from this set and Distance Over Time.

 

Now that’s a quote for the hype sticker!

 

A 79-minute long album with this set-list would work for me:

1. Fall into the Light (7:04)
2. Barstool Warrior (6:43)
3. At Wit's End (9:20)
4. Pale Blue Dot (8:25)
5. Answering the Call (7:35)
6. Sleeping Giant (10:05)
7. Awaken the Master (9:47)
8. A View from the Top of the World (20:24)

 

It does seem to get better as the album progresses, I think, and it's technically a well-mixed record, in terms of the actual balance of frequencies, but, there's just something that's preventing the energy of the performances to come through, to my ears.

I saw and read interviews hyping this release where they discussed wanting to really capture the energy of playing in a room together at DTHQ, but, there aren't really any dynamic shifts on the album.

The songs themselves have peaks and valleys, ebbs and flows, tempo & moods shifts, but, the actual album, as a whole, sounds really flat and sort of homogenous.

All of the shifts lack punch and sound like they're all the same level, if that makes sense.
I think the last record has much more "life" to it.

 

The first DT album, I passed…. Two good songs!

 

I dunno, I found four worthy picks here, 38 minutes altogether. I cannot remember which was their last album where I could find so much decent material. Out of Distance Over Time I would squeeze maybe 31 minutes, and that was a clear improvement over many earlier ones, e.g. Octavarium, Systematic Chaos, Dramatic Turn and the self-titled.

For me it may be their best effort since Six Degrees (the first disc), perhaps excluding Black Clouds (I'd need to revisit that one though).

 

The title song has some fine moments, but when 20 min are over, I can't remember. I think I must listen to Change of Seasons yet !!!

 

Reviews says the epic is similar in structure to Octavarium so I'm in!

 

This epic blows "Octavarium" out of water. There's so much interesting playing on the new album's title track, not just overstretched noodling lifted off "Shine On You Crazy Diamond".

And "Sleeping Giant" is very good too.

 

That's bold

 

Sounds like I made a good choice not buying the LP version, I may just get a digital version or get a LP version if I can find one on the real cheap. I have lost interest in any DT beyond ADToE, have no desire to go see them live here in Seattle, thankfully since the tour got postponed anyway.
And with the mix/mastering sounding like its a problem, another thing I'm getting tired of with some of these bands, especially DT. They should use engineers that know how to master metal music, it can be dynamic and have high resolution if they want. The loudness wars are a thing of the past.......should be.

 

Sneap's mix of Judas Priest's Firepower is pretty damn spectacular (to my non-audiophile ears). I have to stop reading this thread until I get to spin this...

 

As anti-loudness-wars as I am, the DR-numbers-melodrama has gotten out of hand. People see a DR7 and instantly assume it sounds like death magnetic without ever having heard the music. The new album sounds great. Would it be better without the compression? Yes. Beggars and choosers and whatnot.

 

Was anyone able to find the 2CD/BD set in the US? I had to order from Burning Shed, so I won't get mine for awhile.

 

I agree, but I was not citing any DR numbers......I don't need DR to tell me something is compressed, my ears know it.

 

LaserCD still has a few boxed sets left for those looking. At least as of noon today...

 

What are the feedback on vinyl? I can't find any information that the vinyl record is mastered badly.

 

Finally listening to this. My God it is good.

 

Blowing off "Octavarium" is actually easy because it is such a lacklustre piece (and album), but being in a good mood after a couple of repeated listens to the new material I gave a fresh try to some other epics from their relatively recent past.

"Illumination Theory" reapperared as uninspired and disjointed (that orchestral intrusion, ugh!) as I remembered it. That self-titled album was a real nadir in their career, comparable only to the equally appalling Systematic Chaos.

Thankfully shorter "Breaking All Illusions" seemed better to me, due to Petrucci's lovely guitar solo (and tone). However, other than that there was little musical substance in the composition, fittingly representing the inoffensive blandness of the whole Dramatic Turn of Events.

And finally I refreshed "Count of Tuscany" and it was unexpectedly worse than "Breaking All Illusions", with no memorable melodies or solos to speak of. One worn out DT cliche after another; I am afraid revisiting Black Clouds & Silver Lining would not do it any favour.

Compared to all that misery "A View from the Top of the World" (and other standouts on the album) seem like a breath of fresh air in Dream Theater's world, even if there is nothing exactly ground-breaking happening there. Distance Over Time had a few quality compositions and was a promising rejuvenation of the tired formula. This new one is another step in the right direction.

 

Spurred by the quality of the new compositions I am returning to Astonishing and surprisingly I find this often dismissed and ridiculed set really worthwhile. Perhaps if it hadn't had followed a rut the band got stuck in for so long I would have paid more attention to it initially and got past superficial similarities to their earlier power pop ballads.

Now with more goodwill on my side I am finally able to lend a sympathetic ear to it and reassess it on its own terms, as a progressive (pop/rock/metal) musical. If one forgets that it is a Dream Theater album (dropping any associated expectations) and gets past James LaBrie's mannerisms (even though he does an admirable job here) Astonishing arises as a thoroughly enjoyable oeuvre that is thankfully little indebted to the band's past.

Maybe they should have recorded it under a different moniker, inviting a few (singing) guests to decidedly cut off the links to the mothership. Anyway, now looking at the band's career with a new perspective I'd say that the last three outings, Astonishing, DoT and the newest one, are a formidable proof of the band's creative rebirth.

 

Can't agree with any off this , way of base!