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

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by craigobau, Jul 28, 2021.

  1. jay.dee

    jay.dee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Barcelona, Spain
    Listen to the new one and then we'll talk! :cool:
     
  2. moomaloo

    moomaloo All-round good egg

    I might just agree with this… I am slightly skewed in my opinion though as this is the first Dream Theater album I bought (not strictly true as I bought the first album when it was released- a promo cd which I picked up solely because of Terry Brown and the Rush connection. Didn’t like it then but kind of do now…).

    The thing I loved most about the ‘Black Clouds’ cd I bought was actually the bonus disc with the covers - Stargazer and the Queen Lap Of The God medley thing - just blew me away and I’ve since bought pretty much everything.

    But… I can’t say that anything for the last 10 years or so has really gripped me… I buy them (vinyl), play them once or twice and they then sit on the shelf. It all sounds very ‘samey’ to my ears. Sort of interchangeable and a bit of a muddle… I nearly always reach for something else instead.

    Will I buy the new one? - I sort of don’t want to, but probably won’t be able to resist. Will I play it once and put it on the shelf for the rest of my time on earth? Probably!
     
  3. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
    Sadly, that is my impression after a few listens. Despite the lack of dynamic range, the album does sound good, but the constant barrage of heavy chugging combined with the double bass drum slamming you in the face is more than a bit oft-putting. I do think Sleeping Giant and Transcending Time are both very nice, so my hope is the others will grow on me. I was pretty bored with the title track, though. It seemed like it just meandered along and then just ended, with no real climax, no memorable vocal melodies, nothing. The attempt at a Scarred-like ending seemed to fall flat. Vocal melodies are the big hair in the soup for me thus far. I am just not hearing a lot of memorable ones. Not sure if they just didn't write as good a ones this time around, or if JLB's aging voice cannot bring it like he used to. I do like a lot of the atmospheric sounds Rudess brought to the table this time, although as usual his solos make me want to run for the hills. Even though he is now on 11 of the 15 DT studio albums, if I had to list the best 6-7 keyboard solos in a DT song, he would still have just 1 (Home). Overall, hoping this a grower, but I am a bit discouraged so far.
     
  4. jay.dee

    jay.dee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Barcelona, Spain
    Have they ever done a Rush tribute song more reverential than this one? :)
     
  5. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
    I don't get quite get the Rush vibe from that one that everyone else seems to, but that song does stand out so far for sure.

    And at this point, I just have to accept that I am a not a huge fan of Mangini's style. He is fine, and I am not one of those "Portnoy is God, Mangini is a robot" honks, but his playing just doesn't grab me in a "man, this guy is awesome" kind of way. It is like listening to Haken's drummer. He does his job, and does it well, but that is where it ends for me.
     
  6. oneway23

    oneway23 Forum Resident

    Location:
    NY, US
    And again, to me, no matter how wonderful the new compositions may be, it's impossible to tell, because every instrument is the same level - flat as a ruler. Nothing stands out, because everything is the same volume, no matter how loudly or softly anything is being played.

    The mix of frequencies, in terms of being able to hear everyone, is absolutely awesome, but, nothing grabs at you if everything has the same dynamic level.

    That's my biggest issue with the record; it renders what could be incredible songs completely powerless. There aren't any peaks and valleys, no ebbs and flows.

    The metallic stuff hits you just the same as the more melodic bits.
     
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  7. oneway23

    oneway23 Forum Resident

    Location:
    NY, US
    I disagree with just about every word of your post, but, we do all have different ears, after all, and, I respect your opinions.
     
  8. Progatron

    Progatron Wealthy industrialist philanthropist & bicyclist

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
  9. jay.dee

    jay.dee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Barcelona, Spain
    Funny how we have swapped our positions now, because to me Mangini has finally found his groove on this album.

    It's the first album since Rudess' arrival where I can reconnect to the rhythm section. I dig bassy sound infused with low organ growls (a bit reminiscent of Sherinian's period) and organic interaction between the section and the soloists, something that got lost when Portnoy, Petrucci and Rudess started to soak the band's sound in grooveless Liquid Tension Experiment-like shredfests.

    I wonder whether this shift gets reflected in their upcoming live performances. If it does and the band focus on the (best) material from the last two albums, I'll even go to see them live.
     
    Last edited: Oct 23, 2021
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  10. jay.dee

    jay.dee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Barcelona, Spain
    This! ^^^

    Awaken The Master, the groove monster!

     
  11. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
    I wouldn't say I have swapped my position. Even years ago when I was in the "Portnoy needed to go, and Mangini is doing a fine job in his stead" camp, I never would have put Mangini ahead of him on my list of my favorite drummers (based on drumming, not likeability, as Mangini is a far more likeable guy as a person than Portnoy), but on this new album his drums finally sound really good and I am still just like, okay, he is there, but that's it. A buddy who I have known for decades and I had a convo a few months back and we were talking about favorite this and favorite that, and when we got to favorite drummers, we must have mentioned 10-15 and neither of us mentioned Mangini (and he has been a DT fan as long as me, since around 1992-1993). He is a technical beast, but his style just doesn't grab me personally.
     
  12. jay.dee

    jay.dee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Barcelona, Spain
    Well, I would have never put either on my favourite drummers list, but I can recognize that Portnoy had a far stronger position in the band and was able to highlight his parts in the mix. Thankfully on this album the drum parts finally start to draw my attention in a way that Portnoy's once did.

