Dream Theater Megathread NEW SONG POSTED!!!!!

I predict Dream Theater will be praised for a long time with Bend The Clock. What a well-crafted song from beginning to end. Certainly not progressive by their standards, but it's nice that they give the listener some relief before the epic prog finale. And yes dat solo is... :chef :chef :chef A true masterclass on writing imo.
 
In the Arms of Morpheus is one hell of an opener!

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TSJMajesty said:
I can already hear it live.
Which btw, in order to get decent seats for the upcoming shows, you had to buy your tickets well before you found out that this tour is not in support of the full album. Which I thought it was. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Yeah, I bought tickets with the intention that it’s their anniversary. Any songs from the new album will be icing on the cake. I’m proud to say that I still haven’t looked at any set lists or watched any videos from the current tour. A little over a month away now. Can’t wait!
 
Mikael Dez said:
Petrucci still sounds like Petrucci but his tone is niiice on this album, very biting. In contrast, I wasn’t a huge fan of his rhythm tones on Dream Theater.
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I remember Sneap saying before (on a previous album) he had to max out 2 EQ’s in series to be able to get enough top end into the tone. Guessing they’ve sorted that out by now
 
I have two full listens under my belt now, plus some random tracks played in the car. As someone who was a huge fan back when "When Day And Dream Unite" was their only album, this new one is KILLER! At least their best since Scenes. I probably like it better than FII as well. For reference, they started losing me after 6 Degrees, which after that they started becoming shred for the sake of shred for my tastes.
 
I listened to A Change of Seasons right after one of my listens of Parasomnia, and wow have they come a long way! I feel the production quality doesn't even compare. Which I guess is to be expected.

I'm starting to be able to identify some of the "homage" moments to which songs they remind me of, whereas before, I was only thinking, "Hmmm, that's sounds familiar, but I'm not sure which song."

And, certain parts of the songs are becoming earworms, from time to time. (Sorry spellcheck, I think 'earworms' is 1 word.)

My only "complaint", if you could even call it that, is I notice maybe 2 places where the change back to the main musical theme seems a bit abrupt. Although I can't remember which songs, or where it occurs.

I like it. A lot! And I'm really glad I do, because DT is still my favorite band. Even the songs that I didn't dig when first released sound better to me, in context. Oh, and I really dig how each song just "spills" right into the next. Very cool! :beer
 
Oh man, I'm ate up with this album!! (Plus I had half an edible. Lol) I'm checking out tabs while listening, (hmmm, maybe this should be in 'Theory...' sub), and I'm seeing a fair amount of diminished licks Petrucci is using to string different sections together. :chef It's like his 'go-to' thing when this happens. :rofl

But damn does it sound good!! This is the Dream Theater that I love.

And listen to how he bridges these 2 parts together. (17:07) It's FUCKING EAR CANDY!! (And I don't use bold caps much. JS) I don't hear the diminished thing until AFTER he links the F-to-E bassline with a freaking Abm-to-Am sweeps. It's fucking brilliant!! And the voice-leading is freaking perfect! I LOVE this shit!

Oh, and dat blues lick @ 17:04. SO Sweet! :chef

 
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I had it playing while driving my friends around town on their visit, one of them was my cohort in DT fanboyism in high school (“Erotomania” on drums was his Berklee audition piece, where he went on to take every class he could with Mangini years before Mangini was in DT) and he kept cranking it up when something would catch his ear. He hasn’t really paid much attention since he was in college and became a working musician, but after a few minute he got the album and was giddy about digging into it.

I’m catching a lot more references to SFAM on it than anything else, which is perfectly fine with me. When I listened for the first time I started writing a song-by-song post but it was getting too wordy and I deleted it, I was noting the references as I caught them. I can’t remember which song it was, but there was one that was flipping between “Dance Of Eternity” and “Beyond This Life” esque sections and then the really obvious “Overture 1928” section later in the album.

