T.O.- DREAM THEATER- THE ASTONISHING - Tomorrow!!!!

[yogi]

Im psyched!!!!!

Roadrunner BETTER have my copies to me when I arrive home from work tomorrow!!!

[masque]

bought it....listened twice so far.......brilliant!!!!

[yogi]

Hoping mine have arrived when I get home.

The Reviews have been really mixed.

The critics seem to love it, and the fans seem split between brilliant and horrible.

[Baron Von Bielski]

I ordered a copy from Amazon but since I have a PO Box it won't come till next week. So I bought it from iTunes as well. Listening to it now. Has anyone else listened to it all?

[yogi]

I ordered it off their website direct from Roadrunner. Just got home and no CD. Im pissed. I ordered it the first day you could place the order and no CD.

Damn I am MAD!!!!

[Baron Von Bielski]

I ordered it off their website direct from Roadrunner. Just got home and no CD. Im pissed. I ordered it the first day you could place the order and no CD.

Damn I am MAD!!!!

Did it also include the album on MP3 format to download?

[yogi]

Not sure.

Didnt come again today so I went out and bought it at Best Buy. Got through Disc 1 on my drive home from work. On first listen did NOT like it. For me it be my Kilroy album from Dream Theater. I sure hope it grows on me but I sure didnt like it at first listen.

[LtVanish]

I have listened to it 3 times so far, so much music to process, so far I like it. I don't know if I will like it as much as their last album, which to me is an absolute classic album.

[Baron Von Bielski]

I have listened to it 3 times so far, so much music to process, so far I like it. I don't know if I will like it as much as their last album, which to me is an absolute classic album.

I agree. About all points. To me I guess the album has just too many mellow tracks. I'm not saying they suck, but not enough metal songs if you will. There are some really good songs though. Kinda mid- level hard rock songs like Gift of Music and Our New World. Interested to see how the tour goes. I hope it does well.

[masque]

here is my take on this with this album and it can usually be applied across the board with most bands;

whether you like this album or not will depend LARGELY on what drew you to the band to begin with.

let me explain, if you got into DT because you loved their real heavy double kick drum progressive metal stuff then this album will largely leave you bored. however, if you got into them because of their more melodic and epic sounding stuff then you will find this album much more appealing.

if you want your songs to be a one off deal and not tied to each other thematically then this album will be a turn off to you. if you like concept albums then it will have more appeal. most concept albums have pieces of music or short songs that serve the plot and maybe aren't always best songs on the album....there are a few of those on this album as well, that are more acoustic or ballad-y and that is probably a turn off to their heavier fans.

lastly, if you like james labrie and his vocals then you will likely love this album......if you aren't a fan of him then you will not like it.


and as talented as these guys are and capable of doing different things the majority of their fans a big progressive metal junkies and not overly open to hearing them try to write "ordinary" songs. my experience is that DT's fan base is not very open to them experimenting much. this album is certainly a departure and an experiment for them.

[yogi]

It is beginning to really grow on me. For me as talented as they ALL are this double album is still a HUGE reach & a MAJOR risk for them. Shit at first listen I thought the best songs might be the Nomac music but as usual with their music it takes a few listens and now I am really starting to like the album. I don't love it yet, but I do like it and its all I know that I will listen to for the next month or so.

'A Life Left Behind' with the Alan Parsons sounding intro is a FANTASTIC song also ' Moment of Betrayl', 'Chosen', 'Losing Faythe', The Gift of Music, and 'A Better Life' are all also excellent.

Still when comparing to their last two albums which I liked or loved EVERY song on em and comparing to songs such as 'A Change Of Seasons, Nightmare To Remember, The Bigger Picture, Along For The Ride, Breaking All Illusions, and albums such as Octavarium, Images and Words and Metropolis etc.... this double disc may fall far short.

I really hope to see the tour. As of now they are not coming near TX. I hope that the BS spoken about TX and The Kilroy Tour hasn't scared em off. The Kilroy tour was brilliant and I'm sure Dream Theater will pull out all the stops to make this tour truly unforgettable.

[Baron Von Bielski]

I've been listening to it a lot at work since it came out, it definitely takes getting used to. But it also shows the genius of this band. Quite an undertaking tackling a project like this. 2 hours. Whether someone likes this album or not, how can one not be amazed. It's not like it took 5 years to complete. Basically they still stuck to their customary every 2 year cycle. A tad longer with this one, but not much. 4 extra months. Not bad.

[Archetype]

Can't really get into this one that that much. I hope they do a live album of it, because this album just sort of sounds like everything is being held back to me. The songs would come across better in a live setting.