    Would Portnoy have played it better? Not sure, but I'd wager that a consummate drummer stylistically distinct to both Mikes, like Virgil Donati, could have made a difference. But as we both know they were not keen on changing the style.
     
  13. Kai Roen

    Kai Roen Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norway
    I total agree. I have finally accepted Mike Mangini as a drummer in Dream Theater, and I think he's doing a amazing job. I love Mike Portnoy and this work, but not the latest releases. I think Portnoy is boring in this playing, and the latest Sons Of Apollo record was a huge letdown.

    I really like the two last Dream Theater albums, and the new albums kick ass. James LaBrie voice is nice on this Record. I am not that found of Jordan.
     
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  14. stodgers

    stodgers Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montana
    As someone who considers Octavarium one of the two best albums of the modern DT era (i.e., w/ Rudess), I have to disagree with that entire first sentence.

    The rest of the post... There's some merit.
     
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  15. stodgers

    stodgers Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montana
    Though I was a Rush fan for a few years before I found DT, Portnoy was the first drummer who made me think a kit could actually be 'musical' and not just a rhythm device. That led me to think differently about drumming and opened my eyes (ears?) to a lot of other things. The song that changed my perspective was Peruvian Skies, btw.

    But yes, the new SoA album was such a disappointment. I really hope they take the lyric-writing away from Soto on album #3. Nice guy, terrible lyricist.
     
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  16. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
    Right, Mangini was definitely brought aboard largely because they knew he wouldn't rock the boat.

    As for drums in the mix, Portnoy always gets his drums to sound great on record. Even on records where maybe the mix isn't the best or where his drums might be too high in the mix, his drums always sound awesome.

    His voice doesn't soar like it used to, but he still sounds good in the studio to where I am glad he is still in the band. Live is another story, but James is one of my favorite sings ever, based merely off of the strength of the early years, and is such a massive part of the DT sound that his departure would be crippling.

    I cannot remember who the interview was with, but I remember recently that one of them did a recent one where it seems unlikely that Sons of Apollo will continue. I didn't like them, so it doesn't bother me. I'd rather see Portnoy dedicate his time to the Neal Morse Band and Flying Colors anyway.
     
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  17. Michael S

    Michael S Forum Resident

    Location:
    Charlotte
    Surprised to hear this. I though DOT was just more of the same...better than the muddled mess that was The Astonishing, but nothing different than any of the prior releases.

    As a fan from the 90's I have pretty much given up on the band. It's basically become John Petrucci's band and his songwriting, unfortunately, is limited and think he's just going through the motions. Hard to believe he's the same guy who wrote such great pieces in his youth.
     
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  18. Michael S

    Michael S Forum Resident

    Location:
    Charlotte
    I find LaBrie's voice overall is fine...but he's so breathy now it's almost unlistenable to me.
     
  19. Michael S

    Michael S Forum Resident

    Location:
    Charlotte
    Totally agree.

    Addin Rudess IMO moved the band away from "really good musicians who can also write a song melody" to "really good musicians who like the show they're really good musicians via mindless wankery". Too often Petrucci and Rudess like to trade "who can play the most notes in the X amount of time". Moore provided more ambient sounds and melody.
     
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  20. Michael S

    Michael S Forum Resident

    Location:
    Charlotte
    I've kind of given up hoping for any innovation. Seems like Petrucci and Rudess are happy to trod well-covered ground at this point. Hopefully I'm wrong but will definitely be checking out on Spotify before parting with any cash. DT used to be an auto day-1 purchase for me but ever since Black Clouds there's little that stands out to me.
     
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  21. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
    Agreed. I was a huge fan of Kevin Moore, and the band definitely lost something when he departed. I like a lot of what Rudess has done with the band, but his knack for overplaying and writing solos that are noise excursions can be irksome. His piano playing is always stellar, though.
     
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  22. Michael S

    Michael S Forum Resident

    Location:
    Charlotte
    Same.

    I bought the last Maiden album against my better judgement and it's unlistenable to me....Bruce's vocals are terrible IMO. Some seem to enjoy his lack of range and weakened voice, but I'm not among them.

    I bought Distance Over Time...and meh. At Wit's End was pretty good but otherwise 2 and 3-star songs.

    I haven't REALLY like a DT album since Octavarium and the purchases since them seem based on hope more than reality.
     
  23. Moggio_4K_Ultra_HD

    Moggio_4K_Ultra_HD Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    I just watched the Virtual Album Release Party live stream on DT's youtube channel and there were a lot of insights during the Q&A and the doc.

    Highlights included:

    ~ on Awaken The Master, JP used an 8-string guitar for the first time - which makes sense, because I was wondering why the bass notes sounded lower than usual
    ~ JR discussing utilizing a new innovative sounds, including a hybrid electric/mechanical keyboard and violin synth experimentations, etc.
    ~ how they wrote/recorded, especially with JL virtually, since the covid-19 lockdowns and his Canadian residence prevented him from being in the same room with the band
    ~ their new DTHQ studio (in a secret location)

    And btw, I'm now 8 listens in. And it's safe to say, I think it's tied with DOT for the best Mangini-era album...:righton:
     
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  24. ytserush

    ytserush Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northeast US
    I did too. Had a bad feeling about it. Saw Jordan Rudess in June and bought Neal Morse Band and Transatlantic tickets before it all went to hell again. Can't believe I'd ever be glad a show got postponed but I guess this is the world we live in now.
     
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  25. ytserush

    ytserush Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northeast US

    I was really afraid this might be the case.

    Still waiting on my artbook, but I only ordered it a week or so ago.
     

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