I really hope the Parasomnia tour comes down here!
 
Went out running again and listened to the whole record form start to finish for the second time and yes, it's a really good album in my book.

I confess that Bend the clock made cry a bit today, the first presentation of the melody really hit me, I was running up the last climb under a light rain and I don't it just hit me that way. I love when songs move me that way.

My favourite references to previous albums so far are from scenes from a memory:
one is the "it's calling me back to my home" line before the solo in Midnight Messiah, the other is what seems to be a dance of eternity reference in the intro of The shadow man incident.
 
HotRats said:
Went out running again and listened to the whole record form start to finish for the second time and yes, it's a really good album in my book.

I confess that Bend the clock made cry a bit today, the first presentation of the melody really hit me, I was running up the last climb under a light rain and I don't it just hit me that way. I love when songs move me that way.

My favourite references to previous albums so far are from scenes from a memory:
one is the "it's calling me back to my home" line before the solo in Midnight Messiah, the other is what seems to be a dance of eternity reference in the intro of The shadow man incident.
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I'm reading a bunch of references to The Astonishing over on the DT forum, but I have no idea, because I've never been able to get into that album. And I've tried.

I hear some In The Presence of Enemies (music, not lyrics; Portnoy went out of his way, imo, with the lyrical call-backs) in The Shadow Man Incident.

My 2 favorite songs are the last 2. The album definitely has a main motif that gets repeated throughout, but it's hard to id all of them until you really know the songs.

It's definitely in my top 6:
In no order...
Train Of Thought
Scenes From A Memory
ParaSomnia
Systematic Chaos
Falling Into Infinity
Octavarium

The MM-era songs mostly don't compare, for me, with a few outliers (Breaking All Illusions, On The Backs of Angels)
 
norminal said:
On another note, the production is absolutely bonkers. Myung can be heard and Petrucci’s tone is fucking ear candy. Portnoy sounds as good as ever, and I’m pleased that Jordan stepped away from the ragtime this time around. LaBrie? It is what it is.
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Lol!
 
la szum said:
Refreshing to see instances of love, enjoyment, and enthusiasm on a Gear Forum. :banana




:rofl

Seriously. Very refreshing! :chef
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Well, you know me- I'm a sucker for great, intricate-but-musical, prog..., and DT, being my favorite band, delivered to all my hopes with this album! I even went back and read my first post in this thread, and it is everything I was hoping for.

I'm SO GLAD the release of the full album boosted my feelings on the singles. I'm convinced now, that taking them out of context is not the way to fully enjoy them.

Two other thoughts:

1) Petrucci: He is STILL pushing himself. I know his solos really well (not to play them, of course), and he's doing different things here. Like, when he has a blazing 4-note, up-and-down riff, he plays it on 2 strings- 3 notes on the upper string, and 1 note on the adjacent, or vice-versa.

But in Bend The Clock, in that blistering end run-up, he kept those 4 notes on the high e, then STRING-SKIPPED to catch the lower 3 notes. I've never seen him do something quite like that. Which to me, says he still sits in a room, and PRACTICES NEW STUFF! Same thing with coaxing new tones from his rig. To me, that's impressive AF! The man obviously still loves finding new shit to play on the guitar, and new ways of expressing himself. :chef

2) To the negative comments I've read elsewhere about hearing things they've done before: Sure, that's gonna happen. But they also have many unique-sounding riffs in here as well.

I'd imagine they were writing, they noticed it happening, and thought, "Why not?" Mike is back in the band, so in a way, I see it as 'musical reminiscing.' Who hasn't done that when they see someone they haven't talked to in a while?

Especially the lyric that mentions "Home." He's home. :beer
 


Great interview, with insights of the process behind the new album.

At one point they're talking about listening to a new album from start to finish, referencing how they would "...dim the lights, put on DSOTM, do a...., whatever it is..." :rofl

John almost said it. LOL
 
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